Career coaching and the Multi-generational workforce

Career Coaching
and the Multi-
Generational
Workforce
Theresa Green-Ervin, Doctoral Student
Nova Southeastern University

Learning Objectives
 Develop an understanding of who the Generations
are, specifically Generation Z, and the skill set
needed to be successful in the workplace.
 What the multigenerational workplace needs
from Generation Z in order to excel in the
workplace.
 What is Career Coaching and strategies to prepare
this generation for the workplace.
Copyright © 2015TheresaGreen-Ervin; All
Rights Reserved

INTRODUCTION
O’Toole & Lawler, III (2006) suggest that the job market is very unpredictable; one
should not become complacent as everyone is replaceable. Consequently, those who
are not open to learning to learn may be putting their future at risk. Though the
above does not guarantee a position, investing in your future will assist you in
becoming multi-faceted, which will help in times of uncertainty. The authors further
convey that there are years of research that lends itself to “three major needs that can
be satisfied by gainful employment: (1) basic economic resources and security
essential to lead good lives; (2) the need to do meaningful work and the opportunity
to grow and develop as a person and (3) the need for supportive social relationships”
(p 8). It is also the role of leaders and organizations to create strong programs that
benefit employees. A strong program can address such topics as: communication,
trust, ethics, fairness, feelings, perceptions, beliefs, expectations, conflict
management and career development (Gibson,1999).
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Today’s new and current workers are
employed with organizations that are now
multigenerational, meaning this is the first
time that five generations have been in the
workforce simultaneously and each has
varied characteristics and expectations
about the workplace (Hankin, 2005).
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WHAT IS A
GENERATION?
Generations are defined as ‘age cohorts’ that shares unique formative
year’s experiences and meanings and teachings (roughly) the first 20
to 23 years of their lives) and thus developing unique core values and
attitudes that are different from other generations (Underwood, 2007).
The common influences that can determine shared characteristics of a
generation can include parental guidance, interactions with peers,
media, interpersonal communication and cultural difference. A
generation’s age or birth years serve as the primary guidelines when
defining the characteristics of its members, but the true divisions lie in
cultural differences.
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Magnuson & Alexander (2008) convey that we see generational differences as a lens through
which to view diversity, much like personality types. Individual differences are certainly
much stronger than those between generations, but looking at the population as a whole,
there are clear generational differences. They affect values, attitudes towards work, work
styles, job satisfaction criteria, and commitment to the organization. All of these factors are
shaped by personality differences and life experiences. Although we differ as individuals, we
share common experiences as “generational cohorts” that affect our perceptions and beliefs.
Zemke, Raines & Filipczak (2000) convey that we are presently living in an era that is
“cross-generational” where the current workforce is made up of five very different
generations inclusive of: (1) Veterans/Traditionalist (1922-1943): (2) Baby Boomers (1943-
1960); (3) Generation X (1960-1980); (4) Generation Y/Nexters/Millennials (1978-1989)
and (5) Generation Z – a cohort of the Nexters/Millennials (1990-1999). Never before have
we had five generations in the workplace at the same time, making the needs to understand
generational differences in communication preferences, behavior and work styles more
important than ever. These differences are most evident in employee motivation, loyalty and
engagement, which can have a significant impact on creativity, innovation and teamwork.
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Traditionalist Values
• Privacy – Don’t expect members of this generation to
share their inner thoughts
• Hard work – They believe in paying their dues and are
irritated when others are wasting their time. They often
feel their careers identifies who they are.
• Trust – A Traditionalist’s word is his/her bond.
• Authority – Traditionalists have a great deal of respect
for authority.
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Baby Boomer Values
• Competition: Boomers value peer competition.
• Change: Boomers thrive on possibilities and constant change.
• Hard Work: Boomers started the “workaholic” trend. Where
Traditionalist see hard work as the right think to do, Boomers
see it as the way to get to the next level of success.
• Success: Boomers are committed to climbing the ladder of
success
• Teamwork: This group embraces a team-based approach to
business.
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Generation X Values
 Entrepreneurship: Xers believe in investing in their own development rather in
their organization’s. They are cautious about investing in relationships with
employers because experience has shown that these relationships are not reliable.
 Loyalty: to an Xer, loyalty may mean two-weeks notice.
 Independence: Xers have clear goals and prefer managing their own time and
solving their own problems rather than being controlled by a supervisor.
 Information: They want access to information and love plenty of it.
 Feedback: This group needs lots of feedback and they use feedback to adapt to new
situations.
 Quality of Work-life: This generation will work hard, but they would rather find
quicker, more efficient ways of working so they have more free time.
