Month: May 2020

Companies today face an ever-changing business climate and growing competition from all over the world. With that comes increasing pressure to accommodate and counter those challenges. The lines between work and life have become blurred. Companies are only as productive as their people — and their people are coping with strenuous demands. Hence the need for a new C-suite role: the chief well-being officer.

The CWO is charged with restoring balance between professional and personal lives and employees’ needs and strengths. Ultimately, their goal is to increase employee engagement. The CWO must be designated and empowered to help with every employee’s well-being efforts on behalf of the organization. Companies typically only focus on professional training and development when financials allow for it. The CWO role requires appropriate funding and staff, and a mandate to implement a robust agenda that will drive the program and allow the CWO authority to significantly influence company culture. The CWO needs a seat at the table alongside their fellow executive leadership team, who must all embrace this role as a critical driving force for their organization’s future success.

The CWO serves as a strategist and change agent who drives cultural transformation. That transformation involves a broad, holistic approach to wellness, including mind, body and career. Deloitte & Touche recently hired CWO Jen Fisher, who launched a mental health program within the company.

Helping employees keep their households intact is also important. By providing financial planning support, you can help employees better understand their finances so they can spend less time worrying about their personal financial standing. Programs like these help drive engagement and support people in all aspects of well-being so they can be their best selves at work and at home.

People are increasingly looking for balance in their lives, which doesn’t necessarily mean working less (or less hard). They want to know that as their employer, you are just as invested in them as they are in you. Companies need to embrace the overall health of their employees as a top priority considering that they are the ones performing the work, and the ones who have to be focused and on the front lines every day. It’s in everyone’s best interest for them to engage and thrive.

The days of simply offering a gym membership are over — that’s not going to keep you competitive as you try to win talent. According to Jim Harter, Ph.D., Gallup’s chief scientist of employee engagement and well-being, engagement can be a key indicator of company performance in a struggling economy. In a recession, Harter says, disengaged workers are just “waiting around to see what happens.” But engaged workers try to make a difference and are more productive.

Employee well-being is top of mind in countries around the world. Sanna Marin, the young, newly appointed prime minister of Finland, has in the past proposed a four-day workweek and a six-hour workday in a bid to transition the country to what she called “the next step for us in working life.” And last November, Microsoft Japan revealed that its four-day workweek trial boosted productivity by 40%.

Research by Gallup once indicated that a focus on five elements of well-being — career, social, financial, physical and community — allows people to thrive in their lives. Gallup has also indicated that only 34% of American workers are engaged in their jobs. Clearly, employers have a lot to do to unlock the full potential of their workforce. As noted by the Society for Human Resource Management, Caterpillar, the construction-equipment maker, saw nearly $9 million in annual savings that resulted from efforts to increase employee engagement.

Maybe this is the decade that will bring the four-day workweek to the United States, allowing people to be more engaged, happy and healthy. Small or large, the impact of a well-being officer on your workforce will reap rewards far beyond what you might anticipate.

This article originally appeared in the Denver Business Journal. It was written by Debra Young, Managing Partner of Sheer Velocity and Ad Capita’s international partner in USA.

The New Challenge 

A core challenge over the next decade will be to attract and retain a skilled workforce as the labor market continues to tighten, technology continues to evolve, and fewer foreign students immigrate to Britain in the wake of a politically challenging environment.

This situation is exacerbated as companies find themselves managing four generations of workers:

• • Baby Boomers (Born between 1946 and 1964) 
• • Generation Xers (Born between 1965 and 1980) 
• • Generation Ys or Millennials (born after 1980) 
• • Generation Z (and were born between 1995 and 2015) 

The number of Millennial and Gen Z employees is expected to surpass Baby Boomers (individuals in their late 50s and older) by the end of 2019 and they will comprise nearly half of the total working population by 2020. 

Today, you never know what generations will be represented in any room you step into—every meeting with clients, new customers or colleagues; every networking event; every recruiting or interview conversation—could include people up to six decades apart in age and work experience. 

Each group has its own distinct characteristics, values, and attitudes toward work, based on its generation’s life experiences. To successfully integrate these diverse generations into the workplace, companies will need to embrace radical changes in recruitment, benefits, and creating a corporate culture that actively demonstrates respect and inclusion for its multigenerational work force. 

