Discussants at Dive In Festival held virtually recently in 40 countries have highlighted strategic solutions to bridging generational gap in workplaces in order to obviate complexities that come with it.
In some organisations, for instance, age biases are unfortunately still entrenched instead of the organisations focusing on competence and diversity inclusion with aim of increasing productivity. This diversity sometimes leads to conflict that affect productivity.
But looking at strategic solutions to bridging the generational gap in the workplace, Omokunbi Adeoti, Head, Human Resources, Divisional Director, Leadway Assurance Company Limited who spoke at the virtual conference, according to a statement, proposed a BRAICE model.
According to her, for this gap to be bridged to enhance productivity, organizations must Be Flexible and open-minded in their style and approach; Respect individual strength and differences; Accept the reality of generational differences; Integrate these differences to drive generational goals through projects, teamwork and mentoring; Create an environment for free expression of these differences, including reward practices and explore all communication styles and channels.
“We cannot continue to pay lip service to the complexities that come with the generational differences in the workplace. It is imperative that we address it because it is fundamental to the growth and critical to an enduring legacy,” she said.
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Also speaking, Abimbola Shobanjo, head, Corporate Responsibility Unit, AIICO Insurance Plc, highlighted that the generational gap is due to differences in the behaviour between the different generations and this may lead to conflict or issues and complicate communication amongst a different generation.
Going on to cite examples of how generational gaps lead to conflict, Abimbola Shobanjo discussed how different generations approach different scenarios, tasks and challenges with different attitudes, resulting in communication gaps that can increase incidents of conflict and issues.
She said “these issues can present themselves in various ways and can be costly to an organization if care is not taken. Productivity can be hampered; it can affect cohesiveness in terms of teamwork. Misunderstandings could be on the increase, and all of this could instigate other issues like struggling to gain employee commitment, high turn-over of staff, and even difficulty in attracting good talent. It is therefore important that organizations intensify efforts to bridge this gap.” Shobanjo said.
Co-founder of African Family Firms, Nike Anani opened the event by making a case for better diversity and inclusion in the workplace, citing that age biases are unfortunately still entrenched in our workforces
As the conversation on diversity and inclusion gains more momentum, advocates and challengers are multiplying their voices and matching words with action. The Dive In Festival, as a movement, is helping increase the turnaround time from strategies to action by actively calling out and involving key stakeholders from the insurance sector to make the changes required.
The festival was held in nearly 40 countries across the globe and it returned to Nigeria for the third time
