With Generation Z entering the world of work, companies are for the first time required to attract, motivate and retain four generations with a corporate culture and to create a working environment in which each generation feels comfortable.

Few managers are prepared for this. It is precisely in the differences between the generations that companies have great potential for innovation, productivity and efficiency, but also the greatest danger of demotivating employees and losing their commitment.

Together with Prof. Christian Scholz from Saarbrücken, we have developed a workshop for managers who work a lot with Generation Z and are themselves X or Baby Boomers.

Active generation management offers the opportunity to question existing skills and attitudes. The aim is to understand the different motives of the four generations and to derive recommendations for action for day-to-day management.

Our experience shows that the stereotyping of individual generations tends to promote conflict in companies. We therefore work with a scientifically based motive profile so that whenever people are to work together in groups – or more importantly learn from each other – the values and life motives of each other can be accepted.

The duration of company affiliation is a value in the systemic organizational constellation – is addressed and respected in our project – but does not result in any claim to hierarchy in our project approach, as Generation Z is critical of hierarchies and these are not important for mutual learning.

Modern age management

Managers have a prominent role to play in age management, with studies focusing primarily on the integration and continued employment of older employees. In our view, ageing management must be about looking at all generations. This should not just be about preventing and dealing with age discrimination, even though we see major challenges for companies in this area.

We are convinced that a great advantage lies in a mix of employees, which makes innovation, creativity and efficiency possible, taking into account the wealth of experience of Generation X and baby boomers.

The World Economic Forum even speaks of a leverage of the age-diverse workforce through generational intelligence in the company.

We advise against deficit thinking as a clear obstacle to the necessary cultural change and the tasks that lie ahead.

In cross-gen age management, we concentrate on the following key consulting areas:

• Treatment of maintaining the ability to work of all generations
• Recognizing the potential of all generations (no deficit thinking)
• Consciously working with and against stereotyping
• Regular review of demographics
• No “one fits all” principle in HR and management
• Cross-gen learning – learning together without hierarchies
• Sensitization for the language
• Professional handling of intergenerational conflicts