DEI is increasingly becoming a big part of the hiring strategy in organisations, making a once homogenous workplace, more diverse. “While companies have recently renewed their diversity efforts, only 8% of organisations include age as part of their DEI strategy.” Most companies focus more on gender and racial diversity, and rightfully so. However, due to this, age diversity gets overlooked. This article will highlight the potential benefits and challenges of working in a multigenerational workforce.
Benefits:
- Experience - The depth of experience and knowledge that senior professionals like retirees can bring to the table is unparalleled. They have honed their critical thinking skills over the years, which aid in thoughtful decision making among other things.
- Knowledge Sharing and Skill Transfer - A multigenerational workforce ensures that people in the team learn from each other’s experiences and grow together. Senior, retired professionals can provide mentoring for the younger generations, and the younger generations can reverse mentor them by keeping them updated on the latest news and trends.
- Higher Motivation - “A Journal of Applied Psychology study showed that being a part of a mixed-aged workplace group increased motivation for older and younger colleagues and their intent to stay with the organisation.” The inclusive work environment makes them feel more seen and cherished and creates a stronger company culture. This leads to higher morale and employee retention.
- Different Perspectives - The different perspectives of the team provide for creative and out-of-the-box solutions to problems. The workplace becomes more innovative and dynamic.
- Enhanced Talent Pipeline - All the advantages of a multigenerational workforce mentioned above make organisations more appealing to a wider range of people. This gives companies an edge in hiring and retaining top talent.
Challenges:
- Communication Barriers: The style of communication might be different for different generations. This requires managers to adapt to individuals in order to avoid conflicts in the team.
- Management Challenges: It can be tricky for managers to understand and manage expectations for the different generations. This requires them to identify pain points and encourage and motivate their team.
Conclusion
As can be seen in this article, the advantages of having a multigenerational workforce far outweigh the disadvantages. It doesn’t only add to the experience and expertise of the team but also aids in mentoring, cross-generational exchanges and learning, higher creative quotient, and better decision-making, to just name a few advantages.
The disadvantages mentioned can be resolved by having open channels of communication, which will aid employers in managing their workforce well and will reduce the possibility of misunderstandings occurring.
A fair addition to this workforce would be retirees, who have taken a step back from formal work but are as active and motivated to be meaningfully engaged. This treasure trove of talent can be found on a technology-enabled platform called WisdomCircle. It is the best job portal in India which helps organisations to hire retired professionals for a more dynamic and multigenerational workforce.
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