State of the Coast Symposium at Beau Rivage

South Mississippi businesses and political leaders gathered Wednesday morning at the Beau Rivage for the State of the Coast Symposium.

The topic of conversation was focused on the new generation of workers entering the workplace.

The State of the Coast brings together regional leaders as a celebration of economic success throughout the year. With this year’s focus paying keen attention to analyzing how best to grow development through marketplace and workplace trends. Gulf Coast Business Council President and CEO Jamie Miller said, “I think that’s always important, related to the economy as people, retention of talent, the attraction of new people to the area.”

Workplace and marketplace trends expert Cam Marston said, “I have a strong belief that parenting trends have shaped the expectations of the workforce. Many of the challenges the workplace experience today is recruiting and engaging the youngest elements of the workforce, roughly under the age of 35.”

Marston was the symposium’s keynote speaker and is a 20-year expert in understanding the workplace environment. He explains how parenting has impacted four generations in the workplace. Marston says different generations have to understand one another’s societal upbringing to better communicate. “So, number one, understand that compliments go much further than criticisms do. Number two, understand that there’s a culture that parents have created of recognizing people for effort, not for outcome, but for effort. We don’t have to like it, but it’s a part of our culture today. The third one is a recruiting tact of laying out a career path for the next generation as they interview.”

The State of the Coast also honored leaders in the community with the Rising Tide Award and displaying the growing economic boom the Coast is seeing. This development is what the new generation of workers are set to inherit and Marston says the workplace will not be as traditional as it once was. “The hybrid workplace will never go away. The hybrid workplace is here to stay. It is the big part of the youth of our society has never known anything different. It’s what is normal is to them. So, in the coming years, we will continue to see the adoption of the hybrid workplace.”