The Modern Workforce 

Let’s take a look at each generation individually: 

Baby Boomers. Boomers are the first generation to actively declare a higher priority for work over personal life. They generally distrust authority and large systems. Their values were shaped primarily by a rise in civil rights activism. They are more optimistic and open to change than the prior generation, but they are also responsible for the “Me Generation,” with its pursuit of personal gratification, which often shows up as a sense of entitlement in today’s workforce.

The term “baby boomers” emerged in the US to describe the group of the population born between the end of the second world war and the early 1960s, there has been less consensus in the UK as to who the baby boomers are. # 

Generation Xers. Generation Xers are often considered the “slacker” generation. They naturally question authority figures and are responsible for creating the work/life balance concept. Born in a time of declining population growth, this generation of workers possesses strong technical skills and is more independent than the prior generations. Because Gen Xers place a lower priority on work, many company leaders from the Baby Boomer generation assume these workers are not as dedicated; however, Gen Xers are willing to develop their skill sets and take on challenges and are perceived as very adaptive to job instability in the post-downsizing environment. 

Millennials or Generation Ys. This group is the first global-centric generation, having come of age during the rapid growth of the Internet and an increase in global terrorism. They are among the most resilient in navigating change while deepening their appreciation for diversity and inclusion. With significant gains in technology and an increase in educational programming during the 1990s, the Millennials are also the most educated generation of workers today. Additionally, they represent the most team-centric generation as they have grown up at a time where parents programmed much of their lives with sports, music, and recreational activities to keep them occupied while their Boomer parents focused on work. Gen Z: This generation are true digital natives: from their youth, they have been exposed to the internet, social networks, and mobile systems. The newest generation on the block has grown up in a hyper-connected world making them globally connected but politically anxious. Unlike millennials, they’re characterized as very resourceful but they both share the same goal of wanting to have an impact on the world.

How to approach the multi-generational challenge 

As these four generations continue to interact, companies can no longer assume that high pay will secure the top talent. As more Baby Boomers seek “post-retirement careers,” Gen Xers demand challenging but balanced work assignments, Millennials expect high perks in exchange for loyalty therefore, leaders must find creative ways to recruit and retain talent. 

Reenergize your compensation and benefits. Companies must approach compensation, benefits, and incentives to satisfy the needs of each generation’s unique perspectives, attitudes, and values about work. For example, as more people retire later in life, many will want a different approach to working as opposed to increased compensation. Younger people may value more flexibility in their careers, like assignments that foster new skill sets they can apply in later years. Older workers may want research assignments and paid sabbaticals during which they can engage in learning programs. Don’t assume that everyone loves your current benefits plan. Many companies now offer flexible hours, alternate work schedules, and telecommuting. Findings from IWG’s Global Business Survey found that each week, 70% of employees are working somewhere other than the office for at least one day. 

Expand your communication strategies. Most companies rely too heavily on one strategy for corporate communication. By making the same message available in multiple formats (thus increasing the number of times you communicate a message), you’ll ensure that you reach all workers. Baby Boomers may appreciate verbal communication about changes in policy or procedures, while Generation Xers and Millennials may prefer the use of e-mail, instant messages, or corporate broadcasts. 

Conduct generational information awareness/sharing sessions. A great way to get people to work together across the generations is to provide them with an opportunity to educate each other about each generation’s own history, characteristics, milestone events, culture, language, and norms. Rather than talking at your people, have representatives from each age-based generation put together programming to educate people and facilitate dialogue. 

Fostering engagement across generational lines 

Take note of new approaches to employee engagement. There has been a rise in the development of employees mobilising and creating working groups on topics that are important to them. Self-directed groups focused on diversity, including gender, race and sexuality are some of the most common ones present in organisations today. Businesses must take the time to understand the reasons these groups are forming and find ways to support them through integrating them into existing corporate structures without alienating the participants. It’s essential to create an environment where employees can bring their whole selves to work without feeling as if they must hide important parts of their identity to feel comfortable in the workplace. 

There has been a rise in the development of employees mobilising and creating working groups on topics that are important to them. Self-directed groups focused on diversity, including gender, race and sexuality are some of the most common ones present in organisations today. Businesses must take the time to understand the reasons these groups are forming and find ways to support them through integrating them into existing corporate structures without alienating the participants. It’s essential to create an environment where employees can bring their whole selves to work without feeling as if they must hide important parts of their identity to feel comfortable in the workplace.

