If you follow recruitment and retention trends, you have likely heard terms such as “Gen-Y” and “Gen-X.” These terms refer to different generation identities. With the recruiting market becoming so competitive, these generation identities are becoming more and more important. For example, those incentives that your company offered 10 to 15 years ago were attractive to one generation but are likely not attractive to the up and coming generation.

Before you can even begin to look at how your company’s recruitment and retention practices relate to different generations, you need to understand the different generations and what motivates them. By understanding the generations, you can better tailor your recruitment and retention practices to appeal to multiple generations. Let’s take a closer look at four generation identities.

• Traditionalists (62 - 85 years old) - This generation maintains long-term loyalty to their organization and feel that opportunity comes after years of dedication. Traditionalists hold high respect for organizational hierarchies and authority.

• Baby Boomers (43 - 61 years old) - The Baby Boomers maintain loyalty to their team as opposed to their organization and are not afraid to challenge authority.
• Gen Xers (27 - 42 years old) - Generation X maintains loyalty to their leaders or managers as opposed to their organization or team and they are not impressed by authority.
• Gen Ys (7- 26 years old) - Generation Y maintains loyalty to their colleagues as opposed to their managers, teams, or organization and only respect authoritative figures who can demonstrate competence.

There has been a lot of research done in recent years regarding the generation identities. One article that delves more deeply into the generation identities and the impact on the workplace is The Age of Change: Multiple Generations in the Workforce.