Boomers, gen-xers, millennials, oh my!

Veterinary team members, just like clients and society at large, come from multiple generations. Having insight to some generational traits can help you best manage your team. Everyone in the workforce has had the following thought at some point; “Ugh, they are such a ______.” This blank can be filled with “baby boomer,” “gen X-er,” “millennial,” “gen Z-er,” – a thought usually surrounded by negative connotations. However, generations are defined by specific date parameters, yet are shaped by their experiences in life and the workforce. Learning what drives and encourages employees from different generations will be a benefit to your managerial style and the overall wellbeing of your team. When discussing management methods and styles, generational differences are often overlooked, but can be a huge asset to encouraging teamwork. Indeed, the backbone of the veterinary field is teamwork, so becoming knowledgeable about how individual teammates think and interact will be a benefit to management. There are multiple ways to encourage team members from different generations to work together. You are should look beyond a team member’s generational title and look at them for the unique aspects they bring to the veterinary team and field. Use the generational traits to not fuel unconscious biases, but, instead, as a starting point to managing a more successful team. This first starts with understanding the different generations. Multiple veterinary professionals have been interviewed pertaining to the generation that they belong to and how that affects their work in the field. Their voices will be represented throughout this article. Baby boomers The baby boomer generation consists of people born between 1946 and 1964. These employees are extremely hardworking, and their strong work ethic supports this. This generation enjoys having set goals to achieve and appreciates being recognized for the skills that allow them to accomplish these goals. Since most people from this generation did not grow up using computers they value face-to-face interaction, but they will learn a new skill such as utilizing computers for their job. These employees tend to enjoy mentoring others, and sharing the knowledge and expertise they have learned over time. Generation X Gen X consists of people born between 1965 and 1980. These employees are extremely self-reliant and hardworking; give them a task and they will make sure they accomplish it. This generation also prefers more of a hands-off approach when it comes to management. They tend to prefer having less managerial supervision and would like more autonomy in completing their job responsibilities. Thanks to their strengths, they can handle this. This age group of employees were shaped by the evolution of personal computers, so they are comfortable with both online and in-person communication. They want to feel needed by their colleagues and management, and value receiving feedback that will allow them to better themselves. Elizabeth Thompson, DVM, a veterinarian belonging to gen X based in Tazewell, TN, who works with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and has worked in veterinary technician education for the past 14 years, says her generation is “the generation that are doing the best to bridge the gaps between older and younger generations entering our world.” This is incredibly beneficial to managers in the field who can rely on gen X employees to help the other generations better understand and work alongside each other. Millennials The millennial generation consists of people born between 1981 and 1996. This generation is now the largest within the current workforce, spanning both veterinarians and support staff. This generation of employees grew up alongside technology, and the utilization and integration of the internet in their work life. Due to this history, technology is how they prefer to communicate. They tend to prefer instant messaging, email, or text to communicate with each other and with their teammates. This can be slightly difficult for a management team who is used to calling to discuss items, but sometimes the most important aspect of managing others is meeting them where they are. Generation Z Gen Z are people born between 1997 and 2012. This generation has never known a time without smartphones and can be considered digital natives. They will be the employees to help you navigate all your new technologies and will make it look easy. The employees from this generation put more focus on who a person is, enjoy being personable with others, and getting to know them on a deeper level. These employees will look for flexibility in multiple areas of their lives, including work. This means they will seek different ways to accomplish tasks and will provide their input on how processes can be improved. They look for a highly collaborative relationship with their managerial team and expect to be heard when they bring up new ideas or ways of doing things. Generational communication One of the first steps in managing a team consisting of employees from multiple generations is knowing how to communicate with them. There is overlap in how different generations prefer to communicate at work and sometimes the most important aspect of managing others is understanding their preferences, even in terms of communication. The majority of employees in the field belong to the gen X or millennial generations, and these employees tend to prefer email as their main communication tool. Phone calls as a communication tool is being phased out, while instant messenger and texting is becoming more common. Amy DeLisle, DVM, a veterinarian belonging to the “zillennial generation” (between gen X and millennial) based in Commerce, TX, shares her stance on managing different generations within the veterinary field. DeLisle, director of the Texas A&M University-Commerce BioMedical Technology Program, says, “We have to be flexible and creative to retain people in the field. Meet them where they are. Meeting people