Silents, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y…
Oh My!
Jeff Smith, Principal
Titan Group
jeff@titanhr.com
540-400-6875
Agenda
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Define generations (Silent, Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials)
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Understand the forces that shaped them
Discuss how best to leverage each generation
Share management tools/tips
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Learn how to best manage each talented group
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Why do we care about this topic?
Terminology
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Silent Generation
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Boomers
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Born 1946-1964; 80 million
Gen X
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Born 1925-1945
Born 1965-1981; 51 million
Millennials (Gen Y)
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Born 1982-2003; 80 million
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Who is this guy and why should I care?
Your next Manager is likely a huge fan of his…
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Which of the Following
Means the Most to You?
Elvis joins the Army
Jimi Hendrix dies
MTV debuts
Kurt Cobain dies
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Then You Are a…
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Elvis joins the Army (Silent)
Jimi Hendrix dies (Boomer)
MTV debuts (Gen Xer)
Kurt Cobain dies (Millennial)
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Famous Silent Generation
Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929
John McCain
August 29, 1936
Marilyn Monroe
June 1, 1926
Noam Chomsky
December 7, 1928
Tina Turner
November 26, 1939
Ray Charles
September 23, 1930
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Silent Generation at a Glance
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Born 1925-1945; smaller than boomers
Conventional
Grave; fatalistic
Faithful
Want to leave the work force
Looking to leave a legacy; mentor others
Believe in hard work, paying your dues, will be
recognized if job is done well
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Silents Shaped By…
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Great Depression
WWII
Korean War
Politics of Inclusion
Artistic expression
Saving money
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Silent Management 101
Respect
 Recognition
 Flexibility (review schedules; f.t. vs. p.t.)
 Ask them what they want to be doing?
 Legacy
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Famous Boomers
George Bush
July 6, 1946
Bruce Jenner, Olympian
October 28, 1949
Bill Gates
October 28, 1955
David Letterman, Entertainer
April 12, 1947
Madonna, Entertainer
August 18, 1958
Donald Trump
November 14, 1946
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Baby Boomers at a Glance
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Born 1946-64; 80 million
Challenged authority
Idealistic
Money, title and recognition
Stellar career; competitive
Starting to burn out
Believe in hard work, paying your dues, will be
recognized if job is done well
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Boomers Shaped By…
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Suburbia
TV
Vietnam, Watergate
Protests
Human Rights Movement
Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll
Shifting from Pensions to 401k’s
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Boomer Management 101
Respect
 Authority
 Recognition
 Status
 Show them key to success
 Flexibility (review schedules; f.t. vs. p.t.)
 Challenge them to continue growing
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6
7
2
5
1
3,4
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Famous Gen Xers
Tom Anderson, founder MySpace
November 8, 1970
Chad Hurley, founder YouTube
1977
Larry Page, co-founder Google
March 26, 1973
Sergei Brin, co-founder Google
August 21, 1973
Pierre Omidyar, founder, eBay.
June 21, 1967
Jerry Yang, co-founder,Yahoo.
November 6, 1968
David Filo, co-founder,Yahoo.
1966
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Generation X at a Glance
Born 1965-1981; 51 Million
 Balance between work and life
 Value freedom
 Flexible and motivated
 Build a portable career
 Skeptical
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Gen Xers Shaped by…
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Sesame Street, MTV
Game Boy; Atari; Nintendo
PC
Divorce rate tripled
Latch key children
Parent’s laid off from AT&T, Chrysler, etc.
