Just when you think you have worked out how to lead and motivate Gen Y and Millennial employees, Gen Z is the generation now leaving school and Uni and entering the workforce, and they are different in an exciting way!
Born between 1996 and 2012, Gen Z is the largest current generation making up 25 per cent of the population. It is considered to be the most tech savvy, diverse and creative generation ever, which are exactly the characteristics that we need to future proof our businesses.
90 per cent of our 70 Concierge team members are Gen Z with an average age of 21 and we are still learning about what motivates them at work. However as we know, their skills are essential to our culture of fresh thinking relevancy to our customers and we are changing our workplace practices to better suit them.
Here are the key characteristics of Gen Z and the benefits that they can bring to your team and what we have learnt about them:
- Extensive knowledge of technology – they are the first generation that has grown up with technology from the moment they were born and have never known a world without the internet, smartphones and social media – these skills are critical to any business.
Give Gen Z the role of designing and managing your social media strategy as no one understands how consumers use it better than they do. As they are highly creative, globally thinking and like to have ownership, you should give them responsibility to better use technology to improve almost every part of your business. Don’t just get their ideas though, as they like to be fully involved in the implementation and the outcome of projects. They like to make a difference and they don’t consider their youth a barrier to anything and it often isn’t!
- Born problem solvers and researchers - they use YouTube and the Internet to solve problems and self educate.
They don’t like training that is too formal and delivered to them face to face and they don’t like boring online modules, they prefer to be actively involved and to conduct as much of their own research as possible. As YouTube is their ‘go to’ resource we are changing our training programs to allow them to self educate as much as possible and to give them opportunities to solve problems as they arise. Even if they are new, don’t discount them, as their fresh thinking is valuable.
- Creativity and Entrepreneurship – they have grown up in the era of start ups, think Uber, Airbnb, eBay etc and studies show that when leaving school, over 60 per cent want to work for themselves rather than aspire to traditional jobs.
We have found that many of our Gen Z's don’t want to be tied down by a full time job and are happy to work on a part-time, casual or contract basis so that they can blend study, travel and passions with their work. We recently employed a great candidate who could only work four days a week as her role in Girl Guides one day a week was so important that she didn’t want to give it up – so we accommodated that rather than losing her. We constantly have staff alternating their time between work, study and travel and if Jetstar has cheap overseas flights, they would prefer to take advantage of them and are happy to have leave without pay to do so. If this isn’t available, they are at a high risk of resigning. As a result, we are now employing a greater percentage of casual staff with flexible rosters and having less resignations and happier and more fulfilled employees.
- Efficient multitaskers – they can concentrate on multiples tasks, have several systems open at the same time and are super quick. They are the ‘always on’ generation.
They are the best at using MyDesktop, ActivePipe, reading notes, updating details, typing an email and having a conversation with a customer all at once!
- Independent – because they've always had devices with them to solve their own problems and are resourceful and happy to work independently and don’t need as much direction or assistance.
- High expectations of customer service and ease of use – they have only known a world where services are delivered immediately and are quick and easy to use, otherwise they move to the next option. They expect immediate gratification and these are the same expectations of our upcoming customers.
After managing staff for over 25 years, Gen Z is more connected with the customer and how to deliver customer expectations than any other employee and we have never had more 10/10 customer ratings! If they're happy, utilised and feel that they are making a difference, then they are excellent with customers!
Their need for instant gratification however, has changed the way we pay incentives, moving from monthly, to weekly and now daily incentives to ensure each and every day they know how they are going, can make a difference and that their reward is immediate and relevant.
- They think globally, socially and care about equality, their purpose and making a difference.
Even though they prefer to be self directed as learners and are not needy workers, they do require regular and almost daily individual feedback to let them know what they are doing well and how they can improve and make a difference. Growing up with social media they are used to feedback and prefer constructive feedback, so can become disillusioned without enough feedback. As they are highly social, this feedback, particularly when given on the spot and in an informal way, also satisfies their need for informal interactions with leaders in the business.
We should be giving serious consideration to understanding and creating a work environment to better attract and get the most from Gen Z employees. Gen Z employees are tech savvy, creative, self directed and globally focussed and I believe will play a key role in ensuring future success within our businesses.
Kelly Tatlow
CEO, Concierge
