EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT FOR EACH GENERATION IN EVERY SEASON Just as the "wheels on the bus go round and round," so does the engagement cycle for employees and managers alike. The challenge is to recognize what role best suits each employee and engage the multigenerational workforce accordingly.

"I do not like them Sam I am, I do not like Green Eggs and Ham… You do not like them. SO you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may I say…" Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham It seems as though every parent has used this story to expand their children’s horizons (or at least to get them to eat their broccoli) and yet the principle seems to get muted as soon as the doors to the workplace are opened. We challenge our kids to be open-minded, to be eager to learn, to try new things… yet the office is a place where things are done as they always have been. We know better, we know it doesn’t have to be this way. Some organizations are moving away from traditional learning methods and leading the way in innovation, while others are (not to be too offensive) stuck in the mud. What follows is meant to challenge some misconceptions you may have about training managers in the workplace and to explore the power of modular learning. Misconception #1: Not Enough Hours in the Day The passing of time enhances the quality of many things: wine, cheese, beef… but not all things benefit from more time. Milk sours with age, getting caught in traffic creates delays, and learning can fall on deaf ears if too much time passes. Time is something that needs to be invested wisely. Managers often shy away from training because of the investment of time. But training does not have to span days or weeks, it can be broken into smaller chunks for easier digestion. In fact according to a recent article by Sebastian Bailey, quoting research from the Journal of Applied Psychology, "a distributed approach to learning can increase transfer by 17 percent." Misconception # 2: Money, money, money… MONEY! Money makes the world go round… or at least it feels that way. Companies invest thousands of dollars every year measuring the ROI of training initiatives - as well they should. Even though people might like to think of training like a MasterCard commercial - priceless - the truth is the results have to impact the bottom line. Often modular learning is dismissed solely on financial investment, but little consideration is given to the time participants spend in traditional training. If time is money, then modular learning can save bucket loads.  Misconception #3: A Day in a Desk Keeps Disaster at Rest For decades the classroom has been the epicenter for learning. We spend twelve+ years behind a desk receiving mountains of information. It is natural to assume that this is the most effective way to transfer knowledge. However, merely sharing information through lectures and slide presentations requires participants to passively absorb and retain large amounts of content. And just like a sponge, there is only so much information one can absorb at a time. In order to build skill, participants need opportunities to connect with the content and apply it to their work - less passive listening, more action, application and practice. Modular Learning CAN Create Instant Experts Front line leaders never know what new challenges each day will bring. Their days are busy and unpredictable. They hire, orient new employees, coach, and manage performance. In their high-speed work environments, they only have time for training that is fast and targeted. They do not (always) have time for traditional approaches to knowledge sharing like "telling" someone the things they need to know, and "insisting" that they engage with that knowledge in a predetermined manner (as addressed above). The power of modular learning is in the discovery, conversation, and collaboration to "invite" learners to build meaning themselves. When we "invite" learning, we strengthen our ability to locate the resources we need to learn and to direct the course of our own learning. Understanding the principles that guide adult learning (according to Malcolm Knowels) is a great first step to instantly becoming an expert manager: People need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their training. Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for learning activities. Adults are most interested learning about things that are immediately relevant to their job or personal life. Adult learning is problem-centered ("How do I…?") So perhaps it’s time for you to venture into unknown territory, take ownership of your own learning and dive into a world of training that power packs content into bite-sized pieces.   ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Instant Expert Manager Series Overview The Best and Worst of Bite-Size Learning by Sebastian Bailey

Your organization invests a lot of energy and dollars into recruiting… but how can you ensure that your investment pays off in hiring top talent? Companies today are looking at every component of the recruitment process, trying new technologies and more web presence, but they may be overlooking a key element: interviewing. Hiring the best possible people requires topnotch talent scouts who can mix old-school interviewing with fresh, cutting-edge practices. It’s in a company’s best interest to make sure each interview counts-but how? "Questions & Answers,"  published in a client’s publication, offers a fresh look at this age-old component of recruitment. The article is a quick read, but should help you rethink how you approach candidates and impress top talent.  