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Work Style/Values/
Attributes of
Generation X
• Accepting and embracing of diversity.
• Values productivity and competent with
technology
• Values the balance between work and home
life.
• Attribute: adaptability
• Enjoys learning new skills, the freedom to
figure things out on their own and feedback
along the way.
• Motto: “work hard, play hard” and “work to
live” as opposed to “live to work” describes
this generation.
• Appreciates a sense of fun in the workplace.
• Characteristics: Independent, self-reliant,
self sufficient, resourceful, and pragmatic.
• Very adaptive to technology and change in
the workplace.
• Prefers a “hand-off approach” when dealing
with supervisors and managers. Don’t like to
feel micro managed.
• Less committed to one employer, more wiling
to change jobs to get ahead than previous
generations.
• More focused on their own needs vs.
employer needs (lack of company loyalty).
Continued
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Work style/Values/ Attributes of
GenerationY
 This generation prefers e-mail and text-messaging for forms of communication over
phone calls or face-to-face contact
 Prefers online technology to traditional lectures in the workplace
 GenerationY is the fastest growing segment of today’s workforce, soon generationY
will account for nearly ½ of the world’s employees
 View work as a key part of life, not separate from it.
 Strive to find work that is meaningful, and work that will connect them to people
 Job satisfaction is based on whether or not the job is fulfilling personally and offering
them a keen sense of purpose
 GenerationY is the most socially conscious generation
 High expectations and high standards in the workplace
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GENERATION Z
Generation Z represents the greatest generational shift the workplace has ever seen.
The giant “millennial” cohort is really two generations – Generation Y (1978-1989)
and Generation Z (1990-1999). This cohort now joining the workforce have been
shaped by nearly a decade of war and economic uncertainty, and the contrast in
their attitudes and behaviors is vivid. Those born in 1990 were 11 years old on that
faithful day of September, 2001. Ever since we have been a nation at war. They
graduated from high school in 2008, just as the economy was on the verge of
collapse and entering the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Moreover,
now they are graduating from college amidst a stumbling jobless recovery in which
unemployment remains stubbornly high, especially among those under age 25,
forced to compete for job opportunities with people their parent’ age.
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The advantage with this new era is
that people of all ages can now work
harder, smarter, faster and better, and
try to compete for the special awards
they want. In addition, Generation Z
are less likely to believe any claims
or offers of “job security”. Job
security” is not a meaningful
concept. The younger the employee,
the more likely he or she is to think
that financial compensation should
align with short-term measures of
productivity and quality or value of
goods/services in the marketplace.
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GENERATION Z
(MODE OF COMMUNICATION)
Persuasive Language Turnoffs
Achieve Cynicism
Challenge Sarcasm
Collaborate Perceived unfairness
Community Perceived arrogance
Discovery Autocratic or threatening
Future Opinionated
Positive/fun Critical or blaming
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GENERATION Z (ATTRIBUTES)
Confidence Sociability
Morality Street Smarts
Diversity Collective Action
Heroic Spirit Tenacity
Technological Savvy
Lack of Skills for Dealing with
Difficult People
Multi-tasking Need Flexibility
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CHARACTERISTICS OF GENERATION Z (Work
Ethics and Values)
“Real Revolution” – decrease in career ambition in
favor of more family time, less travel, less personal
pressure
Believe that because of technology, they can work
flexibly anytime, anyplace and that they should be
evaluated on work product-not how, when or where
they got it done
Goal oriented
Have a work ethic that no longer mandates 10hr
days
Looking for meaningful work and innovation, may be
the first generation that readily accepts older
leadership
High expectations of bosses and managers to assist
and mentor them in attainment of professional goals
Looking for careers and stability
Want long-term relationships with employers but on
their own terms
Mentoring is important to them Obsessed with career development
Prefer diversity, technology, informality and fun Realizes that people make the company successful
Tolerant Thrive in a collaborative work environment
Training is very important Understand importance of great mentors
Want to enhance their work skills by continuing their
education Want to be challenged
Want to work for positive people and a company
that can fulfill their dreams Treated with respect in spite of age
They want to be paid well They want to make a difference
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TRENDS SHAPING
GENERATION Z
• Social media is the future (managing Generation Z requires mastering the tools of social
media
• Human connections are more important than ever (less likely to resist authoritative
relationships) – will only perform for individuals when they are engaged in intensive
working relationships.
• Skill gaps – managing Generation Z requires a huge remedial effort on broad, transferable
skills like work habits, interpersonal communication, and critical thinking, and a huge
einvestment in remedial technical training
• Global mindset, local reality – Generation Z are less geographically adventurous
• Infinite diversity – Generation Z reflects a whole new way of thinking about difference.
