CIOs: Avoid War Between IT's Twentysomethings and More Mature Workers

Overview

Industry pundits recently opened new skirmish lines in a generational war of words within IT, pitting older IT workers with mainframe skills against younger workers with new technology skills. Blogs everywhere are filling, debating whether the old workers are past their prime and only the young employees have value moving forward. This position is irresponsible and just plain wrong. The truth is that each group has significant value. As a combined team of talented individuals, the two groups are far more powerful than either will ever be by themselves. CIOs must act to prevent these skirmish lines from forming in their firms. They should leverage the business and operational knowledge of the older workers to mentor their younger counterparts while retraining the mature employees who are willing to be retrained.