Boomers vs. “The Kids”

It was boomers bashing the kids in last month’s Knowledge Bureau Poll which asked, “Are today’s small businesses and their workforces prepared to grow and meet changing demands while trying to fill the knowledge and experience gaps left as baby boomers retire over the next 5 years?” 

Here’s a sample of some of the comments wisdoms that emerged: 

“The next generation has the intelligence, but does not have the same ethics. We were not in for the money until we moved up the ladder and proved ourselves in our career orientation. All small business cannot afford to have an HR person for training. In the next generation, very few have the drive to self-educate through the everyday work that needs to be done in a small business. At most times, they will claim that it is too much work and will refuse to walk in the owner shoes in order to achieve their goals. Education is a must, but it gets to be a burden when an employee analyzes and dictates how to run the business. Very hard to find good employees as they expect to earn the big salary which is impossible for a small business.  Profit is so small, barely has enough to operate a small business.”  Submitted by Lise.

“Typical comments from the boomers! They are not the hard working, caring generation. They are the ambitious, self-serving, navel gazing generation! The reason small business is in this shortage is due to the boomers unwillingness to help the next generation prepare. Let’s face it the boomers are the ones who raised the next gen, they should be the ones to pass on the information and skills.”  That was the opinion of “cc”.

Roxanne blamed the education system as well as parents: “The bureaucracy in the education system is what is keeping Canada behind in business: not enough people to fill jobs in particular areas and too many people in other areas where there are no jobs. . . Canada’s education system is not keeping up with the times. Also, parents have raised their children to become self absorbed and over indulged, expecting to find high paying jobs just because they graduated.”

Grant M., on the other hand, provided a voice of reason: “Every generation thinks the next is ill equipped to handle the future. It always works out better than anticipated.”

Thank you to all who participated in our poll discussion. . .clearly a problem exists, but no definitive solutions for a smooth succession of business enterprises from one generation to the next  emerged; one that needs more strategy and implementation to succeed.  

Please join us with your opinions in our next poll question for September: "Do payday loan companies and tax discounting providers still have a place in Canadian financial services? Why or why not."