Workforce Management Featured Article
Tech in the Workplace: Millennials or Baby Boomers?
We keep hearing about millennials in the workplace and how this larger population of people working today’s jobs are coming in with all new expectations, demands and attitudes when compared to the Baby Boomers that were once flooding the workforce.
Everything from being entitled, to being much more technologically advanced than any other generation, have been the accusations. But what do millennials really do for the workforce? Is the impact positive or negative? The answer is two-fold.
If your business relies on technologies and moving through mobile applications and menu trees, maybe having mostly millennials on your team is beneficial. I’ve witnessed some older users pecking at the keyboard and it is a painful sight. But others argue that millennials haven’t developed the people skills and the same dedication to their workplaces like those of the past. They are more fickle and will easily leave a job if they no longer feel it serves them.
As you think about managing your workforce and getting tools to ensure they are performing optimally and delivering quality care for customers, think about what traits and characteristics are going to best define your brand and help you to deliver the best services for your customers.
This could be a hybrid of both workers as we transition into the new generation of the workplace and the customer. Or your business might be ready to leave those less technically inclined behind.
Chances are if you rely on technologies, you might lean toward the latter. It’s not to say that older generations can’t keep up or use technology to perform their jobs well – but there is a naturalness to the way millennials can navigate tech due to the fact that it’s been a part of their lives since they were literally born.
As a recent HRN blog notes, millennials were at one time small children with baby monitors on their cribs and many of them took cellphones to school with them. They have never known a time without technology in some capacity in their lives.
In most workplaces, the best way to tackle this issue is to find a common ground. Both generations have their own benefits to add and both can learn a thing or two from one another. Ensuring that fairness and understanding are in place is a great place to start.
How’s your workforce management going?
Edited by Alicia Young