If anything remains an ongoing challenge within the credit union movement, it’s how to build future membership without losing sight of our valuable, older member base. As a long-term leader within the movement, I’d say the solution begins internally. Successfully weaving a multi-generational workforce helps credit unions develop and offer relevant services across generations.

Today’s workforce spans five generations: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Each generation has different life experiences, communication styles, and relationships with technology. These differences can lead to varying expectations around collaboration, feedback, and digital tools. So, how can your credit union go about weaving these diverse preferences into a cohesive, productive team? The key lies in intentional, flexible leadership that values each generation’s strengths while building bridges across differences.

If you want to attract and retain workers from a range of generations, your credit union’s work structures, benefits, and communication channels will need to incorporate each generation’s preferences.

Many professionals who built their careers before the rise of hybrid and remote work tend to be more comfortable with traditional, in-office structures. Only 26% of this generation considers remote work options when choosing a workplace compared to 34% of Millennials who place a priority on life-work balance (Gallup). While the customer service nature of credit unions can make work-place flexibility a challenge, technology can help. Cloud computing enables secure offsite access to servers and digital collaboration tools to enable more remote work. To attract younger personnel, adopt flexible work hours and technologies that keep teams connected and productive, whether they’re in the office or working remotely.

Values and life stages impact the benefits that matter to each generation. Older employees may place higher value on benefits like comprehensive health insurance, prescription drug coverage, and supplemental plans for vision, dental, or long-term care. Meanwhile, younger employees—especially those starting families—often prioritize benefits like paid parental leave, flexible childcare assistance, dependent care FSAs, and generous PTO policies. Also, 72% of Millennials expect that caring for an older family member will negatively impact their finances and careers (Investment News). Gen Z is very focused on social issues and 91% are dealing with stress and anxiety (Market.us Media). So, paid time off for volunteering and access to mental health resources are some benefits that speak to their concerns.

If your credit union can form a team where each generation is familiar with the other’s communication preferences, your employees are likely to have much better success interacting with a wide-range of members. According to Forbes, older generations tend to have more direct, formal communication styles via in-person, phone, and email while younger generations prefer casual, quick, and collaborative digital channels like chat apps, image sharing, and video chats. If you want to encourage effective communication, help your team understand these differences and become more comfortable with different communication channels, either through discussion or training. Find common ground and take advantage of the strengths of each style to build an effective communication policy. At Envisant, we incorporate email, instant chats, in-person meetings and events, and on-camera virtual meetings to connect people in-office, at home, or on the road. We’ve also used DiSC assessments to help understand personal styles and avoid stereotypes.

Creating collaborative teams that work well together requires opportunities to connect and exchange ideas, perspectives, and knowledge. Below are some ways to accomplish this goal.

Bridging generational gaps takes purposeful action. Polls, cross-generational project teams, a mix of in-person and digital meetings, and fun, team building activities can help engage different generations. At Envisant, we’ve created a leadership book club and an employee-led social committee to foster meaningful connections across generations and departments, encouraging collaboration beyond day-to-day roles.

If you want to be a purposeful leader, then also consider ways to actively unite all generations through the shared credit union mission of “people helping people.” Help each generation see how their own expertise, from deep member knowledge to new digital tools, can contribute to this mission. At Envisant, I love how our peer recognition program gives co-workers the opportunity to highlight each other’s contributions and share their appreciation for each other.

Like many in the later stage of their careers, I feel it's important to find opportunities to mentor. There have been a few times where it's been formal, but there's also been a lot of organic cases. I love to give people opportunities to grow and own something. That’s especially important for younger people who are really looking to develop their skills and find meaning in their work. Mentorship also works both ways. Young mentees, with their inspiring energy, have helped me adjust my own workplace messaging to be more relatable.

Connecting experience and dedication with vibrant energy and fresh perspectives creates a dynamic effect that fuels enthusiasm for the credit union movement across member generations. As a credit union leader, you can help encourage this positive impact through flexible workplace structures, communication, and benefits that attract multiple generations and by actively creating opportunities for these generations to work together around the shared credit union mission.

Originally Published on CUInsight.