Changing Course
Implementing change is hard. I’ve failed at it on many occasions. In most instances, powerful forces of human nature are strong at work against it. The use of the word alone can cause people to become defensive and uptight. Think of every time you’ve heard someone say “YOU HAVE TO CHANGE”. Coming from a spouse, a family member, a boss, or an employee, it always feels accusatory no matter what their intentions.
Change is often not a politically smart word to throw around these days either, considering the voting majority is typically the target of this change, and may be put off. In my organization, one solution I keep hearing is that the Boomers will just have to keep on working. Due in part to the financial aftermath of the Great Recession, coupled with an extended expected life spans, or possibly out of the fear that the “R” in retire subliminally stands for the “R” in R I P, it is a reasonable assertion that most Boomers will work well into their seventies and beyond.
The average age of a dues paying member in our association is 62, which is down from 64. (The decline is more so the result of death and retirement rather than young people entering the profession). Our current leadership suggests that if these members keep working for another 15 years we can avoid the financial collapse. According to the actuary tables, today’s standard white male will live to 79 to 81 years old, our saving grace. However, that’s cutting it pretty close. Additionally, we’ve underestimated the fact that most 70 year-olds now have to learn how to use unfamiliar technology. This has reduced their earning power substantially, and draws many questions about the economic sustainability of paying their higher wages.
Ah hah! We just hit something. We uncovered a need in the market place. How can we find an economically sustainable way to utilize the knowledge of the seasoned professional while also figuring out how to modernize their technical skill set? More importantly, how do we treat everybody with the level of respect they deserve as we look for solutions.
Looking for Solutions
Do you mind if I make a suggestion? There are 76 million millennials in our country today, people under the age of 34. Only 17% of this population has entered the work force so far, with a tsunami visible on the horizon. Currently, many of these folks are suffering worse than others from unemployment factors, and many are desperately seeking opportunities.
It’s time to realize that smart phones and online networking has changed our game- from business to politics. As a result, the ability to recruit and attract Millennial talent is greater than ever, and comes at a tremendous ease anywhere across the County, and even the world. However, to be effective at courting and maintaining a meaningful bond with them we need to change something about how we operate. This demographic has a dramatically different upbringing and exposure to the world.
The computer and the internet have been with them all their lives providing unfettered access to nearly all information ever generated. And their ability to form deep and lasting impressions on people anywhere in the world via video games, online networks, or massive open online courses is as expansive as the cosmos. However, for us to attract them we must meet them on their level, not on ours. Connecting on Linked-in, or just responding to a text, an email, or an online correspondence is just the starting point.
Saved by the Millenial
If it wasn’t for Millenials, I don’t think my business would have made it through the recession. In 2008 we had over 30 employees, currently we have 14. The recession and subsequent government regulations destroyed the way we did business. The only way out was to lay people off, cut services, and renegotiate contracts. In the course of this event, we got rid of our large industrial printers, eliminated paper consumption by going all-digital, reduced our space needs in a move, and invested in our technology systems.
Consequently, through this disturbance we lost a lot of senior staff between 2008 and 2010. In order to maintain the work flow coming in, as well as the emerging gluttony of appraisal work relating to the FDIC closing 15 banks in our State, I turned to hiring Millenials right out of Linked-in. I was blown away by the quality of the applicants. In fact, many of these candidates fit much better into our technology-centered systems than the folks that left or were laid off. They also tend to be better aligned with the vision for the future.
As such, my job shifted from being a technician to becoming a director. Every appraisal report was essentially broken into many small tasks - several of which were automated, while several were assigned to my new hires. Systems allowed us to train the new employees incrementally; progressing them into more complex task once they show proficiency each step along the way. Moreover, in this fashion, I had much more time to focus on the root of what makes our credentials stand out –predicting and articulating the future value of real estate.
Understanding Communication Preferences – Smart phones & App’s!
There are 1 billion smart phones in the world today, yet another 4 billion not-so-smart phones still exist. This gives a good picture of current communication preferences. However, in three to five years, there will be 5 billion smart phones. Each of which is far more powerful and effective than any computer you’ve ever used. They are the best known interface between humans, the internet, and the cloud; and it’s the forum where we will all operate in the near future.
It’s time to realize that we will never be cool or inviting to Millennials based on our pre-conceived notions. Our communication preferences tend to cater to our predecessor needs, not their needs. Someone once asked my why I dress so nice at work, and I responded, “it was the way my father and grandfather dressed, so why should it not work for me.”
I repeat, change is a difficult task. To let go of the attitude that the way we’ve been taught how to behave and act in a business setting is the only way. We need to let down our guard, replace our egos with a little self doubt and humility. The key is to figure out ways to make our success dependant on others success.
Part of the solution to this immediate need is to figure out how to bring Boomers and Millennials together. What if we could help facilitate a clean swap between their strengths and weaknesses?
If you have trouble following and understanding technology and how to modernize your firm…simply hire a Millennial.
They will be eager to teach you everything you want to learn, and even better, they will do most of it all for you with pleasure. They see opportunity in a different light. To them every business task we’ve been undertaking for decades, the old way, has the potential to be modernized via some type of computer, tablet or smart phone applications.
Ambitious Mellennials are thinking about how to convert every outdated technical task they can find into an efficient and easy to use smart phone app. This has the potential to bring inefficiencies to every function of your business- from technical skills, operations, finance, and especially advertising and marketing. In exchange, you can use your experience to help those Millennials build a diversity of knowledge-based skills, foster a winning reputation, and find security in a turbulent world.
It turns out change isn’t always bad, it’s just different. Like comparing four quarters to a dollar bill- you’re not losing any value. From my experiences owning a business, the change we’ve endured has been an important step towards securing a more stable future.
