We're excited about the support our training market customers have given us on the Cam Marston "Four Generations" webinars. And so are our customers. Testimonials on the two events so far have ben terrific. Not only is the topic "hot" but Cam Marston's fast-paced, hour long webinar is helping hundreds of trainers and managers get their arms around the importance of respecting the differences between the four generations and how to recruit, motivate and retain the "best of the best."
The final Cam Marston webinar is scheduled for June 11 at 2PM Eastern. At just $195, the events are attractively priced and group discounts are available. The Question & Answer sessions have brought out several additional issues and challenges for Cam's response.
The webinar joins a family of informative and interactive Cam Marston products and services including two DVD's (available for streaming), our first e-learning course, keynotes, onsite workshops and train the trainer events. Call your Learning Communications Account Manager today (800.622.3610) for further information.
Here's what webinar attendees are saying:
"The webinar this morning was fantastic! I really enjoyed learning about generational differences in the workplace. The presentation style was engaging. I'm also interested in learning more about communication strategies. I really appreciated Cam's information about Advocate vs. Mentors."
"It was absolutely great! Also, I responded right back on line after the presentation, all positive remarks. I really enjoyed his approach -- so crisp and new with great examples utilized through commercials, e.g., Pepsi, etc. Can't wait to use his videos in my upcoming trainings."
Lloyd Singer
CEO
Learning Communications, LLC
The Cam Marston Webinar - Last Chance: June 11th - Mixing, Managing, and Maximizing Four Generations in the Workplace
For the first time in history, there are four generations in the workplace at the same time. Each of these age groups has different expectations and different demands, and employers who cannot recognize these will lose their best employees and see their workplaces in turmoil. In his Mixing, Managing, and Maximizing Four Generations webinar, Cam Marston helps managers and supervisors learn the techniques needed to handle cross-generational communications problems, avoid conflict, and maximize performance.
As a result of attending this webinar, you will:
Understand the characteristics, attitudes, and values of each generation and their workplace characteristics.
Learn how to harness the power of each generation's unique attributes to enhance organizational performance.
Identify specific actions you can take to coach, build better teams, motivate, retain and get great results for each generation.
Learn how to Gen-Flex? to communicate more effectively across the generations to avoid conflicts.
Who Should Attend: Managers, supervisors, diversity managers, team leaders, team members, and trainers Dates: June 11th
Price: $195
Includes:
Free copy of Generation Gaps: And How to Close Them - a DVD of Cam's cross-generational debate with consultant Judy Marston, his mother ($99 value)
Cam's whitepaper about Millennials - Peter Pan in the Workforce
Training Magazine and Learning Communications Survey on Generational Differences in the Workplace Executive Summary
Special Discounts on Cam's best-selling DVD-based training programs Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace and Managing Four Generations in the Workplace.
Managing Four Generations in the Workplace
For the first time in history, there are four generations in the workplace at the same time. Each of these age groups has different expectations and different demands, and employers who cannot recognize these will lose their best employees and see their workplaces in turmoil. More information
Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace
Best-selling generations program with Cam Marston. This program will educate and stimulate positive interaction among your people. It will also dramatically reduce workplace conflict and provide managers and supervisors with strategies for dealing with recruiting, retaining, and motivating, using the generational differences in a positive way. More information
Awesome!
