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The Greatest Generation, Baby-Boomers and the Gen-X Crowd

Presented by:

Penny C. Reeh

IndigoIndigoIndigoIndigoResource Group

Volunteers:

Our Goals Today

• Understand the advantages to taking a generational approach to volunteerism

• Gain insight into what motivates each generation

• Create recruitment, retention and recognition strategies for each group

The Classic Generation Gap

• “Young people these days….they don’t get involved.”

• “We can’t lead unless the older ones are willing to get out of the way.”

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Men resemble the timesmore than they do

their fathers.

--Ancient Proverb

The Silent Generation• AKA – The Greatest Generation, The Forgotten Generation, Matures

• Born between 1909 and 1945• Currently age 62 and older• Prefers strong, central authority figures• Likes highly specialized roles• Act as team players• Believe in hard work and saving

What shaped the Silents?

Roaring Twenties, Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, World War II, Atomic Bomb, New Deal,

Modern Appliances, Korean War, Infrastructure Development, Motion Pictures

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The Baby Boomers• They have always been known as the Boomers• Born 1949 - 1964• Currently age 43-61• 78 million born• Likes shared leadership• Enjoys community-sized teams (“It takes a village.)• It’s all about me mindset

What shaped the Boomers?

Civil Rights Movement, Bay of Pigs, Kennedy Assassination, Television, Cold War, Rock N’

Roll, Sexual Revolution

Generation X• AKA – The MTV Generation• Born 1965 - 1976• Currently age 31-42• First technology-oriented generation• Comfortable with virtual teams• Like smaller teams with loose rules and no defined leadership

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What shaped the Gen Xers?

Latchkey Kids, Watergate, Fall of Berlin Wall, Persian Gulf War, AIDS, Women’s Liberation,

Pager/Cell Phone, High Divorce Rates, Unstable Economy, Challenger Explosion

Generational Remembrances

Orange Juice

FDR

Flat Tops

No more butter

Sunday Drives

Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa

Dr. Spock

The Juice Runs

Nixon

HAIR

No more war

Drive-thrus

Mom and Dad

Dr. Strangelove

Source: Rocking The Ages

SILENT BOOMER GEN X

The Juice walks

Reagan

Skinheads

No more ozone layer

Drive-bys

Mom OR Dad

Dr. Kevorkian

Technologies to Remember

Slide Rules

Mimeographing

Outer Space

IBM

Rotary Phones

Spirit of St. Louis

Party Lines

Calculators

Photocopying

Inner Space

Apple

Touch-Tone Phones

Concorde

Conference Calls

Source: Rocking The Ages

SILENT BOOMER GEN X

Spreadsheets

Desktop Publishing

Cyberspace

Netscape

Cell Phones

Columbia

Chat Rooms

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Approaching the Silents

• Emphasize civic duty (they expect to serve)• Use themes that promote community and not individuals

• They “saved the world” and expect to sacrifice for community

• Traditional values are important

Retaining the Silents• Encourage them to share their expertise and “institutional memory”

• Introduce new systems, methods and technologies with care, emphasize how change benefits the mission and not just efficiency (cake mix example)

• Be sensitive to potential physical limitations but don’t baby them

Recognizing the Silents

• Use techniques that reward longevity • Praise them in front of their families and peer groups

• What they did for community is important to them – it’s not about them as individuals

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Approaching the Boomers

• Emphasize issues, not duty (it is about leaving a legacy, not self-sacrifice)

• Appeal to their self-image of being “forever young”

• Let them know you understand their importance

Retaining the Boomers• Flexibility and choice are important to them• Include them in decision-making and leadership structure

• Tie volunteerism to learning, new experiences and relationship building

• Rely on their expertise and allow them to create new volunteer roles

• Remember that episodic volunteerism is not unusual, but soon many will have more time

Recognizing the Boomers

• Recognition is important – they have always been in control due and expect it

• Praise their individual achievement and their respective hot issues

• Honor their creativity

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Approaching the Gen-Xers

• Take a “cut to the chase” approach (they are skeptical, self-reliant, and pragmatic)

• Emphasize results-oriented service with tangible goals

• Sell local issues, not global ones• Show how they can make a difference in one life as opposed to saving the world

Retaining the Gen-Xers• Let them to work alone or in virtual teams• Don’t expect them to attend meetings or engage in long decision-making discussions

• Let them create and dissolve project driven teams

• Encourage entrepreneurial, not bureaucratic processes

• Remember time is often more valuable than money

Recognizing the Gen-Xers

• Connect them to the personal element of their work – knowing they made a difference is more important than personal praise

• Spending money on their recognition may be viewed as wasteful

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Who is next?• Generation Y – AKA Nexters, Millennials• Born 1981-1994• Show signs of being very socially conscious• Shaped by strong economy and involved parents, they are

well educated, diverse and optimistic• They are on the go and know much more about their

world than any other generation at the same age

What shaped the Millenials?

Exploding technology, Internet, Domestic Terrorism, School Shootings, Break-Up of Soviet

Republic, Power Rangers, Harry Potter, Political Scandal, OJ Murder Trial

But will they volunteer?• 30% of students in grades 6-12 volunteer eight or more

hours a week• 93% anticipate being volunteers as adults• 38% see volunteerism as a way to combine interests and

talents• 76% say their parents volunteer• 44% find volunteering highly rewarding

Source: USA Weekend

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Why?

• 53% could see the immediate impact• 52% believed in the overall effort• 51% made friends and met interesting people• 42% found the opportunity well organized and efficiently run

Source: USA Weekend

Putting the Pieces Together

• We continue to need volunteers of all ages.• This knowledge is not meant to segregate, but rather to assimilate.

• Make your volunteers happier and make your life easier, but showing them simply that you “get who they are.”

For More Information

Penny C. ReehIndigo Resource Group

P.O. Box 1025Fredericksburg, Texas 78624

830.990.0180 | pennyreeh@ktc.com