Pub. 1 2018-2019 |Issue 4

14 • If you understand potential points of conflict, you can often prevent conflict or transform it into something constructive. The two major generations to consider right now are the two that have the largest number of members: the baby boom generation and millennials. • When members of the baby boomgeneration started their careers, long hours and amale-dominatedworkplace were the norm. It was a time of clear expectations and specific deadlines. Companies picked up the cost of dinners and taxi rides to reward employees as they put every availableminute into their work. • By the timemillennials entered the workforce, times had changed enormously. The atmosphere was more egalitarian and included bothmen andwomen. Millennial expectations prioritizedwork- life balance and flexibility in how andwhere employees could work. It also included time off for newparents of both genders. Improve your management of a diverse workforce by concentrating on the following specific areas: • Engagement and collaboration • Accountability and trust • The advantage of being diverse Engagement and Collaboration Too many employees have no personal investment in their work: • Gallup kept records about employee engagement between 2000 and 2015. During that time, only 32 percent of U.S. employees considered themselves to be committed to, enthusiastic about, and involved in their jobs. • The results were even worse worldwide, where only 13 percent of employees considered themselves to be engaged in their work. Happy employees are engaged in their work and are more likely to collaborate with their peers. That collaboration is a virtuous cycle that increases efficiency and therefore also increases productivity. As employees take ownership of their work, they pay attention to the details of their own work, but they also look out for others and for the organization as a whole. If your business is a family business, you have an advantage; the members of the family who work at the dealership are likely to have more of a motivation to be involved than someone outside the family. Of course, you will have other people outside the family who are also working in the business. How do you increase their engagement? You have to actively decide what kind of culture you want to build, and then intentionally create exactly that. People become engaged when they feel they are valued team members. With that in mind, one suggestion would be to enlarge the number of decision makers within the company so that employees know they have a genuine opportunity to make their voices heard and to have a say in how the business is run. If that idea appeals to you, Johann Hari wrote a book in 2018 called Lost Connections about the depression and anxiety that happen when people are disengaged not just from work but from life. He presents a good argument for making your business a cooperative instead of the more traditional hierarchical arrangement we expect to see in businesses. It’s worth reading. However you want to decide on the company’s objectives, though, you need objectives for the entire organization, and you also need to ask people to work toward making those objectives a reality. They probably won’t cooperate unless they see why cooperation is to their benefit, so think through that part of it as well. Gallup identified the following best practices that can improve employee engagement: • Engagement isn’t something to think about once a year and then forget. Make it something your dealership is always involved in improving. • You need some ideas about what to do that will be effective. Search the internet for “best practices for improving employee engagement.” The results will give you many different ideas for action. You are in the best position to decide what ideas would work for you, but it’s a good idea to be aware of what other companies, even in other industries, are doing. For example, you should check out what Google is doing to engage its employees. Whether you open up the decision making or not, you do need to ask your employees what they want to see in order to be more engaged with their work. • Use the feedback you get from employees and make a plan. • Take a baseline measurement before implementing plans. You can decide how far ahead you want to look, but three