Ready or Not, Here Comes Gen Z!

Posted: January 25, 2023

Workplace demographics are predicted to drastically shift over the next few years as five generations merge together in the workforce. Generation Z–the youngest generation encompassing people born between 1996 and 2012–is quickly becoming the largest and most diverse group on the planet. The evolution of Generation Z will have a huge impact on the workplace. According to a Forbes article, Generation Z is expected to comprise as much as 27% of the global workforce by 2025, which will impact businesses across the globe in every sector. Employers must adjust their hiring and recruiting processes to adapt to this group’s values and priorities.
 
Here are a few things to consider when recruiting and hiring Gen Zers:

• Sense of Purpose – Gen Z workers prioritize a sense of purpose and their quality of life over everything else, including financial compensation. In fact, Gen Z values salary less than any other previous generation.
• Professional Development – Gen Z workers seek out employers who support their professional development. They are also on the hunt for training in new skills and real-time learning resources.
• Values and Causes – Gen Zers are attracted to companies that have similar values to theirs. They are passionate about various causes, including fighting hunger, social justice and climate change.
• Digital Natives – Since Gen Zers have had access to computers, smartphones, and Wi-Fi their entire lives, they are true digital natives. As a result, Gen Zers do everything on their phones and are extremely tech-savvy.
• Social Media – Gen Zers are active participants on most social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.
• Collaborative – Gen Zers are a highly collaborative bunch who prefer to communicate in person and strive to build strong relationships with coworkers.

Generation Z’s Impact on Hiring and Recruiting
What does the evolution of Gen Z mean for employers? Many old-school hiring processes were designed to attract and retain previous generations with different values and goals, so it may be time to adapt them for Gen Z.
Here are a few things to consider while hiring Gen Z job applicants:

• Social media screening – Since Gen Zers have a huge digital footprint, employers might want to consider adding more social media screening to their background screening process.
• Speed – Generation Z workers don’t want to deal with slow hiring processes, especially job applications that take more than five minutes to complete. They also don’t want to wait for slow background check reports to be come back. If a hiring process is too slow, they will move on quickly.
• Efficiency – Employers should ensure that their job applications, background check consent forms, etc. are concise and easy to fill out. If you don’t already have one, it may be time to implement an applicant portal to automate the entire background check process. The entire hiring process should also be online.
• Flexibility – Gen Zers are not interested in participating in the traditional 9 to 5 grind. They crave flexibility, along with a strong work-life balance with flexible hours and remote work options.
• Job hopping – Gen Z workers are not afraid to job hop and will happily quit jobs they don’t find fulfilling.

Generation Z workers are valuable and insightful employees who bring unique strengths to employers. If you have questions regarding adapting your hiring process for Generation Z workers, please contact our Client Service Ninjas at (877) 360-4636.