Mentoring helps new employees of all ages stick around What does mentoring have to do with retaining your company’s most valuable employees? A lot, as it turns out. Sources show that 35% of employees who do not receive regular mentoring are likely to look for another job within 12 months. This key ingredient of retention is easy and inexpensive to implement, with the added bonus of helping to strengthen relationships across generations. We offer some basic tips to get you started in our recent article "Teach Employees to Stay: Talent retention and mentoring create a winning combination." We encourage you to give mentoring a try. Whether you pair up employees in a formal program, mentor them yourself, make open suggestions on mentoring, or—ideally—all of the above, you will not only be strengthening your organization’s retention rate, but also creating happier, more engaged employees of all generations. And that’s a win-win!

Is compressed learning the right strategy for your organization? Explore practical considerations with Devon and Beverly Kaye of Career Systems International. Click here to download their new article published in ASTD Links Plus.

Make an effort to gain insights into your next wave of employees. Those who have bought into the fact that the electrical industry must attract fresh young(er) talent to move into the future will need some basic groundwork on who their next batch of recently graduated recruits are, where to find them, and how to get their attention. Click here to read Diane’s article in the November 2013 issue of the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR.

Do you have communication gaps at work? The Learning Cafe has the solutions to end those miscommunications and implement tools to create a productive & harmonious work environment.

A sneak peak into a seminar with Diane Thielfoldt of The Learning Cafe. She gives life changing insight on who the key players are in helping you build your brand to have greater success in the workplace.

A sneak peak into a seminar with Diane Thielfoldt of The Learning Cafe. She gives life changing insight on who the key players are in helping you build your brand to have greater success in the workplace.

The Personal Learning Model is a test that helps you determine what your learning style is. Each of us have ways that we prefer to learn. Once we understand the way we learn can be more efficient and better at retaining information in the work place.

Here at The Learning Café, we are passionate and expert about learning. One of the key drivers of productive learning is pointed curiosity — the beautiful art of asking the right questions. Curious clients and colleagues often ask us to elaborate on the heartbeat of TLC. Here is our answer, in a video that gives you a glimpse inside the uniqueness and spirit of The Learning Café.

Every day 8,000 U.S. Baby Boomers turn 65 and consider retirement. Taking their place in the workforce are Generation Xers and Millennials, the former sharing similar Boomer generation work ethics and values and the latter often confounding their employers. Read comments from Diane via this link to the FABTECH Show Daily. Click here to view the one page version. Note that Diane will also be a keynote presenter and workshop leader on multi-generational workplace issues at FMA’s Annual Meeting on February 28th in Austin, Texas. More information is available at fmanet.org/calendar.

Managers, prepare yourselves! You’ve winnowed down a long list of candidates to a star Millennial, and are ready to make an offer. What are you going to be surprised by when that young employee starts settling in at your organization? Our recent article "What Millennials Won’t Tell You" reveals 8 statements that Millennial job candidates are thinking, that you wish you’d known—including "I’ve never had a real job before," and "I don’t communicate by phone or email." Don’t get us wrong—you WANT to hire members of this hard-working, team-oriented, promising generation. They are the future of your organization, after all. But you can avoid some surprises by reading the article, and perhaps asking some additional questions during interviews. In other words, be prepared!

Are there right and wrong ways to learn? Devon Scheef believes there are. Heresy! Think about it: Every day, you learn something new, whether it’s noodling around with a complicated app or honing the finer points of leadership. If you’re typical, you give each new endeavor 100% effort—but less than half the time, you end up not truly retaining the skills or lessons learned. You’ll learn more about being a heretic and applying Devon’s Personal Learning Model. Click on CultureSync’s Mega MashUp series to listen to Devon discuss different learning styles.

A recent study shows that 56% of U.S. workers rate work-life balance as a top consideration when deciding whether to join and/or remain with an employer. Different generations, however, have differnt priorities to balance. Flexibility is key to providing work-life balance to employees of all generations. Read the article here.

If your organization employs a sales force, you can pick up some valuable tips in this article. Useful for customer service teams and other customer-facing groups as well, the article details each generation’s preferences for communications and business relationships in general, as well as sales-specific dos and don’ts. Download the article published in Insulation Outlook by clicking here Selling to All Generations.

A recent study shows that 56% of U.S. workers rate work-life balance as a top consideration when deciding whether to join and/or remain with an employer. Different generations, however, have different priorities to balance. In this article, we cover ways to offer employees of all ages the balance they crave. You’ll find five simple tips for building a foundation of work-life balance throughout your department or organization. Work-life balance matters more than ever—click here to find out how to get it!

