ESQ Legal Practice Magazine JUNE 2014 EDITION | Page 46

A MULTIGENERATIONAL
APPROACH TO
ENGAGEMENT AND
RETENSION
Some people dwell on the differences among the three or four generations in
the workplace and see them as obstacles to productivity and serenity.
Others ignore the differences or deny that they are real, saying that we all
are individuals. The observed truth lies somewhere in between.

W

e do need
to regard
each
person as
an
individual, avoid
stereotyping and remember
that not all behavior is derived
from generational factors.
Having said that, there are
observable patterns that a
large percentage of people (in
the U.S. and to a lesser but
growing extent in other parts
of the world) exhibit related to
formative influences while
they were growing up. Being
aware of these patterns and
attitudes is valuable when
designing strategies and
interacting as team members,
mentors/mentees, coaches and
supervisors.
I focus on using knowledge of
typical generational attributes,
differences and similarities to
boost motivation and
retention. In this article, I
specifically concentrate on the
three generations—Baby
Boomers, Generation X, and
Generation Y (or
Millennials)—that account for
most of the workplace
population today, and will for
the next five years (see chart
below). I discuss what each

46 I EsQ legal practice

generation is looking for in
work and career that you need
to tap into, assumptions to
challenge, why and how the
typical law firm culture
actually plays against what it
takes to retain both lawyers
and staff, and some strategies
to better meet engagement
and retention objectives.

∙ Regard time as currency

Generation Y/Millennials
∙ Were raised in a transactional
world and think in those
terms
∙ Think and live in the moment
∙ Were educated to ask
questions and expect the
opportunity to express their
views
THINGS TO REMEMBER
ABOUT EACH
WHAT ALL GENERATIONS
GENERATION
ARE LOOKING FOR
Many generational attributes All of these generations rate
are reflected in workplace
the following factors among
behavior. Keep these in mind the highest in their work lives
when developing engagement according to numerous
and retention strategies:
surveys:
∙ Meaningful work
Baby Boomers
∙ The opportunity to learn and
grow as a professional,
∙ Like in-person contact and
establishing relationships first whether as an attorney,
paralegal, in an administrative
∙ Are continual learners and
function (marketing, recruitwant to work for intellectual
ing, professional developstimulation
ment, IT, etc.), or as part of an
∙ Are still competitive and in
attorney team
the game, and most have no
∙ To feel appreciated and
concept of themselves as “old”
listened to
∙ Financial compensation
Generation X
∙ Nonfinancial rewards, such
∙ Are self-reliant, and want
as the time and ability to work
their own piece of the action
some of the time in locations
∙ Are willing to learn as they
outside the office
go
∙ Relief from intense stress
In addition, particularly for
attorneys who aspire to stay at

By Phyllis Weiss Haserot
a firm, there is usually a
strong desire to interact with
clients and to have a degree of
control over what work is
distributed to them.
While these factors are
motivators for all generations,
they may play out differently.
For example, the generations
tend to like to learn differently
(with the caveat that people
have different listening and
learning styles at any age).
The older generations are used
to attending—and giving—lectures and meeting in
person. Generations X and Y
want interaction, stimuli from
video, contests and games,
and immediate feedback. They
like to learn on their own time
from wherever they choose to
be. Gen Yers want a lot of
guidance because they want to
do everything right the first
time, and to work collaboratively. Gen Xers want their
own piece of work to handle
independently, and they want
a path to running a practice or
a client team. For some, their
patience has been running out.
Gen Y is an impatient
generation and doesn't buy
into the paying-your-duesfirst concept. The pace of
change they have lived
through negates the willingness to wait. In assessing their
progress, Gen Yers are not
interested in achieving the
components of career
satisfaction cited above in
serial fashion. They want to
have a check-in on their
progress much more frequently than annually or even
semi-annually. But the

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