I don’t know about you but I’ve read my fair share of ‘How to work with Gen Y’ blogs. Just when you feel like you’ve got that sorted, it’s time to welcome Gen Z into the workforce. So who are Gen Z exactly?

According to Wikipedia, Gen Z are typically born between the mid 1990’s to the mid 2000’s. Many of the older Gen Z’s are 20-21 and currently entering the workforce.

According to a global study from Millennial Branding and Ranstad US, there are several qualities that Gen Z exhibit that need to be considered by the businesses hiring them: Gen Z are entrepreneurial, prefer face to face communication and aren’t particularly focused on chasing the dollars….yet. The report states that:

• 17% of Gen Z vs. 11% of Gen Y wants to start a business and hire others
• Only 28% of Gen Z said money would motivate them to work harder and stay with their employer longer, as opposed to 42% of Gen Y.
• 53% percent prefer in-person communication over tools like instant messaging and video conferencing.

The ‘Entrepreneurial spirit’ that Gen Z have might lead to starting a business at some stage, advises Emmie Martin, in the article: ‘5 things you need to know about working with Gen Z’. However, it can also be attributed to them needing to understand the link between day to day tasks and the overall business benefit to the company. It’s therefore important for employers to explain how their contributions matter to overall business performance.

Gen Z’s crave honesty, states Martin. They view honesty as the most important quality of a leader and seek out leaders that communicate a vision for the business, while demonstrating strong integrity. When working with Gen Z’s, it’s important to keep them up to date with business progress as well as communicating how the business is working towards achieving its goals.

Surprisingly, Gen Z’s prefer to communicate face to face, despite the plethora of communication mediums available to them. When it comes time for business updates and information sharing, face to face sessions may be a good way of informing Gen Z’s of the business’ progress.

Martin also warns that career goals and pathways will be established earlier by Gen Z, with many of them completing internships while still in high school. They plan to have fewer jobs with fewer employers than Gen Y, enabling them to progress their career through fewer changes. This can be good news if your business can support them through this process. Smaller businesses with flatter structures may need to adopt a cross-skilling approach to retain their Gen Z’s.

If you would like support with hiring staff, contact the recruitment specialists at Flexi Personnel.