This month we sat down with Dr. Virginia Bianco-Mathis, Professor and Chair of Management and Human Resources at Marymount University, School of Business. She teaches courses in analytics, coaching, talent development, organizational development, and strategy. In addition, she is a leading consultant in the areas of strategic planning, executive coaching, organization development, and leadership. Check out the interview below:

For Immediate Release

One of the hottest topics right now I'm seeing with many of my clients is how to manage multi-generations in the workplace. It is the first time the workplace has seen so many generational "forces" all at once. Today's workforce includes Pre-Boomers (Born 1925-1945), also known as The Silent Generation and Traditionalists, Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964), Generation X (Born 1965-1976), Generation Y, also known as Millennials (Born 1977-1994), and Generation Z (Born 1995 and later).

Organizational leaders that I’ve worked with have always had an innate understanding of some of the basic rights of their employees. What I’ve found to be less well understood, even among some in the HR field, are additional rights that employees have which are less intuitive. A number of these un-intuitive rights are derived from the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA).

Regardless of the nature of the transaction, during a merger or acquisition, all employees find themselves surrounded by change, impacting everything from organizational culture to the snacks in the kitchen. From here it is an exercise in simple logic - with change, comes uncertainly - with uncertainty, comes attrition. Is there no way to interrupt this equation?

As a consultant in the field of Human Resources, I am often approached for guidance on how to conduct a difficult conversation in the workplace. I’ve had COO’s come to talk through how to share with their CEO (and boss!) that their contributions in staff meetings are negatively impacting employee morale and undermining their position as COO. I’ve had employees come to me and ask how to talk to their manager about why they feel overwhelmed and underpaid in their role. I’ve had friends call me up and ask about best practices for approaching their manager to let them know they will be resigning from their position. These topics, along with a number of other topics in the workplace, are never an easy conversation to approach and I have found myself consistently providing the following advice in each scenario. Added bonus, these tips apply to those not-so-easy conversations at home as well!