Leadership in the Multi-Generational Workforce

At HaTCH, we look into topics that we believe will benefit the startup community. This evening’s beneficial topic ‘Leadership in a Multi-Generational Workforce’ is vital in today’s era but is often overlooked by companies as there is no quantifiable ROI. Many companies do not acknowledge the danger of ignoring such an issue, which could potentially damage their businesses.

Our most recent HaTCH event took place at WeWork, Causeway Bay, with speakers Bonnie Chan Woo, CEO of Icicle, Fyiona Yong, Founder of Wholistic Coachsulting, Karena Belin, Co-Founder of WHub, and our very own Justin Leung, Director of HaTCH.

Leaders now have to manage up to four generations of employees that are entering the workforce and thus a ‘one-size fits all’ leadership approach does not work. To form a multi-generational team that is operative and productive, a leader must first understand that each generation needs to be managed differently. One must develop a strategy to get the most out of each generation and create generational harmony. Each generation is uniquely individual with different motivations and expectations.

From the discussions, these are the essentials you need to know on how to manage multiple generations within a workforce:

• Understand what your team wants; speak in depth with your employees and really get to know them

• Communication; create an environment where technology is not the only tool of communication

• Expectations; employees need to be clear on how everyone can contribute to the success of the company

• Modify your leadership style; cater to different generational needs

• Look for ideas to exploit strengths; each generation has their own strengths – use them to be operational and functional

Justin Leung, Director of HaTCH, also shares his best takeaways:

• Leadership is about empathy and offering genuine care to your people

• We need to move away from the stereotypical media portrayals of each generation and focus on how to motivate and drive people in a unique way

• Servant-Leader mentality. Humility makes great leaders

• Technology will add value to the recruitment process and help decision-makers make better hiring decisions but that is only half the story. Leaders need to spend time with their people, understand their people in order to be an effective leader. Only then will success follow

• The rise of the gig economy will inevitably change our economy in terms of how businesses operate. HR plays an important role and needs to be proactive in helping businesses transition and facilitate changes that come with it

When I spoke with our panellists after the event, they informed me that they learnt so much from each other's experiences and acquired information that they could immediately implement themselves in their own companies. They highlighted that it was a very engaging and insightful discussion and said we should host more events similar to this one.

If you are interested in hearing more about the event or want to learn more about the events we host then please connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at alex.king@hatch.careers.