"Hello. Who's there?"

When was the last time you stopped to think about how something as simple as answering the phone in the "right way" can be broadly interpreted across the generations?

I wonder how many of us realize that for younger Millennials and for all of Gen Z, they find it fascinating that there used to be one phone per household and that whomever answered the call didn't know who might be on the other end. The caller could have be a parent's boss, the receptionist at the dentist's office, or their best friend. Answering the phone used to be something everyone had to do and we had to learn to do it politely.

One simple reminder for today: Remember that younger Millennials and Generation Z are entering a world of work that is foreign to many of them. The world they have grown up navigating runs counter to the one they are expected to succeed in as a professional. It is important that we don't assume certain skills and intuitions are present in every generation and take time to make sure everyone understands the expectations and your company's "right way" to do things. Rather than just getting frustrated, equip.

#generations #generationz #humanresources #communication