Everyone on a staff or on a team is diverse. Chances are, the people working for you in your business are of varying ages, genders, ethnicities, and general walks of life. For that reason, teamwork and tolerance is a critical element of a smoothly operating company. Finding out that there are problems and tension between your diverse staff is a stressful and disappointing occurrence; for example, you never want to find out that there has been an altercation between an older and a younger member of your team. Perhaps the older staff member feels that the younger is acting out of place and not respecting seniority, or maybe the younger person feels that the older uses their age as an excuse for unacceptable behavior. Regardless of how it started, you want this problem resolved fast, and here is how you can do it.
You might want to consider hiring a generations in the workplace speaker. A generations in the workplace speaker can educate your team on how to be respectful of the age differences between each staff member. If you feel like your older staff are not dealing with millennials in the workplace very well, this is a smart option for you. A generations in the workplace speaker will encourage each age group to demonstrate their strengths and how they can work together with the other demographics for the good of the company.
If you do not feel like bringing in a generations speaker, you can always try a funny keynote speaker to boost your team’s morale. Sometimes, staff members become burnt out and stressed out, and take out their frustrations on other members of staff. Consider bringing in someone who will lighten up the mood and act as a workplace culture speaker through a more indirect approach.
If speakers are not the approach you want to take, a group activity or retreat might suit your team. An activity or retreat that requires engagement from all members of your staff will force them into some real world situations outside of the workplace that will teach them how to work together. In fact, there are program leaders out there who specializing in team building activities that will strengthen the bonds of your staff and make for a more efficient company.
If you do not think you staff will respond to more indirect approaches such as these, if you have tried these approaches and still have not seen results, or if the problems amongst your team are too serious for anything relatively fun and games, you may be in need of a full human resources revamp. A human resources revamp will involve one on one confrontation with every single member of your staff, group conferences to remind the team of workplace policies and expectations, and officially documented reprimanding where necessary. This approach will make the group morale more tense and stressed, so make sure to save it for when it seems that a light hearted and indirect approach to your issues are not appropriate.
As an owner or manager, you value the way that your team treats not only your customers but each other. A staff that can’t communicate and maturely work out their differences is not one that will succeed. Hopefully, you are able to find an approach that educates your team on appropriate behavior as well as keeps their spirits high.