How Do You Manage Baby Boomers in the Workplace?
Baby boomers have been a dominant force in the workplace for decades—but managing this generation of workers has its own set of challenges that today’s workplace has never seen before.
In this blog, we’ll cover the following topics related to boomers in the workplace:
What Is Generational Management?
Generational management involves managing employees born during different time periods. And in today’s world, four generations are currently working together in the same environment. But as tenured baby boomers retire each year, motivated, knowledge-hungry millennials are stepping into leadership roles. However, according to research, about 41 million baby boomers make up today’s workforce. So whether you’re excited or hesitant, it’s time to embrace the facts—more and more millennials, the largest generation in the U.S. labor force, are supervising older employees every day.
So how are younger generations successfully managing boomers who have a lot more to say on their resumes? They start by understanding what makes them who they are—their characteristics.
8 Spot On Baby Boomer Characteristics
- They don’t want to retire: Many boomers choose to work past the age of 65, even though they’re eligible for retirement.
- They value workplace visibility: Baby boomers typically like to work in-office more than younger generations.
- They’re self-sufficient: Some boomers are self-starters and hesitate to ask for help.
- They make decisions rationally: Baby boomers replace emotional decision-making with rational, objective strategies.
- They believe authority equals experience: Many boomers associate authority as stemming from experience.
- They’re competitive: Working hard and long to reach goals is ingrained in baby boomers.
- Their jobs define them: Self-worth in their careers is important to boomers.
- They’re optimistic and realists: They believe hard work and determination results in success.
Each generation in today’s workforce has different communication styles, values, and leadership preferences based on the culture they grow up in. Check out our multigenerational workforce guide here for more information.
How to Manage Baby Boomers in the Workplace
Since many boomers are still transitioning into retirement, they’re a unique older generation to manage. By using the following generational management best practices, you can keep your tenured workforce satisfied and motivated until they’re ready to retire:
Keep Them Engaged
This older generation values teamwork, but boomers also want to be respected by their younger coworkers. To encourage this unique dynamic, give your older generation employees the opportunity to share and teach their skills to your younger team members. By allowing baby boomers to mentor younger generations, they get an extra sense of purpose that keeps them engaged, and your younger employees get the chance to gain knowledge and skills from tenured staff before they retire.
Encourage Peer Mentoring
In exchange for their help, you can also encourage millennial and Gen Z employees to offer baby boomers mentoring opportunities. For example, a lot has changed over the years when it comes to technological advancements, but studies show that boomers are interested in learning new technology and using innovative gadgets. With peer mentoring, you can help bridge the generational gap between younger and older team members while providing boomers with the technical learning opportunities they want.
Schedule Team-Building Sessions
While boomers have extensive knowledge and experience that younger generations can benefit from, millennial and Gen Z employees may feel threatened or undervalued by lessons being passed down to them from their older colleagues. Some baby boomers may also dismiss the idea of being taught by team members younger than them. If you want to take the edge off the learning curve for boomers and younger generations, team-building sessions are the perfect solution. Your multigenerational workforce can break down barriers to build stronger bonds and create relationships that support peer-to-peer learning.
AAIM offers customized team-building sessions that allow multigenerational teams to break down barriers, form bonds, and solve problems. We can facilitate different types of sessions for your multigenerational team, from fun, active events to in-depth activities that support building trust.
Consider Guidelines on Communication Styles
While boomers are open to learning the nuances of new technology, they may not be as comfortable with it as their younger colleagues. Although the older generation of boomers were knee-deep in their careers when email became popular, they may not be familiar with newer tools, like texting and chat applications, which are commonly used for more immediate information exchange. To ensure your older team members can communicate effectively, set guidelines specifying which platforms to use to send and receive specific information and provide them with necessary training.
Develop Age-Diverse Teams
Age diversity encourages the exchange of new ideas, increased creativity, and a fresh perspective. By building age-diverse teams, older and younger generations come together to discuss an issue or develop an idea in a way that they couldn’t without their unique viewpoints. Once you’ve developed an age-diverse team collaboration, encourage your employees to recognize that the team’s diversity is a significant factor for success and strength.
Ask for Feedback
Unfortunately, even the strongest multigenerational teams have their kinks. That’s why it’s important to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that team dynamics are productive. Employee engagement surveys are a great way to get feedback from both younger and older generation employees about how the team is doing, making it easier for you to identify and address issues that might be impacting performance or morale.
Consider Partnership Opportunities
Retirement isn’t always the end of the road for baby boomers. In fact, they’re known for being naturally entrepreneurial—and their labor force participation can help boost business creation in the future. For you, a partnership or joint operating agreement enables retiring baby boomers to remain productive and engaged in the workplace while also beginning to explore new business opportunities. One way to discuss post-retirement entrepreneurship with employees is during their exit interview. Using exit interviews as an opportunity to discuss positive future business outcomes with your tenured employees is a great way to improve your business results, get honest feedback, and ensure that boomers continue to contribute to the workplace and economy.
Are you interested in joining forces with a baby boomer who’s retiring from your company soon? AAIM can provide you with custom exit interview questions based on your company’s needs.
Key Takeaways
Bridging the gap between baby boomers and younger generations in management is no easy feat, but with the right management skills, your leaders and older team members can work together seamlessly.
At AAIM Employers’ Association, we’ve successfully developed more than 15,000 people annually with our management training courses. We’re known for developing people for performance and growth with our private session training that focuses on themes in generational approaches. With our training session, you can provide younger leaders with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully manage boomers in today’s workforce. Contact us to schedule your training session today.
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