Another year has gone by and you know what that means! Generation Z is here and ready to work–and it’s time you put your best foot forward to show that your company is the real All-Star. Unfortunately, your company’s HR may have to tweak a few things to make that true. Here are some changes a fellow Gen-Zer agrees you’ll have to make to attract us.
Social Media
Google is older than Generation Z. Think about that – the most popular search engine in the world is OLDER than your new recruits (and 24% of the workforce come 2020). Growing up with Google means one thing and one thing only: Gen Z is very aware of how the internet works and are experts on how to navigate it. Once we hear about your company, we turn to Google to research your social media presence. Our expertise in social media is so fierce we can tell if a company is disingenuous from a single glance at one post. That means your company’s presence on social media needs to become stronger and more connected to the way post-Google babies think. Posts should show content of employees in the office and promoting your causes, because we want to make sure we support the same things. These posts could be a candid photo of your employees enjoying lunch together, team recognition meetings, or office engagement in a CSR event. After all, we’re going to decide whether we want to work at this company based on these. Show Generation Z how your company is a diamond in the rough–a unicorn in a field of donkeys, we should say.
Pro-tip: we’re mental health advocates, so throwing in a few uplifting posts every now and then will go a long way.
CSR & Company Mottos
Most parents of Generation Z were affected by a crashing economy, and we’ve grown up seeing either one or two parents lose their job. Now that we’re joining the workforce, we have a different outlook than millennials. We’re concerned with the company’s motto and corporate social responsibility (CSR) more than pay. We want to embrace giving back to the community that supported us while our parents were down on their luck. If we don’t feel like you represent your CSR and really personify the company motto, we don’t want to be a part of your company. We don’t just want money; we want to make a difference, and since the job market is hot right now, we get to be picky. We’re loving having the choice of where and how long we want to work somewhere, because we know our parents didn’t. In order to get us, show us what you’re about! As HR Manager, the most fun task you have is documenting some employees getting involved. Take a video next time your employees are engaged in a community project and post it on your website. You could even highlight it on the social media accounts we’re stalking.
Developmental Programs & Training
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Gen Z has terrible communication skills, you know that, we know that, and we’re hoping you’re going to fix that! Simply offering a variety of developmental programs at your company for employees puts you ahead of your competition. When it comes to starting the job, there may be some problems when Gen Z starts using those lackluster communication skills. We grew up texting, snapchatting, tweeting, and Facebook chatting. We’re not the best when it comes to professional writing, BUT that’s okay! Just a couple hours spent on developmental programs centered around the dos and don’ts of workplace communication will go a long way.
The next part of training may take a few of you off-guard. Here’s the thing, lecture training doesn’t work on us. Gen Z wants to feel like a partner to their manager, not just some random person sucking up the office air. In order to train Gen Z, and for us to really accept it, we need to feel included and have a few hands-on activities, instead of sitting through 75 PowerPoint slideshows like we did in college. It’s also crucial that your company include career-growth plans. We’re okay starting at the bottom and working our way up, as long as there is a way up.
Workplace
Growing up in a world of ever-changing technology definitely gave us youngins a leg up in ambiguity and adaptation. Some of us were subject to online schooling and were able to do homework remotely. A hybrid office plan is the future and you should hop on that rollercoaster while it’s still going slow. Because Gen Z wants to have a sense of control, you can give us that by allowing us to work remotely and decide our own hours. Don’t worry though, just like every generation before us, we enjoy face-to-face interaction too. Hybrid workplaces are the future. But about those open office plans…They gotta go. We’re used to the individual style working that millennials were so strongly against. Gen Z enjoys independent work and gets distracted and stressed out by open floor plans. It’s best to create a productive environment and have a little less of an open plan, because really, who wants to smell their neighbors Chinese takeout they can’t eat because #summerbod?
We’re hoping that these few little tricks will attract Gen Z to your rockstar nest in the upcoming years. Remember, social media is your best friend, CSR is what sells, training needs to be a more hands-on and inclusive, and hybrid workplaces are the future.
Go get ‘em!