The generation gain
Millennials and baby boomers can be great at working together, writes Anna Burnside
MILLENNIALS and baby boomers have a reputation for mixing as well as oil and water.
One generation can’t see beyond discussing Instagram dramas over avocado toast. The other is looking forward to Brexit and retiring to travel the world with a blue passport. Can the two ever get along? Staff at one Glasgow charity say they not only can but that it’s good for business.
At the Scottish Huntington’s Association, a cross-generational team work together raising funds to support sufferers of the genetic condition.
Manager Dougie Peddie is 64. Fundraising officer Gemma Powell is the office baby at 25.
Retirement is no barrier to helping out. One of the regular volunteers is a 73-year-old chartered accountant. She looks after Gift Aid donations, saving the charity thousands of pounds a year in accountancy costs.
Dougie says each age group brings something different to the party.
He explained: “Younger members of team bring all the social media knowledge and skills, the cutting-edge stuff. If I look at Facebook once a week, that’s enough for me.
“Gemma and the younger folk are very creative, they come up with new, novel ideas that older people wouldn’t think about. And the older ones bring their life experience.”
Gemma knows her older colleagues have skills that she needs. She said: “I learned so much from them when I started the job.
“Our supporters tend to be older, so it’s best not to do everything from a younger person’s perspective.”
Coming from a generation that’s used to communicating through a screen, she recognised that her face-to-face skills could use an upgrade. Shadowing an older colleague was a crash course in chat and charm, showing Gemma how to enthuse supporters while convincing them it was their idea in the first place. Gemma is not a typical millennial. She has a driving licence and a mortgage. If she’s going on holiday she saves up, rather than whacking it all on a credit card and worrying about it later. But she still has visible tattoos, is a vegan and wears trainers with a skirt to work. It was another baby boomer – her grandad – who gave her invaluable career advice. She recalled: “He said, ‘You spend so much time at work, you don’t want to be unhappy’.
“I wasn’t interested in busting a gut to make a rich man richer. I want to help other people, not just myself.”
Gemma’s friends are envious of her job, which not only contributes to society but brings in a steady salary.
She admitted: “I’ve been extremely lucky.”
Gemma may struggle if the conversation turns to the Bay City Rollers but many of the staff share the same interests.
She said: “We are a big bunch of geeks, there’s lots of Game of Thrones and Star Wars chats.”
One of her colleagues who is in her forties has become a firm friend. The pair go to the theatre together.
She also picks Dougie’s brains about adulting activities, from mortgage providers to car maintenance tips. Stirling-based charity consultancy and recruitment agency BTA has been giving advice at events in Scotland and England on managing a multi-generational workforce.
With more than 100,000 people employed in the Scottish charity sector, there are several generations working side by side in most organisations.
And BTA joint chief executive Bruce Tait said this often means overcoming perceptions, particularly about the millennial generation.
He added: “Charities can attract the best young talent by giving them what they want – inspiration. They are highly motivated by causes.”
He pointed out that, through their use of social media, millennials are natural storytellers, which is at the core of fundraising.
They are also people-focused and speak the language of digital communications.