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There’s a good chance that at some point, your company will have the advantage of employing a generational blend of Millennials, Generation X, and Boomers. Here’s why this is great:

• You have the benefit of three different perspectives and a variety of skill sets.
• You can use the Boomers of today to groom the professionals of tomorrow.
• Your Boomer team can get an innovative boost while your Millennials and Generation X can gain valuable experience.

Here’s why this mix of generations poses a problem for a lot of employers, at least at first glance: The small matter of motivation. How do you motivate three different generations? Is waving a juicy bonus in front of them like a carrot on a stick enough? The good news is that according to data we collected from our Career Motivation Profile, Millennials, Generation X, and Boomers are very much motivated by the same things, with a few notable exceptions.

Generational Similarities

Millennials, Generation X, and Boomers share 8 of the top 10 motivators (the test assesses 23 different motivators in total):

Generational Differences

Millennials – Structure and Order

Despite the rampant (and false) belief that Millennials are self-absorbed, self-serving, and fickle, our research reveals a rather surprising statistic: This age group thrives on structure. They want their duties and roles made clear. They want to know exactly what is expected of them.

Millennials – Power

These are not opportunistic usurpers. Millennials may want to be promoted to a more prominent position at some point in their career but what they want right now is the privilege to be a part of company’s decisions. If they are going to stay in an organization in the long-term, they want to play a role in deciding where the company is headed.

Gen X – Power

Much like Millennials, Generation X doesn’t want to sit on the sidelines. Given that they are the future leaders of the company, they want to have every opportunity to offer their input on a company’s vision and goals.

Gen X – Stability

Most Generation Xers are at a point in their life where they want to lay a solid groundwork for their future. This means that many are purchasing cars, homes, are getting married and raising a family. This makes job security a very attractive perk for this generation.

Boomers – Stability

With a family already established for younger Boomers and retirement on the horizon for older Boomers, job security is also important to this generation. Unless they are truly unhappy with their jobs, most people of this generation are unlikely to make sudden career changes and would prefer to stick with a company in the long-term.

Boomers – Financial Reward

Boomers understand the value of hard work. They have no problem taking on additional responsibilities and putting in a few extra hours, but they want to be financially compensated. With a family to take care of and a retirement future to plan, bringing more money in is important to Boomers.

Don’t miss part three of this blog series for practical tips on motivating employees of various generations.

If you’re interested in using CAMOP (Career Motivation Profile) or other tests for HR purposes, request a free trial for ARCH Profile here.

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