Workforce Transformation: - Hitachi Consulting

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Contents Does Leadership Need to Change? ............................................................. 3 The Coming Leadership Crisis ..................................................................... 3 A Theory of Generations ............................................................................... 4 Defining the Generations .............................................................................. 5 The Generations at Work .............................................................................. 6 The Solution to Leading the Multi-Generational Workforce: Knowledge Capital Management .................................................................. 10 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 12 About the Author ........................................................................................... 12 About Hitachi Consulting .............................................................................. 13 References ..................................................................................................... 15 2
―Within a decade, the massive boomer generation will begin to retire. At the same time, declining birth rates will mean fewer younger workers. Through savvy use of flexible work arrangements, innovative learning opportunities, and creative compensation and benefits programs, companies have the opportunity to retain valuable employees and prevent a "brain drain." — Ken Dychtwald President of Age Wave “Almost 8,000 Boomers turn 60 every day.‖ — U. S. Census Bureau Does Leadership Need to Change? Roger was a management consultant. For 20-plus years he helping clients build better relationships with their customers. Roger found that while segmenting customers, age was almost always a primary or secondary predictor of customer preferences and behavior. No surprise that data clearly indicated age matters, but why did it matter, he wondered? Were people changing their likes and dislikes as they became older? Were they adopting new behaviors as they passed through different life stages such as school, marriage, parenthood, or retirement? Roger sensed this was only part of the story. There were also differences that formed in certain age groups and persisted as that group grew older. He would find to his suprise this was also true of his workforce. Roger often interviewed bright, motivated, young people coming out of school and seeking a career in consulting. One particular interview, however, started a bit differently. When he went into the lobby to greet a candidate, she was sitting with another woman, having a conversation. As he walked back to his office with the candidate, he asked how she knew the other woman. "Oh, she's my mother,” she said. “She just wanted to check out what kind of place I might be working for.” This left Roger scratching his head. He couldn’t understand why a young person would bring a parent to a job interview or why a parent would agree to go. He also wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much. Had he known then what he knows now about the unique perspective of each of the three generations involved that day (Millennial job candidate, Gen-X manager, and Boomer parent), it would have been crystal clear. Roger vowed to learn more about what this new generation of workers valued and how to get the best performance from them. He found a delightful divergence of generations and an alarming convergence of trends pointing to a coming crisis in leadership. The Coming Leadership Crisis A historic generational shift that will lead to a crisis in American business leadership is underway. Companies that understand this shift and take action will retain their senior leaders, attract the next level of top talent, and cultivate a new generation of leaders. Those that don’t will find it increasingly difficult to compete in a complex, rapidly changing, global marketplace. The American workforce is changing in ways that are certain to create a shortage of experienced leaders at the precise time that large enterprises are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. These changes are due to basic demographics, structural changes in organizations, and generational attitudes and behaviors. The same demographics that warn of a future fiscal crisis in Social Security and Medicare will first fuel a leadership crisis in American business. Simply put, demographic trends have predestined that large numbers of workers are now reaching retirement age with fewer workers to replace them. 3
Page 1: A Knowledge-Driven Consulting ® Wh
Page 5 and 6: Defining the Generations Generation
Page 7 and 8: ―Between 1993 and 2003, a profoun
Page 9 and 10: Generation What They Value Getting
Page 11 and 12: ―Organizational Change Management
Page 13 and 14: global implementations and manage t
Page 15: References Bennis, W. & Thomas, R.

Workforce Transformation: - Hitachi Consulting

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