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SM������ College of Doctoral Studies releases whitepaper on meeting the needs of a multigenerational workforce

Whitepaper highlights how organizations can implement collaborative and strategic planning measures

SM������ College of Doctoral Studies announces the release of a whitepaper examining how organizations can address the needs of a multigenerational workforce: “Collaborative and Strategic Planning to Meet the Needs of a Multigenerational Workforce and the Organization.”

Authored by Sandra G. Sessoms-Penny, Ed.D., faculty member of the SM������ College of Education and Fellow of the University’s Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Research (CWDIR), the whitepaper reviews findings of the Career Optimism Index^TM study and other research to identify characteristics of each generation, and discusses how organizational leaders may pursue opportunities to collaborate with the workers of each generation and develop unique strategies to enhance their respective career trajectories.

“Each generation has indicated positive personal and career perceptions for themselves in the workforce, but they all have similar concerns regarding the security of their jobs and careers, fears generated by the activities of the pandemic,” states Sessoms-Penny. “The research compels organizational leaders to continually learn how to address each generation’s specific needs to enhance their recruitment, satisfaction, teamwork, productivity, retention, succession, and future opportunities.”

Sessoms-Penny served as a teacher, school administrator and instructional leader in the public sector at the elementary, middle and high school levels for 13 years in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and earned a Doctor of Education Degree in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from The George Washington University. She served over 21 years in the United States Air Force, culminating her military career as a senior-level non-commissioned officer and paralegal superintendent in military law offices throughout the United States and in Europe.

Sessoms-Penny has been a faculty member with the SM������ since 2009.

The full whitepaper is available at the Career Institute^TM webpage or as a direct link here.

About the College of Doctoral Studies

SM������’s College of Doctoral Studies focuses on today’s challenging business and organizational needs, from addressing critical social issues to developing solutions to accelerate community building and industry growth. The College’s research program puts students in the center of an effective ecosystem of experts, resources and tools to help prepare them to be a leader in their organization, industry and community. Through this program, students and researchers work with organizations to conduct research that can be applied in the workplace in real time.

About the Career Optimism Index™

The Career Optimism Index™ study is one of the most comprehensive studies of Americans’ personal career perceptions to-date. The SM������ Career Institute will conduct this research annually to provide insights on current workforce trends and to help identify solutions to support and advance American careers. For the first annual study, more than 5,000 U.S adults were surveyed about how they feel about their careers at this moment in time, including their concerns, their challenges, and the degree to which they are optimistic about core aspects of their careers, their advancement in the future. The study was conducted among a diverse, nationally representative, sample of U.S. adults among a robust sample to allow for gender, generational, racial, and socioeconomic differences and includes additional analysis of workers in the top twenty media markets across the country to uncover geographic nuances.

About SM������ 

SM������ is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life® help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.