We've all heard the stories: There's a more diverse work force than ever. For the first time, we've got four different generations—with completely different wants, needs and perspectives sharing office space. Communicating with them, and consequently, selling them benefit solutions, often comes down to not only getting behind those different perspectives but actually speaking their language, as well.
In the day's first round of breakout sessions at the Colorado State Association of Health Underwriters 2012 Annual Symposium, Warner Pacific Marketing Director Joe Navarro talked about those generational differences and what brokers need to do to bridge the gaps between them.
It all starts with the what he dubbed the "matures," the oldest members of today's work force, all of whom were born before 1945. These are people whose lives were defined by the Great Depression, the New Deal and World War II. The employees display the strongest loyalty and loathe challenge authority or the status quo. When it comes to benefits communication, these employees prefer images over the written word and hate to be rushed, according to Navarro.
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The largest chunk of the work force right now remains the Boomers—although 10,000 of them hit 65 every day, and will continue to do so for the next two decades. Talk about your changing demographic. This is group of employees raised on economic prosperity, rock 'n roll and the Great Society. Whatever you do, don't call them seniors, Navarro warned, and it actually works most successfully if you sell boomer to boomer.
Then there are the Gen Xers, born between 1965-80, who often get lost in the shuffle as the middle children in the work force nuclear family. This a generation shaped by their divorced parents, financial and political scandals and the emergence of the personal computer. As such, Navarro explained that in the selling relationship, these workers are sensitive to exploitation and want to be an active participant in the dialogue.
Finally, there's Gen Y, or the millennials, raised by their boomer parents and defined by e-commerce and September 11. This youngest batch of employees were raised to believe they're special, Navarro says, so they expected to be treated as such. And they're smart enough to see through what you might think is "cool marketing."
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