There are no cut and dried lines when it comes to defining where a generation starts and begins, but understanding the broad characteristics that members of a generational cohort might tend to exhibit can help recruiters target their hiring strategy more effectively.
Not only will a multigenerational workforce provide a myriad of different perspectives, but different generations tend to exhibit different skill sets based on the social environments that they were raised in. This means that a workplace that employs a diverse set of age groups will be better equipped to tackle a problem from a number of different angles.
Who Is Generation Z?
Enter Generation Z, the newest generation to be hitting the workforce.
Generation Z can be roughly designated as the generation born between the mid-90s and early 2000s, and many employers have been surprised to find this technologically savvy cohort entering the workplace en masse a lot sooner than expected.
Why? Generation Z grew up watching millennials struggle to pay off their student debt, and as a result, many of the younger generation are considering skipping on college altogether, which means that recruiters might want to shift their focus to recruiting young talent before they miss out.
Why Hire Generation Z?
Not only do Generation Z make up almost 25% of America’s population, but growing up with smartphones and technology at their fingertips has left Generation Z with a unique skill set of technological know-how that other generations intuitively lack.
In addition, Generation Z tend to be less invested in financial gain and more invested in work that aligns with their eagerness to learn and grow. Growing up with the internet means that the members of Generation Z can be uniquely independent, and will be happy to teach themselves skills online.
As an added bonus, being so familiar with the fast-paced world of the internet means that the members of Generation Z tend to be excellent multitaskers and know how to work efficiently.
So how do firms go about hiring members of Generation Z?
Six of the Best Ways to Get Generation Z on Board
1. Leave a Strong Impression
The younger generation is much less likely to stick with a company or recruiter who leaves a bad taste in their mouth than their millennial counterparts that came before, and that means that businesses have to step up their talent acquisition game when targeting younger employees.
Focusing on perfecting the entire hiring process to make sure that there are no bumps will ensure that a company is not inadvertently putting off younger hires without realizing it. Streamlining the hiring process will also have positive effects for a company in general, so there’s really nothing to lose here.
2. Offer Plenty of Opportunities to Develop and Grow
After watching so many millennials before them get stuck in dead-end jobs, Generation Z craves the opportunity to grow, thrive and learn in their job environment.
Much like millennials, this generation will generally appreciate an environment where they get lots of feedback so they can continue to push themselves further, and the interview process is no exception. Be sure to clearly point out to potential Generation Z prospects the path that they can take to ascend within the company if they do the job right.
3. Emphasize Positive Values
When it comes to Generation Z, they expect their loyalty to be earned, and many see job hopping as an essential step to ending up at a company that is in line with their strongly held values and principles. So the question becomes, how do potential employers become that company?
The thing with Generation Z is that values need to be more than hot air. Members of Generation Z are likely to eventually pack their bags and move elsewhere if they find the company isn’t walking the walk when it comes to principles.
4. Offer Opportunities for Coworking and Collaboration
Studies suggest that Generation Z might be less inclined to prefer working remotely than their slightly older millennial counterparts.
Instead, this younger generation seems to gravitate more toward workspaces that offer an open environment with the opportunity to grow and nurture their skills alongside a closely knit team. This means that shared coworking spaces and open concept office environments can be a great draw for Generation Z prospects.
5. Keep Up with Technology
Generation Z is the first generation to truly have grown up on the internet, and have been given the nickname “digital natives” for a reason. It would be a shame to not take advantage of the diverse technological savvy that this generation can offer any workplace or team.
This also means that Generation Z take technology seriously and are very likely to be put off by a company that they perceive as not doing enough to keep up with technological advances. Companies need to make sure that their systems are cloud-hosted so as not to inadvertently be perceived as dinosaurs by the generation that grew up with smartphones in their hands. Maintaining a strong social media presence will be another draw for this tech-savvy generation.
This also means adapting the recruiting process to the type of short attention spans that the internet tends to foster. Generation Z are very likely to be responsive to short videos and other forms of digital media that can be integrated into the hiring and training stages. Be sure to avoid losing them with tons of boring documents and legal terminology during the onboarding stage.
6. Maintain a Strong Digital Presence
Generation Z will be highly likely to go online to find more information about a potential employer, and this is why it is important to invest in maintaining a strong online presence.
It is always a smart strategy to take advantage of social media to post recruitment ads in the Bay Area and make use of recruitment advertising agencies and recruitment advertising firms in the Bay Area to polish the recruitment strategy to the level that Generation Z will respond to.
