The Source for Communicators

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November 1st, 2007 Engaging a four-generation workforce

In her presentation at Melcrum's Comms Canada 2007 conference in Toronto this November, keynote speaker Adwoa Buahene of n-Gen People Performance, will share critical success factors for engaging a four-generation workforce.

Buahene summarizes the four generations as Traditionalists (age 62 to 85), Baby Boomers (age 43 to 61), Generation X (age 27 to 42) and Generation Y (age 16 to 26).

"Each of them have very distinct identities and behaviors that impact workplace performance" says Buahene. "You need to take their behavior and expectations into account if you truly want to engage your workforce."

Buahene shares her thoughts on how best to do this in an interview for the latest Melcrum podcast:

Key messages
Each generation has different goals, says Buahene. Traditionalists, for example, respond to values such as loyalty, stability, dedication, honor and sacrifice. "You have to understand what are the key messages that each generation really responds to, what's the frequency and by which medium are you best going to be able to reach each generation?"

One strategy
"You don't create four different communication strategies," says Buahene. "But within your one communication strategy you ensure that the messages you weave and craft will really tap into each of the four generations. Have an awareness and understanding of what motivates and drives them. Then as you're crafting your key messages, include words and phrases that are going to be able to do that."

Communicating change
"If we're communicating changes at an organization level we need to take into account how for traditionalists those changes may seem threatening. So how will their knowledge and expertise continue to be valued? For your Generation Ys, who are quite open and expect change all the time, we sometimes need to communicate with them why a change isn't going to happen."

Coaching managers
"Managers also need to recognize the impact of communication and assess the impact for different generations. The ability to draw in all generations is critical to success."

Download the program to find out more about Buahene's presentation at Comms Canada this month, or listen to the full interview on the latest Melcrum podcast.

See you next week.

Mandy Thatcher
Editor
mandy.thatcher@melcrum.com