Bridging the Generation Gap in the Face of the Talent Cliff. More and more baby boomers are retiring. Generation X is increasingly occupying leadership and managerial positions. Generation Y or millennials are increasingly dominant in the workforce. Generation Z is starting to enter the workforce. Under these conditions, organizations have the potential to experience what is called a talent cliff. This phenomenon, characterized by the rapid loss of institutional knowledge and skills as employees retire, poses significant challenges for sustainable talent management.
Bridging the Generation Gap in the Face of the Talent Cliff
Bridging the intergenerational gap is critical to reducing this talent cliff. By encouraging intergenerational collaboration, adopting inclusive workplace practices and aligning values across generations, organizations can retain top talent, build resilient teams and prepare employees for a challenging future.
The generation gap occurs when each generation has its own communication style, values and work preferences. The baby boomers, for example, are known for their high work ethic and loyalty. It’s no wonder that our parents rarely changed jobs until retirement. In addition, they highly value hierarchical organizational structures. Work achievement rewards were not as complex as they are today, limited to promotions and salary increases. Generation X is the generation that values work-life balance, wants more autonomy, and doesn’t like to be micromanaged. Generation Y grew up amidst the rapid development of the internet, information technology, and political freedom. They are tech-savvy, goal-oriented, value flexibility, inclusiveness, and opportunities for growth and innovation. Meanwhile, Generation Z are digital citizens. They expect seamless integration of technology in work and prioritize mental health, sustainability and diversity.
As more baby boomers retire, the potential for a talent cliff grows. The younger generation should not underestimate the baby boomers. There is certain knowledge, skills and wisdom that the generations below the baby boomers have not yet fully mastered. Many times, baby boomers who have retired are called back to work for the company. On the other hand, there are also many companies that still accept baby boomers to work because of their special experience and skills. At the country level, many baby boomers are now democratically elected as heads of state or government. Examples are the United States, Malaysia, Japan, and also Indonesia.
Adverse Impact
The talent gap is bad for organizations. Valuable knowledge and skills are lost. Leadership continuity is compromised. The cost of hiring and training employees increases. Tensions due to the generation gap also intensify.
How to overcome it? Organizations can promote cross-generational mentorship. Baby Boomers and Generation X can share institutional knowledge, leadership insights and technical expertise. Millennials and Generation Z can introduce fresh perspectives, digital proficiency and innovative approaches. For example, pairing a retiring senior engineer with a junior employee allows for the transfer of technical skills while allowing the senior employee to learn new tools or technologies.
Next, improving communication skills. Baby Boomers and Generation X often prefer face-to-face meetings or using e-mail, while Millennials and Generation Z prefer instant messaging and collaborative platforms (although this is not always the case). Faced with such a situation, Companies can provide diverse communication channels to accommodate a wide range of preferences. Keep in mind that communication is not just about the tools. Employees must be skilled at communicating with people from different generations. For this purpose, the Company can organize training. It is also necessary to organize informal interactions to increase familiarity.
To prevent knowledge loss, institutional knowledge needs to be disseminated. Institutional knowledge is a collection of information, understandings, and insights held by an organization or institution that develops over time through the experiences, practices, and processes that take place within it. This knowledge covers various aspects, such as policies, procedures, culture, values, ways of working, and internal and external relationships that are integral to the sustainability of the institution. Institutional knowledge is unique to each organization because it is formed from the institution’s specific history, structure, and experiences. To disseminate such institutional knowledge, the Company can develop knowledge management where retiring employees can document processes, best practices and historical insights.
To retain talent from any generation, organizations can offer flexible working arrangements. For example, offer phased retirement options for employees who are about to retire. The aim is for them to mentor younger employees. Another example is offering lateral career moves to explore different roles without having to stick to a traditional career path. For generations Y and Z, whose careers are still long, a personalized career development program can of course be developed.
As mentioned earlier, each generation has its own set of values. Organizations can align their values with the preferences of each generation.
Don’t forget to do reskilling and upskilling tailored to the needs of each generation. The goal is not only to equalize knowledge, but also to make the company more competitive. For example, leadership training for generations Y and Z and digital skills for generations above.
Bridging the Generation Gap in the Face of the Talent Cliff
Category: Human Capital and Talent Management
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