Sarah Walker-Smith, CEO of leading law firm Shakespeare Martineau, hosted an expert panel discussing leadership best practice and busting myths about motivating a five generation workforce.
Ninder Johal, CEO of Nachural Group and Henrietta Brealey, CEO of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce – the youngest CEO of the Chamber on record - joined Sarah in a live webinar on Tuesday 15 June at 4pm to discuss whether it is true that millennials need constant praise and feedback and that boomers will be resistant to change, or whether this is just a stereotype.
Sarah Walker-Smith said: “As the life expectancy and retirement age increases, so does the span of ages in the workplace. With greater technology and fast-paced lives it’s thought that priorities, mind set and culture differences between generations are shifting quicker than ever.
“We’ve also seen surprising reactions for different age groups during the pandemic, in particular the struggles some younger people have faced: while we expected Gen Z and Millennials to quickly adapt to the technology of home working, we hadn’t anticipated the impact of less face-to-face mentoring time early on in their career, or the impact crowded house shares, or lack of garden space may have had on the mental health of some younger people.”
With some businesses now employing up to five generations: from Gen Z who are in their late teens and early twenties, right through to the ‘silent generation’ who are in their 70s how do you cater for different life experience, expectations and natural skills? What have we learned from the pandemic and what practical actions can leaders to take to motivate their five generation workforce? Does age even matter, or is attitude enough to transcend generations?
