Bridging the Gap in Multigenerational Communication

Our accountant pointed out an interesting bit of data related to our recent company phone bill: the youngest team member spent approximately 22 minutes on calls, and texted 1285 times, while the oldest team member spent approximately 366 minutes on phone calls, and texted only 18 times. Age wise, the employees in the middle had about a 50/50 mix of phone calls and text messages. We concluded that our phone bill proved that we’re probably a great example of the changes going on in how we communicate today. What’s exciting is that, although older generations think the younger generations are destroying the written English language, this argument has been heard for hundreds of years. Each new generation challenges the previous generation with significant changes to the language . . . IMHO.

A quick review of current articles on the topic of cross-generational communication is full of detail about the differences between how we communicate in today’s multigenerational office. You’ve heard this before, but succinctly:

• Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1964: This generation at work is seen as hard working, committed, goal oriented, loyal and motivated by rank/title. They have paid their dues to achieve their status and expect others to do the same. They are a generation of communicators and relationship builders. They are also sticklers for using written and spoken English grammar correctly . . . as defined by their English teachers.
• Generation X: Born between 1965 and 1980: This generation was the first to be raised in homes where both parents worked, or were raised by a single parent. They had tremendous autonomy as children, and see themselves as equals to parents, teachers and bosses. As a generation, they are independent, resilient and adaptable. They were the first generation to see organizations default on their loyalty to employees, witnessing the mass layoffs and reorganizations during the 80s. As such, they are committed to their work, wherever it may be, but see less benefit in a long-term commitment to a company. As communicators, they like to work autonomously. Conference calls, Email, video, and Web conferencing are preferred over face-to-face meetings.
• Millennials or Generation Y: Born between 1981 and 1994: This generation is the most educated and culturally diverse group in the workforce today. They are motivated by meaningful work and want to feel inclusive within their teams and organizations. Recognition is high on their list of motivators. They are driven by causes and community service. For them, work/life balance is critical and often the career determinant. They are the most tech savvy in the workplace, seeing the need to accomplish the work, but not necessarily on-site. The recent determination by Marissa Mayer to require Yahoo employees to complete their work on-site is a very public example of the collision between Millennials’ communication/working styles and preferences and a more traditional view of the workplace . . . you’ve got to be here to be considered working.

Briefly, that’s what the research says about the generations in the workplace today . . . along with volumes of advice about how leaders should be communicating differently with each employee, based on their generational classification. While in general, the advice is good, it’s certainly not a one-size fits all solution. Leaders would be shortchanging their ability to build solid relationships with employees by trying to communicate with them based on their generational preferences. So I’m going to stick with our long-standing premise: Great leaders treat people the way they want to be treated. Classifying people by their generational distinctions and communicating with them differently, based on their perceived communication likes/dislikes discounts the employee and shortchanges the leader’s ability to build strong, effective working relationships with team members.

What follows are some ideas on how to enhance communication throughout today’s workplace, regardless of generation.

1. Know your employees: Effective leadership is all about building relationships. You can’t build relationships without knowing your team members. Even if you’re always pressed for time, making time for conversations with your employees is critical. Saying that you have an open door policy is one thing, but truly welcoming team members into your office with their ideas, complaints, suggestions, and actively listening to them is the real test of leadership. Encouraging employee input, taking action based on their input and recognizing contributions all indirectly convey that you intend to be a good communicator.
2. Keep your employees informed: It doesn’t matter which generation you’re in, we all want to be in the know. No one likes surprises. Take time to keep your employees informed about what’s happening within your team and the organization. The more informed people feel, the more included they feel and the better they feel about their association with your team or organization. When you don’t have the answer or are unsure of the reason for a particular decision, be honest with your employees and do whatever you can to get more information to them as soon as possible. Because there has been so much discussion about how the generations like to receive communication, if you mix up the way you communicate you should meet everyone’s communication needs. Sometimes face-to-face delivery will be best. Other times, email will work just fine. A great strategy is to keep your office door open for anyone who has questions.
3. Encourage employees to share information: Great leaders know that everyone should be involved in improving communication. If your employees rely solely on you to keep them informed, you’ll quickly become overwhelmed and the employees won’t get all that they need to do a quality job. Let your staff know that you expect them to share information on a regular basis. Actively involve others in giving updates and sharing other relevant information. When employees do a good job of sharing important information, make sure you recognize them.
4. Use a variety of tools to disseminate information: Face-to-face communication is so important, but that might not always be an option. In this case, be creative. Understand that different team members will have different preferences for receiving information. To the best of your ability, try to meet their needs. The list of communication options is endless but here are a few to start with:
   • Email
   • Text
   • Go to Meeting format
   • Video or teleconferencing
   • Departmental bulletin board
   • Organizational or departmental newsletter
   • Suggestion box
   • Special information-sharing meetings
5. Be Responsive: Not responding to emails squashes communication and reduces morale. The sender doesn’t know you haven’t received it, or if you just haven’t taken action yet. Whatever the reason for the non-response, the employee interprets your non-response negatively. A general rule of thumb is to get back to people within a maximum of 24 hours. A better rule of thumb for some would be to get back within four hours. (I’m finding today that people have a much shorter expectation for a return to their message – regardless of their generation.) When someone sends you an email or leaves a phone message, get back as soon as you can to let that person know what you are doing about the concern. Even if you cannot respond with a complete answer or solution right away, you can let them know that you are working on it and that you will get back ASAP. Then, do what you said you would do. No excuses.
6. Mentor: This may be a strange recommendation to improve communication, but mentoring clearly conveys that you care about the team member. The world of work is ever evolving, and sometimes team members don’t have an understanding of the organizational politics and nuances. Taking time to mentor the employee about the proper way to address senior leaders, project confidence in a meeting, sell their ideas, dress appropriately when working with a client or company email etiquette will help them be seen more positively and better reach their full potential. On the same topic, reverse mentoring can also improve communication with tech savvy Millennials and Gen Xers helping Boomers with their smart phones and other technologies. Mentoring works both ways, builds workplace relationships and improves communication.

Don’t we live in interesting times? Each generation in the workplace brings a unique set of talents and challenges. However, at the end of the day, we all have to figure out how to communicate with one another in a way that brings out the best in each of us. Having a them against us mentality won’t help anyone achieve their professional objectives. Thinking that the older generation is going to teach the younger communication how to communicate alienates people and discourages open-communication. Instead, having an understanding about generational communication preferences and communicating with people the way they want to be communicated with, will help everyone improve overall efficiency and productivity. And*, better yet, create a great place to work . . . a place where everyone feels respected, valued, recognized and included.

*I know it’s not proper English to start a sentence with And, but these times are changing. LOL.