By 2020, Millennials will be approximately 50 percent of the U.S. workforce, and by 2030, 75 percent of the global workforce. (Source: Forbes study)
I am sure you’ve seen some of the recent studies, highlighting how millennials will be a major part of the workforce going into 2020 and beyond. A Forbes study, highlights that Millennials will be 50% of he US workforce by 2020!
This creates a great challenge for leaders who are faced with managing a workforce across multiple generations namely, Millennials, Gen X (aged 35–49), and Baby Boomers (aged 50–60). At IBM, we see the importance of understanding the preferences and behavioral patterns of each of these segments.
Today, I will share a few of the datapoints from this study from IBM’s Institute of Business Value that was released today! Its a multigenerational study of 1,700+ employees from organizations across 12 countries and 6 industries
Here’s a few of our findings and actions for leaders in managing this multigenerational workforce:
One surprising finding is that Millennials want many of the same things their older colleagues do. While there are some distinctions among the generations, Millennials’ attitudes are not poles apart from other employees
50%+ of Millennials are accessing their personal social networks for professional reasons less frequently than Gen X employees.
While this finding may not be a surprise, we did find that Gen Xers use social networks more frequently (60%+) to communicate with colleagues, get industry information, and promote their companies products / services. Given today’s escalating concerns about privacy and security, it’s imperative for senior leaders managing a cross generational workforce to publish social computing guidelines and ensure all employees receive direction about what can and cannot be shared externally
3 Actions for Senior leaders managing a cross generational workforce – How to get started
1. Focus on the individual (employee)
2. Foster a collaborative culture
3. Make customer experience a priority
More coming!!!
