Generation gaps are bound to happen in the workplace. Older employees sometimes have a hard time with younger staff members and their ways of approaching a project. There are few ways you can encourage healthy relationships between all of your team, no matter their age.

Bias

Be sure that you are not holding a bias towards any of your workers. A lack of respect will be picked up by everyone in the office, leading to bad relationships. They may be in a different place in their lives, but you still need to listen without rolling your eyes or making sarcastic comments. If you as the leader show respect towards your employees, your team will follow your lead.
 

Point Of View

Take some time to understand where they are coming from. Younger generations have been trained to move fast and to get a lot of stuff done with the help of technology. Older generations may have a more methodical and slower approach to getting a task done in order to not miss anything. Both approaches will get the task accomplished, but they may have different methods to the end result. Work with your team members to get them to see each other’s methods and maybe they can work together as a team.
 

Not Everyone Acts Their Age

Not all staff members from the same generation will act the same way. Everyone has a different way of working on a project. Be sure to leave space for this, and encourage your team members to learn from each other. They will learn how to work together and can be more productive when learning about each other.
 

Technology

This can be one of the hardest gaps to bridge when working with different generations. The millennials have been trained to use technology for almost everything. Older generations may not have had the same training and may feel lost when it comes to using current methods. There can be room for both methods, but one may not understand the other. Take the time to develop a system that works for everyone on your team, and take some time to train both sides on how to work with it.

If you are looking for solutions to your team management, give us a call today at 800-865-0948. We would be happy to work with you and your company to get you headed on the right track. A well-oiled team will give you more sales and a better functioning company. Don’t wait!