Turning the ship around with a four-generation crew: for the first time in history, organizations have four generations of employees working side-by-side. Understanding each generation's distinct life experiences and the varying world views, values, work styles, and motivations they produced is key to getting them all on board for a successful records management program implementation.

• Author: Schoch, Teresa

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In all organizational environments (e.g., corporate, law firm, and government), the information explosion of the past four decades is evidenced by information management concerns now bordering on panic. The long-term maintenance of this vast amount of information beyond its useful life is increasingly costly, putting organizations at risk while draining them of funding that could be used for growth-oriented activities.

To get control of this problem is tantamount to turning a ship around. Implementing a records management strategy will require organizational-wide effort, communication, and cooperation. To succeed in this endeavor requires a paradigm shift; every person who participates in creating information must accept some level of responsibility, which is a change in the organization's worlkflow at a core level.

Since cooperation and communication are paramount for success, it is important to recognize that the "ship's crew" will be four generations of employees working side-by-side and to understand the values that will motivate each of them to achieve this important common goal.

Meeting the Crew

While there are many exceptions to any rule, generation labels exist based on the notion that people of similar ages experienced the world's history simultaneously, resulting in a common world view that filters their thinking throughout their lives. The following labels create a starting point for them to understand each other as they work together.

1. Traditionalists, sometimes called the "Matures"--Born prior to 1946

2. Baby Boomers (Boomers)--Bern 1946-1964 and its subgroup, Generation Jones--Born 1954-64

3. Generation X (Gen X)--Born 1965-1980

4. Generation Y (Gen Y)--Bern 1980-1996

Traditionalists--Age 66+ (Born prior to 1946)

Also known as children of the "GI Joe" generation, this group is sometimes referred to as the silent generation. Specifically, its members are noted for:

* Growing up in the shadows of World Wars, so they like to keep the peace

* Echoing such mantras as 'loose lips sink ships," and "Keep your nose to the grindstone"

* Being affected by the Great Depression, so they are savers and prepared for rainy days

* Living long enough to think their advice is valuable and sharing it

* Working part-time and, perhaps, making efforts to turn their work over to younger employees

Baby Boomers (Boomers)--Age 47 to 65 (Born 1946-1964)

Eighty million strong in the United States, Boomers had black-and-white televisions that they had to manually switch to one of three stations. They are marked by:

* Growing up with televised tragedies, including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

* Witnessing man's first steps on the moon, the first successful heart transplants, and a lengthy, unpopular war on the other side of the world

* Protesting, attending Woodstock, experimenting with drugs, advocating free love and peace, and rebelling against the traditionalists and what remained of the "GI Joe" generation

Boomers believed in power to the people, and they have maintained that power. Their sheer number made them a force to be reckoned with when they settled into the work force. Their work ethic is strong, and they often keep their heads down to get it...