Make mentoring a constant. As your more established and experienced workers head toward retirement, develop strategies to ensure knowledge transfer and capture organisational memory. The more structure you can lend to your mentoring program to create knowledge transfer the better. First determine younger employees’ goals and developmental needs, and then pair them with older, more experienced employees to create cross-organisational dialogue among generations. Consider various mentoring models—one-on-one sessions, group programs, senior leadership discussion panels, and a “speed mentoring” program where employees sit across from company experts to ask questions. No matter what method you choose, making mentoring a part of the employment life cycle will ensure that the company’s history and knowledge continues from one generation to the next. 

Conclusion

With the variety of multigenerational employees in today’s workplace, companies can no longer abide by traditional rules of leadership and management. Organisations can achieve real strategic advantage by embracing the diversity among generations to create a flexible work environment that values all people and keeps them productive, regardless of age. 

Train yourself and your managers to develop strong interpersonal skills to foster relationships with employees and each other. A leader’s primary responsibility is to ensure that everyone in the organisation understands that “working together” is not negotiable. Create a respectful, open and inclusive environment where workers of all ages and cultural backgrounds can share who they are without fear of being judged, “fixed,” or changed. Leaders must remain open to new ideas and provide constant feedback, working with managers and staff to shape the company’s strategic vision. They must avoid projecting their own expectations about work and remain open to different perspectives based on generational attitudes.

This article was originally posted in our International Website. It was written by Michelle Carson-Williams and Amy Speake, our INAC partners in the UK.

Red. That’s the colour of a blue moon. A phenomenon. Something that occurs infrequently. Something that takes aeons to come around.

Well, 2.7 years, actually. That’s how often you can catch a blue moon. Not so long, really. It also happens to be roughly the amount of time between now and 2023.

In the same period, by 2023, the Millennial generation will comprise way over 50% of the global workforce.

This is daunting prospect. After all, this is a generation fuelled by personal ambition and entitlement. A generation that exhibits little loyalty, other than that afforded to their beloved digital devices. A generation that is easily distracted, impatient and devoid of decision-making capability.

A generation that, in 2023, will likely be worth more than USD $6.5 billion to the global search and recruitment industry.

What if this generation were like a blue moon – clouded by misperception? Not actually blue.

Millennials: Not so different

While many argue otherwise, there is little empirical evidence to suggest that the Millennial generation (born 1980-2000) is particularly different from any other.

But, Millennials are purpose driven? On the contrary, only 30% categorise themselves as such, compared to 48% of Baby Boomers.

They’re all about positive impact? Millennials (25%) are only marginally more likely to want to make a positive impact on their organisation than Generation X (21%) or Baby Boomers (23%).

Tough to manage and disengaged? Millennials seek inspirational leadership, a clearly articulated business strategy, performance-based recognition and flexibility; but no more so than Generation X or Baby Boomers.

Millennials can’t make decisions, so how can they lead? True. Over half of Millennials feel that better business decisions are made via a consultative approach. But, two-thirds of Generation X say the same.

Okay, but they won’t stay long, will they? Well, 47% of Generation X would leave their current job for more money, compared to only 42% of Millennials.

Furthermore, most generations have looked towards the next with an element of suspicion and, at times, confusion. Certainly, Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964) accused Generation X (born 1960s-1970s) of being lazy and disaffected.

So, are Millennials as mysterious and beguiling as is typically perceived? Probably not. Any difference is more likely a factor of stage of life and the environment in which they operate, rather than anything to do with generational membership.

Nevertheless, while perceptions may often contravene reality, they are influential. If biases cloud judgement, as they do, the vast potential of the Millennial generation will go unfulfilled.

“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception”
– Aldous Huxley

Search: The Triple Challenge

What is beyond conjecture or perception is that at some point in a generational cycle, each respective generation dominates the global workforce – now is that time for Millennials. While it may be a misunderstood generation, it is one rich with opportunity.

Capitalising on the creativity, capability, knowledge and purpose of this generation is crucial to the evolution and on-going success of both the search industry and global business. After all, the strength of the market and the workplace therein depends on what the Millennial generation can accomplish.

In the United States alone, Millennials will have more than $1.4 trillion in spending power by 2020. If businesses cannot retain and engage Millennials, innovation, productivity and, ultimately, profitability will deteriorate.

Consequently, search firms face a triple challenge:not only must they support their clients in harnessing the capabilities of the Millennial generation to deliver business growth, they also need to identify methods to connect with Millennial candidates and support them to dispel popular misconceptions, all whilst targeting Millennials to support the growth of their own businesses, via social, digital and technology evolution.

