Does your workplace foster collaboration between your employees, or do people from different generations and experience levels seem isolated from each other? Here are some steps to help you create a healthy work environment for all ages.
According to The Economist, the workplace is becoming increasingly more divided. Younger generations often resent Babyboomers for retiring later and making higher level positions unavailable to them. While, Generation X has difficulty dealing with the demands of often having Millenials—who are more tech-savvy than them—act as their bosses. This makes Millenials feel undermotivated and underappreciated at work, which results in Millenials leaving jobs at a much higher rate than those of older generations.
How can you retain your top talent, and what can you do to level the playing field? Below are some steps to creating a stronger team and collaborative work environment.
One Size Does Not Fit All Policy
Understand that the needs of each person, as well as each generation are different from each other. There is no magic key to unlock the perfect solution for everyone. However, you can create flexible policies that address the concerns of different groups of people in a universal way. Take Millenials’ need for growth in a company or positive feedback: all employees can benefit from this. If you implement a regular review policy where you let your employees know that you recognize their strengths and weaknesses, this tells your employees that you are paying attention.
No one wants to invest time in a company where they see zero opportunity for growth, so make sure that if a position becomes available at your place of work, you first look at the employees that you do have, and see if they would be a good fit for the job. Perhaps an admin has no project management experience on her resume, but she excels at time management, spearheads new projects, and is self-motivated: this makes her an excellent match for the position, and once she is promoted, it shows other employees that if they work hard, their hard work will be recognized.
Space Matters
Is your space setup to foster collaboration, or are your employees separated and cut-off from each other? Creating zones where your employees can brainstorm, hold meetings, or take breaks together helps improve work culture and employee relationships. Common workspaces, circular layouts, and choosing furniture that is modular, movable, and multipurpose encourage your employees to work together as a team.
Millenials Aren’t The Only Employees That Matter
Many articles have been written about how much time and effort companies are spending on recruiting and retaining Millenials as employees. Yet, employers overlook the fact that those from Gen X and Babyboomers have more experience in the workplace and have a great deal to offer. Make sure that your workplace has a healthy balance of different age groups and perspectives so that your company can grow and employees can learn from each other. It is important to create a workplace that is suitable for all ages. You can do this by recognizing the differences between generations, promoting internally, establishing a better workspace, and valuing your employees’ experience. Additionally, it is important to make sure that your work environment utilizes space in a way that fosters team building and collaboration.
Corovan can help you to create a floor-plan that encourages your coworkers to work together better. From space planning to selecting furniture and workstations, Corovan can cater to the needs of your employees so that you have a more productive and cohesive work environment.