There was a time not too long ago when workplaces for the most part consisted of two age groups, Baby Boomers (born between 1945 and 1964) and Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980).
When the two groups clashed, it was often because Gen X workers thought that the Boomers used outdated business models that stifled revenue generation. Conversely, Boomers believed that their counterparts were young, naïve and prone to mistakes that hampered cash flow.
In other instances, the generation gap helped boost productivity. Boomers shared their thoughts behind marketing, budgeting and operations, backed by years of experience, while younger staff shared how their generation differed in approach to shopping patterns and promotions.
Through respectful and positive interactions, these groups can pool their knowledge, resulting in a combination of new innovations, tweaks to traditional strategies and, ultimately, an improved and more profitable business.
Today more than ever, bridging the generation gap in a business is especially critical. There are now several generations working for stores, companies and corporations. The Boomers and Gen X have been joined by Millennials, also known as Generation Y (born from 1981 to 1996) and Generation Z, also characterized as Zoomers (born from 1997 to 2012).
There are substantial benefits to running a workplace with all of these groups collaborating rather than viewing one another with skeptical eyes. Together, the generations form a workforce with 50 years of singular and shared experiences, and precise knowledge of the shopping, eating, cultural and myriad other habits of their respective generations. A plethora of ages pooling their talent and creativity create a tremendous opportunity to send a business’ sales into orbit.
Business owners should encourage such collaboration, which create vibrant staff that is enthusiastic about joining forces on projects and helping one another with everyday tasks. A great strategy that managers could use to converge their staff is ensuring that project teams span the gamut. There is so much to be learned by every side that can assist growing a business.
For instance, consider social media and other platforms. Boomer and Gen X workers may prefer traditional company websites, Facebook and email as a means of communicating with customers, vendors and other clients. Millennials and Gen Z staff, who were raised on Twitter (now X), Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, lean toward these faster-paced, at times hyper-rapid speed means of connecting with consumers.
While there is overlap, each generation is especially familiar with the language, thought process and top social concerns of their own age range, including environmental awareness and sustainability, finances – from being frugal to having a good amount of disposable income to purchase goods. Even holiday shopping is influenced by generations.
By expressing a company’s language in phrases and terms used by the people they know best, a multi-generational approach gives businesses significant credibility in marketing campaigns.
Now that we have cracked the surface of how multi-generational kinship is vital to a business’ success, we’ll focus on a specific example in the article, “How a Multigenerational Workplace Can Benefit Businesses.”