¶ … Intergenerational Issues in Talent Management Human Resources Director

In response to your recent request for an analysis of the survey of the company's employees which determined that the vast majority are from the so-called "Millennials" generation who are less than 35 years of age with less than 5 years of work experience or the so-called "Matures" generation which is comprised of workers older than 60 years with more than 30 years of work experience, this memorandum explains what the survey findings mean for the organization and provides a plan to address these impacts. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the impact of these intergenerational differences are provided in the concluding section.

Analysis concerning how this scenario affects the organization

As can be readily discerned from the statistics in Table 1 and Figure 1 below, the number of Matures and Millennials in the American workplace today are nearly identical.

Table 1

Current Estimates of Multigenerational Cohorts in U.S. Workforce

Generation

Birth Years

Estimated Cohort

Matures

1900-1945

75 million

Baby Boomers

1946-1964

80 million

Generation Xers

1965-1980

46 million

Millennials

1981-?

76 million

Source: Based on textual data in Fabre, 2007 at p. 55

Figure 1. Current Estimates of Multigenerational Cohorts in U.S. Workforce

Source: Based on tabular data in Fabre, 2007, p. 55

Not surprisingly, the differences between these generations...

Indeed, Bardwell (2007) emphasizes that, "Generational differences are one of the most challenging diversity and leadership issues in organizations in the 21st century" (p. 19). Unfortunately, these differences involve more than just tastes in cable programming or dining preferences but rather extend to the very work ethic that fueled America's growth from the outset. For example, one Mature manager complained that, "As an older manager, I found that the younger people didn't value their jobs. They'd go onto the computer, take care of personal business as opposed to doing the work they were hired to do and were unproductive" (cited in Bardwell, 2007, p. 21). Although Bardwell paints with a very wide brush, the points he makes concerning the fundamental differences between Matures and Millennials is highly salient as it regards workplace management. It is reasonable to suggest that Matures are not only able, they are downright eager to live up to expectations and can be viewed as more engaged with their work than their younger counterparts (Bardwell, 2007).
As a result, these types of intergenerational differences can have a profound impact on any organization's performance and productivity. As Bardwell emphasizes, "[Millennials] had difficulty adhering to the rules and regulations. Oftentimes they felt that they could do what they wanted and couldn't understand why they had to do it the way they were told it was to be done" (2007, p. 20). This sense of undeserved entitlement among Mature executives about their Millennial employees is not entirely unjustified. For instance, based on his empirical observations and experience, Bardwell concludes that, "[Millennials]…