Differing strengths, common goal across generations: D&I panel

Panelists from four different generations of workers in the insurance industry noted the differences in their strengths but agreed that communication is the key to their combined productivity, they said at a diversity conference.

Representatives from the Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z and Baby Boomers strata of employees each said they brought something unique to the table during the session The Multigenerational Workplace: How it Can Work for You, Thursday morning at the Business Insurance Diversity and Inclusion Institute conference held online.

Aubrey Branch, Las Vegas-based chairman of Branch Hernandez Consulting & Insurance, said his baby boomer generation brings experience and wisdom from having been in the industry for almost three decades.

Liz Walker, head of product for analytics solutions in Chicago for Marsh, said her generation X’ers bring resiliency, which has been especially important over the past year and a half.

Generation Y bridges the gaps between the “old school” and the new raft of employees entering the marketplace, according to Aaron Gordon, vice president of Gordon Cos. Inc. in New York.

The newest employees, the Millennials, bring a sense of curiosity, said Ricardo Zamarripa, student, Committee for the Hiscox Latino Employee Network in Atlanta. He said they are the ones asking why the industry does things the same old ways and if there may be improvements possible.

Despite their differing views on their respective strengths and roles in the workplace, the speakers agreed that communicating clearly with one another was the best way to be productive.

Mr. Branch said his knowledge and wisdom are not “old” but rather “seasoned” and said that sometimes the best way they get something done is the simplest. Rather than exchanging 10 emails or so, as is commonplace among younger workers, “just pick up the phone,” he said.

Ms. Walker said the different groups often speak about the same topics but in different terms or emotion, and offered the “work/life balance” as an example. She said that while she appreciates the value of such a system, younger employees often discuss the topic as more of a demand than a request, as it was with her generation.

“It’s about figuring out how to work together,” said Mr. Gordon, who added that generational differences can become a basket excuse for any drop in productivity and that such tensions may be “overrated” in the workplace.

Becoming aware of each other’s differences can be helpful in working together, said Mr. Zamarripa. “I think I’ve benefitted from trying to learn from the different generations with the understanding that they have that extra experience and extra knowledge and recognizing there are differences between us but we are all here to support our organization,” a common goal.

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