Engaging the Five Generations in the Workforce: The Traditionalists

The business environment is constantly evolving. With each passing year, business leaders must be able to adapt to change in order to maintain relevancy in their fields. One change that impacts all aspects of business, however, isn’t from an outside source, but rather from an inside development.

This change that affects all organizations is generational change.

Currently, there are five generations in the workplace. That’s five different groups with five different ways of communicating. Five different views on work-life balance, and five completely different tactics needed for retention and engagement.

On top of that, the workforce is becoming younger each year. According to a recent Pew Research study, more than one in three workers are Millennials, and in 2015, this group surpassed Generation X as the largest age group in the workforce. Businesses and leaders need to adapt to be able to engage these five generations.

In the coming weeks, we’ll take a look at the changing workplace and the faces of each generation that makes up today’s workforce. We’ll begin with the oldest generation, the Traditionalists.

Key takeaways
This group is defined by their strong values of honor, hard work, and respect for authority. They excel at their jobs because of duty and loyalty to the company. Traditionalists favor top-down management, stability, and detail-oriented processes. They’re uncomfortable with change and conflict, and appreciate face-to-face communication. This group is driven by loyalty. Don’t use slang with Traditionalists, and be punctual, show respect, be courteous, honor the chain of command, and be accountable for your actions.

Faces of Change
As the workplace evolves, leaders need to evolve with it. It’s critical to understand each generation’s wants, needs, and expectations and how organizations engage with each group. The five different generations all bring their own challenges, but also offer incredible skills that will assist in the overall success of your business.

To help address this challenge, Express Employment Professionals developed the Faces of Change training program that is intended to shed light on the different generations and a few best practices to manage them. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com.

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