A unique, entertaining and insightful view of Generation Y both from their own perspective and the perspective of older managers. More information
Dialogue: Now You're Talking: Dialogue Among Generations
A team dialogue demonstrates how the skills of dialogue can be used to bridge the personal and professional style differences that exist between employees of different ages. More information
Generation Why
Recorded in front of a live business audience, Eric Chester presents a stunning portrayal of America's new workforce, which he's dubbed Generation Why. More information
Generation Gaps - And How To Close Them
A 30-minute entertaining and informative onstage discussion (and occasional debate) of the generation gaps by consultants Cam Marston representing Gen X and Gen Y, and his mother Judy Marston representing the Boomers. More information
What You Are Is What You Were When...Again!- With Morris Massey
Presents a framework for understanding and working with all different types of people. Morris takes on assumptions about race, religion, age, gender and will help you develop strategies to deal with your homegrown prejudices and acceptance of others. More information
E-Learning - Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace
Take a look at the E-Learning version of the best-selling DVD program - Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace. This course will train your employees on how to recruit, retain, and motivate across the generations. Cam Marston will take your employees through the defining characteristics and values of the four generations in the workplace and explain how to deal with each of them to maximize productivity, and create a respectful corporate culture. The course takes about one hour to complete. Preview Now
Course includes:
Mix of video, text, and assessment pages
Pretest
Exercises
Post-Test Assessment
Randomized Post Test questions and answers
Selectable number of tries and passing grade for the Post Test
Completion certificate as a PDF to print or save
SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004 Compliant for integration with your LMS
Here are a few questions from Cam Marston's book,
Motivating the "What's In It For Me?" Workforce, for you to try to test both your memory and your "generations knowledge quotient." Read the questions and pick the generation. Answers below.
1. When I was a junior in high school the Grammy for Album of the year went to Bob Dylan for Time Out of Mind.
A. Mature B. Boomer C. Xer D.Millenial
2. Sometimes I get tired of hearing the word loyalty . I think people who have a lot of power like to throw that word down on the people who don't. Look at the record. Look at at all the people who were supposed to have long careers and big pensions and got unemployment and Social Security instead.
A. Mature B. Boomer C. Xer D. Millenial
3. You pay your dues. You make the sacrifices necessary to make things work. People today ask too many questions. They expect too much too soon. Just do what you're told. Get the job done. You'll get what you deserve in time. Your company puts a roof over your head and food on the table. You have an obligation.
A. Mature B. Boomer C. Xer D. Millenial
Answers
1. Millenial. A folk icon in the l960's, Dylan still turns out best sellers and Grammy winners. Time Out of Mind won the 1997 Grammy for Album of the Year.
2. Xer. Xers grew up witnessing many of the disappointments experienced by the Matures in terms of lost jobs and evaporated pensions. As a result, many are not very receptive to appeals for loyalty to employers.
3. Mature. Loyalty and duty are hallmark words for this generation. They put faith in staying the course and exercising patience in the face of adversity.
Ask Cam
Consultant, author, and speaker Cam Marston has worked with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses throughout the world to improve multigenerational relations and communications. Cam's programs and concepts are the result of more than twelve years' extensive research and study inside businesses of all sizes and sectors. In the course of his work, he has interviewed hundreds of representatives of the various generations.
Here are some questions and his answers from his webinars and that have been posted to our "Ask Cam" site
Question: With the Boomers remaining in the workplace, do you see the Millineums being the ones to take over management after the Boomers leave? The Xers would remain in the middle and left behind?
Answer: Today's tough economy has hit the Boomers hard and many are now realizing that they'll need to push retirement back a ways in order to be able to get there at all. So the Boomers are likely to be around longer than all of us had expected. If that is the case they are unlikely to let go of their leadership roles any time soon. So we all need to prepare for the Boomers to remain the primary influencers for a while to come. Eventually, though, they'll be replaced. That is obvious. But by whom?
The Gen X'ers are of the age to be the ones to replace the Boomers. The problem is that the bias of Generation Xers in general is to lead from afar. They are not the same managers as the Boomers. The X'ers like to tell people what to do and send them off to do it. The Boomers, by contrast, are consensus builders. The like bringing the team together to discuss the goals and the process. The X'ers are not the same way. So the Boomers, like all people, will want to find someone who is similar to them to replace themselves in the workplace and the X'ers are not similar. The Millennials, however, are similar. The Millennials and the Boomers are more face time and group oriented and the Boomers will feel more comfortable finding a Millennial to replace them. For this reason the Boomers are likely to select the Millennials to take over in management. Their leadership styles are similar: consensus builders, group focused, facing the team.