Transferring Knowledge from Baby Boomer Employees to the Next Generation(s) A generational change is slowly occurring in today’s workplace. With the oldest Baby Boomers now reaching the traditional age of retirement, we are about to see a dramatic shift as these long-time professionals leave the workforce—and some organizations will face an accompanying knowledge and skills deficit if they do not take steps to prevent it. Click here to read the article.

Mentoring can be the Swiss army knife of professional development within your organization—an all-in-one tool for training, personal growth, new employee orientation, and even increasing morale and motivation. Read about the benefits of reverse mentoring and the steps for implementing your program in our recently published article, "Reverse Mentoring: Why You Should Turn Mentoring on Its Head and Have Millennials Coach Older Workers." It contains the basics to help you get started adding this valuable tool to your organization’s Swiss army knife.

Today’s most effective mentoring bridges generations, pairing up employees of different ages to learn from each other. The good news about cross-generational mentoring is that when participants are different from one another, a greater degree of reciprocal learning can take place. The bad news is that a lack of understanding between generations can cause a real rift. How can you encourage that greater degree of learning while closing the rift? By helping mentors (and mentees) recognize and accept the other generation’s work style, expectations, and learning preferences. Read more in our recent article, "Mind the Gap: Dos and Don’ts for Bridging the Generation Gaps in Mentoring Relationships."

To: Baby Boomers From: Rhonda Lauritzen, occasional blogger and former latch-key-kid Subject: Generational misunderstandings and co-dependency Date: 2014 The purpose of this email is to provide information that you might find helpful, and to make a few recommendations so Boomers, Gen-X, and Millennials can work together in a spirit of mutual collaboration. As background, the sender of this email is a member of the small and sometimes-maligned Generation X, sandwiched between the two enormous cohorts that are the primary subject here. Given that we are all now side-by-side at work, it seemed timely to offer a third-party perspective. First, it has come to my attention that several stereotypes about the Millennial generation have been put forth. The following stereotypes require some clarification: Trophy generation Dependent on technology Still living at home In conversations with this generation, they wish to clear up a few misunderstandings about the above stereotypes and to ask your cooperation in refraining from perpetuating them. First, they are fully aware that there are winners and losers in the world. These young people are quite bright, ambitious, and capable of seeing the world for what it is—competitive as well as collaborative. This is sometimes in spite of, and sometimes resulting from their upbringing. Further, they wish for the record to reflect that they did not create the rules of the games in which everyone received a trophy. You did. They were just the kids that went from one activity to the next. Second, consider withholding criticism regarding Millennial use of technology lest they become unwilling to fix your computer. While they are, indeed, well-versed in the use of technology, they do not see themselves dependent. Your two generations may simply agree to disagree on this point; nevertheless, respect in your approach will go a long way to maintaining a mutually-beneficial relationship. Remember this when you call upon their skills. Third, if you have a millennial over the age of twenty-five living in your basement, the next paragraphs may be of interest. Before expressing frustration about this situation, please understand a few realities. This generation came of age during the biggest downturn since the Great Depression. Jobs that were readily available to you at their age evaporated before their eyes. Further, while you may have been working at their age, you urged them to postpone this in favor of a college degree—any degree—and at any cost. Now laden with thousands in debt, they find that piece of paper, simply that. Paper. What they need now is good old-fashioned work experience. This probably means going to work in entry-level positions. Neither you nor they are very happy about this, but before you complain, go have a chat with your parents or grandparents. Ask them—the children of the Great Depression and WWII—about work, sacrifice, and unfairness. Next, please realize that this college degree situation is not their fault. They were simply meeting your expectations to get an education. Now many of them feel they were sold a very expensive bill of goods. This may not be far from the truth. What to do now? As you make hiring decisions, please take a chance on these young people and help them gain the real-world experience they so desperately need. Mentor them. Encourage them to go get some actual skills, perhaps a certificate in a hands-on occupation. Have a frank conversation about taking job at the bottom so they can work their way up. Finally, please do not be disappointed if your son or daughter takes a position that is less than you had hoped. They need to start somewhere. With that said, the recession is over and it really is time for them to launch. Before you approach them with ultimatums, however, please take a moment to reflect on your role in the current situation. Has anything in your own behavior enabled this outcome? Is there a possibility that you and your children are engaged in a co-dependency that older generations might have viewed as, perhaps, unhealthy? The upside is that you have fostered a genuinely close relationship with your children. On the other hand, you may need to explain that it is okay for them to leave now. You will somehow manage without them. Baby steps. There is another topic they want to bring up but are not sure if it is okay yet. Namely, they genuinely do not understand your obsession with diversity. To them, the Civil Rights Movement is a distant event in history books. While you continue to debate issues of race, Gay marriage, and gender equality, they are quietly living it. What is all the fuss, they say? They view your hostility and rhetoric as perpetuating old divisions. Time to move on, they say. They may have a point. Finally, it has come to my attention that several behaviors have occurred in the past. This memorandum hereby informs you that the following are unacceptable and will not be tolerated: Hanging around your son or daughter’s college campus. Calling your son or daughter’s employer with questions or concerns about their performance. Blaming their generation for circumstances over which they had no control and that you probably created. Thank you for your consideration of these items. If you have any questions, concerns or feedback about this, please do not call another meeting. Please. Email would be much more efficient. P.S. As one aside, please take note of the complete sentences and coherent organization of this message. If you engage in criticism of younger colleagues and their lack of grammatical acuity, kindly refrain from including members of Generation X. While we are well-versed in texting and social media, we have worked hard to educate ourselves—both in school and the workplace. We understand the finer points of both written and verbal communication. Thank you. ________ To further the spirit of useful but unsolicited advice, I also offer this text to my younger friends: Sup Millenials Good news: Recession over. Yay! (Not 2 B Debbie Downer, but it prob. wont B the last. FYI, this is downturn #3 for GenX) What now? Time 2 get a job. Serious, sorry 2 hear UR degree is only paper. The debt sux. But what ya gonna do? Prob need 2 learn a skill. And by skill I mean…U got 5 fingers & super smart brain. Not just thumbs. These R gr8 assets so use em. About that job. U gotta start @ bottom. CEO by 30? Maybe. Oh, and bro. Stop texting UR parents all day. #creepy. About that…UR mom called. #AwkwardMoment She said totally OK if U move out now. She B OK. TBH, U so smart. Can do anything. Serious. U will B amazing! Go get ‘em. Rhonda Lauritzen is an occasional blogger, author of the book Every Essential Element and works in post-secondary technical education. Read more from Rhonda by stopping by her blog: http://www.rhondalauritzen.com/

