If you’re a younger person in the workforce and will soon be working as a manager or other employees, especially ones who are likely to be much older than you, you might be worried about how well this will go for you. Luckily, whether you’re going to be managing people who are just a few years older than you or who are nearing retirement and moving into assisted living facilities themselves, there are things that you can do to help make this easier on everyone.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for effectively managing older employees. 

Be Someone Anyone Can Respect

One of the best things that you can do to find success when managing others, be them older than you or not, is to be someone that they can respect. Without respect, you may find that it’s hard for you to get your staff to listen to you and fulfill the work that you have set out to do.

For some younger managers, seeking approval from others might be a trap that you find yourself falling into. But if you can think more about gaining the respect of your staff and team members rather than focusing on getting them to like or approve of you, you may find that it’s much easier for you to lead your team. 

Take Time To Build Relationships

While someone might see you for your age when they first look at you, what can help to make this a nonissue, both for you and for your older employees, is to build actual relationships with them as people. 

When you’re able to build a professional relationship with your older staff members, they will start to view you as more of a part of their team and their leader rather than just a young person who they’re having to take orders from. And by doing this, they will slowly learn to trust you more as well. 

Communicate In A Way They’ll Understand Or Appreciate

Sometimes, the communication tactics between different generations can be hard to manage. If this is something that you’re worried about as you seek to manage a team at work, your main goal should be to learn how to communicate with people in a way that they will both understand and appreciate. 

If you find that your older staff members tend to like chatting in meetings for a minute before getting down to business, try to embrace this as a way to meet your staff where they are and ensure that they understand what you’re trying to convey to them in all conversations. 

If you’re needing some help with effectively managing your older employees, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you see how this can best be done.