The “new economy” that resorts are part of is lean, flexible and highly efficient. The operative word is “productivity,” and often results in downsizing, restructuring and reengineering to get more and better work done with fewer people. Resorts, like other businesses, are following this strategy, too.
Age diversity complicates the process. Chances are that you have four generations working side by side at your area, each with different values, social norms, experiences and expectations. Your task is to manage and leverage this diversity to forge a workplace culture that maximizes productivity, gains a competitive edge, and generates a positive bottom line. The key to doing so is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each generation, and tap the best attributes of each.
Currently, the workforce is tilted toward older workers, especially Boomers:
Traditionalists, born before 1946, comprise 10 percent of the workforce.
Baby Boomers, born 1946-64, comprise 46 percent of the workforce.
Gen X’ers, born 1965-77, comprise 29 percent of the workforce.
Gen Y’ers, born 1978-2000, comprise 15 percent of the workforce.
But the mix is changing fast. The steady departure of huge numbers of older, experienced workers (every day 10,000 Boomers turn 55 years of age) means organizations must prepare now for a workforce that will be dominated by Gen X’ers and the much larger population of Gen Y’s.
Generations of Habits
How different are these generations? How can you meld them into a smoothly functioning, productive and profitable organization? First, understand who they are.
Traditionalists rely on their many years of experience, employ tried and true methods of getting things done, and favor established systems, policies and procedures. They want to enjoy the fruits of their labor, as they have paid their dues and climbed the ladder. As managers, their command-and-control management techniques can be a difficult fit with the new workplace culture.
Baby Boomers are idealistic, adventure seekers, self-absorbed, driven and committed to improving the world they inherited. Their right of passage into adulthood was civil rights protests, the Vietnam War, and the emergence of a counter-culture whose motto was to trust no one over 30. They defined a new center of gravity in the world, a force to be reckoned with as they took on the “establishment.” Now they are the establishment.
Generation X has been typecast as skeptical, cynical, the slackers and often disloyal job-hoppers unwilling to pay their dues. They demand immediate gratification from employers, have a “get-out-of- my-way” attitude, and want balance in their life now, not when they are 65. They grew up seeing their parents getting laid off, were often latch-key children with divorced parents, and therefore are unwilling to sacrifice family time for a job. X’ers form the vanguard of the free-agent workforce. They are comfortable with technology, which has kept them on the cutting edge of economic growth. This is the dot.com generation.
Generation Y is the offspring of the Boomers. Self-confident and optimistic, independent and goal-oriented, Y’ers are masters of the Internet and PC. They believe education is cool, integrity is admirable, and view parents as role models. They are blunt and savvy. They are usurping “intellectual authority,” leaving parents and employers in awe (and roll their eyes when you tell them the Sasser virus was designed by an 18-year-old). They are also the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in American history.
Reinventing the Workplace
Understanding these generational qualities can help identify staffing challenges and solutions. First and foremost is to realize that traditional career paths and norms of success are largely gone. As in sports, long-term loyalty is out, free agency is in. For years, Boomers have shaken their heads when interviewing and hiring Gen X and Y’ers who expect their reward now, not upon retirement (“Hook me up! I want my free pass, equipment comp, food discount, ski lesson, new uniform …”). But today, everyone realizes they are free agents. They no longer count on long-term employment and security. The goal is to get what you can, when you can, for yourself and for your family.
This new short-term and transactional relationship between employer and employee has proved to be stronger, not weaker, in our recovering economy. The result? Employers and employees alike are struggling to balance long-term security with short-term needs for better job opportunities, work conditions, recognition and rewards.
As managers employ aggressive tactics to achieve high levels of productivity, every worker of every generation must become more self-sufficient, flexible and agile to remain viable to our organizations. The universal truth for all generations is to focus on results. Managers can assist in this effort. Ask all your employees what they can offer that adds value (and meaning) to the job, innovation to the workplace, and creativity in growing the business. Then listen.
The most positive contribution workers of every age can provide is the example of their strengths. For example:
- Utilize Traditionalists as role models for displaying a strong work ethic. Respect their track record of success. Value their contributions and the legacies they have built.
- Call upon Boomers to resume their youthful role as change leaders in the workplace. Encourage them to abandon their sink-or-swim management techniques, and to earn respect by demonstrating mastery of the professional knowledge that they are willing to share.
- Let the Gen X’ers teach us about balancing work and life, leveraging technology into learning opportunities, and utilizing ongoing feedback to benchmark efforts against results. Finding this balance will become one of the most important strategic initiatives for companies to attract and retain workers.
- Allow the Gen Y’s to teach us about the importance of building relationships up and down the entire organizational ladder. They know that true empowerment means taking ownership of the task at hand. Create ownership by effectively delegating roles and tasks within specific guidelines and with concrete deadlines—then allow employees flexibility in how they get things done. After all, our Gen Y employees are the masters of fun, multi-tasking, and technology. Let them teach us how to lighten up and be productive at the same time.
Preparing for a New Workforce
Just as marketers are developing new programs for the youth market, we will need to employ new management practices to prepare for a younger workforce as well. We must redesign leadership roles and develop this new generation to assume these roles. That means we must also create new paths to leadership: Get younger employees trained and up to speed faster, and then trust them in supervisory positions where they can make tangible and visible contributions to our workplace and our guests’ experiences. Teach managers how to engage and effectively communicate with employees of all ages.
The culture clash that exists in every segment of the organization highlights the need to create a new business model that is responsive to future growth and generational differences. Youth is the source of both our future growth and our future workforce. If we positively respond to the challenge in the workplace and then leverage it to our benefit, the result will be transformational.
This is the first of three articles on generational trends in the workplace. Future articles will address how to develop a workplace culture where age diversity encourages innovation and performance, ways resorts can prepare and develop Gen X’ers and Y’ers for leadership positions, and how to develop your current managers into hands-on “performance coaches” who can build committed and cohesive multi-generational teams.
