The spotlight is now on the incoming generation, known as Generation Z, as Millennials, or Generation Y, take on more leadership roles in today’s workplaces as founders, directors, and managers. Generation Z, those people who were born between 1995 and the beginning of the 2000s, are either just starting their professions or are starting to think about them. The rush to recruit and keep them is on since they will be the future leaders of expanding businesses.

How is Generation Z different?

The demands and expectations that Generation Z has for their job and the workplace are fueled by the fact that, like earlier generations, they have their own distinct perspective on the world.

Key Gen Z features include:

Virtual, but social.
Since Generation Z has grown up with digital technology all around them, they seek ongoing digital experiences and anticipate always being connected. However, this does not imply that they appreciate interpersonal interaction. In terms of what draws Generation Z to a potential company, “human atmosphere” is rated as being just as essential as income. Additionally, they look to collaborate with so-called “facilitative managers,” who help establish a social workplace by building informal, cordial, and trustworthy interactions between teams.

Freedom and flexibility.
The rise of freelancing, working from home, work-life balance, and flexible schedules are some of the professional freedoms and flexibilities that Generation Z has grown up with. For Gen Z, these benefits are non-negotiable and are no longer considered “nice to haves.” This generation desires both a flexible work environment and a “career portfolio” that allows them to engage in multiple professional endeavours at once.

Entrepreneurs
Many members of Generation Z look for alternative careers because they perceive traditional organisations as archaic and restrictive, full of hierarchical structures and top-down management.
If you want to know what Generation Z talent can bring to your company, we share a quick list with its main characteristics:

• They are digital natives, so they are very good at technology.
• They are more open to ideas. It’s a very diverse generation and they don’t like stereotypes.
• They value experiences much more than owning material things.
• They are entrepreneurs and like to experiment.
• They see themselves as independent rather than team players.
• Their attention span is about 8 seconds.

A Microsoft survey revealed that this generation is more likely to struggle with motivation at work because many of them lack the resources to set up adequate home offices and spent their early careers working alone.

How to attract and retain generation Z?

There are some steps employers can take to attract and retain Gen Z employees:

• Understand them: HR teams need to adopt a marketing mindset in the way they approach recruiting. A successful attraction strategy starts with developing a personal understanding of your target audience, how they behave, and how best to reach and communicate with them.
• A digital recruiting process: A digital first recruiting process is essential to attract Gen Z, as well as include an engaging and intuitive user experience that can include chatbots, voicebots, online videos, and regularly updated social media profiles. .
• Build authenticity and trust: With sites like “Glassdoor” giving Generation Z a platform to share their experiences – good and bad – it’s vital that reality goes hand in hand with marketing. Ensure communication that aligns with your real culture and values ​​by finding out what your current employees like about working with you and incorporate that into your recruiting campaigns.
• Bring your culture to life: To add the personal touch, involve your current employees in the recruiting process, either in person or through digital channels. Also give your candidates the chance to meet the manager they are likely to work with in person, you can leave this at the end of the interview stage, so they can get a genuine feeling about the team dynamics.
• Candidate Care: In the age of social media sharing, a positive candidate experience is vital for everyone – even unsuccessful ones – so treat them like customers, providing prompt communication and feedback.
• Responsibility: Gen Z candidates joining your organisation want to be given responsibility as soon as possible, both for making their own decisions and for developing ideas. Therefore, Managers should do everything possible to involve them in discussions and decisions through tools, workshops and informal meetings.
• Generation Z seeks socially responsible companies: Collaborative projects launched thanks to everyone’s involvement. If you want to attract Z talent, don’t lose sight of social.
• Members of Generation Z are permanently connected. Their Smartphone is essential in their lives, both personally and professionally. If you want to attract them, your selection processes have to be up to date in terms of technology. Beyond posting an offer on a job portal, you must use other types of digital tools.

• Make sure to show your company as an inclusive space: creativity is encouraged, merits are recognized and the professional development of employees is prioritised. These are all very ingrained aspects of Gen Z. 
• Lean on visual media to boost your employer branding. Take advantage of your careers site to build your employer brand by sharing video testimonials instead of text. Show the young talent of your company and its vision of it. Focus on the company’s YouTube channel and share employee experiences, company achievements, etc. Use Instagram to “refresh” your employer brand image, engage with your potential candidates, and get to know them better.
• Prioritise the candidate experience. As I mentioned above, experiences are one of the main values ​​of Gen Z; so prioritise the experience of the candidates . Don’t overlook the “small details”, such as informing candidates about their progress, sharing information that really interests them and optimising all your technology according to their consumption habits.
• Generation Z expects you to be available 24/7, within reach of a message, so email is outdated. It would not be unreasonable then for you to rely on chatbots or bet on the strategic use of applications such as WhatsApp.

Generation Z requires a deeper cultural shift in how people are managed and hired on a daily basis, in addition to a change in how businesses approach recruiting. Generation Z will bring new ideas, innovation, and an entrepreneurial style that will accelerate your organisation into 2020 and beyond, but it demands effort and investment from everyone in the firm.