NOBLE GIFT, Employer branding which connects Millennials and the Baby Boom generation

In the near future companies will face a large number of challenges in the area of HR management – from a recruitment process depression, through choosing adequate benefits and incentive schemes, up to strategies of handling the giantic technology development.

Let’s add to those the society of an increasing life expectancy. Evrim Kuran from Universum Global spoke about its practical meaning during Employer Branding Summit 2019 in Warsaw. There are more and more situations when staff members’ age differs by whole generation. Sometimes more than one generation. In the same company there may be employees who are just starting their careers and ones who have years of work experience. Both groups have their needs, their work prospects, and their beliefs. More often employers must search for an anchor point which will connect those two different perspectives.

Some businesses decide to engage the employees in Employee Volunteering Programs with NOBLE GIFT which gives the companies the opportunity to win the trust of almost retiring employees and is still attractive enough for the new ones.

Millennials vs Baby Boomers, in other words, what it’s like in everyday life.

During coffee break on Monday morning a Baby Boomer (born in the postwar period, values work complacency, has worked for the same company for majority of their professional activity, aware of how much of their success they owe to their hard work) meets a Millennial, who will stay in their current job for few months or maybe a year, then will be looking for new challenges.

The first one prepares a latte from a fine coffee machine (bearing in mind that their parents never experienced coffee at their work) then rushes to their work duties which are already waiting for them. The other one chooses black coffee in a colorful mug promoting one of the social initiatives they associate with and uploads a photo on Instagram sharing the news that they work for a company which gets their employees coffee beans only from fair-trade plantations. The question is: why didn’t they talk to each other?

Maybe the Baby Boomer believes that their hard work determines their market pricing. Their private life pricing too. Maybe the Millennial thinks that having a job isn’t about working hard but about influencing the world. Maybe the Baby Boomer believes it is important to be patient because sometimes the fruits of one’s work are only seen after long time. Maybe the Millennial wants to change the world every day. Right now! Maybe the Baby Boomer wishes for sense of security and likes that all work processes are decently thought through and persistent. Maybe the Millennial values meeting new people and Agile is what they type in searching for a potentially new employer.

What now?

Meaningful work as a global trend

Deloitte annually posts a Global Human Capital Trends report in which they analyze top ten of global HR trends. In reference to the report from 2019, it reads ‘The Employee is primarily a human – our main focus is on their expectations, fears and needs which are also the key factors when implementing changes in the company I work for’. Deloitte emphasizes how important for them are individual employees’ aspirations and meaningfulness of their work. Is that trend distinguishable only among Millennials? Absolutely not.

CSR

CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, Employee Volunteering Programs are the most commonly heard phrases. The scientific report from Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration fueled the flames by warning people against imminent climate changes which some media commented as ‘End of the world by 2050’. The panic began. Many articles showed up online about how every person may daily contribute to saving our planet. Influencers as well as typical social media users competed with each other about not using plastic bags, not buying new clothes, always carrying a reusable water bottle or not eating meat. Maciej Orłoś posted a picture on his fanpage which featured him holding his head and a comment ‘I’m heartbroken, I messed up – I ordered a meal to go packed in this awful plastic container and I allowed them to put it into a plastic bag too!’. Doesn’t it sound familiar?

The Millennial is already rolling up the sleeves and wondering what they can do to save the world, to be a local hero, to have an impact.

Hasn’t the Baby Boomer heard that the planet is in great danger? Don’t they care about their children’s and grandchildren’s future? Won’t they join the fight even if there are small chances it will make a change?

No. The Baby Boomer has always thought that it’s important to take care of their surroundings and help other people. They have already heard from their grandparents that ‘goodness pays back’ and that it’s crucial to care about one’s little homeland. The difference is they don’t call it saving the world. And also, they don’t do Instagram.

Who makes the Gift?

Annually the Gift is made by people who want to make the world a better place, who want to have an impact on society and on their country’s future. People who believe that if we care about others and help them through the tough times, it means we live in a better world. And that our children will have better lives.

The Baby Boom generation approaches that case very naturally – they knew and still know people who don’t manage well in their lives. Also, Baby Boomers feel the passing time that’s why they are willing to help senior citizens. They remember when they were younger and starting their first jobs. It wasn’t easy especially when they had kids. And if a child was born unwell or disabled, parents wouldn’t make it without any help. Those are the reasons why Baby Boomers are eager to help other families with children. They wish the Families had better, easier lives.

And Millennials? They love challenges. If there is a Gift what needs to be delivered to an old lady in a faraway village – they will do it. They will get a man with a tractor to help them and many of them will find that task more attractive than an extreme obstacle race. Millennials read about the Giving Pledge campaign which was kick-started by Bill Gates and they dream about donating half of their future fortune to charity. But for now, when preparing for the NOBLE GIFT’s Finale they do amazing job organizing help for needing ones, convincing their friends to join them. There is also a chance they will create a mobile app which will simplify sharing duties and buying all the Gift’s essentials for a Family of choice.

The Noble Gift is patronized a.o. by volunteers from companies: BNP Paribas, Kompania Piwowarska, Cisco and Google.

Author:

SZLACHETNA PACZKA

Last Updated on April 9, 2021 by Karolina Ampulska