where they’re at instead of having one set of expectations for everybody.” Using the type of communication that your employees prefer to discuss work is a simple way to join them on their comfort level. Generations helping generations Each generation has something that can be learned from another that will be beneficial to the overall health of the veterinary team. Finding ways to allow this transfer of knowledge and skills will benefit any veterinary practice. The older generations tend to contain employees who not only love to help others, but also enjoy training and sharing their wealth of experience and knowledge. This can be extremely beneficial to the younger generations who are eager to learn new tasks and fuel their desire for a deeper purpose within the team. This creates an opportunity where the management team can develop a type of training program within their veterinary team. This can be beneficial in that younger employees are learning from the older generation of employees’ experience and knowledge, while the younger generation of employees could assist in showing the older staff a new way to look at tasks. Ali Ayres is a veterinary assistant who is currently attending veterinary technology school and belongs to gen Z, based in Boone, NC. Ayres, who works at the Pet Care Clinic of the High Country, explains how she feels about different generations educating each other. “Baby boomer and gen X people are more willing to teach the other younger people.” This is from her experience in the veterinary field, and as a manager, it is vital to be open to the ideas brought forth by your multi-generational team. These training programs can coincide with additional trainings on issues that affect everyone within the team: stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, etc. Hosting these trainings as a team can have the added benefit of allowing members from differing generations to better understand how their teammates feel about the topics and why. How to manage a multi-generational team As a veterinary professional/manager, you have the unique opportunity to not only bridge the generational gap between your team, but to also help them understand each other’s differing roles within the veterinary team. Christy Schwarts, executive director for Virginia Veterinary Specialists located in Charlottesville, VA, and a gen Xer, says, “The best part is the different experience and ideas brought to the environment. If managers do not use that to their advantage, then they are not good managers or leaders. Every single person can bring something to the table, not being open minded as a manager is one of the worst things that we can do.” One thing any manager in the veterinary field can do to help their team is to be open. Listen to your team, encourage them to share their ideas with you. One aspect where older generations can benefit from learning from younger generations is working on work-life balance. Baby boomers started their careers measuring their work ethic by the number of hours they worked in a week, and gen X followed in their footsteps. With the introduction of millennial and gen Z, employees has come the importance of work-life balance. Just because older generations have shaped their work experience with a lack of work-life balance, does not mean we can continue to overwork them or to let that bleed over into the younger generations. As a manager or teammate to older generations, it is important to help them set those boundaries that will help them from burning out and experiencing fatigue in the workplace. The younger generations can help by explaining why work-life balance is important to them and the positivity it brings to their lives. This can also be beneficial as it shows the older generation of employees just because the younger generation prefers to work less hours, they are still working hard and are a valuable part of the team. All generations within the workforce can appreciate work-life balance and how it benefits them as employees, but to who they are as a person, and the team as a whole. Generations and client relations The shift in generations we are seeing in the veterinary field is also occurring with clients. Being open to learning as a team to interact with people from other generations will also help to benefit the clientele of any veterinary practice. It is possible to have team members from different generations put together a quick presentation of how their generation interacts from the client side of the field. This tends to allow them the opportunity to explain the process behind the client interactions and allows the team members from other generations to get a glimpse behind the curtain of how generational differences affects their clientele. Just because we have generalized employees from different generations does not mean every person will fit into their square perfectly. Also, people want to do better for themselves and the future. Sarah M. Meyer, CVT, a director of a veterinary technology program at Pensacola State College, part of gen X, put it best: “Educate yourself from credible sources on how to communicate and work with different generations. Be open-minded about how different generations learn and live.” Do not think just because someone belongs to one specific generation, they are not willing to learn and grow alongside other generations. Use your knowledge of the different generations and continue to build a better veterinary profession. Leigha Wright, RVT, LVT, MBA, is the clinical coordinator and adjunct professor for Appalachian State University Veterinary Technology Program. She has worked in multiple Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories and within veterinary education for both veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Wright is originally from eastern Kentucky, and currently resides in Texas.

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Boomers, gen-xers, millennials, oh my!

Tips to managing a multi-generational team

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