HOW AND WHY TO RECRUIT MORE WOMEN INTO A MALE-DOMINATED INDUSTRY This past year, there has been a great deal of focus on boosting the number of Millennial workers to add balance to a workforce and help prepare organizations for the future—but what about evening the balance of male and female workers? Click here to read the article.

The Accelerated Millennial Manager

As a Millennial leader it often feels as though only two roads to career advancement exist: Be reminded of how young we are and that we need to wait our turn if we want to be in senior management or Ready, set, here’s the deep end - hope you can swim. Both leave us in the lurch, feeling neglected, and our talent wasted. But there is another option. "The Accelerated Millennial Manager" by Devon Scheef and Diane Thielfoldt is a breath of fresh air. They have not only taken the time to research but to understand the Millennial generation, mapping out strategic ways to harness our talents and get us off the bench (…finally!). They find the balance of articulating the value and potential we hold with practical steps that employers can take to move our careers to the next level. It is not a secret that we (in general) often forsake company loyalty in the effort to achieve our desired career goals - but it doesn’t have to be us vs them, my way or the highway. "The Accelerated Millennial Manager" exposes the reader to our desperate need to excel and then details the little (and big) things that can be done before we are ready for the role of senior management. We all know that we may not be ready to be CEO on day one (although don’t put it past us to have that ambition) but we do have creative vision that can push our company ahead of it’s competitors and are eager to work for a company willing to embrace us, coach us, and (when we are ready for it) let us lead. "The Accelerated Millennial Manager" shows you how to do precisely that. Every company looking forward to the future needs to read this and learn how to prepare a new generation for leadership success. The Accelerated Millennial Manager The Accelerated Millennial Manager