MILLENNIALS, GEN-X, GEN-Y, AND BOOMERS, OH MY! MANAGING MULTIPLE GENERATIONS IN THE LIBRARY
Colleen S. Harris
Creating cohesive teams and committees that capitalize on the strengths of the age diversity in libraries is both challenging and essential to the long-term success of the library and institution as a whole. Today’s libraries have as many as four generations working within them, each with their own unique work styles and worldviews: veterans, baby boomers, Gen-X, and Gen-Y, or Millennials. Knowing the characteristics of each generation brings some insight into the best ways to manage multiple generations in your unit to create dynamic synergies, learning opportunities, and team-building activities and to ensure effective project completion.
TYPECASTING THE GENERATIONS
Individuals inevitably deviate from wide generalizations, but there are characteristic work styles for each generations. Knowing these descriptions, broad as they may be, can help you manage your staff more effectively.
Veterans (b. 1900–1945). As a group, veteran workers generally enjoy structure, abide by the rules, and are most comfortable with conformity and a top-down management style. Largely motivated by verbal or written recognition, awards, and public acknowledgment of success, they are considered the most “loyal” and least likely to switch jobs of the various generations. Veteran workers are also the most likely to prefer to be an expert in their job function rather than a “jack of all trades.”
Baby Boomers (b. 1946–1964). Known to work until they drop, the boomer generation outnumbers all other generations. Master networkers, they value relationships over most other work-related values, and instead of vague recognition they prefer status symbols such as titles, raises, and other tangible benefits as rewards for a job well done.
Generation X (b. 1965–1979), Gen-Xers are known to be computer-savvy, skeptical of authority, and strongly preferring work/life balance in their careers. Opportunities to learn and grow are essential for Gen-Xers to be happy in the workplace, and they are likely to leave any work environment that fails to provide those challenges. This generation prefers autonomy in their work to a greater degree than previous generations.
Generation Y/Millennials (b. 1980–1999). The Millennials came of age during a time of technological sophistication and economic turmoil. They exhibit the greatest need to feel that they are contributing to the good of the world with their work. They want personal connections at work and for their managers to value them as individuals in addition to valuing the product of their work.
KNOW YOUR STAFF
Knowing your staff members’ preferred working styles not only helps you decide where to deploy them most effectively for productivity but gives you an idea of what skill-building resources you should be offering to keep them engaged and learning. Remember that memo you got from library administration about the recent licensing of self-paced software training? You might want to highlight that opportunity for your staff. Expect to hear interest from your Gen-Xers, who are known to want additional challenges. Do you know which of your staff prefer private acknowledgment of their successes and which would be touched by a thank-you card or official memo? Knowing what motivates your staff helps keep them happy. This means you have to take the time to step out from behind the desk and get to know your staff as people.
FOSTER COLLABORATION
Make sure you are not allowing your staff to segregate by age group, since this reduces the advantages of a lot of synergy. Foster collaboration by consciously building teams to foster collaboration and opportunity for your staff. Your veterans will bring their expertise to the table and be consulted on library functions and processes, boomers can satisfy their need for status by being tapped as team or project leaders, Gen-Xers can broaden their skill sets by serving on several different teams, and Millennials will likely be most interested in the projects and teams they deem most valuable. If you can balance the work that needs to get done with work people truly enjoy, the entire organization benefits.
PEER TRAINING
Don’t forget that peer training allows your library to take advantage of staff expertise at any age. An additional benefit of peer-to-peer training is that staff members from different age groups learn how to interact, accommodate, and capitalize on their coworkers’ skill sets. Acknowledging the strengths of your staff—which often fall along generational lines—provides you a strategic edge in strategic planning and team building. This means, for instance, that staff have to learn to be sensitive to the technological competency levels of their coworkers if you tap a Millennial to start offering technology training. The best way to foster appreciation of age diversity is through interaction, and with all staff involved in some capacity in training each is able to both demonstrate their skills and learn those of others.
Generational differences in communication can have an effect on the entire work environment. Address misunderstandings as they arise and be careful how you communicate both your expectations and new opportunities. Focusing only on high-tech aspects of new work can alienate those less comfortable with technology, and encouraging long work days and weekend work may make younger staff members grumpy. Also, make your staff aware of how they are communicating. Do younger staff make fun of older staff for not being on the bleeding edge of technology? Do older staff frown on the casual dress of younger staff? As a manager, make your expectations of your staff clear, and address attitudes or remarks before they become inflammatory and decrease the productivity and well-being of the workplace.
DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Generalizations about groups of people are just that—they cannot take into account the needs and wants of individuals who fall outside the broad brushstrokes of these generational breakdowns. There are baby boomers who are early adopters of every technology you can think of, and some Millennials have yet to discover social networking tools. Some Gen-Xers are workaholics, and some veterans want to multitask and learn various work roles. Don’t assume knowledge—or ignorance—of any particular skill on the basis of a person’s age.
Managing with an eye toward what motivates members of different generations can give you the tools to advance your library strategically and to assign work in a manner that is both fair and consistent with the desires and goals of your staff. Managing multiple generations while challenging them in terms of their different values and desires offers the rewards of the wisdom of experience and the novel take on traditional functions and processes. The benefits of managing your multigenerational workforce well are many, including reduced staff turnover and a pleasant working environment. How are you capitalizing on the unique blend of ages in your library workforce? How are you making your library a workplace where staff of every age group feel comfortable and valued?