Julie Parkinson, Director, IECL
Parkinson has worked in a diverse variety of companies, across which she has had to manage a multitude of individuals from different generations. “Australian via Yorkshire,” as she put it, she has quite diverse background personally as well.
We live in a changing world, according to Parkinson, where “Uber is the biggest taxi company in the world, but doesn't any vehicles, and Facebook is the most popular medium, but has no content.” And this world, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t just belong to the young and restless.
It’s important to define generations, and Parkinson identified 5 that are currently active in the workforce - loyal veterans over 70 years of age, the success-oriented baby boomers, skeptical Gen X, questioning Gen Y, and the as of yet mysterious Gen Z. Generation Y are currently overtaking the baby boomers in the Hong Kong market, and they tend to question everything. So in order to engage them, we have to explain things.
In order to manage the new generation, which is continuing to grow, Parkinson identified 5 things any organization can do right now to be a more hospitable and welcoming place for every generation.
- Facilitate purpose – explain your organisation’s purpose, answer the all-important why question
- Master storytelling – Telling your organisation’s story is instrumental
- Set up mentoring and reverse mentoring – Share wisdom across generations
- Coach your people – ask, don’t tell. As IECL defines it, have a structured conversation with a measurable outcome
- Encourage feedback – instead usual performance reviews, give feedback continuously and in the moment
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
