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Remember when it was revolutionary to wear jeans to work? Remember when it was innovative to have a flexible work schedule so you could go to your son’s baseball games? Remember when it was extremely left-wing when employees were put in charge of their own schedules? Remember when it was completely irrational to have an employee work from home? Remember when it was almost impossible to allow employees to see company financial information because it was normally only shared with top management? Remember when it was a big thing to have a virtual team? Those are questions that shaped yesterday’s workforce. To remain competitive, there is a new set of questions to answer.

The questions of tomorrow are partially influenced by the fact that for the first time in 100 years, there are four generations in the workforce. With an aging population leaving a gap in leadership, succession planning is epidemic in nature. There is more software driving decisions, connecting people, and changing the way work is done. The latest estimate is that there is 10 times the software in the workforce than even two years ago. Facebook (www.facebook.com) has become a common social networking expectation for some. There is an ever present drive to go global for everyone, not just the big corporations. Individuals can go global because of the flattening of the world. The growing new American population needs to find work and have their skill set developed. There are more women in the workforce than men. So as the complexity continues to build, how does a business owner create a workforce that is inspired, engaged, and highly productive? Is it even possible? Can you reach for the moon on this one?

Companies everywhere are adjusting to the new work environment. For example, the city of New York has developed a generations training program to help create awareness among it employees on the differences and similarities of fellow employees in the workforce. One company invited employees’ parents to its new employee orientation. The reason was that the 18 to 24-year-olds have a larger dependence on their parents than preceding generations. This generation also lives at home longer, so there may be another incentive for parents to be ultra involved in their job search. Another company utilized Facebook as its primary means of connecting virtual employees. The added benefit is that they had access to non-employees listed on individuals’ Facebook sites. Their pool of knowledge just expanded without the burden of payroll.

In addition to these examples, here are a few suggestions that business owners can consider as they pave the way for their future to engage and inspire their workforce:

Appreciate Similarities and Differences With the Four Generations
Recent research by The Robertson Company and pMcGee & Co. found that all generations predominately shared the same top five desires for their workplace; however, they had a different order of priority. Appreciating each other requires a paradigm shift and expectation that not everyone should work the way we do. “Shoulding” others should stop in the workplace. 

Create a Respectful Work Environment
From the same research, the number one workforce expectation was to be respected. Focus groups were conducted to dig deeper into what “being respected” meant. Believing that most people don’t intentionally go to work with the motive of being disrespectful, the research indicated that disrespect came from having a double standard, having prejudices against each other, not respecting and valuing opinions from all age groups, and requiring people too great a workload. An example of having a double standard was when a manager told younger new employees that they had to earn respect, but then didn’t send the same message to older new employees. An example of prejudices is best seen when viewing popular media about the younger generation. They have them plagued as the “lazy” generation. They appear to be all pierced and “Ipod’d.” It is also a deep-seated prejudice that the “older” generation is non-technical. They are seen in pictures with their clipboards, outdated cell phones, and leather-bound date planners. Neither situation is entirely true. Prejudices run deep and wide. The most exasperated layer of disrespect is creating a work environment where everyone continually does “more with less.”

Redefine Team
Another key aspect of the workforce research was that different generations have different perceptions about team. The baby boomer era used teams as their social network. They invented the company softball team; they enjoyed company retreats. The majority of their social life came from their work life. The younger generation defines teams by the projects they work on. They connect with many teams based on their situation. One individual, when asked what she thought of her team, replied, “Which one? I am on 21 different teams.” They want teams to be a tool to get work done more quickly so they can move on to their next thing. Teams and team building need to take on a different focus and dimension.

Rethink Work Schedule
One of the most challenging aspects in the workforce is there are two huge groups of employees demanding a less than traditional schedule. This is beyond flexible scheduling – that was an assumption similar to an employee having a phone and a computer. The scheduling challenge is figuring out a more results-based culture that focused less on who was where, when and how much office time, client time, or E-mail time an employee had. For example, there may be an opportunity to tap into the almost retired work group. They may demand a work schedule that is “six months on and six months off.”  A business owner may be saying, “That will never work with my business.” Remember, there were also some preliminary predictions that virtual teams would never work.

Engage and Inspire
There was a constant expectation from all ages to be included, engaged, and inspired. There was some unconventional thinking that businesses need to reverse. The thinking went like this – “when times are tough, companies dump employees (aka layoff, downsize).” In reverse thinking, employees have adopted that same thought pattern – “when times are tough, I dump you.” Creating an engaging and inspiring work environment does not have to be difficult, lofty, or programmatic. It’s about the little things a company does. Do they trust their employees or run them through the policy mill? Do they include them in discussions about the big picture of the company? Do they give them the tools to win in their job? Do they support them when they fail? Do they encourage personal fulfillment even if it doesn’t directly relate to the job?

Conduct Company Surveys
Staying on top of the workforce climate takes diligence, open mindedness, and follow through. Most companies wouldn’t dream of NOT surveying their customers. The same philosophy holds true about surveying your employees. There may be a belief that you have an open door policy and your employees talk to you. That is wonderful in the anecdotal sense. But there is some greater level of learning that occurs when a company routinely assesses their employees for what is working and what is not. The systemic approach allows the business to notice trends and patterns. It also creates a more objective approach to solving company problems. It certainly avoids the “squeaky wheel” syndrome.

Although the way has yet to be fully paved, there are a number of things you can do today to enhance your company’s ability to attract and retain the best employees. We are overworked, underfed, and “on” 24/7. Yet done correctly, you can expect more, maximize productivity, and improve loyalty in your workplace across all generations.

About the Author

Pam McGee has been speaking publicly and consulting for over 15 years. She has delivered speeches, executive coaching and business consulting in over 22 countries for companies ranging in size from 10 people to 100's. Through her engaging and authentic discussions, she challenges her audiences to new thought processes, business trends, and people impact opportunities. Pam is a Business Consultant and principle of McGee & Co. that helps businesses with strategic planning, change management, leadership development and creating innovative environments. Pam is a member of the faculty at Minnesota State University - Moorhead where she teaches project management and leadership skills. Prior to forming her consulting firm, she worked for Microsoft in leadership development roles, business management roles, and organizational consulting roles. In her eight years at Microsoft, she was consistently praised for her ability to coach senior managers on a variety of business topics ranging from business and industry trends to personal leadership. Through these challenging times, Pam's main goal was always to keep these leaders working toward being great leaders and strategic thinkers. Most recently, she worked with the Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Marketing in the role of Business Manager. This role involved working side-by-side to manage the business management processes, global marketing activities, and all forms of communication for the Vice President. Prior to Pam's time at Microsoft, she assisted in the operation of - a trucking firm and a restaurant venture - as well worked for a Fortune 100 company as a sales manager. Pam has also been an Assistant Professor for the North Dakota University System. She lives in Fargo, ND with her husband, Scott and their two children, Isaac and Erika. Pam Mcgee Leadership Consultant