If your workforce consists of more than one generation, then it may be time to revisit your organization's one-size fits all approach to management. Here are five reasons why intergenerational workforce training may be an idea whose time has come:

1. You believe equal is fair

It's taken years, but you have finally trained your management team to treat everyone the same. Then why are so many employees unhappy?

It's simple. Equal is not always fair. If you have children you know it's impossible to treat them the same every time. Each child has different needs.

The same holds true for your employees, who represent multiple generations. Each group has different needs. So why do so many organizations insist on one-size-fits all policies?

Take paid sick time. Many organizations provide employees time off for illness. Parents with young children often use their sick time up by mid-March. Yet those healthy twenty-somethings, sniffles and all, make it to the office every day.

It doesn't take long for resentment to fester. The twenty-somethings envision their co-workers lounging at home in their Nick and Nora pajamas, serving tea and crumpets to their two-year old, while they pick up the slack. Teamwork quickly becomes a nasty word.

This is just one example of a policy that doesn't meet the needs of today's multigenerational workforce. You have a choice: re-adjust your policies to meet the needs of the changing workforce, or watch your employees leave for organizations where everyone gets what they need, when they need it, even if it's not 100 percent equal.

2. You believe practice makes perfect

Okay, so the last four job offers you've made to candidates have been declined. That's great. Your senior management team will have more opportunities to hone their interviewing skills. Of course you'll have to turn away new business because you don't have the staff to service it.

If your batting average is zero on job offer acceptances, it's time to reevaluate your game plan. What's your recruitment value proposition? In other words, what do you have to offer that's appealing to a particular generation of recruits that is focused on them, not on the organization? A few small changes in your recruitment approach will exponentially increase your ability to win the recruitment game.

3. You believe conflict inspires creativity

You believe conflict is necessary for creativity. Some conflict is good, but most is harmful to organizations. Miscommunication and disagreement among the generations can create a battlefield in the workplace. Precious time, which could be spent on product revolution, is instead wasted on conflict resolution.

Management's understanding of where each generation is coming from is the first step toward bridging the communication gaps in your organization.

4. You believe turnover lowers operating costs

You believe that employee turnover is good for an organization. It gives you an opportunity to replace experienced people with lower paid staff. If this were true, organizations would be flinging people out the door as soon as they learned the location of the coffee machine.

Much has been written on the cost of employee turnover. Some people say it is one times a person's annual salary, while others insist it is considerably more. One thing everyone agrees on is that employee turnover costs a lot more than we think.

Remember how long it took you to woo that new client? Amazing how quickly they went away when your inexperienced staff failed to meet their expectations. Experience trumps enthusiasm, particularly when playing for high stakes business.

5. You come from the school of hard knocks

You were thrown into a management position without any guidance and did perfectly fine. So why do your managers need training?

Times have changed. The workplace, before the dot-com era, was more structured. People did what was expected of them. Those that refused were shown the door.

The workforce today contains employees who survived the depression as well as the latchkey era. Their expectations cover the gamut. Managers are spending countless hours navigating the changing landscape of the workforce. Imagine what management could do with this time if they were free to focus on business growth and customer satisfaction.

It takes time for training to take hold in an organization. The clock is ticking. What are you waiting for?

Roberta Chinsky Matuson is the principal of Human Resource Solutions and is also a NEHRA member. She can be reached at (617) 566-8978 or .

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