Recruiting Tips for Gen Z in the Workforce

Each time a new generation starts to fill in for those that are retiring, big cultural shifts occur. It happened with Gen X, Millennials, and now with Gen Z. For many employers today Gen Z is quite challenging to work with. Most hiring managers struggle to connect and hold a lot of grievances towards the generation. In total, 74% of current hiring managers say Gen Z is the hardest generation to deal with. 

Understanding Gen Z

Why is there such a disconnect in recruiting Gen Z in the workforce? The answer is simply a shifting understanding of work and culture. COVID alone changed countless businesses in ways that were never expected. Gen Z was particularly affected by this, seeing more layoffs and transitions to remote work than any other generation. Gen Z also struggles to develop a clear career path, transitioning between jobs often.

These two factors together lead to the broad reality that Gen Z has different expectations for work. Here are some tips for taking advantage of and catering to those differences. First, something that has become very important to Gen Z is transparency. Transparency of wages, of benefits, of expectations, these are expected of employers now more than ever. 

Communication and Gen Z

Transparency also works to build trust. Members of Gen Z often feel they’re not respected in the workplace so acknowledging and rewarding Gen Z is highly effective. This also leads to the promotion of mental health and more interpersonal relationships. Gen Z, more than previous generations, enjoy more cooperative work. The ability to connect and work with a team, to feel equal with supervisors, these can be really positive forces.

Finally, clear and direct communication is the last key point for making use of Gen Z. Gen Z wants to be in contact with their employers on a weekly basis at the very least. They expect faster responses to interviews, simpler and more streamlined info, and direct one to one communication. All of these work to help make the employee better and also hold the employer more accountable.

In Conclusion

These tips aren’t revolutionary or terribly surprising, but they’re effective. A lot of employers currently don’t want to bend to the culture of upcoming generations, but it’s an inevitable shift. If members of Gen Z are integrated, employers and employees alike make more money. If they’re treated the same as generations past, they won’t be effective workers or workers at all. By 2030 Gen Z will make up 30% of the workforce. Now only time will tell how effective a workforce they will be.