Companies can no longer assume traditional benefits will retain highly coveted talent. Sure, tangible benefits, such as healthy wages, basic medical and dental benefits, and 401k and profit sharing options are valued, especially in a down economy. But that won't compel sharp, ambitious workers to stay and invest in a claims career at your company.

Providing such benefits along with a culture of trust and respectful treatment, however, can motivate them to stick around and excel. To clarify, though this article touches upon broad generalizations and characterizations of certain age groups, it is no substitute for individual experiences. Learning about generations doesn't preclude getting to know and appreciate your peers as unique individuals. Rather, it means treating everyone fairly and with a baseline level of respect. Arguably, an enhanced understanding of historical events that may have helped shape certain age groups' views—say, the Vietnam War, JFK assassination or Hurricane Katrina—as well as common goals and desires will enable managers to better understand expectations and preferences while recognizing impediments to job satisfaction and true collaboration.

After all, part of a manager's job is successfully negotiating the competing needs of a diverse workforce every step of the way. This entails decoding workplace behaviors and perceptions. For example, what one person construes as directness, another may perceive as hostility. Aside from the source, managers should avail themselves of all possible resources to better “read” their employees. This could be as casual as picking up a magazine outside of your comfort zone—Wired magazine, for some. Surprisingly, I found the current Pew Research report correlating 2012 voter tendencies with the generation gap to be quite illuminating, but I digress. Better yet, managers should start the conversation. What are colleagues reading? Are they, in fact, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”? Invite them to share experiences, and don't be shy about yours.

Social Media Learning
One thing I wouldn't suggest, however, is “friending” them on Facebook. Even so, social media is a rich source of information about trends and may very well provide insight about your “work family.” It's also no surprise that new social media technologies and strategies are a mentor's friend. Vehicles such as Twitter and Facebook, for example, can help mentors within the claims organization build learning communities, facilitate quick assignments, offer updates or tips, and otherwise extend the reach of a formal training event. So be sure to familiarize yourself with instructor-created content (blogs), community-created content (wikis), micro-blogging (Twitter), and community sharing and interaction (Facebook), as all hold promise in terms of facilitating learning and training-related activities.

Collective Value
While we all share far more commonalities than differences, subtle generational differences can cause misunderstandings and conflicts at work. Failure to address even the most innocuous of misunderstandings can undermine camaraderie and, at the very least, prevent individuals and organizations from reaching their true potential. By contrast, a manager who draws upon the unique strengths of a whopping four generations of employees is indeed a force to be reckoned with and a valuable organizational asset.

The remainder of this article can be accessed on PropertyCasualty360.com/claims, where you'll find more information on succession planning, diverse training options, developing interpersonal skills, and promoting an age-neutral culture of inclusion. This expanded coverage also features commentary from real claims professionals at various stages of their careers.