Millennials are slowly exiting the spotlight as Generation Z arrives to take center stage—and they’re about to transform the face of the workforce as we know it. As an HR professional, it’s time to prepare your organization for this new wave of employees. This includes establishing a company culture that will get their attention.
Your workplace culture defines the environment your employees work in. It’s the pre-existing personality of your company, shaped by your core values, vision, work ethics, assumptions, norms, language, and habits. This culture is weaved into the other facets of your company, affecting your employees’ productivity, work performance, interaction with one another, and overall well-being.
When workers fit in with your culture, they’re more likely to enjoy their time at work. The company culture and the environment you create can make a difference in catching the attention of the best talents.
Ready to welcome Gen Zers in your company? Here are some ways to make them feel at home in your workplace. Let’s get started!
1. Show them how it’s done
Gen Zers are the true digital natives as they likely don’t remember a time without the Internet. They grew up with the rise of smart technology, which makes them not only comfortable with technology but also savvy when it comes to using it. This means your company needs to adapt and go more digital.
You can develop or improve your website (making it mobile-friendly), show behind-the-scenes snaps on your site, or a virtual tour of your office (e.g., through Instagram Stories), and showcase the company culture through a short video.
The goal is to be authentic and up-to-date, and display that across all your social platforms. For instance, instead of writing blocks of text in your careers page to entail the job role, you can incorporate a short clip highlighting the position. Gen Z workers would rather see what you mean than read it on your site.
2. Maximize remote meetings
Beyond the pet-friendly workplaces, flexible work hours, being able to work remotely, and freedom to tailor their roles and responsibilities appear to be attractive perks to Gen Z workers. You need to be more open to exploring flexibility (with practices, policies, and employees) within the company.
With this, you can embrace a more digital environment by allowing employees to join meetings remotely via video calls. After all, anything with a screen is a part of every Gen Zer’s life. This also enables them to find more balance in work and life.
3. Instill fun competition
Initiate a fun little competition or contests to engage your Gen Z employees and lift up their competitive spirits. This can also be a unique way to train newly hired Gen Z employees, especially since 72% of them are competitive with people doing the same job.
You can utilize technological solutions, such as gamification software, to facilitate these fun little friendly games, complete with points, badges, and leaderboards. You’ll see early on who are quick on their feet, competitive, and fit for a performance-driven culture.
4. Find the balance between social and solace
While these workers are comfortable working on their own and find a little competition healthy for their growth, they still value being in a team and having to exercise their collaboration skills. Moreover, an office space that encourages the right balance of collaboration and alone time can help their productivity and work performance.
Roughly 69% of Gen Z employees prefer to have their own workspace. While they enjoy face-to-face conversations, a thoughtfully designed place that allows them to focus more on their work can be vital to their productivity, quality of performance, and overall success.
5. Provide ways for mental health expression
Gen Z workers can stay connected and online across all communication channels available to them, which can backfire if they’ve grown comfortable making and receiving calls even after work hours. Beyond that, they seem to always make themselves available to friends and family at all times. All this may sound good qualities in an employee, but it can take a toll on their mental well-being.
You can show you care for their mental health by providing mental health benefits, offering generous personal and sick leave policies (i.e., mental health leave), conducting discussions about well-being, or having a strict work-life balance policy (i.e., prohibit employees from sending work-related emails past office hours).
6. Coach, rather than manage
This new generation of workers appreciates having managers who act more like coaches rather than bosses. Around 20% of Gen Z workers said they’d instead go to the dentist than have their manager check in on them frequently. They’re also independent workers who’d rather seek out answers for themselves than reach out to anyone (unless necessary).
Micromanagement won’t do any good in your company and employees. Adopting a coaching approach in training your Gen Z employees prevents them from feeling overwhelmed and anxious. You can invest and put your managers in a coaching program to adjust their management style to train and retain young talents effectively.
7. Develop meaningful work
Gen Z workers are known to be a socially conscious generation, so much so that around 93% of them said a company’s impact on society profoundly influences their decision to work there. