Pub. 3 2013 Issue 1

20 www.azbankers.org The following facts are a given: • If you have several generations in the workforce, each one of those generations will have some cultural differences from the others. Someone who remembers being delighted with that first microwave oven and who still isn’t so sure about texting is not going to have the same attitude as someone who has grown up taking the Internet for granted and who considers unlimited texting to be a necessity, not an innovation. • In 2010, one out of five employees was retirement age or older. By 2025, experts predict that the ratio will have got- ten smaller. They expect that one-fourth of all employees will be retirement age. Some 60 percent of all businesses are now reporting that they have problems with intergenerational conflict. Since companies with conflict tend to be companies where the employees disengage and don’t do their best work, it is a good idea to learn how to turn differences to your advantage. The first thing to get clarity about is that our youth-centered culture is going to have to adapt, and fast. That isn’t just true in general, it is something that applies specifically to businesses. How do you help employees who have not grown up with the newest technologies to function as effectively as possible? • You can’t just decide to limit your employee base to young people. It wouldn’t be legal, for one thing. In the past, age discrimination has been a hard thing for employ- ees to prove, with many companies getting away with discriminatory behavior, but as more and more people age, you can be sure the lawyers and lawmakers will perk up and take a bigger interest in the matter. • You can limit your exposure to age discrimination claims just by making sure you aren’t, in fact, discriminating. This is a case of the right behavior also being the smart behavior. Another thing to consider is a simple truth: wisdom really does come from experience. Some employees may be difficult or impossible to replace. When you are running a business, it isn’t smart to always go for the cheapest employees. Some- times you need more than what an inexperienced person can be expected to give you. But if you need experience, you will have to pay accordingly. The good news is, that experienced person may end up bringing much more profitability to your company than the seemingly less-expensive choice could ever have done. Q Workplace Demographics — continued from page 19