“In the United States alone, Millennials will have more than $1.4 trillion in spending power by 2020.”
– Marketing to Millennials, Mintel

Cross-generational proficiencies

Business leaders place a high value on being advised by experts, particularly those able to identify, understand and engage with the best talent, locally and globally. Most leaders are striving to adapt their businesses to ever- changing demands, none more so than those posed by technical and digital evolution.

To illustrate the point it is evident that candidates with digital and technical experience were the most sought for the past couple of years. Allied to the surge of interest in topics such as artificial intelligence, robotics and digital technologies, there is little doubt that global business is in the midst of profound change. Digital evolution has never been so fast, yet will never be so slow.

While employees of all ages have embraced the technical revolution, most businesses remain tentative and slow to adapt. As digital natives, Millennials are tailor-made for the challenge. Thus, search firms have an important role to play, providing their clients with the guidance and accuracy of information they so value.

Crucial to this guidance, though, is understanding the remit; which is less about generational transition and more about the ability to combine and harness proficiencies that transcend generational clichés. The opportunity, for search firms, to dispel the misconceptions and assist their clients to leverage the capabilities of digital natives, is substantial.

Encouragingly, Millennials are an amenable audience. Not only are they the most diverse generation yet, but they are, arguably, the most open-minded. What is great news for prospective employers and search firms alike, is that 93% of Millennials are interested in hearing about job opportunities and 66% would look favourably upon the approach of a recruiter. Having established the value of the Millennial capital, businesses and their search agents face the challenge of connecting with these candidates and creating a work environment in which multi- generational talent can thrive.

Consumers of the workplace

As much as the Millennial audience may be amenable, it is also discerning. As a generation of consumers, Millennials view the workplace no differently; as such, they are ‘consumers of the workplace’. Consequently, Millennials perceive employers as vendors of a product (their business) and the job application as a consumer undertaking. Ultimately, moving job has become a major purchase decision.

This attitude is perceived by many businesses and their talent advisors to typify the entitlement that personifies the generation. Nevertheless, the need to understand an organisation’s strategy is a cross-generational trait. Indeed, IBM found that Millennials demanded a clearly articulated business strategy from their employers just as much as Baby Boomers.

More poignantly, this demand for information should be embraced. After all, the desire and ability to understand and evaluate, thus informing decision-making, are characteristics businesses crave in their employees. By appraising their prospective employer, a candidate is exhibiting the very skills that they most seek.

Therefore, search agents and their clients must consider adapting their mind-sets; not in response to a generational shift, but to adjust to a more informed society that favours open dialogue, collaboration and transparency.

“Millennials are more likely to decline freelance work in favour of full-time employment.”
– 2017 Millennial Survey, Deloitte

Fundamentally, Millennials, as much as any other generation, seek stability. They have grown up in a fickle environment, underpinned by recession and insecurity. Accordingly, they are now more likely to decline freelance work in favour of full-time employment. Consequently, a core tenet of the Millennials’ decision-making process is about establishing trust and gaining a level of surety.

“Millennials demanded a clearly articulated business strategy just as much as Baby Boomers.” 
– LinkedIn Talent

As a result, it has become pivotal for businesses to develop a multi-faceted corporate persona that not only reflects reality, but is also corroborated by employees (i.e. the review component of the consumer process). Thus, the ability to articulate a compelling and multi-dimensional story has become of paramount importance.

Character-defining traits, such as trust and transparency, are now as important as corporate credibility, career opportunity and compensation in candidates’ decision-making processes.

Interestingly, could it be that Millennials assess the social values of a business more as a means of appraising its character than satisfying their own personal desire for social empowerment?

Conjecture aside, as much as the Millennial generation will champion the assimilation of technology, the ability to build individual relationships, founded upon trust and transparency, is still the feature they most value. To that end, while the talent they engage and the practices they deploy may be evolving, the core competencies of search remain unchanged.

Interpretation is everything

The gathering momentum of this evolution is one search firms are aware of; indeed, AESC members believe that adapting to new search technologies, responding to the challenge posed by clients’ disruption through technology and retaining top talent rank among their greatest tests of the near future.

The search industry recognises that the skills and innovative nature of digital natives are no less valuable to them than they are to their clients. Nonetheless, there is a reluctance within the industry to deviate too far from traditional approaches for fear of isolating generations less amenable to change – an apprehension founded more on (mis)perception than reality.

