MULTI-GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY IN WORKFORCE: THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD!

Workforces are progressively becoming more diverse in age demographics, creating professional environments that possess experience and maturity as well as youthful exuberance in abundance. Companies which employ workers in wide ranges of age have the distinct advantage of creating a dynamic, multi-generational workforce -- with a diverse range of skill sets -- that is very much beneficial to the company.

A workforce comprising of contrasting age demographics creates an environment where each generation brings various skills and talents to the table. For example, young employees are more likely to have a strong grasp on the use of high-tech business mediums such as social networking, online product demonstrations and webcasting. Whereas, more mature professionals often have exceptional interpersonal skills and perform well in environments where traditional in-person communication is used. This diverse range of skill-sets provides an extra edge to a company that caters to a multi-generational demographic.

While younger generation employees may be credited with having good working knowledge of the latest business technology, more mature members of a workforce possess the advantage of traditional business skills. This diversity provides businesses with the ability to communicate and deal with customers across all age spectrums. For instance, one customer may prefer the fast pace of email correspondence, while another may appreciate the traditional formal business letter. A generationally diverse workforce can cater to both types of clients. Moreover, in a mixed-age workforce, where companies value knowledge, experience and skill above age, seniority and gender, employees of all age groups get ample opportunities to teach, share with and learn from one another.

So, we can infer that for organizations, a workforce comprising of employees belonging to very different age groups is necessary to survive and prosper in today’s world. But, it is imperative to note that, in order to cash in on this diversity factor, HR professionals all over the globe have to face a gigantic challenge of engaging & retaining professionals who are in different phases of their careers and have dissimilar priorities. Achieving this, in case of, HR professionals in India might be nothing less than a Herculean Task!

One might argue that organizations across the world have always had to manage a multi-generational workforce. While that is true, India’s current demographics are creating some unique challenges. Even as the world is greying, India is getting younger. By 2020, the average Indian will be only 29 years of age as compared to 37 in China and the U.S., 45 in Western Europe and 48 in Japan. Presently, more than half of India’s population is less than 25 years of age.

Given India’s population of over a billion, these make for very large numbers. What’s more, this large crop of new workers comes with a mental make-up very different from that of the earlier generations. Experts opine that this difference between generations is far more striking in India than elsewhere because of the country’s rapid pace of liberalization and increasing globalization since the 1990s. India has also leapfrogged through astounding advances in technology, including the adoption of mobile phones, the Internet and social media.

“India has gone through more changes in the past 20 years than most countries witness over a century,” says Amit K. Nandkeolyar, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Indian School of Business. Pointing to India’s vast socio-economic and cultural diversity, Nandkeolyar adds: “Employees come from different regions, religions, linguistic traditions, castes, communities, culinary tastes, races and genders. A generational difference adds another layer of complexity. This creates a workforce that can find itself divided in more ways than comparable workforces in most countries.”
The current generation in India joining the ranks in the workforce has seen abundance in options and affluence early in life. They are also more independent and more conscious of global opportunities. This may be reflected in the decreasing loyalty toward their employers and the increasing focus on short-term goals. Globally, the shift has not been so pronounced.

In India, the gap between the outlook of people who are taking decisions and those who are getting impacted by these decisions is broadening, resulting in a mismatch.

The Indian HR professionals must keep in mind that there is a lot at stake if this gap broadens further. The evolving inclinations of the current generation in India, pose perplexing challenges for organizations trying to attract, engage and retain them. If organizations don’t address the issues arising due to a multi-generational workforce, it may result in “a lower engagement rate, decrease in productivity and a higher attrition rate.” It might also lead to a situation of unrest among the workforce, ultimately resulting in a much lower output from the investment in human capital.

Senior executives of various top tier organizations state that if organizations don’t take appropriate steps, they will lose out on the best talent and new ideas, severely impacting the organization’s competitiveness. At the national level, India stands to lose out on the human resource that can take it forward.