Generation Z is frequently labelled as "job hoppers," a peculiar notion given their quest for stability and potential loyalty towards a commendable employer. To retain young employees within your organisation for an extended duration, it's essential to grasp their job priorities. Subsequently, as a business and as a team leader, it's imperative to respond accordingly.
Personal freedom
Generation Z wants flexible work and personal freedom. If you only offer work from home one day a week, that is actually not enough. Therefore, consider introducing job crafting. This concept enables an employee to arrange his or her work entirely according to personal preferences. Think about working hours, location and range of tasks. This creates a work environmentthat truly suits the employee and replaces the traditional 8-hour work day. With job crafting, work is done purely on a project basis and with the attitude, "Make sure you meet the deadline." Whether you achieve this in 6 or 9 hours in a day is up to you. This generation considers it normal for private and work hours to overlap. Thus, working late hours is not a problem if there has been room for private matters during "normal" working hours.
Should you still want your employees to be physically present in the office frequently, make sure your office is attractive. Think about flex spaces with plenty of large screens, areas where one can retreat for rest, enough places to make undisturbed phone calls, a prayer room, quiet room and creative spaces for brainstorming that actually contribute to the creative process. And of course, very important: make sure you have a good wifi connection, it prevents irritations and makes working more efficient!
Impact
Generation Z is very aware of how companies impact the environment and society. For them, just focusing on making profits without thinking about the impact on the planet and society is not okay. Research shows that 53% of Generation Z want to do something good for the world or society through their work. Is your company not doing this directly? Then it is important that your company seriously consider how it can contribute positively. There are plenty of initiatives you can get involved in. For example, consider JINC, which brings young vulnerable students into contact with employers to learn about the business world. Or donate to charities that help nature and or animals affected by climate change, or make sure you invest in refurbished laptops and phones.
The important thing is that your company not only says it values the environment and society, but actually shows it with concrete actions. Because if your words don't match what you do, you run the risk of young employees walking away from you.
Culture, diversity and inclusiveness
Work culture is an important criterion for all generations when choosing or not choosing an employer. With millennials, you often notice that colleagues are friends not only in the workplace, but also outside of it. Generation Z is no different in this regard, colleagues are important to them as well, but in addition, diversity and inclusiveness weigh just as heavily in their choice of an employer. The cultrual fit has to feel really good for the younger generations.
As an employer, this means building teams that are diverse in background and gender, and promoting a culture of inclusiveness. A team or organization made up only of white males is not attractive to a vast majority of this generation.
And note that diversity on your team is step one, but that does not make you immediately inclusive. Inclusiveness is about how you work. How do you deal with differences between people and what are the social norms? Does everyone have the same rights and can everyone say the same thing? To implement this well in your organization, you have to start recruiting inclusively, starting with the vacancy texts, which have to be inviting to everyone. This is the first step towards building a diverse team. The young generation attaches great importance to this issue and feel that you as a company must take responsibility for creating a more inclusive work environment.
To engage Generation Z in your company, authentic leadership is essential. This means that as a manager you are really there for your team, making everyone feel seen and valued. You give them space to show their skills, stand beside them in challenges, treat everyone as an equal, inspire and ensure open communication.
Open communication means being direct and transparent, with regular and constructive feedback. Research shows that 73% of Gen Z employees are more likely to consider leaving a company if they do not receive regular constructive feedback, compared to 52% of people from other generations. This type of communication is a two-way street; a Gen Z'er is also happy to share their opinions about you as a manager and about work processes.
So, soliciting and being open to feedback as a manager is a must. Thus, a manager who is only sporadically available for interviews and otherwise seems absent is demotivating and uninspiring to the young co-worker. As a manager, you must be actively involved and invest in both the professional and personal development of your team.
In addition, Generation Z views hierarchy differently than other generations, who often take seniority as a measure. Gen Z values expertise above all else. Working somewhere for a long time or having a "senior" title does not mean that a Gen Z person automatically respects you.
Generation Z expects a manager to contribute seriously to their personal and professional development. This aligns with their desire to learn skills that are valuable not only now, but also in the future. The traditional question "Where do you see yourself in five years?" does not fit well with them. For them, life may look so different five years from now that there is no good answer to this question. Therefore, they value possessing skills that will still be relevant in five years, regardless of where they are then. Offering training budgets for courses is a good way to support them in developing new skills. Then immediately make sure there is a good balance between soft and hard skills. Because, your hard skills won't be of much use if you don't know how to communicate them.
Gen Z is known as an innovative generation. They breathe technology and are bursting with new ideas. Therefore, avoid the mindset of "We've always done it this way, so change is not necessary." Be open to conversations with younger team members about how you can move the organization forward together. This also provides a perfect opportunity for collaboration between different generations within your team, combining the creativity and fresh ideas of Gen Z with the experience and knowledge of older generations.
Stability and security
Finally, stability and security are high on this generation's list of requirements. Growing up in a world full of uncertainties - think of the financial crises, climate problems, the pandemic and terror threats - they crave security. A permanent contract, clear growth opportunities and chances to develop are what they look for in a job.
If a Gen-Z'er finds all these elements with an employer, you win their loyalty and get a loyal employee. But if the promises are not delivered, they are just as easily out again. So it is crucial that your policies are well put together to successfully retain this generation.