One of the biggest challenges that communication has today is to speak to the different generations that coexist in the corporate environment. And if we think of an endomarketing and internal communication campaign, diagram experiential training and team building or organize an event for the company, the same thing happens: we have to find a language that adequately transmits what we want to communicate, and at the same time not boring to some or is incomprehensible to others.
The first step to achieve this is to know a little more about our audience. The last 3 generations that joined the company have their own characteristics, which define very different ways of approaching their work and personal goals.
We already know Generation X, formed by those who were born between 1965 and 1981, approximately. They grew up in a changing and violent world, living side by side with drugs and AIDS. They saw on TV the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Falklands war, the massive layoffs of the '80s… and their idealistic parents, disappointed by globalization. Perhaps that is why they are individualists, they disbelieve a little about companies and their bosses. In opposition to the Boomers, who "lived to work", the X "work to live" (they seek life balance). They work “to results”, they value professional leaders, who achieve achievements, and abhor hierarchies and bureaucracy. They prefer logic and analysis rather than power and authority. They move well with technology, cell phones and the Internet.
Lately there is a lot of talk about Generation Y, made up of those who were born between approximately 1982 and 2000. They are the youth of the millennium, of globalization, cloning, climate change, the election of the first black president of the United States, the touch screen cell phone, social networks, videoconferences, Big Brother, MP3 and playstation, tattoos and piercings. They live much of their time online, and although they seem isolated, they are always interacting through forums, mail, SMS, chat and blogs. Before deciding, they consult people they don't know personally. They are perfectly handled with an SMS language that changes the writing rules. They are interested in technology, interactivity, extreme fun, ecology and delivery.Today they make many decisions in the company and have increasing weight in the results of management strategies. They value speed and seek change, because they know intuitively that things have to change to survive.
And finally… Generation Z appears, formed since 1992. The elderly today are 19 or 20 years old, and are beginning to join the corporate life. Although their habits and interests are not yet well defined, they undoubtedly manage like a fish in water with technology. They do not understand life without personal computers, cell phones, MP3s and the Internet. They communicate mainly through mobile devices, even when they are kids, and their social life often goes through Facebook and Twitter. They have access to all the media, but TV is no longer so important to them because they can put together a “tailor-made” program through the Internet… avoiding the commercial rounds that their parents knew. They lived through the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the wars in Iraq, Influenza A, the tsunami in Japan,digital television with all its channels, Wii, the advent of 3D, e-books.
Around him there is talk of rented bellies and new models of families, international terrorism and climate change. It is a generation with "progressive" parents, used to having many activities during the day. But they grew up in a context that values "having" more than "being", and where everything is instantaneous. They aim to get to the top quickly, and anything that doesn't give them immediate satisfaction is boring, so they constantly change their tastes and decisions.
They are already beginning to integrate into the world of work, so prepare: by 2020 it will be evident how they transfer their characteristics to the way of working and the culture of each company. For now, it seems that they will give the same value to work as to family and personal projects, enhancing the concept of life balance.
Eco-sensitized.
The 3 generations are joined by the commitment to environmental issues, which are increasing. Although they are geographically dispersed, they share the same concern about the subject, so this is one of the points that will grow the most in the coming years.
Tips to keep in mind:
To ensure that marketing messages, live communication actions -such as events- and even the internal communication of organizations is well understood and received by the majority, it is essential:
- Understand and focus on who is on the other side: what we want him to feel when he receives our message, how we want him to understand it, and what response we expect from him.
- To reach the widest and most mixed audiences, it will be necessary to use different modes and channels of communication. And above all, it will be necessary to give them mechanisms so that they can manage, process, distribute and share this information, so that it can go further with the least possible distortion.
- We must be prepared to receive responses, comments and suggestions, and be able to act quickly but effectively, even if responding that action will be taken soon.
- It is convenient to use new advertising formats, such as advergames, viral marketing, digital advertising, one-to-one marketing, mobile marketing or buzzmarketing, but without completely abandoning face-to-face models.
- We must analyze new forms of audiovisual exposure, participation, and experimentation of each message that we are going to give.
In summary: being able to “listen”, understand without judging, not resist change and adapt the tactic to the different target ages of the company's population, will allow us to reach the goal in an easier and healthier way. Generation Z has a lot to teach the Xs and Ys, as well as a lot to learn from us.
