Use cases / Business services firm

Client case

Deepler Research · Continuous listening

Generational differences in the workplace: needs per generation in view

A business services firm has four generations at work, from recent graduates to experienced colleagues who have been there for decades. Its HR policy was the same for everyone, but the signals from the teams pointed in different directions. With Deepler Research, the organisation mapped generational differences in the workplace, using filters at generation level.

Sector

Business services

Target group

All employees

Solution

Deepler Research

Application

Generational differences

In brief

The question

What do different generations need to work well?

The insight

The differences lie mainly in development and recognition.

The result

HR policy that fits every generation.

The question: does one policy work for all generations?

Younger employees asked for more feedback and faster progression. Experienced colleagues said their knowledge was not used enough. HR heard the signals, but did not know how widely they were shared. Was it a few loud voices, or real differences between generations?

The approach: one survey, results per generation

All employees filled in the same questionnaire on topics such as development, workload, flexibility and recognition. In Deepler Research, HR filtered the results by generation. Results were only shown with sufficient responses per group, so nobody could be identified. The most striking differences were then discussed in mixed groups of employees.

Filter by generation

Results per age group

Anonymity protected

Only visible with enough responses

Interpret in conversation

Mixed groups discuss the differences

The insight: differences in development and recognition

On flexibility and workload, the generations were closer together than expected. The big differences lay elsewhere. Younger employees scored low on development: they missed feedback and a view of progression. Older employees scored low on recognition: they felt their experience was not valued enough.

The result: a policy that fits every generation

The organisation kept one shared policy, but applied it in a more targeted way. Starters get fixed feedback moments and a visible development path. Experienced employees are deployed as mentors and knowledge holders. That way the generations strengthen each other, instead of working past each other.
  • Needs per generation backed by data
  • Targeted actions on development and recognition
  • Generations strengthening each other as mentor and starter

Generations in the workplace: three lessons

What this organisation learned about working with different generations:

Look at similarities too

Not every difference you expect is really there.

Protect anonymity

Only filter on groups that are large enough.

Translate into policy together

Let generations interpret the results together.
Read more about Deepler Research, or see how a healthcare organisation discusses its employee satisfaction survey per team.
Preview of the white paper Your new boss is 34

Free white paper

Your new boss is 34

Working for someone younger: what it does to you and what helps, for you, for the two of you and for your organisation.

  • What research says about younger managers
  • Six stereotypes tested, on both sides
  • A reflection and a conversation card
Download the white paper

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about generational differences in the workplace

A distinction is often made between baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z. The boundaries are not sharp, so use them as a tool rather than a label.

With one questionnaire for everyone and results you can filter by generation. That way you compare groups on the same themes.

By only showing results when a group is large enough. If a group is too small, you combine age groups.

Sometimes they are. That is exactly why data helps: you see where differences really exist and where they are smaller than assumed.

Yes. Besides generation, you can filter by department, location or type of contract, for example, as long as the groups are large enough.

Read more

More use cases

Deepler 360

Client case

Municipality

Leadership development you can track

The leadership programme had good training, but no view of what changed in practice. 360 feedback on a shared profile made growth visible.

→ Growth in leadership visible per round

Read the case →

Deepler Culture

Client case

Software company

Psychological safety visible per team

The software company wanted teams to dare to share mistakes. A culture survey made visible how psychological safety was doing, per team.

→ Psychological safety open for discussion per team

Read the case →

Deepler Research

Client case

Education institution

Workload per team in view with a psychosocial risk assessment

Workload was a familiar theme, but nobody knew exactly where it pinched. A psychosocial risk assessment per team provided the basis for the risk assessment and clear agreements.

→ Workload per team substantiated in the risk assessment

Read the case →

Deepler Research

Client case

Healthcare organisation

Employee satisfaction survey: from report to team conversation

The employee satisfaction survey always ended in a thick report. Now every team discusses its own results and chooses the first actions itself.

→ From report to conversation per team

Read the case →

Deepler Research

Client case

Business services firm

Customer satisfaction survey: the cause was inside

The customer satisfaction survey showed that customers were dissatisfied, but not why. By putting it next to the employee experience, the cause became visible.

→ Customer complaints traced to internal causes

Read the case →

Deepler Research

Client case

Staffing and secondment agency

Over 70% response from employees working remotely

Employees who work at client sites feel little connection with their employer. With a communication plan built around consultants and existing moments of contact, a secondment agency achieved a response rate of over 70%.

→ Over 70% response from employees on site

Read the case →

Deepler 360, Research

Client case

Technical service provider

Getting a grip on a reorganisation, including the undercurrent

Merging two management roles affects almost everyone. With one overview, short pulse surveys and 360 feedback for managers, a technical service provider got a grip on its reorganisation, including the undercurrent.

→ Grip on the reorganisation, including the undercurrent

Read the case →

Deepler 360

Client case

B2B service provider

Coaching sales teams with 360 feedback

Revenue and pipeline show what is happening, not how people sell. With Deepler 360, account managers receive feedback every quarter on a shared sales profile, and the sales manager bases the coaching conversation on facts.

→ Sales coaching on behaviour, not just on numbers

Read the case →

Deepler Journeys

Client case

Manufacturing organisation

A large group of new colleagues on board at once

A large group of new employees and little time. With Deepler Journeys, new colleagues settle in faster, while trainers can focus on the job itself.

→ Onboarding at scale, trainers relieved

Read the case →

Deepler Research

Client case

Logistics service provider

 · 1,000+ employees

Continuous feedback, directly in the hands of management and managers

Employees give feedback continuously. The outcomes are available centrally, so managers can get to work with them themselves.

→ Insight at every level, not just in HR

Read the case →

Deepler Research

Client case

Recruitment agency

 · SME

An EVP study in two weeks

With the EVP module, the agency found out within two weeks what employees really value. The basis for the employer marketing plan.

→ From research to employer marketing plan in 2 weeks

Read the case →

Deepler 360

Client case

Healthcare organisation

Developing team leaders with 360-degree feedback

Feedback from manager, peers and team. Blind spots become the starting point of the development conversation.

→ Growth visible in the follow-up round

Read the case →

View all use cases

Do you recognise your situation?

In a demo we show you what a similar approach would look like for you. Start with one question, one team or one suite.

Request a demo