In this age of rapid technological evolution, corporations are realizing that a major gap exists between younger workers who live and breathe digital technology and older employees that view each new innovation as a potential frustration or worse. It seems that succeeding with new technology in the workplace today often has more to do with culture and practices than with speeds and feeds. What happens in business when someone is incapable or struggling to adopt technology?
The reality is that technologically adept employees are rapidly becoming more valuable to companies as new applications and systems are integrated into normal operations. Many senior level employees have avoided participation in this technological revolution and they are realizing, that in order to maintain a competitive and employable edge, they have to adapt to those digital tools they were previously able to avoid. Getting them up to speed is not as simple as setting them up with online training or handing them a manual to reference. The process can be complicated and is many times a sensitive and frustrating experience to learn new business applications and opportunities.
But how does a company respect the technological expectations of younger workers while addressing the concerns and abilities of more experienced employees that still have great value to offer the organization? The bottom line is that organizations need a new awareness and plan to bridge the technology age gap in order to remain competitive.
In his latest book Generation Blend:Managing Across the Technology Age Gap, author Rob Salkowitz takes an in-depth look at how significant the challenge is for companies to overcome the technological disparity that exists between generations that view and utilize digital technology from very diverse perspectives. Salkowitz has observed that over the next 10-15 years, generational attitudes toward work and technology will continue to intersect with the arrival and integration of collaborative, networked information and digital tools. This trend is forcing companies to develop new practices for introducing more cultural technology adoption plans than simply implementing IT.
For many young workers, the use of IM, social network sites, online research, and digital communication tools in the workplace is an inherent reality, while more senior groups continue to operate more comfortably in an “offline” business process and mentality, and hierarchical management models. This situation becomes even more complex when you consider the importance of knowledge transfer within a company and that both groups are vital to an organization’s success.
According to Salkowitz, the technological needs and wants of younger workers are far more reliant on open technologies, and many companies are rooted in strict IT policies that actually deter the interest of potential young recruits. Salkowitz urges employers to consider how their IT policies are also HR policies.
In his book, Salkowitz offers many interesting solutions to overcome the gap. One such idea is the concept of reciprocal mentoring, which internally connects a young employee to a senior employee. The idea is that each has something vital to share with the other. The older group has the business understanding, relationships, and business values that they can transfer downstream. The younger group holds the understanding of technology and new communication tools, and can assist their senior colleagues in adopting these resources.
“Young workers have grown up marinated in digital technology, as opposed to Boomers who had to learn software and computers like immigrants learning to speak a foreign language,” said Salkowitz in our recent discussion. “Corporations realize that the experience of older employees needs to be transferred to the younger workers who think and operate in a more open digital perspective.” As much as these two groups are different, it is in organizations’ interest to promote harmony, interaction, and two-way knowledge exchange.
With the current retirement trends of the Boomers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a shortfall of 10 million workers by 2010. At the same time, the portion of the U.S. population under 45 years old will shrink 6 percent per year in the second decade of the 21st century. This shift is forcing companies to retain and retrain more senior level employees that simply do not have the inherent digital skill sets of the younger generation. These “Boomerang Boomers,” as Salkowitz describes, have the experience, credibility, and relationships that companies need, but they must overcome their digital shortfall.
Standing in the middle of the road, being caught in the generation between these cultural extremes, I can look in both directions and clearly see the disparity of these two powerful groups. The transition of top leadership blending with entry-level technologies will increase quickly. Salkowitz believes companies that recognize the situation, and mobilize a plan to address the gap, will have a far greater success rate in what still remains a digital divide.
— Peter W. Bowman, Executive Vice President, Avericom
I am 49 years old. When in college "the computer" was a gray terminal in the library. I majored in English literature and was absolutely convince the computer age would dawn, machines would take over the world, and mankind would be diminished. Yet I have now spent twenty years involved with the IT industry and clearly see this is not the case, at least not yet.
I may not understand the social libido of the average 18 year old high school senior in regards to technology, and my thumbs have yet to master utilizing text messaging, and I still have trouble with some remote controls for my home stereo and television, but the ability to print instantly, spell check, balance my bank account from my home, and deliver a full color presentation across the globe within minutes are tools I appreciate and utilize as they help my job duties become more efficient and return a lot of time to myself that would have otherwise been spent toiling on repetitive tasks.
When I learned to drive a car it was a manual shift (how many people here are unable to drive a standard?), there were no anti-lock brakes, no front wheel drive, no traction control devices, no remote starters, no gps navigation, no keyboard locks, no reverse lockout on the automatics, the dimmer switch was on the floor instead of a column handle, no heated seats, no center rear tail lights, no high intensity headlight beams, no elecronic car alarms, no lojack, no curb warning beepers/sensors, no idiot light to inform me the windshield washer was empty...
Yet I continue to drive automobiles and for some reason no state thought I needed additonal training or a refresher course in drivers education when the road sighns changed from text to pictures...
The difference in terms of technology and older people is the changes appear to be more encompassing in a very short period of time. Going from a five column "bid book", typewriter, and slide rule (or even a calculator), to Lotus Symphony was a HUGE jump in technology and it happened all in one shot.
I am the type of person who is better when I am "greased" in advance for any major change. Major suprises that change the entire way I perceive my work duties, my life, and my value to a company can easily raise insecurity issues in most of us. Properly greased and properly trained these generally older dinosaurs of the working world will likely adapt very well as they have a manual basis for the process whilemthe younger folks have more of a result driven perspective based on the capabilities of the tool instead of the reason for the tool in the first place.
