How to make the most of a multi-generational workplace

1. Avoid generalisations 

Rebekah Patterson ACMI fCMgr, secretary on the CMI South East Regional Board, and the panel’s Gen Z presence, urged managers to be curious and seek to understand people’s experiences, rather than lumping everyone of a certain age under the same umbrella. 

“Gen Z really isn't one-size-fits-all,” she said. Rebekah illustrated her point by stressing how, having spent most of her undergraduate years studying under Covid-19 restrictions, she now craves in-person collaboration in her career – counter to the stereotype that Gen Z is all about remote working.

She then urged managers to create space for different working styles and career aspirations. 

“Keep listening and keep creating workplaces that reflect the diversity of experience across generations,” she said. 

2. Share the wealth

Tim Brann, the creative lead and co-founder of Oxygen, described himself as “on the Millennial-Gen Z cusp”. He flagged the value of mentorship earlier in his career, when two experienced peers showed him “the ins and outs of what it takes to work for yourself”. 

“I gained an understanding of how to set myself up and run a business, how to market myself to people, how to generate invoices and how to submit my tax return,” he said.

When Tim came to be a direct line manager for the first time, he was able to pass the learnings on to people younger than him. 

Matt Platt CMgr FCMI, event lead on the CMI South East Regional Board, shared how a former employer used to run “randomised coffee trials”. 

“We would pair people together randomly from a list of people who’d put themselves forward,” he explained. “They then had to arrange a 30-minute coffee. This happened once a month and people would rotate. It was absolutely brilliant. The conversations, with people you wouldn't normally talk to, surfaced all sorts of different possibilities.”

3. Tap into what drives people

Stuart Campbell CMgr FCMI, fundraiser and marketing director at Global, said the challenge lies in digging down and finding people’s varying motivations in order to get the best out of them.