Greatest Generation: Baby Boomers

1. 6/21/2010
Volunteers:
The Greatest Generation, Baby-Boomers and the Gen-X Crowd
Presented by:
Penny C. Reeh
Indigo Resource Group
Our Goals Today
• Understand the advantages to taking a
generational approach to volunteerism
• Gain insight into what motivates each
generation
• Create recruitment, retention and
recognition strategies for each group
The Classic Generation Gap
• “Young people these days….they don’t get
involved.”
• “We can’t lead unless the older ones are
willing to get out of the way.”
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2. 6/21/2010
Men resemble the times
more than they do
their fathers.
--Ancient Proverb
The Silent Generation
• AKA – The Greatest Generation, The Forgotten
Generation, Matures
• Born between 1909 and 1945
• Currently age 62 and older
• Prefers strong, central authority figures
• Likes highly specialized roles
• Act as team players
• Believe in hard work and saving
What shaped the Silents?
Roaring Twenties, Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, World War II, Atomic Bomb, New Deal,
Modern Appliances, Korean War, Infrastructure Development, Motion Pictures
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3. 6/21/2010
The Baby Boomers
• They have always been known as the Boomers
• Born 1949 - 1964
• Currently age 43-61
• 78 million born
• Likes shared leadership
• Enjoys community-sized teams (“It takes a village.)
• It’s all about me mindset
What shaped the Boomers?
Civil Rights Movement, Bay of Pigs, Kennedy Assassination, Television, Cold War, Rock N’
Roll, Sexual Revolution
Generation X
• AKA – The MTV Generation
• Born 1965 - 1976
• Currently age 31-42
• First technology-oriented generation
• Comfortable with virtual teams
• Like smaller teams with loose rules and no
defined leadership
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4. 6/21/2010
What shaped the Gen Xers?
Latchkey Kids, Watergate, Fall of Berlin Wall, Persian Gulf War, AIDS, Women’s Liberation,
Pager/Cell Phone, High Divorce Rates, Unstable Economy, Challenger Explosion
Generational Remembrances
SILENT BOOMER GEN X
Orange Juice The Juice Runs The Juice walks
FDR Nixon Reagan
Flat Tops HAIR Skinheads
No more butter No more war No more ozone layer
Sunday Drives Drive-thrus Drive-bys
Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa Mom and Dad Mom OR Dad
Dr. Spock Dr. Strangelove Dr. Kevorkian
Source: Rocking The Ages
Technologies to Remember
SILENT BOOMER GEN X
Slide Rules Calculators Spreadsheets
Mimeographing Photocopying Desktop Publishing
Outer Space Inner Space Cyberspace
IBM Apple Netscape
Rotary Phones Touch-Tone Phones Cell Phones
Spirit of St. Louis Concorde Columbia
Party Lines Conference Calls Chat Rooms
Source: Rocking The Ages
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5. 6/21/2010
Approaching the Silents
• Emphasize civic duty (they expect to serve)
• Use themes that promote community and
not individuals
• They “saved the world” and expect to
sacrifice for community
• Traditional values are important
Retaining the Silents
• Encourage them to share their expertise
and “institutional memory”
• Introduce new systems, methods and
technologies with care, emphasize how
change benefits the mission and not just
efficiency (cake mix example)
• Be sensitive to potential physical limitations
but don’t baby them
Recognizing the Silents
• Use techniques that reward longevity
• Praise them in front of their families and
peer groups
• What they did for community is important
to them – it’s not about them as individuals
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6. 6/21/2010
Approaching the Boomers
• Emphasize issues, not duty (it is about
leaving a legacy, not self-sacrifice)
• Appeal to their self-image of being “forever
young”
• Let them know you understand their
importance
Retaining the Boomers
• Flexibility and choice are important to them
• Include them in decision-making and leadership
structure
• Tie volunteerism to learning, new experiences and
relationship building
• Rely on their expertise and allow them to create
new volunteer roles
• Remember that episodic volunteerism is not
unusual, but soon many will have more time
Recognizing the Boomers
• Recognition is important – they have always
been in control due and expect it
• Praise their individual achievement and
their respective hot issues
• Honor their creativity
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7. 6/21/2010
Approaching the Gen-Xers
• Take a “cut to the chase” approach (they
are skeptical, self-reliant, and pragmatic)
• Emphasize results-oriented service with
tangible goals
• Sell local issues, not global ones
• Show how they can make a difference in
one life as opposed to saving the world
Retaining the Gen-Xers
• Let them to work alone or in virtual teams
• Don’t expect them to attend meetings or
engage in long decision-making discussions
• Let them create and dissolve project driven
teams
• Encourage entrepreneurial, not
bureaucratic processes
• Remember time is often more valuable than
money
Recognizing the Gen-Xers
• Connect them to the personal element of their
work – knowing they made a difference is more
important than personal praise
• Spending money on their recognition may be
viewed as wasteful
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8. 6/21/2010
Who is next?
• Generation Y – AKA Nexters, Millennials
• Born 1981-1994
• Show signs of being very socially conscious
• Shaped by strong economy and involved parents, they are
well educated, diverse and optimistic
• They are on the go and know much more about their
world than any other generation at the same age
What shaped the Millenials?
Exploding technology, Internet, Domestic Terrorism, School Shootings, Break-Up of Soviet
Republic, Power Rangers, Harry Potter, Political Scandal, OJ Murder Trial
But will they volunteer?
• 30% of students in grades 6-12 volunteer eight or more
hours a week
• 93% anticipate being volunteers as adults
• 38% see volunteerism as a way to combine interests and
talents
• 76% say their parents volunteer
• 44% find volunteering highly rewarding
Source: USA Weekend
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9. 6/21/2010
Why?
• 53% could see the immediate impact
• 52% believed in the overall effort
• 51% made friends and met interesting people
• 42% found the opportunity well organized and
efficiently run
Source: USA Weekend
Putting the Pieces Together
• We continue to need volunteers of all ages.
• This knowledge is not meant to segregate, but
rather to assimilate.
• Make your volunteers happier and make your life
easier, but showing them simply that you “get
who they are.”
For More Information
Penny C. Reeh
Indigo Resource Group
P.O. Box 1025
Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
830.990.0180 | pennyreeh@ktc.com
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