Oh yea... I had one of those chrome surfer foot pedals too, to match the slotted mag wheels, nine inch steering wheel, and "leg burner" chrome sidepipes on my old Plymouth Fury "back in the day". Now I have a Camaro that is tuned with a computer, get better gas mileage than it did when it was stock, and runs the quarter mile in under 12 seconds with a sixty foot time of 3.2 seconds and hangs the front wheels in the air when it launches. Isn't technology wonderful?
I totally agree. There is no replacement for the hardwork and experience gained to do the same job that can be done technically in a matter of minutes by a digital device. Being able to turn on a dime in a different direction when technology fails is priceless. Experience comes in all shapes and sizes, and each experience can compliment the other. The hand cannot say to the thumb I don't need you because I've found a new way to hit the spacebar on the keypad as I type. That may be true, but it's good to hang on to the old thumb just in case. Unity is the key. In this highly ever evolving world of technology, we must continue to combine the old with the new. Knowledge engineering (the sharing of knowledge)has no age limit.
Ageism? I don't think this has much to do with ageism or age discrimination, but rather with prevailing technological view and bias from 2 camps, I would say the learning would have to come from both camp. The so call younger generation would need to learn wisdom from the older ones, this would aid them in the application of their technological knowhow. And the older ones likewise need to learn how to use and appreciate new technologies from the youger.
Working together and leaning from each other makes us better, stronger and more effective in our endeavors.
Technology is to help the business grow. In an organization everyone should be updated.Voice against technologgy is never heard. The lack of interest against technology is heard. The in-efficiency towards learning ability is heard. In order to teach the technology go for something new , a different approach. Before introducing any technology , it is better know the mindset of the people whom you are going to introduce. It is better first let them know the good things coming out of the technology. Increase the interest in them for the technology and then introduce it to them . It quite works sometimes.
I like your idea of making training available. To be quite honest, I really do think there is room in business for those who are tech savy, and those who are not.
Someday, somewhere along the way, there is going to be a major wake-up call, and all the companies who thought those employees who still did things the "old way" were obsolete, will be wishing they had more of them or scrambling to find at least one or two for themselves.
Am I saying computers will be going the way of the dinosaurs? Not in the least. But wait until that one major network crash hits and all a business has is tech oriented people. Those who can actually function without a computer or blackberry will be at a premium and could be the heroes of the day.
I hate to think of this blog or book as being a sweeping generalization that says age places you in some sort of unescapable box. I happen to agree that we need to focus on the senior group with training and integration of the proper, tested technologies that do have sustainable impact for organizations and within the social sphere. The fact is, the author of the book is also heavily involved in one non-profit organization called Older Adults Technology Services http://www.oatsny.org/ which is based out of New York. They are missioned in helping seniors use communications technologies.
The interesting challenge of training anyone in an older generation is that whatever the success methodology will end up being, you can't frustrate the individual or do it from a condescending position. It must be done with patience and persistence until they begin to experience the benefits of the technology and/or application.
The Internet is quickly becoming a true knowledge base that will break all barriers of age in the generations to come. Our challenge now is to engage the participation of the elderly so we do not lose their wisdom and experience in the mix while many of us are currently distracted by more of the technical utilities of the day.
Peter, thanks for the great article on my book, and for starting a good discussion here on the forum.
One quick clarification to avoid misunderstanding. Obviously plenty of people of all ages learn and use new technology quite comfortably. Some older workers face unique barriers, but these are due to lack of intense exposure to digital culture, not any inehrent cognitive issues, and they are easily surmounted under the right conditions.
The important difference is that people who have grown up marinated in digital technology tend to default to a view of organizations and problem solving as inherently collaborative, networked, multi-tasked, and instantly-responsive. That is not a perspective that comes naturally to most people who grew up in a more linear, command-and-control culture. It can be learned, but only if people first understand the real changes they are being expected to embrace. Absent that broader conversation, technology "solutions" in the multigeneraitonal workforce may not produce the desired results. Generation Blend looks those factors and suggests approaches to bridge the divide.
I think that some of the supposed age gap in technology relates to perceived usefulness of the technology vs. addiction to gadgetry.
I recall when faxes were quite the new and exciting thing. Then came pagers. Then cell phones, Now Blackberries. Having lived through these various "new and improved" eras, I'm now rather leery of attaching to any one of them because I know they will be supplanted by the next really super exciting "thing" that comes down the production road in about 3 months. I'm not averse to technology; I'm averse to gadget love.
And yes corporate IT has to put boundaries around technology because they have to protect the corporate systems (from hackers, from attacks, from becoming part of the zombie network) and because they have to support them.
Younger workers are indeed comfortable with technology, but very often refuse to recognize that a business cannot function the same way an individual can, and that tech "toys" are not necessarily the best choices for getting work done. Some do contribute to the business, and those should be adopted. But some are just irritations or distractions, and those cannot be accomodated.
Rather than categorize people by age, I'd rather we focus on what we can do to properly train and educate all workers in how to use technology for the benefit of the organization.
I agree that the younger gnereations are so wrapped in IM and social sites, but every couple of months something new with technology hits mainstream and playing catch up has become for many stick with what you know. Do you see the blending actually being effective with a seasoned individual ?
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