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WHAT THE WORKPLACE
NEEDS FROM GENERATION Z
• Learn to manage yourself
• Get really good at managing complex shifting authority relationships (get really good at
managing your bosses)
• Contribute your time and effort no matter how lowly, mundane or repetitive your tasks and
responsibilities might be
• Learn to be high quality, high integrity and adaptable
• Hold yourself accountable and never make excuses
• Listen carefully, exhibit respect and kindness and celebrate the success of others
• Get lots of work done very well, never be a complainer, be a problem solver
• In addition, employers recognize that Generation Z likes to text and Tweet; however, they
need good written and verbal communication skills along with “hard” skills to be
successful.
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WHAT GENERATION Z NEEDS
FROM THE WORKPLACE
• Thrive on plenty of direction
• Opportunities to learn and advance in their careers
• New ways of interaction and communication (prefer text and email)
• Desire specific, detailed instructions about how to do things and are used to hovering
authorities
• Most comfortable with diversity and alternative lifestyles
• Commitment to technology and to social responsible policies
• Promote high-intensity relationships:
• Small, highly defined work groups with a strong peer leader
• Tight and well-defined and observed chain of command
• Teaching-style leadership
• Customer service-style management
• Provide continuing re-education – there is a growing nontechnical skill gap among the
emerging young workforce. The basics of personal responsibility, problem solving, time
management and interpersonal communication are way too often missing in the young
workforce
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• Define laser focus roles – the more structured and defined the roles and responsibilities,
the more quickly and effectively Generation Z are able to take on work and succeed
• Take control of (at least some of) the virtual ethos – command driven social media means
the employer controls who is in the group, what is discussed and when, and the employer
is able to supervise and participate in the online community
• Plan for global outreaching and local nesting
• Build continuity through short-term renewable loyalty – the most effective way to drive
performance and maintain ongoing working relationships with Generation Z is for
managers to explicitly negotiate performance and reward on an ongoing basis in a
transparent, open exchange
• Retain the superstars for the long term by building dream jobs – dream jobs are always
contingent on ongoing performance, but built on a longer term understanding of
tremendous work conditions, rewards and flexibility for the superstar in return for
consistent contribution with the intention of maintaining a long-term working relationship
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Ten Skills Most Employers Want
from Generation Z
 Ability to work as a team
 Ability to make decisions and solve problems
 Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work
 Ability to communicate verbally with people inside and
outside an organization
 Ability to obtain and process information
 Ability to analyze quantitative data
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Ten Skills Employers Most Want
from Generation Z (cont’d)
 Technical knowledge related to the job
 Proficiency with computer software programs
 Ability to create and/or edit written reports
 Ability to sell and influence others
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Competencies
 “Hard” or “Job Specific” Skills – often require
special training or education or are learned on-
the-job
 “Soft” or “Adaptive” Skills – are the people skills
needed to interact with others
 “Transferable skills – which are learned in one
context or industry but can be transferred to be
applied in many different work settings
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What is Career Coaching?
Career Coaching is an “interactive
process of exploring work-related
issues – leading to effective action – in
which the coach acts as both a catalyst
and facilitator of individual and
organizational development and
transformation.” (Marcia Bench, 2013)
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Career Coaching (Continued)
 Career Coaches connect people with their passion,
purpose, values, and other critical aspects of their
ideal work.They equip their students with career
management skills that can be used in future
transitions in addition to enhancing their current
work.They also facilitate their students’ process
of developing and implement a job search to
activate their AuthenticVocation.The main goal is
self-awareness. (Marcia Bench, 2013).
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AuthenticVocation
 Life Purpose
 Values
 Motivators and interests
 Knowledge, skills and abilities
 Work and other experiences
 Job/career targets
 Work environments
 Business reality (Marcia Bench, 2013)
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Those born since 1990 already represent nearly 7 percent of the
workplace, or more than 11 million people. According to research,
the segment will grow to 20 million by 2015, to 25 million by 2017
and to 30 million by 2019. With this generational cohort being so
large it is alarming that this group of workers lack interpersonal
skills and from a broader standpoint, the ability to look at a
situation, put it into context and make a decision. These workers
will be entering the workforce during a time when many Baby
Boomers will be retiring and organizations will need to put forth a
different style of attention and direction to help ensure their
success.
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Contact Information
Theresa Green-Ervin, M.A., DCF, MCC, GCDF-I, GCDF
Certified E-Learning Career Development Instructor
Doctoral Student (Organizational Leadership/
Human Resource Development)
(812) 327-9707 – mobile
etheresa@nova.edu
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Career coaching and the Multi-generational workforce

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