The Leader - May/June 2008 - (Page 32)

real e stat e ManaGeMent Multi-Generational Work Force Design: PricewaterhouseCoopers Opens a New Headquarters in Ireland BY joHn e. HuGHes anD Bruce siMoneaux H appens every day. At a business meeting someone will look around, notice a number of fresh, new faces and say: “Wow, these people sure are young!” Of course “they” are, at least to some of us. That’s because four generations of people are working side by side for the first time in history. As baby boomers and older Traditionalists (now in their 60s) delay retirement and stay on the job, they’re rubbing shoulders with Generation Xers, most of whom are in their 30s, and the newest members of the office staff, the Millennials, still in their 20s. Many companies are wondering how to deal with this generational change. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Dublin, Ireland, recently opened a new headquarters that offers valuable answers. PwC’s 1,800 professional work force is younger than ever: 62 percent of the workers are under age 30; another 24 percent are in their 30s; and just 14 percent are over 40. Such a multigenerational work force presents challenges for PwC and practically every organization: How do you effectively manage a work force of diverse ages and expectations? How do you plan and build a workplace that performs for all ages? What are the best ways to facilitate the transfer of huge stores of accumulated business knowledge from older to younger workers? The right workplace definitely can help an organization meet these challenges. So many young people are coming into PwC’s work force, and management was determined to address a key issue for these people: having easy access to more experienced people, mentors, people they can learn from. And, it’s not as simple as just asking older workers to be mentors; the right environment needs to be in place. Younger workers tell us that the number one way they learn is by overhearing the veterans on staff. But if you put those experienced people in private offices, the younger people not only don’t hear those conversations, they’re intimidated by the private offices and they feel cut off from the people inside. Nor should workspace planners default to open offices for everyone. Different types of work require different workspaces, and different ages respond differently to different environments. PwC addressed these challenges head on. To better understand the needs of their growing ranks of GenX and Millennial workers, three years ago management began in-depth, ongoing discussions about the needs of all workers, how the workplace could better support individual work styles, and how to ensure that PwC’s new workplace tH e le aDe r 32 MaY / j u n e 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - May/June 2008

The Leader - May/June 2008 Leadership Contents Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Green Real Estate Work Without Boundries Building Flexibility Into the Business Strategy Multi-Generational Work-Force Design Work Force Longevity Analysis Wells Fargo's David Nelson Pennsylvania's Michael Rossman Globalization 2.0 Site Selection Consultant Directory The New York Report: A Core of Traditional and State-of-the-Art Opportunities Discovery Forum Findings Industry Tracker Young Leader Career Development Effective Leadership Economic Development in the News A Look Ahead In Our Next Issue Calendar of Seminars Index of Advertisers Executive Development Spotlight

The Leader - May/June 2008

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