With the everyday age of workers in western economies being 40-50 years old, and also the speed of growth of those within the 55-years-and-older demographic increasing roughly three times that of the general labour force, we are seeing the fast emergence of an innovative phenomenon: five very different generations of employees co-existing in the same workforce and these are Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers and also the Silent Generation.
In the pre-pandemic world and even more so post-pandemic, it’s clear that workplace diversity – in terms of gender, age, ethnic background, and other factors – is also a critical factor in shaping organizational culture. To completely unlock employee potential and to attain essential business value from increased workforce diversity, leaders must make more practical use of modern workforce management and human capital management (HCM) technologies, empowering individuals to work in ways in which best suit them.
Unlocking the advantages of a multigenerational workforce
Nowadays, employers need to create a working culture where employees both young and old feel inspired, supported, and equally empowered to enjoy life in and outside of work. This is particularly relevant in today’s environment in which there are added stresses caused by the current crisis. This should uplift many of the best young employees to “boomerang” back to the company after leaving to try out a new role – creating brand ambassadors for the future.
Employee experience + engagement = business success
When it involves engaging frontline employees, it is increasingly critical that managers are trained in how the changing nature of employee expectations and their overall experience impacts the extent of engagement with their work. A good employee experience leads to positive engagement, which results in the success of the business.
As work environments still open and adapt to the new regulations resulting from Covid-19, it will be especially important for HR departments and managers to understand what the varying expectations of the workforce are, how they have changed in light of the crisis.
Adopting an analytical approach to your workforce
As AI and ML technologies still in advance, workforce management systems are rapidly increasing in sophistication. To take full advantage of these innovations, business leaders are increasingly choosing advanced versions of HCM technologies to enable them to hold out an in-depth analysis of the vast pools of data that organizations now have on their employees.
Through converting and simplifying the process of making sense of this ocean of data, businesses can make timely, accurate, and company-specific decisions to assist solve critical HR issues like absence, shift scheduling, or gauging employee morale.
Transform the worker experience: flexibility for all
The bottom line is, success in business means keeping today’s and tomorrow’s increasingly diverse, multigenerational workforce happy and active at all times. It is vital to grasp that the present employee landscape is punctuated by a growing desire for flexibility, balance, and stress on worker welfare – areas that have only grown in importance within the Covid-19 world.
