If you’re like many of my readers you’re probably skimming this article during a break at work. The newspaper was sitting on the table and you had to pick it up to read the latest tidbits of technology that I squeaked out on Sunday night. This week I’ve decided to change it up a bit.

Knowing I employ twenty somethings in my shops, another business owner asked me how I retain them. Not grasping his question I asked him to clarify. “I can’t keep that age group employed for more than three months.”

“I let my coworkers collaborate and give them control.” My logic is that if work gets done it makes no difference to me how it gets done. I explained to the other business owner that I let the group make decisions for the company and let the group fix consequences.

Years ago I set rules about the use of company resources and technology. Basically the rules dictated that personal electronic devices can’t be connected and websites like Facebook were not allowed. These rules worked when I had three employees crammed into a little store. Then my business model changed.

I now have four stores with five employees. Each store has one employee and is separated by miles, not a wall. Because people need to talk I tore up the rulebook and asked each of my employees for their input. Rather than give me four answers, they collaborated and gave me one.

At that point (and on their verdict) I made the decision to lift all restrictions on the use of personal electronic gadgets and allow Facebook and similar sites on company equipment. I came to the realization that younger employees need to work together and need to socialize while at work. Allowing technology in the workplace increased productivity.

My decision came from a GenX point of view; I’m 43 and fit the mold. GenX’ers are pretty self centered and try to go against the grain whenever possible. Many of our parents were going through divorces and that left most of an entire generation of youth to basically fend for themselves.

Millenials, the age group I employ, are growing up in a time when technology allows them to communicate with their peers. Twenty somethings work best in groups and tend to have larger groups of friends rather than one or two close friends. Because of a twenty year age difference, I didn’t understand those nuances until I lifted my ban.

Without going into details about specific employees, I have one employee who hates talking on the phone. He would rather text someone than make a call. After finding this out I started asking my other employees. Turns out, two of the other guys told me the same.

Rather than make a bunch of rules I let the group dictate how the communication end of the business is handled. They instituted an employee controlled cloud type data sharing service, internal text communication and inventory control service. Incidentally, I don’t have passwords or privileges to any of these services.

Understanding the differences between generations has been a massive learning curve for me. Combining differences with my management style and my company’s business model has made a drastic difference in employee performance. The fellow who asked me about retention was only able to keep people for months, my longest term employee has been with me for six years and is 26 years old.

(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him at (978) 919-8059 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)