4 ways a multigenerational team can benefit your business
We all know by now that having a diverse team really benefits a company. It brings different and fresh perspectives, while keeping your company agile and forward-thinking.
When considering diversity, people often think of it as different social and ethnic backgrounds and different genders, which means they often overlook age.
Operating across the digital ecosystem, it’s not unusual for businesses to look to Millennial and Gen Z candidates when hiring as these demographics tend to adopt and understand technologies quickly.
However, whilst building a multigenerational team comes with its own unique set of challenges, creating a team that’s made up of a range of ages can add real value to your organisations.
Whilst the younger team members are perhaps accustomed to the ever-changing world of technology, your older team members have their years of experience to draw from. This alliance between modernisation and wisdom can bring innovation to the workplace.
So, in an effort to help you, here’s our advice on 4 ways hiring a multigenerational team can benefit your business.
It creates a difference in thinking
According to studies, each generation has different characteristics when it comes to how they view work. Baby boomers and Gen Y employees tend to be more loyal, optimistic, and see work as a high priority, while Gen Z or Millennial employees are more likely to be team-centric, more sceptical and flexible in the approach to a task.
The combination of these attitudes diversifies the way a team views a project or problem and has a big influence on decision making. If you only get your information from one source, you might not get the best information or make the best decisions.
More thoughts and differences of opinion provide a greater probability of accomplishing your objective.
It leads to improved development, growth, and mentorship
Hiring a multigenerational team lends itself to your team developing their skills.
A team around the same age will have grown up with a similar view of life, education process and experience in the working world. The older generation didn’t grow up with emails and text messages, so they are likely to have developed better interpersonal and telephone skills that they can pass down.
The younger generation has grown up with developing technologies, so they can pass on their abilities to adopt them more in quickly in the digital world. This also gives your team a chance to unlearn any of their misconceptions about ways of working.
It’s great for candidate attraction
In today’s candidate-driven market, most job seekers will analyse every aspect of the company before thinking about joining them. A lack of diversity in the team can result in a lack of interest from potential talent.
A “young and hip” tech company could miss out well qualified experienced workers if they were to feel like they were out of the average age bracket, potentially losing the perfect hire for their requirements.
It increases sales and profitability
Multigenerational teams can have a bearing on profitability according to a BCG report which found that the more diverse a company’s leadership team is, the higher their revenue.
In addition, customers are far more conscious of the companies they buy from or do business with, so it’s therefore important that you have a strong mix of both employees and key decision makers from different generations who are each going to have an impact on the direct your business takes.
Final thoughts
By embracing a multigenerational workforce, you are positioning your business for sustained growth.
You can tap into a unique set of perspectives through their varying backgrounds and expertise, and if you can ensure that everyone is collaborative, regardless of their age, you’ll soon reap the benefits.
