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Core Themes | |||
| Knowledge Transfer | Generational Differences & Learning Preferences | The Business Case for Multigenerational Knowledge Transfer | Knowledge Transfer in a Digital World | |
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Knowledge transfer in most cases is difficult enough, let alone when you factor in the need to move knowledge across different generations of people. In this theme, we will capture the knowledge and insights of the Research Working Group as they discover and learn about the generational similarities, differences, enablers and barriers relevant to effective knowledge transfer. A starting point to develop an understanding of what we already know about many of the multigenerational aspects of knowledge transfer can be found in the presentation delivered in the final meeting of the Research Working Group entitled, Generational Learning Differences and Preferences: What Does Research Tells Us? Of particular importance are the slides that deal with perceptions and myths regarding the differences between generations. Generational Differences in Learning Styles: Do you have generational gaps? “A student at the university, Eric wakes up and peers at his PC to see how many instant messages (IMs) arrived while he slept. Several attempts to reach him are visible on the screen, along with various postings to the blog he’s been following. After a quick trip to the shower, he pulls up an electric mix of news, weather and sports on the homepage he customized using Yahoo. He then logs on to his campus account. A reminder pops up indicating that there will be a quiz in sociology today; another reminder lets him know that a lab report needs to be emailed to his chemistry professor by midnight. After a few quick IMs with friends he pulls up a wiki to review progress a teammate has made on a project they’re doing for their computer science class. He downloads yesterday’s chemistry lecture to his laptop; he’ll review it while he sits with a group of students in the student union working on other projects. After classes are over he has to go to the library because he can’t find an online resource he needs for a project. He rarely goes to the library to check out books; usually he uses Google or Wikipedia. Late that night as he’s working on his term paper, he switches back and forth from between the paper and the Internet-based multiplayer game he’s trying to win.”5 Were your first few minutes of a typical college day like this? If you are a Baby Boomer or a Gen Xer, probably not. If you are a Milennial, then this sounds a lot like you. In most cases, the knowledge provided by a source will need to be adapted to fit the needs of the receiver. This may require adapting transfer techniques to a few key differences in generational learning styles and motivations of both expert and receiver. To facilitate shared understanding, we used the following definitions of the various generations for this research effort. (Sources: Center for Creative Leadership "Emerging Leaders" Research Study; Generations at Work, Zemke Raines and Philipczak (2000); When Generations Collide, Lancaster and Stillman (2002)): Matures or Veterans (born 1925-1945). Veterans reflect what we refer to as “American values.” They are loyal and have respect for authority. Prefer “command and control” leadership and will make sacrifices for getting the job done. If you look at the organizations controlled by people in this age range, you will see how powerful the members of this generation are. Also called Silents. Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) These were the children born following World War II. There was a massive increase in the birth rate, known as the Baby Boom, which began shortly after the end of the war. They are very competitive and have faith in their ability to change things for the better. They are optimistic and idealistic but realize that loyalty is “dead.” They have much understanding of the history of the organization, enjoy leadership roles, are good team players and like to be recognized for their wisdom. Some researchers are beginning to divide Baby Boomers into two segments: those born between 1946 and 1955, called Early Boomers and Late Boomers (born 1955-1964) whose comprise the second half of the Baby Boom. Social scientists are beginning to study this segment of the boomers to identify differences from the early Boomers. Gen Xers (born 1965-1979) The group identified as Gen X began when the birth rate decreased after the end of the Baby Boom. The term Generation X became widespread after the publication in 1991 of Douglas Coupland's book of the same name. Gen Xers have seen much failure in public and personal institutions and trust themselves rather than institutions. They tend to be skeptical and independent and want work life balance. They dislike rules, red tape, corporate politics and prefer “business casual. Gen Yers (born 1980-1995) Very techno-savvy, value diversity and have a global perspective. Want lots of feedback and ongoing communication very entrepreneurial and expect managers to help their professional development. Don’t expect to stay in one job or career for too long. A few caveats. When making generalizations about any group, in this case different generations, a few cautions are warranted. First is the danger of overgeneralization. Generalizations about generations highlight broad trends. One will still find many differences within a generation just as there are differences between generations. In a paper that looked at when age, generation, life stage and career stage make a difference in the workplace, Pitt-Catsouphes and Smyer conclude that the generational perspective “can be a helpful, short hand way to factor in historical events or culture that may have a long term impact on a specific age cohort.” As different from considerations of age, life stage or career phase.6 (Source: The Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility Boston College, Issue Brief 09,: The 21st Century Multi-Generational Workplace. July 2007. pp. 4-5.) How do they learn? Baby Boomer and Gen Y learning styles can be very different with the former cohort known as “digital immigrants” and the latter as “digital natives.”7 The age at which one was exposed to technology has had a marked influence on the ways different generations learn. The Millennial cohort grew up with the Internet from the time they were young tots. Boomers came to computers and other technology later in life, while Generation X began using computers in their teenage years. The higher education industry pioneered research into Millennial learning styles when this cohort began attending college. Higher education found that the faculty and administration perspectives were considerably different from that of this generation of students. Research indicates: Generation X adapts easily to both formal and informal learning. Extensive research conducted by Bova and Kroth in the workplace documents some of the fundamental differences in the Gen X learning style.9 Three approaches appear to have relevance for Gen X:
