CRM - November 2008 - (Page 15)

CRM TRENDS AND NEWS ANALYSIS businesses encourage this transition. “We need to do this to engage younger people,” Piktialis notes. “They’re not going to come to us.” She warns, however, that unless innovative technology is “mission critical” to a specific knowledge transfer, you should avoid haphazard adoption of newfangled and unproven systems. Older generations typically were committed to a company, sometimes for their entire professional careers, but younger workers are notorious for moving around, staying at a job for at most two to three years. “People aren’t necessarily feeling they owe the company, or [that] they need to leave a legacy,” Piktialis says. She suggests, however, that this lack of loyalty is not restricted to a particular generation—that it actually In a multigenerational workforce, knowledge transfer becomes represents a cultural shift. She may be an ever-more-complicated challenge right—many workers are unlikely to be Diane Piktialis, program leader at re- at the same jobs they were at a decade eneration Y’s entrance into the workforce marks the first search firm The Conference Board and ago. Part of the problem is that overall employee turnover is on the rise again: time in modern history that co-author of the report. But while the scope of the problem In 1992, the unemployment rate peaked four generations are working side by side. Bridging a potential 50-year may be new, the underlying nature of it at 7.8 percent; after more than a decade age gap between existing employees isn’t. Knowledge transfer has been a con- of declines, it was headed back in that dimeans companies have to acknowledge cern for as long as jobs have been avail- rection, rising past 6 percent at press time. Even if knowledge transfer has evolved not just cultural differences, but a loom- able. The techniques involved, however, ing knowledge-transfer crisis. Despite have been radically altered by the adop- into more than just a generational conthe improvements in quality of health tion of technology. Younger generations cern, those on the receiving end of any and the constrictions in financial secu- in particular are used to life on a high- knowledge transfer often have age-specific rity that have combined to push back speed connection. “[They] just want the motivations. Dorianne Cotter-Lockard, the typical age of retirement, this multi- information they need, when they need an independent consultant, told the audigenerational workforce will see its oldest it. They don’t want to listen to a long ence at the Office 2.0 conference this past employees exit sooner rather than later, story,” Piktialis says. Instead of holding September that, for Gen Y, “loyalty and stability [are] a thing of the and preserving the insight they possess group classes on the compast.” But John Vasellina—a is critical to customer-facing operations. pany’s history and context, for Giving inherited fellow panelist and a Gen Yer A new report, Bridging the Gaps, as- instance, she suggests a series knowledge to working at pharmaceutical sesses 11 different industry-leading com- of podcasts focusing on the self-interested company Genentech—dispanies, including Procter & Gamble and core message. “It’s not to say agreed, saying that the only fadAmerican Express, to address the long- you’re dumbing things down,” employees ing loyalty is blind loyalty. “I hypothesized multigenerational divide. she assures. “It’s about adapta- requires framing “When we launched this working group, tion to new learning styles.” that knowledge as have a lot of loyalty,” he told the audience, “but I’m always Technology promotes efficompanies were saying, ‘We don’t underthinking about how to develop stand younger generations. We don’t un- ciency and increased produc- a valuable asset myself.” Daniel Brusilovsky, the derstand how they communicate,’” says tivity, so it’s only logical that for them. Working with the Years G www.destinationCRM.com CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | NOVEMBER 2008 15 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - November 2008

CRM - November 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Working with the Years CRM on Twitter Virtual Spenders Contact Centers Chatting to Success The Complexity Chasm Required Reading Generational Spending: A Special Report Who, What, Where, When, Y The Slackers’ X-cellent Adventure The Boomer Boom The Matures Endure Boosting Productivity North of the Border Changing the Channel Invicta’s Thrill of Victory Secret of My Success Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - November 2008

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