There are, though, quite a few Gen X'ers out there who have come to understand that their success as managers is about getting the team to perform well. And these X'ers have given up their behavior as the isolated manager and become more group and team focused. They have proven to be superb managers thus far, but they have changed their behavior to make it happen.
A challenge becoming apparent in the workplace is the lack of desire by the Millennials to manage, though. They don't like the responsibilities of leadership and the additional work that is needed to lead and manage. Or they don't like being separate from their team - they liked being in the "gang" but now, as manager, they're no longer in the gang and in some cases are turning down or getting out of their management roles to be back with their peers and not any different from them.
Question: I've listened to your descriptions but I don't feel like I fit into my own generation. Why?
Answer: There are a number of reasons for that. I think about 80% of a generation fits their profile. But 20% is still a big number. Here are some of the reasons:
Born in a non-Western nation. For people who are born in a non-Western nation, culture is often more dominant than generation.
Oldest children. Oldest children typically fit their parents' generation around work rather than their peers. They tend to show the work ethic of their parents.
Farmer's children. They seldom fit the profile. They are more like Boomers. They typically work sooner than their peers and I don't just mean ?pick up your room.? So they know how to work.
People who got out of the military. They typically have a sense of discipline that is different from those who were not in the military.
Question:How many companies are giving Millennials the ultimate flexibility they want?
Answer: Very few. Most companies are still run by Boomers and it makes them a little nervous. The ones that are doing the best make the Millennials earn their flexibility. They say something like, "We're glad you're here but to get flexibility in the work environment, you've got to qualify for it. Here's a list of how you qualify that you must hit reliably, repeatedly over time and you're granted the flexibility. So you hit your goals, exceed your goals over a period a time, we're going to give you the flexible workplace you want, but we're going to limit it. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, you can work from home. However, if you fall behind in your goals, that flexibility option will be removed."
So flexibility is not a right. It's a reward for good work and must continue to be earned. Many companies are concerned about retention and flexibility is a big key to retention. My experience working with companies is productivity goes up once it is known you can earn flexibility and they work extra hard to keep it.
Question:Has this kind of generational change happened before?
Answer: It has happened before. Go back to the Renaissance and we see it happening consistently since then. It is a pendulum movement away from a group orientation to individuality and it reaches a crescendo or a peak of individuality, an apex, and then it begins to make its way back. And I think we are beginning to see the early signs of the pendulum beginning to shift its direction and go back but it is too early to tell. It's a matter of hindsight, of looking back to say the pendulum began to change here.
We recently sponsored a broad learning industry survey conducted by Training Magazine on differences in Generational/Diversity training in the workplace.
Organizations of all sizes and from all segments of business/industry, higher education, government and healthcare need to understand the impact on their training programs of having four generations in the workplace at the same time.
Survey Says....
What are the most important outcomes from your training on generational differences?
The top 3 responses:
1. Improving communications between generations.
2.-tie Identifying specific leadership needs of each generation
Managing Four Generations in the Workplace - Introductory Exercise/Icebreaker
This is designed to begin thinking and discussion on generational understanding. The presenter/trainer may select from the following questions to pose to the group. Participants should have paper and pen/pencil to write down their responses. After all questions have been asked, the presenter/trainer may elicit the responses from the group either by asking the question and going around the room asking each participant for their response or may ask questions 2 ? 6 and ask for volunteer responses prefaced by the name they like to be called.
1. What is the name you like to be called?
2. Growing up at home, what were some of your favorite TV or radio programs?
3. As a teenager, what were two of your favorite music groups/stars?
4. What is a movie you have seen in the past year that you really enjoyed.
5. Who are two famous people you really admire?
6. What is an historic event that had a great impact on you? How would you describe that impact?
