Things I learned from going to a workshop on Employer Provided Training, Generational Differences and the consequences of “bad parenting” (But first the disclaimer: Generations are large numbers of people.) IKR.
· To a very real extent, Millennials get a bad rap because they are the youngest of the workplace generations. (The Traditional Generation thought the Baby Boomers were a bunch of long-haired hippies.)
· By 2020, Millennials will represent 47% of the workforce and by 2030 they will make up 75% of the workforce. (Do I really see some of you shaking your head in despair?)
· Those wonderful survey-givers propose that 87% of Supervisors and Managers have never received any training in supervisory skills. (I’m pretty sure I’ve shared my experience with a business owner who said he hadn’t invested in training his Managers because they might leave the company. I couldn’t help pointing out that if he persisted in this practice that they might stay.)
· Another factoid I wasn’t aware of is that the Gen X’ers (born between 1965 and 1981) is the smallest generation in size…due to the introduction of the birth control pill.
· The Gen X’ers, at large, tend to consider themselves self-sufficient because they grew up largely unsupervised (the early two-working parent household generation, (which has tended to make them not great delegators, because they can do it faster and “right” if they do it themselves.
So, where does the “parenting stuff” come in? Well, millennials have been parented by Baby Boomers and X’ers who supported “participation ribbons”, and attended meetings with their child’s professor if they got a low grade. I was blown away at a graduate school professor who shared a 7 yr. survey of his students and found that the majority had received their first W-2 in their 20’s.
What does this lead up to? To my ear, the message is loud and clear…the Employer sector is going to be where things like the “meaning of Quality”, and that “behaviors have consequences” are learned. It also means that Supervisors will, of necessity, be better served to take on the role of “Coach” versus “Judge”.
But, as I internalize this “new stuff”, I am also of the opinion that Business Owners, Managers and Supervisors cannot want for the employee to be successful more than the employee wants it.
Regardless of the generation, good communication and genuine, mutual respect is at the base of win-win outcomes.