What do Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millenials have in common?  At the very least, they are all part of today's workforce.  From employees nearing retirement to the newest people through the door, corrections supervisors are finding themselves with a broad spectrum of staff with very different needs and motivators.   

To help corrections professionals sort it all out, Robert L. Green and Anthony Callisto, Jr., have developed a three-day training that teaches managers how to deal with the generational differences among their staff.  When employees are raised in different eras, it is important for the people who oversee them to understand what drives them to get the job done.

"It's really an important topic for corrections managers," said Callisto, chief deputy for the custody division of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department in Syracuse, New York.  "Different generations have different ways of looking at their work assignments, different upbringings [and] different work ethics.  Probably the single most important issue is there are different motivators for people in different generations."

Generational Differences

According to Callisto, who is the president-elect of the American Jail Assocation (AJA), members of the Veteran generation, people who were born between 1922 and 1943, are concerned with different aspects of their jobs than people who were raised during other generations.

"The Veteran employees, people who are really in their 60's and older, many were raised in an era that was either depression, post-depression [or] World War II time," Callisto said.  "The motivation for many people at the Veteran age [is] really about loyalty and honor."

While Veterans value loyalty in the workplace, the next generation, people who were born from 1943 to 1960, has different needs when it comes to employment.  The Baby Boomers are, for the most part, a group driven by opportunity.

"Baby Boomers were kind of raised in an era of plenty by many of the Veterans," Callisto said.  "The opportunity to succeed, the opportunity to move up in the organization and the opportunity to earn money [is] much more [their] motivation."

For Generation Xers, who are products of the 1960's and 70's, the motivation to work hard shifts once again.  According to the American Management Association, these individuals thrive on multiple projects, constructive feedback and free time.  They are also conscious of recognition.
The latest generation to hit the workforce, the Millenials, has even different, more modern needs in terms of employment.  These people, who were born post-1980, are largely focused on technology.

"As we move into the Millenials, people in their early 20's, you're talking about a technologically savvy group of people," Callisto said.  "[They] need action and technology to motivate [them]."

Working Together

So, with all of these different groups rubbing shoulders in today's correctional work environment, how can jail administrators meet the specific needs of each generation and, at the same time, achieve the goals of their organization? 

That's a tough question, according to Green, warden of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds, Maryland.  But, a balance can be struck if managers understand where their employees are coming from, how they view their jobs and what they need from their higher-ups to keep them coming to work each day.  Opening managers' eyes to different staff needs is what the training that Green co-developed with Callisto is all about.

"What we're talking about is people," Green said.  "We do not try to apply everyone into a generational reality.  It doesn't always fit.  But it gives you a framework [for] where an individual's judgment is."

Once managers identify and understand how different generations of staff have varied perspectives on their work, they can use that knowledge to the advantage of their organization.

"The way to use the information about generational realities to make your operation more efficient is to understand what the characteristics of each generation are, to identify what really motivates each of the different age groups and to come up with ways to create incentives around getting the work done that will meet the needs of the employees," Callisto said.

And, Green pointed out, it is important to meet staff needs because employees are corrections' most valuable asset.

"No one man or woman in this business is an island.  Any boss is only as good as the people they surround themselves with," Green said.  "The secret to any managers success is the cultivation of the very good people they have working for them.  We've got to continue to grow and cultivate people."

One way to both confront the issue of generational differences and help staff to grow is to mix and match employees from different eras with different skills so they are able to learn from each other.

"You've got opportunities to create work groups that are very diverse," Callisto said.

For example, Millenials, who grew up using computers and other gadgets, can help older employees to learn how to use technology, such as the Internet, to better perform on the job.  Likewise, when younger employees work closely with older employees, they may pick up some of their core values, like loyalty and a strong work ethic, two qualities that younger generations are often perceived to be lacking.

Strong Leadership

"You often hear [about] this problem -- this Generation X [is] different.  They don't have the same work values," Green said.  "New employees are not the problem.  Organizational leaders are."

According to Green, managers need to find ways to lead better and more effectively.  And being a good leader is important to helping these different generations mesh into one workforce.

"As a manager, we reach the pinnacle of our career, but we can't stop learning," Green said.  "The further you rise in an organization, the more people you are responsible to and for.  [Employees'] happiness in the workplace rests on you."

Understanding generational differences is key to creating a work environment that will keep people content and preserve the mission of the organization. 

"What it does ultimately, this class on generational realities, really, it makes leaders, good leaders, good managers, good supervisors, look at their employees in a different light [and] understand where they're coming from and what their perspective is," Green said.  "Corrections is not different than any Fortune 500 company.  We're a business.  People fail to realize that, in this business, our product is people."

Resources:

To contact Anthony Callisto, call (315) 435-1710

To contact Robert Green, call (240) 773-9703

To learn more about "Generational Realities," contact AJA at (301) 790-3930 or go to http://www.corrections.com/aja/training/index.shtml