As more Baby Boomers are resigning and Millennials are climbing the ranks, the majority of your new workforce recruits will be Generation Z. As you’ll probably know, the way that Gen Z works is quite different to the likes of Baby Boomers. Here are 4 things you need to know if you want to recruit and retain Gen Z employees.
1. Refresh your hiring practices
It’s not enough to just pop some ads up on your local jobseeker’s site. Because Gen Z are extremely tech and social media savvy, you’ll need to widen your search and advertise the role across your social channels too.
You may also need to expand your applicant criteria; some businesses refuse to look at applicants who don’t have a qualification or degree, but miss out on that great employee with actual work experience.
2. Encourage referrals
Gen Z are a bit more skeptical of companies offering certain roles – they’d rather hear more about your company from someone they know. Work with your current employees to see if they know someone who would be a good fit for the role.
Your team will sing your praises (hopefully) to the potential candidate and they’ll be on board with you soon enough!
3. Be flexible
Flexibility is key with most generations now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but for Gen Z, it’s becoming a deal-breaker. If you can’t offer flexible working practices like working from home, or varied working hours, you might miss out on employees of this generation.
With some roles, working from home just isn’t an option, but the more flexible you are when it comes to your team having a life outside of work, the better positioned you’ll be to keep them.
4. Get solid on your values
Aside from flexibility, another key thing Gen Z looks for in a potential role is whether it aligns with their values. Gen Z are really into teamwork, diversity, inclusion and making a difference, and they’ll want to know that your workplace cares about those things too.
If you have company values, be sure to communicate these clearly on your website, and even in your job ad to demonstrate that your business is a great place to work.