Today’s employers are
in unique situation: there are five different generations working under one
roof. We can find traditionalists, who are already officially retired, but
still active employees working together with Gen Z, representatives from our
youngest generation, who has just entered (or about to do that) to labor
market.
We have
seen increase of articles focusing on younger generations (Millennials, Gen Y
and Gen Z). But to be honest not many organizations can afford to put all eggs
into one basket, i.e. to hire and work with people from one specific
generation (for instance only Millennials).
Companies
who are willing to hire and work with people from different generations have different
advantages. Firstly, they will get wider range and more candidates from whom to
choose the best and most suitable employee. Secondly, diverse teams (which
includes also people from different generations) generate better results than non-diverse teams. Hence, in case you want to hire the best
and be successful you need to have employees from different generations in your
organization.
Each
generation has their own characteristics: they have been raised in different
eras, in different environments, using different technology – which means that
their work habits, as well as channels that they trust and use when applying to
the job are different.
Knowing
each generation’s characteristics and traditions helps in attracting, engaging,
retaining, and developing its members. So what is this that every organization
should know when targeting potential candidates from different generations?*
Traditionalists, those born before 1945 (now in age 70+)
The
Traditional generation is the oldest generation in the workplace, although most
of them are now retired. They are characterized as loyal workers, highly
dedicated, averse to risk and strongly committed toward teamwork and
collaboration. They value security, comfort, and familiar, known activities and
environments.
How to attract traditionalists? It wouldn’t make sense to create a
web campaigns to this target group unless the campaign had a title “Bring your grandmother to work”. My
experience shows that best way to attract them is by word of mouth; which means
that your employee referral program is just the right channel to reach them.
But I would also recommend to use traditional recruitment channels (such as
newspapers) when attracting traditionalists.
Baby Boomers, those born 1946-64 (now about 50-70 years old)
Boomers’
ability to adapt to change of all kinds has been honed by years of dealing with
change firsthand. Having to adapt to new technologies has been a necessity and
in some cases a challenge, not just the use of these technologies but the
impact that they have had on the protocols of acceptable office behavior.
Boomers believe they can do anything they set their sights on, and they’re used
to working hard and long hours to accomplish it.
How to attract Boomers? Although you can find
representatives of this generation in Social Media, then probably it is not
reasonable to build your entire recruitment campaign on that platform when
trying to target Boomers. They are using several channels when looking for a
job: starting from Job Boards, newspaper adverts and finishing with
recommendations from friends/acquaintances’. Which means that Employee Referral
program is also something that could be invested in when targeting Boomers. One
thing that distinguishes them from traditionalists is this that they are more
active when it comes to job search: they use several different channels when looking
for a job.
Generation X, those born 1965-76 (now about 40-50
years old)
Gen X is more independent, autonomous and self-reliant than
previous generations. They are
often characterized by high levels of skepticism, “what’s in it for me” attitudes. Gen Xers are arguably the best educated generation with 29% obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher (6% higher than the previous cohort). They
are entrepreneurial, pragmatic and creative; they have strong technical
skills, they are are results focused, and are “ruled by a sense of accomplishment and
not the clock”.
How to attract Gen X? They, too, use Job Boards, friend
recommendations, but also Social Media (primarily LinkedIn) when are on job hunt.
Millennials, those born 1977-97 (now about
20-40 years old)
Millennials
are known as incredibly sophisticated and technology wise. Their ease with technology
allows them to move fast and efficiently, whether they’re searching the
Internet, taking photos, sending text messages, watching YouTube - all on
their cell phones.
How to attract Millennials? Thought they do not have favorite channels
when looking for a job, they do use Job Boards and friend recommendations, as did Gen X. As they are eager users of Social Media (age 25 to 34 is the most common
age demographic of Facebook users) then it would be wise to build your
next recruitment campaign to that platform.
Generation Z those born 1997 and later (in
the age 20 and younger)
While we don’t
know much about Gen Z yet, we know a lot about the environment they are growing
up in. This highly diverse environment will make the grade schools of the next generation
the most diverse ever. Gen Z kids will grow up with a highly sophisticated
media and computer environment and will be more Internet savvy and expert than
their forerunners. They are completely digitally native in the sense of being
quite helpless in a non-digital world. According to studies, Gen Z is the most
socially responsible generation.
How to attract Z-generation? Event thought you might befall them
in Social Media and Job Boadrs, there is actually much higher chance to find
them and attract in YouTube and thru Mobile Recruitment. Since this is the
generation that has grown up as followers of YouTubers then YouTube is possibly
the Channel when trying to recruit Gen Z. So upload your next Recruitment Movie
to YouTube and/or hire a well-known YouTuber who could promote both you as an
employer as well as the job to what you are hiring at.
*Recommendations how to attract different
generations are based on a Survey that was conducted at the beginning of 2016
by recruitment blog “Make your job advertisement attractive”. Survey was
carried out among 300 Facebook users and studied their recruitment preferences.
Descriptions of different generations are prepared
based on following articles:
