Generational communication consultancy and workshops for UK teams

Alastair Greener works with organisations to build generationally cohesive workforces. His consultancy starts with an assessment of how communication actually works across the age groups in your business, then delivers tailored strategies, workshops and manager training, with measurable outcomes on engagement and retention. It is built on his own UK research and 30 years of leading multigenerational teams.

Four generations now work side by side in most UK organisations, and the differences between them are real: in the Generations in the Workplace Study 2023, more than half of HR managers saw clear age differences in expectations of working hours (55%), wellbeing support (53%) and preferred management style (51%). The cost of leaving those differences unmanaged shows up as disengagement, misunderstanding, and young people who are easy to recruit and hard to keep.

Alastair helps organisations turn a multigenerational workforce from a source of friction into a competitive advantage. The work is practical, tailored and measured, and it is grounded in his own research rather than borrowed American statistics.

What a generationally cohesive workforce looks like

• People who feel understood. When colleagues of every age feel heard and valued, they engage. In the 2024 survey, 75% of UK workers said the way people think and behave at work varies with age, and communication style was the difference they noticed most (51%).
• Lower attrition. Turnover is the third biggest challenge HR managers report (26% call it major). Retention among under 25s is where organisations struggle most, and it is usually a communication problem before it is a pay problem.
• Better decisions. Teams that combine the experience of one generation with the instincts of another see more of the picture. Reverse mentoring, mixed-age project teams and clear communication norms make that happen on purpose rather than by luck.

How consultancy works

1. Assessment and insight

   A short diagnostic of how communication actually works in your organisation: which channels people use, how feedback flows, where messages get lost between age groups and where the assumptions lie. Where useful, this includes conversations with managers and team members across the generations, and a comparison of what you find with the national picture from the 2024 survey.

2. Tailored strategy

   A clear, written set of recommendations for your industry and structure: communication norms, feedback cadence, onboarding, hybrid working expectations, manager capability and the specific friction points the assessment found. No generic "five generations" slide deck; the plan is yours.

3. Practical implementation

   Workshops, training sessions and facilitated conversations that put the strategy into practice. Typical formats are a leadership session, a manager programme and team workshops, each built around real scenarios from your workplace. Alastair delivers these himself.

4. Measurable outcomes

   Agreed measures up front, usually engagement, retention, feedback frequency and how people rate communication across the generations, with a follow-up review to see what has moved.

5. Follow-up and resources

   A suite of resources for managers and teams, so the work sticks after the workshops end, and the option of a return visit or refresher session.

Workshops and training

Every programme is tailored, but these are the formats most organisations ask for.

Who it is for

HR directors and people teams with four generations on the payroll. Leadership teams whose managers are mostly one generation and whose new hires are mostly another. Organisations with a retention problem among under 30s, or an engagement problem among over 50s, or both. Whatever the sector, professional firms, charities, public bodies, retail, manufacturing or hospitality, the pattern is the same: the age mix is not the problem, the communication around it is.

Alastair has worked with organisations including Brother, Carnival Corporation, Nationwide Building Society, Mediterranean Shipping Company and Lawtech.

He understood our culture and the importance of developing our communication approach.

Steve Dickenson, European Commercial Manager, Brother International

Why Alastair

He has run multigenerational teams, not just written about them: 16 years as a Cruise Director leading departments of 90 to 100 people from every generation and dozens of countries, on ships including the QE2 and Queen Mary 2. He has interviewed more than 500 business leaders as a television presenter, founded a communication training company and commissioned a UK survey of 4,067 people on how the generations communicate. He is President of the Professional Speaking Association UK and Ireland for 2026 and author of the award-shortlisted Generationally Speaking.

His starting point is that we are framed by our generation, not defined by it. The consultancy is designed to replace assumptions with curiosity, in both directions, and to give managers something they can do differently on Monday.

Frequently asked questions

What is generational communication consultancy?

It is specialist help for organisations whose workforce spans several generations. The work identifies where communication breaks down between age groups, designs practical changes to feedback, channels, onboarding and management, and trains managers and teams to work well together. The aim is higher engagement, better retention and fewer misunderstandings.

How long does a consultancy project take?

A diagnostic and strategy typically takes a few weeks. Workshops and manager programmes are scheduled around your business, and a follow-up review usually happens three to six months later. Single workshops and leadership sessions can be arranged on their own.

What do we get at the end?

A written assessment of where communication is working and failing across the generations in your organisation, a tailored strategy with clear priorities, the workshops or manager training to deliver it, agreed measures, and follow-up resources so the changes hold after the sessions end.

Do you work with small organisations?

Yes. The approach scales from a single leadership team to a national workforce. Smaller organisations often start with a leadership session or a single workshop and build from there.

Is this the same as diversity and inclusion training?

It is a specific part of it. Age is one of the least discussed dimensions of inclusion: a 2024 Work Foundation study reported by People Management found that only 18% of senior leaders include age in their EDI policies. Alastair's work gives organisations the data and the practical tools to address it properly.