Interview with Cam Marston

Interview with consultant, speaker and author Cam Marston. Cam is the founder and president of Generational Insight, and author of Motivating the "What's in it for Me?" Workforce.

ANewWorkforce.com: How do you define and dileniate between the four generations currently in the workforce? There seem to be varying definitions of where the generations "split."

Cam Marston: I use the significant population shifts that are visible when you look at a birth rate chart of the US that shows the numbers of babies born every year since the 1930s. There are some spikes in birth rates and some drops in them, too, about every seventeen to twenty years that ID where a generation should begin and end. Others define the generations differently but I use those ID markers - to me they tell the story of the generations best.

ANewWorkforce.com: Tell us about the title of your book. What do you mean when refer to the millennials as the "What's in it for me generation?"

Cam Marston: The Millennials take a much more practical approach to work than to their predecessor generations. While most of them have never, nor will they say, "What's In It For Me?" that is what their attitude appears to many senior members of the workplace. They want to know what what their future is going to look like if they work hard and throw their efforts in behind the company - they want to know what is going to happen to them and I think it is a very fair question. But I titled the book to speak to the managers, supervisors, and bosses out there who will identify with that title and reach for the book on the shelf. Some Millennials have bristled at that title and I understand but people DO judge a book by the cover and I needed a cover and a title that spoke clearly to today's managers - mostly Baby Boomers. My goal wasn't to write a book it was to write a book that people will buy.

ANewWorkforce.com: What are the 3 biggest mistakes you see employers making when it comes to their management practices with a mixed generation workplace?

Cam Marston:

• Mistake #1: Thinking that all the generations will be motivated the same way as the employer himself or herself. Saying something like "We're not all that different and they'll want what I want so I'll treat them the way I want to be treated." While that is mostly very effective the generational changes in the workplace today can make that a risky attitude.
• Mistake #2: A one size fits all approach to incentives. This is very similar to #1 above but goes a bit further. To assume that all employees are motivated by the same things equally is silly. Whether it be money, public recognition, more responsibility, time off or a myriad of others, people today are going to work every day for many different reasons and today's manager, to be most effective, must understand what makes each and every individual in their arena tick and motivate them accordingly.
• Mistake #3: Employers who assume they can "wait this out." That they can just wait for these younger generations to "grow up and come around." While it is true that we all mature further and grow more conservative regardless of what generation you're in, what we're talking about here are significant value systems that will not change dramatically in their life barring a national calamity that impacts a significant portion of our population.
  

ANewWorkforce.com: How would you recommend that managers to avoid those mistakes and keep up with current best practices in the workplace?

Cam Marston: I think reading is always good. Whether it be the newspaper, HR maagazines, or business publications, the issues of the generations is alive and topical today and lots of folks are capturing interesting tidbits on it in many different places. And I think peer networking is a super idea - asking what peers in different businesses and different industries are doing tends to bring forth some new lines of thought that is often helpful. And, I can't discount my own work, finding experts to bring in to your workplace to lead dialogues on this content is always a good idea.

ANewWorkforce.com: What are some of some of the best practices that you've seen lately in managing today's workforce?

Cam Marston: I like the multiple or menu awards for performance - pick what you want: pay, time off, or some gift. I think that works well. I like Enterprise Rent A Car's approach to more flex time per week with every promotion so that employees are encouraged to get promotions and they want promotions since it means a more flexible calendar with each promotion. I like Harris Corps GRAD program that is a social activity program for new employees to Harris that is designed to matriculate young employees into their workplace - very creative and very effective. There are a lot of them and more are popping up every day.

View Cam's website and services
Check out his book