As the year starts to wind down, you might find yourself sitting among faculty and staff for an annual recognition ceremony, or you may find yourself planning one, looking for not just the right things to say to your team, but also the perfect gifts that represent their hard work through this bumpy year. Regardless of which seat you're in, be informed of the generational differences, and the unique needs of each—what motivates a baby boomer is much different than what motivates a Millennial.
Across all generations, reports are showing there are changes in what and how employees perceive appreciation awards, and what they expect. For example, years-of-service awards are broadly losing interest. It's not the 10-year clock or 50-year watch that keeps employees motivated to continue working full speed. In fact, many organizations are moving away from them—even from retirement celebrations.
But this doesn't mean that, if your school still participates in such gatherings, you should abandon your traditions. Not at all. It just shows that employees today are looking for other forms of recognition such as verbal confirmation, more responsibility, and authority to decide how to best perform their tasks,s and the freedom to pursue ideas they might have for improving things.
Other top motivators according to research are support and involvement, receiving the information needed to do their job, support when making a mistake, a choice of assignments, professional development opportunities, and flexible working hours.
Administrators who took part in a recent study conducted by OfficeArrow, revealed it was the simplest forms of thanks that meant the most—that the intangible was more profound than a coffee mug, a certificate, or a watch. This is certainly something to take into consideration while planning this year's ceremonies.
For the younger generations in the workforce (we're talking to you, Millenials), it's important to keep open channels of communication with your superiors—especially if your school is more traditional and you're among an older generation of faculty and staff. They need to know what fuels you to work your best. Don't expect your needs to be the norm, or to be understood right away. But do know that every manager wants his/her employees to be comfortable enough, and to have what they need to work to full potential. Let them know what you need to perform your best—let them know if it matters to you more how you're treated on a daily basis (receiving feedback, clear direction, the information you need to complete your tasks, etc.) rather than the occasional award. Preferred parking spaces or nominal gifts may be motivators for some, but if not for you, explain professionally and with gratitude what you would like to receive as an "award."
For the managers of multi generational staffs and faculties, one of the best ways to learn what your staff and faculty needs is to ask them to complete a simple survey. Asking for their feedback in and of itself is a great incentive and morale boost. And once you have a motivational baseline, you can be proactive rather then reactive in the way you interact and respond to employees. This will allow you to move away from the things they no longer value, and incorporate the things they do. But please note, it's important to never conduct a survey, even an informal one, if you don't fully intend on acting on the results in a visible way.
And of course, not all employees within the same generation share the same personality. Some will shine when publically awarded, while others appreciate a more private, one-on-one celebration of their hard work. This is an area that extends past the power of survey results. Understanding personality types isn't a talent every manager is naturally born with. But there are resources out there that you can reference to better develop your leadership skills.
We also have an online article for those of you that are worried about hanging onto your baby boomer teachers, "Seven Renewal Strategies for Veteran Teachers."
Or, if you're looking for additional information on Millenials (Generation Y), here is an interesting opinion piece, "10 Ways Generation Y Will Change the Workplace."
And, if you are a Millenial looking to bridge the gap between yourself and older generations in the office, we trust that your excellent Web surfing skills have already gotten you there, but just in case, here's one of our good finds.