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Gen Xer Management 101
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Avoid judging
Accommodate individual needs whenever possible
Demonstrate competence to earn respect
Forgive impatience
Be a coworker until someone requires a boss
Create fun events and a stimulating environment
Celebrate the heroes on your staff
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Famous Millennials
LeBron James, NBA basketball
December 30, 1984
Jessica Lynch, US Army
April 26, 1983
Olsen Twins, Entertainers
June 13, 1986
Prince William
June 21, 1982
Prince Harry
September 15, 1984
Daniel Radcliffe, Actor
July 23, 1989
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Millennials at a Glance
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Born between 1982-2003; 80 million
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Gen Y, Internet generation, Echo Boom, Nexters, Nintendo or
Digital generation
Need mentoring; growth opportunities
Confident
Hopeful
Goal- and achievement-oriented
Civic-minded
Inclusive-like working in teams
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Millennials Shaped By…
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Focus on children and family
Scheduled, structured lives
Parent Advocacy
Terrorism
Heroism
Patriotism
Multiculturalism
Globalism
Hurricane Katrina
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Millennial Management 101
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You be the leader
Challenge me
Let me work with friends
Let’s have fun
Respect me
Be flexible
Don’t expect them to pay their dues; don’t dampen
their enthusiasm
Constant feedback
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Millennials at Play
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80% talk to their parents daily and 75% see their parents weekly
50% have modified their body with a tattoo or piercing
20% have little or nothing to do with religion
33% pay attention to politics "most of the time"
48% identify as Democratic Party and 35% as Republicans
40% feel that as a citizen they have a "duty" to vote
23% read the newspaper
67% feel that immigration is good for the country
74% support privatizing Social Security
47% support gay marriage
Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press 2007
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Welcome to Your Workforce
Silent Generation
Birth
Years
Baby
Boomers
Generation
X
Millennials
Before 1945
1946-1964
1965-1981
1982-2003
Quality
Long hours
Productivity
Contribution
Motivator Security
Money
Time off
Time off
Company Highest
Loyalty
High
Low
Low
Money is
Livelihood
Status
symbol
Means to an
end
Today’s payoff
Family/Community
Success
Time
Individuality
Business
Focus
Value
3 Divides
Technology
 Attitude toward business
 Consumer attitude mindset
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Technology
24/7 Connectivity
 Breaks down hierarchies
 Encourages networks
 Challenges traditional management practices
 Is it a tool or a toy
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Attitude Towards Business
Silent—Loyalty
 Boomers—Competitive; move ahead
 Xers—Skeptical
 Millennials—What are you doing for—me,
the community and are you honest?
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Consumer Attitude
Question value
 High-quality
 Easily to handle microwavable experiences
 Want to know how you have grown your
skills
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3 R’s and 3 C’s
Respected
 Recognized
 Remembered
 Coached
 Consulted
 Connected
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Decoding Generation Differences, W. Stanton Smith p. 26
Key Motivational Factors
Daniel Pink—Drive
1. Autonomy
2. Mastery
3. Purpose
Carrot and stick is so last century!!!
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Management Tips for All
Mindset of thinking flexibly
 Work with friends
 Respect
 Have some fun
 Sense of humor
 Challenge and stretch employees minds
 Mentor
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Millennials Management Tips
Engaging experiences
 Transferable skills
 Provide rationale for the work
 Reward extra effort
 Variety of tasks
 Help with flexible schedules
 Teams
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Problem: My Younger Workers Want
More Flexible Schedules
Solutions:
 Hours
 Ability to connect with outside world
 Less hours
 More flexibility of location of work
 More time off
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Problem: My Younger Workers Seem to Need
Constant Feedback…Why? Why? Why?
Solutions:
 Pull-up to their desk
 Explain the rationale
 Okay to text or tweet responses
 Schedule short meetings more often
 Review their growth at least quarterly
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Problem: Getting People Interested in
Management Roles
Solutions:
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Need to explain what’s in it for me (WIIFM)
Highlight the learning opportunities
Create a strong mentoring/coaching program
Outline who they will be working with
Identify how many extra hours will be required?
Define the compensation
Link their role to the vision; provide lots of feedback
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Problem: Keeping Key Boomers and
Silents
Solutions:
 Flexible schedules (Part-time)
 Identify growth possibilities
 Set up them up with a mentee
 Leave a legacy (Silent; older Boomers)
 Set clear expectations for promotion
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Problem: Retaining top young talent
Solutions
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Make it less about work
Connect with the community
Let them work in teams
Let them choose a mentor
Give them meaningful work
Allow more flexibility
Ask for their opinions
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What Can I do Tomorrow?
Create mentoring programs
 Have a coaching session with a direct report
about their career
 Explain changes you are hoping for
 Learn something new from a millennial
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About Titan Group LLC
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Formed in 2001
Owners:
 Lee Weisiger & Genevieve Roberts
9 Employees (7 Consultants)
100+ years of HR Experience
Headquartered in Richmond, VA
 Office in Roanoke, VA
Five year annual growth rate over 30%
Named Small Business Success Story by Virginia Business
Magazine in 2008.
www.TitanHR.com
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Our Services
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Compensation Services
Employee Training & Leadership Development
HR Advisory Services
Talent Strategy Services
Executive Compensation & Benefits
Roanoke Regional Compensation Survey in the Fall—stay
tuned!!!
www.TitanHR.com
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Recommended Resources
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Decoding Generational Differences: Fact, fiction or should we just get
back to work? (W. Stanton Smith, Deloitte)
Generations at Work (Ron Zemke)
Millennials Rising (Neil Howe, William Strauss)
Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube,
and the Future of American Politics
(Morley Winograd, Michael D. Hais)
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Pew Research Center For The People &
The Press
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How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics
Managing the Millennials (Espinoza, Rusch and Ukleja)
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