ROUND TABLE
the older generation had to learn to manage us. I’m in my mid-30s and when I talk to my peers, they all say that they have issues with some of the younger members of staff. Usually that revolves around the feeling that when you get them to do something they do it well, but you almost have to keep feeding them. The key is working around that slightly different mentality. They’re not going to be exactly like I was when I was coming through because they’ve had a different journey to get there.
JS: This is something that we all, at whatever stage of the business management we are at, have to learn to adapt to.
LP: It’s a learning curve, isn’t it.
EP: Absolutely. As much for me as it is for them. I’ve got to try to teach them in a way that they respond to.
JS: The key is recognising the difference between the types of people. Someone who can be managed well is just as good, just as productive as someone who is a real self- starter who works hard on their own. If you can point someone in the right direction and support them, that builds their proactive sense of development. I’m learning that myself: to be more proactive. The busier you are, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you will find to be busy with.
LP: One thing that we may underestimate with gen Z, is that they don’t necessarily understand what is expected of them, not at first. I started work when I was 13 because it was a family business. I came in at weekends and started cleaning the toilets, so I’ve worked my way up and I’ve worked for a very long time. Some of our younger people, it could be their first job. So they might not know at first exactly what’s expected of them – I think we can take it for granted that they do. Sometimes we think: “Well, we can do it, so they can do it,” but actually in some cases, they just need the right guidance. They need us to say: “You work from seven till 12, then you have your lunch break, then you work from 12:30 to five”. But they need that guidance that they’ve never had before, because they’ve never worked anywhere else. I think we can be too quick to judge. It’s about setting and managing expectations, yours as much as theirs.
EP: We want them to intrinsically know what you expect of them, but that’s not realistic.
January 2025
“Sometimes I think we’re too quick to say: “Oh, you know, they’re gen Z, so they don’t know anything”, but actually you just need to find the right way to work with them.” Lauren Penney, Chandler Materials Supplies.
We needed guidance and so do the younger people coming through. You need to give people the expectations and with clear guidance they will probably get on better.
LP: I find that you only have to do that once. You set the expectation that it’s done and they just pick up on it and follow it. Sometimes I think we’re too quick to say: “Oh, you know, they’re gen Z, so they don’t know anything”, but actually you just need to find the right way to work with them. We’ve all experienced it. I wasn’t perfect when I was a teenager. I probably wasn’t the most productive person and then I often find myself forgetting that.
JS: At the same time, when we do give younger people responsibilities then we have to make sure that other people around them understand what that youngster’s role is too. It’s very easy for maybe young people to come into the industry and wonder: “Should I be asking this older person to do that?” Yes, they should, if that is what the role is. So I think that’s where being proactive and getting involved really helps – when people in the business can see that you understand your role, that you want to grow into it and develop.
BMJ: Should we be trying to encourage more younger people into the industry? EP: Definitely. Though it’s important to say that new entrants shouldn’t necessarily be limited to the younger generation, or just to school or college leavers who are at the start of their careers. Those who want to switch
“The key is recognising the difference between types of people. Someone who can be managed well is just as good, just as productive as someone who is a real self-starter who works hard on their own.” James Scott, Professional Traders Ltd
careers or sectors at any stage could really add to our businesses because they bring with them a wider experience.
JS: We need to be encouraging all these people to think of this industry as vibrant and full of career potential. We’re not that different to a high-street chain really, when you think about it. We are a company that’s selling a product. Every business in this sector has a need for a wide variety of roles, all requiring their own skill sets. It could be accounts, marketing, finance, logistics. Just because you’re not directly on the trade counter, you’re still playng a major role in the industry.
LP: Maybe sometimes those of us in the more visible areas don’t appreciate those other roles as much as we think we do. Take some of the people in our back offices; if they weren’t there, the business wouldn’t run. We need to sell all the jobs within, sell the whole industry, because there are so many different roles that suit so many different people and such a range of aptitudes.
JS: People my age might see a job in hospitality and pubs as a great role, but we can sell our benefits to them as well. We may have to start work at 7.30am, but then we are closing at 5pm. There’s the odd Saturday shift, sure, but we’re not making people work their Friday or Saturday nights. I feel like we should be able to highlight the fact that the building materials sector is a really steady industry – it’s been here for years. It doesn’t make you work all weekend and there is a whole range of areas that you could specialise in if you want to.
EP: People are always going to need houses and I think that’s something that’s really important to push when we’re highlighting these jobs that you wouldn’t necessarily think about – the back-office jobs, the marketing, the finance, the logistics, the sales. It’s really vital that any industry promotion we do highlight that building materials is diverse, vibrant, stable and not going to disappear as a sector.
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
