Managing a Multigenerational Workforce

1. Managing a MultigenerationalWorkforce Barry Bloomgren Hennepin County Human Services Minneapolis. MN ERICSA 50th Annual Training Conference & Exposition ▪ May 19 – 23 ▪ Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Florida ERICSA 50 CELEBRATES YEARS OF SERVING FAMILIES: THE MAGIC IS STILL ALIVE ERICSA ERICSA ERICSA ERICSA ERICSA

2. Managing the Multigenerational Workforce • What does our county CS workforce look like? • Decade Hired: • 1970 66 staff Baby Boomers • 1980 23 staff Millenials • 1990 98 staff • 2000 55 staff Millenials

3. Characteristics • Baby Boomers Work Centric, Independent, Goal Oriented, Competitive, generation of optimism, exploration, achievement, focus on individual choices and freedom, adaptive to a diverse workplace, positive attitude, confident, emphasize team-building, seek collaborative, group decision making, avoid conflict. “believe in face time and may fault younger generations for working remotely”

4. Characteristics GENERATION X • More ethnically diverse and better educated than the Baby Boomers, Individualistic, Technologically Adept, Flexible, adapt well to change and are tolerant of alternative lifestyles, work to live rather than live to work. They appreciate fun in the workplace and espouse a work hard/play hard mentality. Dislike rigid work requirements.

5. Characteristics • Millenials - AKA: Generation Y Smart, creative, optimistic, achievement-oriented and tech-savvy. This young generation seeks out creative challenges, personal growth and meaningful careers. They seek supervisors and mentors who are highly engaged in their professional development. Excellent multi-taskers and prefer communications through e-mail and text messaging over face-to-face interaction. Their attitude is “don’t waste my time making me come to your office.” They would rather send an e-mail

6. Characteristics • Millenials – AKA: Gen Y cont. • When working with or supervising Generation Y, it’s wise to impose structure and stability and cultivate a team-oriented environment. Immediate feedback and praise will help motivate and reassure this young generation. Frequent communication and reassurance will help keep members of Generation Y eager and involved.

7. What Was the Office like ? • Desks and file cabinets • Dictation machines, cartridges, then cassettes • Data processing input and change forms • Carbon copies • “Dumb Terminals” CRT’s • Green paper reports • Typing pool – secretaries - file clerks • Card files with participant information • Time cards

8. What Does it Look Like Today ? • Smart Cards building access • Modular work stations • Adjustable desk tops • HD Computer monitors with cameras • Laptops – Tablets & Docking stations • Fewer/no file cabinets • Electronic case files – worklists – work flow • Caller ID – Smart phones – Soft Phones • Video conferencing • Call Centers – Interactive Voice Response

9. What Was Management Like ? • Overseer • This is how you do it, i.e., no manuals • Time reporting • Structured breaks & lunch time • Leave when the bell rings at 4:30 PM • Arrive & be at your desk when it’s 8:00 AM • Performance Reviews were a one way street

10. What is Management Like Today ? • Participative Management • Consensus building • Team decision making • Collaboration • Integrated Case Management • Performance monitoring • Customer Driven • ROWE

11. ROWE • “Results Only Work Environment” • Imagine a job where: work isn’t a place you go, it’s something you do… nobody judges you about how you spend your time … your performance is based solely on results and outcomes.

12. ROWE • ROWE breaks the mold of traditional work habits—where the time put in often counts more than the actual results that come out. It takes advantage of all the advances in technology that have changed how, when and where we are able to get our work done. What it offers is the opportunity to identify and manage results rather than time.

13. ROWE • ROWE recognizes that life is an individual experience and that no two lives are identical — and leverages this to achieve better performance from each individual. ROWE is not Flextime. ROWE is not Telecommuting. ROWE is not Job Sharing. ROWE is not about allowing your people to work from home a couple of days per week.

14. ROWE • Trust needs to be established and managing performance is based on outcomes. Managers and employees work together to set clear expectations and measurements. Employees decide when and how they will do the work based on what needs to be done. It means increased employee control of when, where and how their work gets done.

15. ROWE • A Results Only Work Environment should attract and retain talent. Staff that show up energized, disciplined, flexible and focused—ready to deliver the results necessary to produce program/client outcomes. The workforce should be more efficient, productive and committed. They should also feel more satisfied, fulfilled, and in control of their personal and professional lives.

16. Results Expectations Identify Key result areas. • Identify the activities that enable you/staff/unit to achieve those results. • Identify how you will know you have achieved your results. • Determine how you and your team will communicate progress.

17. Results & Agreements • Develop your individual results and measurements based on and in line with the key results expected and identified by the team. • Are results specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time sensitive (SMART)?

18. Flexagility • Provides Instate Enforcement staff with new opportunities for professional development, while at the same allowing the agency to better position itself to adapt to changing workload demands and long term succession planning. The program’s objectives are to:

19. Flexagility cont. • Enable staff to experience a variety of work while retaining their current positions. • Provide staff an opportunity to utilize their strengths and explore their interests. • Easily adapt to changing client needs and workload demands.

20. Flexagility • Program Structure • Exploration • Observation • Commitment

21. Barry Bloomgren, Area Manager • Hennepin County Human Services • Tel. (612)348-9820 • FAX (612)348-7157 • barry.bloomgren@co.hennepin.mn.us