9 minute read
Bridging the Communication Gap
By / Michael McConnell
Harold Dills didn’t have hobbies. He didn’t have interests outside of work—except for his family. After Dills started ACP Sheet Metal in 1977, making it succeed was his No. 1 priority.
“My dad was from the Great Depression generation, and he grew up very poor,” explains Nathan Dills, Harold’s son and the current president of Oklahoma City-based ACP Sheet Metal. “He would work every Saturday, and he would work Sunday afternoon between morning church services and evening church services. He only knew work.”
Dills says his father’s focus was common. “I noticed that with several guys of his generation,” he says. “They didn’t have hobbies because they worked. Their job was to provide for a family. So, if they had to work 60 hours this week to do that, that’s what they were going to do.”
Many sheet metal and HVAC company managers say it’s hard to find workers today with that level of dedication. Younger generations have different expectations about how their work lives fit into their personal lives, and communication can be challenging. But despite those differences, 20- and 30-something Gen Y and Gen Z workers are bringing fresh perspectives to an industry that can be slow to change. And as one company owner in his eighth decade acknowledges, every generation has put its mark on the industry.
Gen X owner tries a different approach
Nathan Dills took over his father’s company in 2008. A 54-year-old Generation X member, he approaches work differently than his father. “I looked at my father and decided I wasn’t going to spend every Saturday or Sunday afternoon over here. I still took stuff home and worked a lot at night and at home on the weekends, but I was not at the office all the time.”
Dills says ACP Sheet Metal has a mix of Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z workers, and a few Baby Boomers. When it comes to communication styles, he’s definitely noticed a difference between his generation and younger employees. “I would much rather have a face-to-face conversation,” Dills says. “They do everything as ‘keyboard warriors’ via text or email.”
And work-life balance is important to his Gen Y and Gen Z employees. Some aren’t willing to work overtime or weekends. It’s a concept Dills says his Silent Generation father wouldn’t have understood.
“They will tell you, ‘That’s my time,’” he says, adding, “I get it. I raised three kids. They had Saturday morning soccer games. I played college baseball, and my dad never got to see me play a game because they were in the middle of the afternoon, and he was at work.”
Dills doesn’t mandate his employees work on the weekends, but with the chance to make time-and-a-half or more in exchange for giving up a Saturday or Sunday, he doesn’t typically have any problem finding staff to work overtime.
“You dangle $65 an hour in front of a kid who’s normally making $30 an hour, and he’s in,” Dills says.
Millennial makes changes as he advances
Frankie Ball, Local 124 member, is considered a Millennial by some demographers and Gen X by others. But at 44, he’s definitely well into his career as a project manager at ACP Sheet Metal. When he started two decades ago, most supervisors weren’t interested in asking younger workers about how they thought a task should be tackled. “They were pretty direct with everything,” Ball says. “It was going to be done their way. It was always more aggressive.”
As a young worker at the time, that didn’t always sit well with Ball. So, when he began to advance in his career, Ball decided he was going to use a different approach. “I wasn’t going to talk to people in the same way,” he says. “I wanted to do things differently as I started going up in management. I wanted people to feel like maybe they were more a part of a team.”
It makes for a more collaborative environment, he adds. “It gives them a chance to learn if you let them make some decisions. Even if you correct the decision, at least it’s getting them thinking.”
Learning how to talk to Gen Z
At 58, Local 33 journeyperson Chris Schnell is technically a member of Gen X, although as one of the oldest members of that age group, he sometimes identifies more with the Baby Boomers who came just before him. As a senior project manager at T.H. Martin Inc., in Cleveland, Schnell interacts with a lot of sheet metal workers just finishing their apprenticeships.
Schnell says he’s had to adjust his technique when talking to younger sheet metal workers. “I just approach them to get a sense of their personalities,” he says. Are they easygoing or easily offended?
Either way, Schnell says he wants to see them succeed. “I tell them I’m going to help them as much as I can because we need them in our workforce,” he says. “I try to make them understand what it means to be a tradesman and be in this type of work.”
The 'Silent Generation' not afraid to give opinions
Eighty-three-year-old George “Butch” Welsch has worked with six generations at Welsch Heating & Cooling Co., his family’s 129-year-old St. Louis-based residential service firm. As company president, Welsch, a Silent Generation member, has dealt with everyone from first-year apprentices to senior managers with more than three decades of experience. He agrees with those who say younger workers aren’t as committed as prior generations.
“The older generations definitely had a better work ethic,” Welsch says. “There’s just no doubt about it. The younger generation, in general, is a little harder to convince that working a full week or a full month is something that they’re expected to do.”
Those expectations can lead to conflict, he adds. Last summer, one of the company’s biggest construction customers asked Welsch to put in extra time to keep a project on schedule. But even at time and a half, Welsch says the company had a tough time finding employees willing to work Saturdays. “In the old days, I think guys’ eyes would have lit up if they’d had a chance to work on a project like that,” he says. “Now guys stop to think about it: ‘Do I want to go to the lake? Do I want to go fishing?’ There’s a decision to be made, which wasn’t the case in the old days.”
Despite such complaints, Welsch is quick to point out that younger workers are an asset to the industry. Their comfort with technology has boosted his company’s productivity. With smartphones and tablets, service technicians can now look up parts and get tips on how to solve installation problems without having to leave the customer’s home. “That’s been a big help,” he says. “You don’t want to have to leave a message for someone to call you back in two hours.”
Dills agrees. Younger workers have an almost instant comfort around new tech that prior generations lack. “It’s impressive,” he says. “I think millennials were the first generation that had information at their fingertips. They understand technology. They’re not afraid of it.” ▪
Mind the gap: a quick primer on generations in the workplace
Although some demographers disagree over the exact date when one generation ends and another begins, their cutoffs are rarely more than a couple of years apart. According to Tonia Morris, the founder and CEO of Simply HR Inc., most people still in the American workforce are either Baby Boomers or members of generations X, Y and Z.
Each generation has common experiences that shape their outlook on life and impact how they approach their careers. Here’s how Morris, who gave a presentation on bridging the generational communication gap at the 2024 Partners in Progress conference, separates them and what she says are some of the traits unique to these workers.
Baby Boomers. This 76-million-strong group is sometimes broken down into Early Boomers (those born before 1956) and Late Boomers (born before 1965). The older boomers experienced the upheaval of the civil rights movement and Vietnam War. Often seen as idealists, they value personal growth and like teamwork. Many put in long hours to advance their careers.
Gen X. Born between 1965 and 1980 or so, 65 million Gen Xers experienced the political and economic instability of the 1970s. With many having parents who worked full-time outside the home, they’re used to being on their own. Independent and self-reliant, they appreciate work-life balance.
Millenials (aka Gen Y). At around 43, the oldest members of the 73 million who make up this age bracket are entering middle age. The internet played a major role in their development, but many can remember a time before everything and everyone was online. They support diversity and seek work that allows them to have a positive impact on the world.
Gen Z. There are about 69 million in the United States who belong to this generation. The oldest members are around 27 years old. The youngest, just 12. Often called “digital natives,” they don’t remember a time before the internet and instant access to information. Social causes are important to Gen Z, and many would like to own their businesses. ▪
Michael McConnell’s experience encompasses B2B and B2C copywriting, online journalism, and newspaper reporting. The former editor of a monthly magazine for HVAC and sheet metal contractors, he’s always interested in finding out the stories behind interesting people and projects. Contact him at mrmcconnell36@gmail.com