This generation’s highest priority is for action learning in the workplace. They need to find solutions to real problems. Incidental learning is also high on their list. They like to learn from experience, even when they make mistakes. So don’t make fear of mistakes part of your management style. That talented up and comer might just leave for a more understanding workplace. Traditional classroom based learning is also a comfortable learning style, but one of considerably lower priority. When asked to rank the importance of each learning style on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest, Gen X ranked action learning as a 4.8, incidental learning as a 3.9 and formal training as 2.1. Having adopted technology in their adolescence, these employees are far more visual than verbal. What does that mean? Few words. Lots of visual images. And make it fun. Gen Y turns the baby boomer learning style right on it’s head. They learn best by inductive discovery and exploration. They want to do, not listen or be told. Jumping right in is their modus operandi. Trial and error is their preference. A Gen Yer is likely to take that technical manual the Boomer has read from cover to cover and put it up on a shelf “for future reference” just in case they run into a problem down the road. Connectivity is a hallmark of Gen Y, the first generation to grow up with technology. They have a vocabulary of strange sounding technologies – IM, Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts – that may hold great promise for knowledge transfer. (blog and wiki are not even in Spell check) But don’t get the wrong idea. Any member of Gen Y is likely to say “It’s not about technology. It’s about the learning technology enables me to do.” Compared to previous cohorts, this generation of employees places a high value on group and team oriented learning and they prefer constructing their understanding from many different sources rather than being presented with information. And even though computers have been described as “like oxygen” to Millennials, direct interface with experts is also important to them. Table 1 summarizes generational learning styles and preferences.
An exchange between members of different generations in the group illustrates how these differences can play out. Baby Boomers were taught and learned through formal instruction and lots of reading. A member of this generation may want to share everything he thinks is important in hard copy files or manuals and also provide a great deal of context for this information in stories or discussion. Gen Y and to some extent Gen X want practical knowledge that is limited to what they need to know now when facing a specific problem. And they want it quickly. In this type of situation, a disconnect can occur between the giver and receiver as evidenced in the following comments made in our meeting:
After seeing this comparison several boomers made the comment that the current learning style is more aligned with how they want to learn. It could very well be that the boomers have had a hand in creating the style of learning we observe in our youngest generation. Lessons Learned: A focus on the receiver is as important, if not more, as on the person with the knowledge. The RWG members, many of them practitioners responsible for knowledge transfer, came to the conclusion that most knowledge transfer is heavily focused on knowledge capture and the individual(s) with the knowledge to transfer. Knowledge Transfer efforts need to shift from a major emphasis on older workers about to retire and focus on the receiver, often a younger worker of a different generation. After all, if the receiver of the knowledge doesn’t get the knowledge in a useful way or find it meaningful, then the efforts of the ‘giver’ will be for naught. The digital divide is significant for a variety of reasons. Gen Y or Millennials experienced a more rapid introduction of new technologies from a very young age that broadened the digital gap. This gap also gives younger employees something of value to older sources in the organization. Gen X is closer in learning style to Boomers to than Gen Y. Traditional Knowledge Transfer techniques may work fine with Gen X but when the transfer is to Millennials, it will be more effective to modify how it is presented to them. Understanding learning preferences up front before attempting KT is desirable Members of younger generations, especially Gen Y, should be involved in decisions as to how the knowledge is provided to them. Participants in the initial meeting of the Research Working Group were predominantly older Baby Boomers, with one member from Gen X and one from Gen Y respectively. After numerous discussions involving the importance of social networking and gaming to younger workers (led by a Gen Y employee), one senior manager who had been somewhat skeptical about whether generation matters, came to what for him was a starling conclusion. “It hadn’t occurred to me that we need to focus on the people who will receive transferred knowledge. I realize now that I know absolutely nothing about how these younger employees communicate.” Before the end of the first two day meeting, RWG members recommended to the leaders that each member company bring at least one younger employee to future meetings to make sure their perspectives and insights on knowledge transfer and accessibility were factored into the group’s work. At another point, a Research Working Group member described an initiative she had begun to use storytelling and video to capture critical institutional knowledge. A Gen Y employee very politely commented “I want information that’s quick concise and to the point. I don’t want to listen to a story.” This interchange led to further discussion about how important it is for Boomers to want to have and to share a lot of “context” and history. As one member commented “Maybe we Boomers are just over-processing things.” Gen Y employees are usually interested in “just in time” information and knowledge. This is not surprising once one understands the Boomers roots in deductive learning and the Gen Y style of inductive learning. Few knowledge transfer programs use methods adapted to these differences and preferences in generational learning styles.
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