Millennials have a significant role to play. After all, 68% of managers say that Millennials have skills earlier generations lack.
Embracing these skills to drive innovation and evolution of their own talent and digital strategies will, in turn, allow search firms to demonstrate the power and opportunity of evolution to their clients.

Indeed, there is no substitute for leading by example; to that end, it is imperative that search firms and talent advisors evolve their own businesses, both in terms of the talent they engage and the practices they deploy.

Once again, interpretation is everything. Neither Millennials nor their generational counterparts favour a technology revolution. On the contrary, while candidates and employees are adept at interacting online, all generations favour face-to-face communication. Accordingly, evolution should be led by a desire to enrich communication, personalise interaction and enhance transparency; facilitated by technology.

“All generations favour face-to- face communication.”
– IBM Research

Ultimately, the way businesses fuse the people they employ, the processes they deploy and the technologies they leverage will define the extent to which they can capitalise on the opportunities manifest in the Millennial generation.

In summary, like a blue moon, the Millennial generation is undeniably distinct from those that came before. Millennials are the first generation to grow up in a digital world; communicating and collaborating is second-nature. They have witnessed the re-invention of terrorism, political polarisation and global financial crises; instability is habitual. They are, like every other generation, products of their environment.

The truth about Millennials is distorted by (mis)perception. Only circumstantial evidence can attribute the evolutionary challenges faced by businesses to generational forces. Indeed, such rationale serves to distract from more tangible business challenges, such as career development, work-life balance, reward and purpose, which transcend generations.

Unlike a blue moon, this generation will not come around every 2.7 years. But, for the foreseeable future, Millennials will dominate the workplace, embarking on careers and ascending to leadership positions. They will thrive and they will do this alongside past and future generations, irrespective of (mis)perceptions.

Millennials may not be blue; but, as humans, they are irrefutably the same as those that preceded them and those which will succeed them. As Elspeth Reeve observed:

“It’s not that people born after 1980 are narcissists, it’s that young people are narcissists, and they get over themselves as they get older.”

An increasing number of younger managers choose temporary managerial assignments. What are they powered by? And what does this mean for the employer and the organization?

Suddenly we read about the gig economy everywhere. That more and more young people choose flexibility and freedom over permanent employment. We read about their driving forces, lifestyle and values. About the emergence of networks for digital nomads. But also, about how employers need to think about how to attract gig workers, and to give them reasonable conditions regarding insurance and pensions.

How should we think about recruiting managers? Are gig managers just a new word for interim managers, an arrangement for time-limited jobs that have been around and worked for decades? It was one of the areas of our recent conference in the INAC network. It became clear that we, across offices in the different parts of the world, share the same picture; now more and more young managers are choosing to form their own company and take temporary managerial assignments – and the development is fast.

From mainly being about senior executives bridging a vacancy or running a specific change project, and not always being completely self-elected but an opportunity towards the end of a long managerial career, we now meet more and more young executives who refuse to accept permanent employment. “If your client is looking to drive this change with full force for a year, I am interested in taking it as a limited time assignment. If they want to hire someone, I’m not the right person”.

Who are the gig managers?

Those we meet are driven by a clear mission where they can use their skills and power to deliver visible results in a short time. They get the energy out of working with change. They are curious and interested in working in different organizations and cultures. They want to feel free, engage in their own or others’ projects for periods of time, or have simply found their way to create a balance between work, family and home time.

What do they add?

After discussing with clients who have tried young gig managers, we get mixed conclusions. Several says that “they come in with energy and power and start their change mission without starting distance”. They bring new perspectives and other experiences of everything from technical solutions to work procedures and methods.

Some say that “they become like a management consultant on the inside, they are part of the organization the time they are here”. Since they do not already have relationships and loyalties in the organization, they experience great freedom of movement internally; they can tear apart invisible structures and bridge old barriers. We also hear that “they make clear demands on their employees and they make people talk to each other and move forward”.

And the downside?

Lack of continuity and long-term view is – not surprisingly – what first comes up in our conversations. They do not have the time to create an overall picture of the business and the organization and they do not have the prerequisites to foresee the consequences of their actions. A common reflection is that “what gives a positive effect in the short term may have downsides that need to be taken care of later – when they are long gone”.

Our clients also agree on the downside from the employees’ perspective. They are energized and challenged by their gig manager, but they lack a manager with longer perspectives on their development and they lack the sense of security and belonging that comes with a longer working relationship with their manager.

“Certainly a gig manager, but not several in a row!”