As the baby boomers start to retire, it marks the beginning of a very strong culture shift from faith in the company toward faith in one another and the self.
Many of the new/now adults grew up to watch their parent lose jobs they had dedicated their lives to, the new generation grew up with an inherent distrust of corporations (stereotype). This is not something that can be motivated out of them (nor should it).
Instead, use the power you have over organising the office culture to build a unity through supported goals.
More than anything else, aim for as much visibility and transparency as possible. Every employee you oversee should be well versed in what their peers are involved with as well and how each goal interlocks with one another. Aside from being able to celebrate and share successes together, it creates a much stronger desire to perform well because the group will know if you have not been pulling your weight. The vast majority will find a way to succeed no matter what because their co-workers can stop in and check on their progress at any step of the way.
Support is yet another binding factor.
Whether through friendly competition or outright hope in the outcome of a peer’s goal, turning the individuals into a community is what truly makes the difference in what can and cannot be achieved.
Encouragement and mutual respect go a long way to improve an individual’s confidence, making them that much more likely to do what they can to see the best results.
By focusing everyone’s purposes on the achievement of a common purpose, a certain value is placed on the entire unit working together equally to make the results.
Finally, don’t be afraid to pass around good news and pats on the back.
If someone is working alone, be open about how appreciative you are of them and how impressed you are at their capabilities. Similarly, celebrate team goals in addition to singling out each member for some form of praise. Go so far as to have them all connect through social media so they can cheer on their coworkers both inside and outside of work. With a work force shown by TIME magazine to trust no one else but social media, accessing the power it holds over their spot on a team is irreplaceable.
With the ‘distrustful workforce‘ taking over, it’s time to realign corporate culture so that it fits with their needs while still reaching the benchmarks set in place by the managers.
Instead of the historically typical meetings, take the time to create a team-centric, goal-oriented body of individuals.
Only through earning their belief (using their personal value system) in one another can the business hope to achieve what it needs to in order to keep growing and expanding its influence.
© New To HR