Hilary Clifford, Partner at Starfish Search, brought together leaders and experts for a webinar on Intergenerational Diversity.

Speakers included:

Rebecca Robins – a leading speaker on generational diversity
Lis Skeet – Director of Operations at Samaritans
Martin Rix (MRICS) – Chief Executive at Belong
Victoria McLean – CEO of City CV | International Career Consultancy | Hanover Group.

Starfish was created to change the world through human talent and as a company we bring dedication and commitment to authentic diversity as we search for tomorrow’s leaders. Diversity is more than representation and in the dynamic world of work today, intergenerational diversity is a significant factor in shaping the cohesion and performance of teams. Perhaps for the first time ever, we have five generations in the workforce and as we identify every generation, whether it is Silent, Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial or Gen Z, each brings its own perspective, strengths, and weaknesses.

Taking time to really understand the differences and identify the commonalities can be highly beneficial. Focusing on what we share as people in work and why we want to work in the jobs we have. Although we are all shaped by our experiences growing up, in education and employment, every generation also shares the same experience in getting a sense of purpose from work, valuing recognition and building relationships, connectivity and a sense of community with colleagues.  As the world in which we live and work changes at a rapid pace, we need to harness the strengths and experiences of each generation to build an agile and resilient workforce.

At Starfish Search we are future focused, developing leaders of tomorrow and working with many of our clients to consider the positive power of generational diversity. This may include sourcing from alternative talent pools and providing different career pathways to identifying the real benefits of each generation and celebrating this to promote understanding and reduce bias.  All of this is vital in considering your staff teams, working with volunteers, remaining relevant to current and future audiences and matching demand for your services.

Managing intergenerational differences effectively in the workplace is vital to create advantage and overlooking this can lead to communication barriers, bias and cultural fragmentation. When employers put time and effort into understanding different needs then there are many benefits to be had. At Samaritans, an organisation with over 20,000 volunteers and 300 staff, there is significant age diversity across the groups. Investing in intergenerational training, teams and structures creates higher levels of energy and understanding in a non-hierarchical structure with a common purpose, delivering support to people and preventing deaths from suicide.

At Belong, a leading provider of specialist care for older people, they value generational diversity, for their teams and their residents, seeing the value of reverse mentoring, innovation and implementation and providing reassurance and experience across the age ranges.

Many companies and charities are establishing Next Gen boards or Youth Advisory boards to inform future strategy, build market insight and test value propositions.

Organisations which value diversity and embed it across their structures, systems and processes, have a much greater chance of creating authentically inclusive cultures and in turn will attract people who want to join them and who have the curiosity, agility and appetite for learning which adds collaborative muscle to any employer.

Life is changing at speed and at Starfish we are here to navigate this unpredictability. Whether it is senior leadership talent, non-executive directors, or interim managers that you need, Starfish will help you find the right leaders to carry you upwards through change and beyond.

Contact Hilary.Clifford@starfishsearch.com  for a further conversation