The Gen X Files: How To Manage And Motivate Today’s Workforce

This shift in attitudes and trends is speeding up as Gen Xers are now moving into positions of leadership and management. Today’s reality is: if you are managing a business where a majority of employees are Gen Xers, your business will not succeed unless you manage them well. What does Generation X want? Here are eight ways to manage and motivate Generation X:

#1 MONEY. Let’s be honest - this generation wants money. They want tangible rewards. With the emergence of dot.coms, up until recently, many were making a lot of money. Xers were raised in a materialistic and affluent society. They care about how much they are paid, although they are not as money oriented as often perceived. Money is great, but it is just part of the total picture. Xers are savvy about what competitive wages are for the type of work being offered and know that skilled young workers are in demand. They know what they want.

#2 FEEDBACK. Xers need - they crave - feedback. They want feedback that provides acknowledgment of their progress and confirmation of their value. Let them know regularly when they are doing a good job. Why do Xers seem to need more feedback than perhaps you did?

Most Xers were raised in technologically intensive feedback environments. They expect the world to respond quickly to their input and want feedback to help measure their success and adjust their approach accordingly. They adapt quickly to the accelerating pace of change. Because most were raised as latchkey children, a majority of their time was spent without human interaction, so they need more reinforcement and human contact.

John Nesbitt coined a phrase, "High tech, high touch" from the book Megatrends. This generation needs high touch. Tell them about the job they are going to be doing and give them more instant feedback. Five minutes after they are on the job, they want to know how they are doing. The yearly performance review with a few paragraphs or delivered in 15 minutes just won’t cut it today. You’ve got to give Xers more feedback per square inch, per day, to really satisfy them.

#3 INTERESTING WORK. Xers want to be stimulated and challenged by interesting work. They want to feel that they are making a difference. They plan to work for employers as long as they are getting what they need - marketable skills, decision-making opportunities, tangible results and performance-based rewards. Create a great environment. Build a supportive and challenging workplace in which communication is encouraged, initiative is rewarded and development is provided. Create the kind of place that employees want to return to each and every day.

#4 CAREER PATH. The old model of paying dues for job security is dead. Growing up without security, Gen X is searching for secure ground in an insecure world. What matters to them is the ability to add value and sell that value. Xers are trading stability for mobility. They want a career path. They want to know where they are going to be going. With no promise of job security, Gen Xers are investing in themselves and finding managers willing to invest in their careers.

#5 ONGOING TRAINING. Training is key to keeping Gen X employees and keeping them enthusiastic. This generation wants and expects ongoing training. Gen Xers want to learn, grow and develop new skills. Develop Xers through mentoring programs. Provide learning opportunities at every level of the organization in the form of seminars, educational opportunities or training programs. Armed with new skills and motivated by the learning process, they will gladly assume new responsibilities and meet challenges with greater initiative. As long as Xers are learning and stretching, they will keep adding value in the form of tangible end results and will stick around.

#6 LIFE BALANCE. Work is important to Gen X, but it is not the No. 1 priority. Xers have strong outside interests including school, hobbies, family and social activities. They want balance in their lives. Boomers talked about it, as they worked 40, 50, 60, 70 hours a week, sacrificing their personal lives and sacrificing time with their kids. This is a generation that stands in reaction to the generation before it. They say, "We don’t necessarily buy into that." Xers do want to work - they want to be trained - but they also want some semblance of balance and have time to do things outside of work that interest them.

#7 INVOLVEMENT. Gen Xers want to be able to make suggestions to you on how you should run your company. That’s a radical concept, isn’t it? They want to know why things are being done this way when it would be so much smarter to do it that way. This is a generation that wants to know what is innovative about how you do your business. What are the new ideas? What is your approach? How progressive is it? Xers are much more likely to do a great job when they feel that their opinions count. When they are involved in a decision, they have "ownership" in it. As a result, the bottom line increases when employees have ownership.

#8 INDEPENDENCE. Gen Xers want a sense of independence. Xers were latchkey kids. Their parents may have been divorced or, most likely, both worked. As a result, Gen Xers were used to being on their own at an early age and have confidence in their ability to fend for themselves. On one hand, they need guidance, training and direction. On the other hand, they want independence. "Leave me alone. Don’t micromanage me. Give me the parameters, give me the ropes and teach me how to do it, but then let me design how I want to get it done for you." Why is that? They are used to being autonomous, they are used to being independent and they would like that from their employer as well.