Who is Gen Z?
Where millennials end and anyone born after 1997 is part of Gen Z. They are social natives and grew up where technology is at its peak. They are deeply connected to technology. They are also commonly called “Digital-ites” as they are quite actively present on social platforms and networks, constantly on messages and internet. They are financially mindful people as they have seen the “Great Recession” in their
childhood.
Characteristics / traits of Gen Z at workplace
▪ Technology and social media: Technology and ease of work plays an important role in retaining Gen Z people. They are growing up at a time where social media influence is very strong, and they are most likely and constantly on social media which has a huge impact in their lifestyle and living.
▪ Security & Stability: They look forward to stability and job security, however that being said they also look forward for financial growth.
▪ Need for work life balance: They prefer to work only the stipulated work hours as they want to maintain a work-life balance. They would hardly extend their working hours rather prefer to complete their work during working hours and then not be disturbed.
Challenges in hiring Gen Z
▪ Short application process: Gen Z people are very less likely to fill in the job application form and go through a very elaborate interview process. They are always looking forward to shorter and less time-consuming processes. Candidate experience is highly important to them. Shorter overall hiring process helps.
▪ Always looking forward to working in cutting edge technology: Since they have been born and raised in a digital era, they are looking forward to working where technology has eased the way of work. They do not prefer manual work and look forward to working in organizations that support high end technology like providing excellent and AI based HRMS etc.
▪ Growth opportunities: They constantly are looking forward to growing in their career at a fast pace. They do not want to wait for years to achieve career success. They are highly competitive in nature and are always looking for career growth opportunities. They want transparency and a clearly defined career path. They always look forward to instant success and recognition. They want to be recognized for the efforts they put in.
▪ Financial growth: They are looking forward for stability, however money is something that always motivate them as they have seen their parents go through the “Great Recession” hence they would not mind job hoping for few hundreds or thousands as they are constantly looking for financial growth. They decide the
organization purely based on money.
▪ Entrepreneurship: They want to be independent and their urge to make more money compels them to establish something of their own. They may initially settle in at a workplace and eventually start something of their own or may have side hustle.
▪ Looking for flexibility: They want flexibility in the workplace and freedom of work to suit their lifestyle. According to LinkedIn survey in Jan 2022 72% of Gen Z either left or were considering leaving just because their organization was not considering offering feasible flexible work policy.
Overall organizations not providing a conducive environment face difficulties in hiring and retaining as they are not able to live up to the expectations of them and organizations fail to recognize the real need and fail to cope up with the required change.
