Barney & Barney Blog From Rotary Phones to FaceTime: Employee Communication Across 5 Generations

Some of us remember when phones didn't have screens and FaceTime meant, well, face time. Others of us are old enough to remember when our phone's handset was connected to a long, curly cord and you could only walk a few steps before you had to make your way back to your desk. And the rest of us, though we might not want to admit it, remember moving a dial around with our index finger and waiting for the operator to connect us to the other party.With the passage of time, technology builds on itself, shifting our perceptions, how we do business, and how we communicate with our employees.According to the Society for Human Resource Management, for the first time in American history, there are five different generations found in the workplace. This poses a unique challenge for today's employers. How do we effectively meet the communication styles of each generation? You can- and should-leverage technology to communicate across your multi-generational team.To assist you in determining how to best adapt your communication strategy for your diverse workforce, let's take a look at each generation, their comfort-level with technology, and their preferred methods of communication.