TEC's Chairman talks about the importance of succession planning for SMEs.
Announcement posted by The Executive Connection (TEC) Pty Ltd 28 Apr 2014
Cross-generational mentoring might be the answer
Nigel Stoke, TEC Chairman, discussed the importance of succession planning for SMEs.
“Employers and organisations with multigenerational workforces need to think about how they can build engagement, understanding and productivity across the generations. Cross-generational mentoring can be a great way to do it, as it recognises that both older and younger generations can teach and learn from each other,” Mr. Stoke said.
Cross-generational mentoring is a two-way coaching method that involves idea sharing between young and older employees for mutually beneficial outcomes, unlike traditional top-down mentoring.
Millennials are known as digital natives, but they use different languages, behaviour and value sets to those of the older generations working in the organisation. It is not just the challenge in communicating to each other within the business that presents a challenge to management, it’s also about training younger generations to communicate with an ageing customer base.
“Particularly in a service business, customers need to be able to relate with the employees servicing their requirements. This means employees must have the necessary skills to readily build trust and empathise with the needs of older generations. As many younger employees have had limited face-to-face interaction with older people, this is a skill area they may need to improve,” Mr Stoke added.
It is very important to improve all marketing communications to bridge the age gap between the SME's staff and its customers.
The whitepaper: Finding the gold in silver hair, by The Executive Connection, covers these and other related topics.