You’re going to need a very creative and flexible style of recruiting and leading in order to be successful with the young people who were born after the Millennials.
The members of this next generation—Generation Z—have distinctly non-Millennial ideas, interests, values, and expectations, and you need to be adaptable in your approaches in order to attract, hire, inspire, and retain them.
Going forward, everything you say and do as a leader or recruiter (or both) needs to be relevant to Gen Z. They are, after all, poised to begin making a huge impact on and contribution to the national and global economy.
According to cable news outlet CNBC, an estimated 61 million individuals born after 1995 will soon enter the U.S. workforce. Many already have.
Much ink and pixels have been devoted to articles and books explaining how to train, manage, and motivate Millennials. But the information available to help you understand and engage with Gen Z is less abundant.
What You Need to Know
So here, in a nutshell is what you need to know about Gen Z. You may think they will be “high-maintenance” but they are by and large creative, accepting, open-minded, hard-working, (just not long hours) fun-loving, and receptive to new ideas. They are “global thinkers” as well. However, they also tend to be realists who are suspicious of narratives from on high and skeptical of promises people in authority make. And that’s why you need to be flexible in your capacity as a recruiter and/or leader.
Think of Your Business as a Brand – Sell them from the “Get-Go”
Fortune Magazine argues that members of Gen Z tend to be more focused on growth opportunities than on salary during the early years of their careers.
To capitalize on that tendency, think of your business as a brand. If you promote your brand correctly to Gen Z’ers, they’ll be more apt to want to work at your company. So sell them from the “Get-Go.”
Promote your “brand” to Gen Z by talking about opportunities for advancement during the hiring interview. Show them where, when, and how they can advance in your company. Mention this in your hiring ads as well.
Gen Z doesn’t remember life without a cell phone. If your company has state of the art technology and uses social media efficiently, those are great selling points as well.
Skeptics – Do You Blame Them?
Members of Generation Z tend to be skeptical of promises people, leaders, and institutions make. For that you can thank their exposure to societal turbulence, data breaches, negativity in general, and an entire parade of horribles marching past their eyes and ears daily in the news, whether real or fake. So you can expect the Gen Z’ers with whom you interact to be initially cautious. Highly cautious. In fact, they will read the reviews on your company Glassdoor and other sites.
To allay their suspicions, you’ll need to strongly emphasize that your culture is one that emphasizes authenticity, transparency, and core values.
Sell Gen Z’ers on the virtues of your culture. Like Millennials, you’ll earn points with Gen Z if you offer flex hours or work-at-home opportunities if this is doable for your business and their job-role.
“Like Millennials, Gen Z wants to feel good about their work and make an impact on society at large. Highlight the way your company gives back at the forefront of your initial conversations with potential hires. They love to work at a “Company With a Cause.”
Reach Them Before They Graduate
Hopefully, Gen Z will be more blue-collar-oriented than Millennials. Indeed, some Gen Z’ers are eschewing trade school because they are terrified of the huge school loans. It’s a smart choice for Gen Z’ers because technicians, construction workers, electricians, repair people, and the like are in demand. So, if you need blue-collar workers, the best way to recruit them is by first visiting high schools and technical colleges. Be sure to talk to both male and female students as well.
Provide “Living Testimonials”
When you go to the schools and job fairs, be sure to provide “living testimonials.” Bring along a couple of your youngest employees to talk about the benefits of working at your business and why they enjoy their jobs so that potential hires hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Let them know you want and need people that like to work with their hands and think on their feet and why yours is a great place to come to work each day.
Make Sure Your Culture is Welcoming
Strive to ensure that Gen Z will feel at home in your corporate culture since that culture can make or break you in their eyes.
The culture your organization should embody to make Gen Z’ers happy (and for that matter, everyone up to and including Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X’ers and Millennials) is one permeated by teamwork, peer support, respect, equality, and dynamic leadership.
Give Them Training They Want, Need
Global management consulting and professional services firm Accenture reports that today’s new grads rank communications, problem-solving, and management savvy as the top skills they are looking to develop. So give them what they want—and give it to them because it’s also what you know they need. Let your Gen Z’ers know that they will receive training on these and other mission-critical job skills.
Most definitely be prepared to provide training in communication and interpersonal skills. Generation Z grew up conversing in emojis, 140-character sentences, and videos that soon disappear after being shared. They also need to know how to communicate in conventional business-speak and to interact face-to-face with colleagues, customers, and stakeholders.
Retaining Gen Z
Gen Z yearns for mentoring and coaching by people higher up on the ladder (we know this because the members of that generation tell us so in surveys, even going so far as to rank mentoring and coaching at the top of their career wish-lists).
Accordingly, work with your Gen Z’ers early in the game to develop individual career plans for them. Those plans need to provide the training, coaching, and mentoring your young recruits must receive in order to advance.
Gen Z wants a Great Deal of Freedom
Once you are confident of the competency and quality of their work, let them know you have every confidence in them and that you trust them. (Doing so is a very strong motivator.) Then, let them run with the ball. Don’t micromanage. Giving young people the freedom, responsibility, and authority to accomplish results is one of the most effective ways to obtain the most from them.
Gen Z will work well in teams because they will know how to collaborate. They learned it from the “Study Groups” that are prevalent in today’s schools. They also know how to organize and will be an asset to their teams.
Look at the passion and guts of the Florida high-school teenagers. Those very young students in that state and others went into the street to demonstrate and confront government officials to demand that they take action to reduce gun violence.
Show Appreciation
Gen Z relishes recognition. A pat on the back for a job well-done means everything to them.
With that in mind, you’ll find it greatly beneficial to show Gen Z’ers that you appreciate them.
Don’t be stingy in doling out awards for performance, loyalty, diligence, positivity, and anything else of value to your organization.
Especially useful is recognition given unexpectedly. Who doesn’t love to be surprised by a plaque or a trophy or gift card bestowed from seemingly out of nowhere?
A Few Tips to Help Win-Over Gen Z
Have 5 employees call them on their first day to welcome them.
Give every new employee a 15-minute meeting with every member of your company’s executive management team.
Provide seminars on managing finances, life-balance, and stress management.
Establish a “Young-Leaders” club.
Put up a basketball hoop or game table that employees can enjoy on their breaks.
Give them a platform to voice their opinion.
Treat them exactly the same as every other generation. Be sure employees of every generation in your company do the same.
Communicate by text, text blast, or Instant Messenger.
Provide healthy snacks, fruit, yogurt, and filtered water.
Take 1 employee to lunch a week.
Important to Job-Satisfaction – the Buck Stops With the Leader
Numerous studies have proven that the biggest deciding factor in leaving or staying at a company is the individuals’ immediate boss. Make sure your entire leadership team consists of people who know how to lead and do not act like bosses. Leaders should make every effort to make employees of every generation feel valued.
Keep This Always in Mind
Something you as a leader should never forget is that people can’t be pigeonholed. While we can’t ignore the results of these studies we must remember the content of this article provides “tendencies” not “absolutes.” No two Gen Z’ers are the same, just as no two Millennials or members of other generations are the same. Much depends on how an individual was raised, whether they are self-motivated and more. You jeopardize your ability to lead the instant you put people in boxes.
Yet, there are some generalizations that apply among the members of each generation and from one generation to the next. Mainly, people young and old want respect and appreciation, to know that their opinions matter, to work for a company that demonstrates their core values, and to have as a boss that makes them feel they are working with them, and not for them.
Hiring, managing, and motivating Gen Z will clearly involve a great deal more. It will involve flexibility and creativity on your part. Get ready to exercise it because here comes the next generation of great employees.
About Christine Corelli
