For the first time in history, there are five generations active in the workforce. Smart and forward-thinking companies are benefiting from a new kind of diversity, Age Diversity. While Age Diversity can bring a lot of unique viewpoints and management styles to your organization, it can also present a host of challenges especially around management, motivation, and communications. I will talk about generational management and communications preferences in a future post. For this post, I want to focus on the types of benefits each generation prefers. It is important that you take these preferences into consideration when creating benefits packages that meet your “Age Diverse” team’s wants and needs.
I will talk about generational management and communications preferences in a future post. For this post, I want to focus on the types of benefits each generation prefers. It is important that you take these preferences into consideration when recruiting, managing and creating benefits packages to meet your “Age Diverse” team’s wants and needs.I mentioned that there are five current generations in the workforce today. We will leave the Silent Generation out and focus on the younger four generations as they occupy the majority of the workforce today. Today’s post will provide a little insight Baby Boomers in the workplace and how you can use the right benefits to keep your Boomer employees loyal, passionate and engaged. We will focus on Generation X tomorrow so today; it is all about the Boomers.
BABY BOOMERS-The Third Largest with 44.6 Million in the Labor Force.
Baby Boomers are known for their extreme loyalty to their employers. They understand the hierarchy and strive to climb the company ladder to get to the next level. They are all about punching the time-clock and believe work hours equals productivity. They tend to expect individuals they manage to work autonomously and work hard as they do. Thus, they tend to be less comfortable in today’s collaborative work environments which tend to treat all levels of employees as equals when it comes to providing input and feedback.
They have been working a long time, and they expect to be rewarded for their experience with excellent benefits. Most Boomers are in the later stages of their careers, so saving for retirement is their primary need. Even the youngest Baby Boomers have crossed fifty years of age, so health is becoming a concern. The more health benefits you can provide Boomers, the better.
Leveraging your Boomer employee’s experiences is important. While they may not be the most tech-savvy, they can be great leadership role models for younger employees, especially Millennials. Most established companies have a good number of Baby Boomers in leadership positions, and they are nearing retirement. It is critical that your organization has a clear succession plan. Since many Millennials lack management skills, pairing them with experience Boomer leaders is ideal for both the employees and the company.
Lastly, salary is still paramount to Boomers. This generation tends to be more traditional, so they still respond well to compensation enhancement opportunities like holiday bonuses, raises and incentives based on performance.
As more members of Gen Z enter the workforce and more Millennials and Gen X’ers move into management roles, your business will need to recognize the complementary strengths of young and old generations. Bridging the generations at work and helping each learn from each other is a must if you expect to continue to attract and retain the best people.