Tips in Helping Older Employees Feel Comfortable With Younger Bloods
Bringing younger employees into your team might make the older ones feel uneasy. They dislike the idea that these younger people will take over and discredit their ideas. They will also feel that their time is about to end and they no longer serve any purpose. The truth is you’re a team. You want everyone to feel comfortable with whomever is in the circle. Having perspectives from different age groups can be a good thing. Here’s what you should do to ensure that older employees don’t feel uncomfortable when you hire someone young.
Be clear about the responsibilities
Just like any other hire, make sure that you’re clear about the responsibilities. These young people must know what is expected of them and where they stand in the business. Everyone else must know the reason for hiring someone new. It’s the only way to draw the line and allow each employee to feel secure about their position.
Allow these people to work together
Older employees can learn something from the young ones and vice versa. Allow these people to work closely. Younger employees might teach new ways to use technology while older employees can teach the younger ones how things work in the industry. They understand trends and the changing market. Again, everyone has a unique perspective and the company will benefit from these interactions in the long run.
Listen to everyone
You must give employees a seat at the table. Everyone should have the chance to speak up. You can’t allow only the older employees to share their views while eliminating what the younger ones think about. You also can’t do it the other way where you only listen to younger employees because you think others have obsolete ideas. Equal chances of being heard will only boost the company’s success.
Treat everyone equally
When you offer feedback, be constructive. Don’t limit your feedback to younger employees while allowing the older ones to keep working like they did nothing wrong. Your feedback helps everyone in the team. Again, there must be an opportunity for growth and it should not be limited only to a certain demographic group. The same applies to other aspects of running the business. You can’t make your employees feel like you favor one over the other. The last thing you want to happen is to scare some employees and they decide to leave the team.
The clash of ideas and attitudes due to age gap is normal. It’s the same dynamic at home, or even in society at large. You shouldn’t fear these differences. You just have to manage these people properly to ensure that there’s no friction. Again, everyone can learn from each other. There’s no reason for older employees to feel uneasy because you brought someone new to the team. There must be an opportunity for growth.
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/newscms/2015_28/667531/old-young-workplace-stock-today-tease-150708.jpg
2nd image from https://buildingindiana.com/seven-tips-for-young-managers-with-older-workers/
