A communication expert has launched a new training and support service aimed at helping businesses tackle growing “intergenerational friction” in the workplace.
Teesside’s Liz Atkin – a TEDx speaker, author and former CEO – has spent over a decade helping organisations across the UK improve their internal communication.
Now, through her business Refreshing Comms, she’s offering training aimed at helping employers to better support and manage teams made up of workers from very different generations.
“This is the first time in history where companies can have workers from up to five different generations,” said Liz.
“And while there’s always been intergenerational friction between younger and older staff, the pace of change in the past two decades means that the gap in understanding is wider than ever before.
“People entering work today have grown up with very different expectations around work – why they do it, what they want from a career and even how much time they are prepared to spend doing it.
“That can understandably cause tension within the team, and older, more seasoned staff may struggle to work alongside Gen Z staff.”
Research backs that up. In the UK, three in every four managers say Generation Z – those born from the mid-1990s onwards – are the most challenging generation to work with.
However, as someone who has coached and guided scores of businesses on improving communication in the workplace, Liz believes the picture isn’t as black and white. The topic of age gaps was one she tackled in a TEDx talk, that’s amassed over 22,000 views on YouTube.
And having recently carried out successful ‘Gen Z’ training with Public Health Wales, Liz believes any organisation that has a diverse workforce would benefit from her support.
“Many of the frustrations come down to misunderstanding and mismatched expectations rather than the attitude of younger staff, but if businesses can help each generation to better understand the other, then tension can be turned into opportunity and advantage.
“Gen Z isn’t the problem, but being viewed as such creates unnecessary barriers, detrimental to working relationships and ultimately performance. The answer to unlocking all available skills and expertise lies in managing these differences.’
Yet as one recent report stated, it isn’t just Gen Z that can cause communication issues in the workplace. The Local Skills Improvement Plan Progress Report found that 95 per cent of North East business admitted to having communication issues.
As such, Liz believes that targeted training can make a huge difference in improving that stat. “Most organisations know communication could be better, but they’re not always sure where to start,” she adds.
“My job is to give teams simple, practical tools so people understand each other better and work together more effectively because ultimately, when you get communication right, everything else in the business becomes easier.”
For more information, please visit https://refreshingcomms.co.uk/
