Much has been written and discussed about generational differences and the supposed stereotypical traits aligned with each group. As a GenX person (b. 1965-1980), I would say most of the GenX traits are reasonably accurate, in particular the concept of being motivated by working for a specific brand.
I started my career with IBM and for me that was the pinnacle. I was surrounded by people who had spent their entire careers in the IBM family. I remember at the time my admiration for people who were completely committed to a single firm and the sense of loyalty and safety that brought. Fast forward 30 years and the landscape is very different.
As the owner of a technology-focused staffing firm, with 20 years of international recruitment experience, I speak with many IT leaders about the challenges faced in attracting and retaining younger technology talent. I also talk to many HR consultants about this, and one said something that opened my eyes to the nature of what we need to consider. She recommended looking at the world through the eyes of someone who has entered the workplace in the past three or four years and then imagine how the world must feel to them. She then explained the common fears she comes across:
- “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford my own house, so maybe I should just live for the now and focus on what is important to me in my personal life”
- “If there is another pandemic-style outbreak then what would that mean for me – would I survive it?”
- “There’s so much conflict in the world at the moment that World War 3 feels like it could happen at any time”
While the above might sound a little extreme, this HR consultant explained to me that the immense upheavals and unparalleled events of the past few years have created such a different baseline compared with those of us who entered the workforce 20-30 years ago, and many of those fears feel very real.
In turn, this helps to explain some of the factors that are discussed as common GenZ (b. 1997-2012) traits.
Continuous learning is vital
Because of the combination of feelings of uncertainty and a desire to move ahead rapidly and develop their careers, it is essential that GenZ feel that they are constantly learning on the job.
This can present a challenge in technology teams where there has long been a need to learn the ropes and progress to more complex and challenging projects over time.
Equally, the risk of placing unqualified or inexperienced staff onto critical systems can lead to outages or disruptions. It’s worth thinking about how you can flex the projects and opportunities in your technology team to provide continuous opportunities for learning.
Training needs to be hyper-personalised
The traditional approach of sitting in a classroom and watching a trainer at the front of the class no longer cuts it. For GenZ, their smartphone never leaves their sight and they expect everything on that smartphone to be hyper-personalised to their likes, dislikes and preferences. It’s entirely understandable for them to expect any training to be tailored specifically to them.
Leading organisations are using a combination of video, game-based learning and augmented reality (AR) to train their young workforces. Many housing providers are already using AR with their field operatives, so perhaps think about how you can support this within your technology team. Another quick win could be bite-sized micro-learning; this is content that can be consumed in minutes and aligns with the GenZ preference for instant information and a potentially short attention span.
Workplace stress is a significant issue
Because GenZ are balancing this feeling of global and personal uncertainty alongside the desire to grow and develop their careers, a significant percentage of them report feeling high levels of stress at work.
If your young workforce is predominantly working from home then this will be likely to exacerbate the problem. We see a trend of GenZ workers wanting to be in the office more and more because they recognise that working from home is stunting their learning and career progression.
The opportunity to learn by osmosis from colleagues is immensely important but also difficult to quantify and measure because it happens naturally in most in-person team environments. Many housing providers have excellent employee wellbeing programmes, so this is worth reviewing to see how personalised and relevant it is to your younger workers.
Frequent job changes are seen as normal
Some research indicates that GenZ may expect to change jobs on average every 18 months so staff retention will be a huge challenge.
For a technology function, this can be hugely disruptive and is likely to result in previously-unseen levels of IT staff movement. Reviewing team structures to factor in buddying/mentoring to increase staff cohesion and integration will help with the desire for constant learning and also ensure frequent socialisation.
Rotating staff onto the newer and more exciting projects is a key factor. GenZ are less likely to be happy biding their time on mundane work and will expect to be in at the deep-end on new projects. However, in a technology function, this can be a challenge due to the potential for major disruption.
As an example, we’ve tackled it with some organisations by the creation of small research and development teams within the wider technology team. The R&D teams can be fluid and are designed to give employees responsibility for evaluating new tools and technologies. With the onslaught of AI-related tools and possibilities, this approach could be more useful than ever, although it requires throttling the amount of time and resources to ensure there is sufficient RoI.
Attracting and retaining a GenZ worker in your technology team is likely to start with your approach to dynamic training tools, a continuous-learning philosophy and your levels of in-person mentoring, support and socialisation.
Giles Warburton is the CEO of ShortList Recruitment.
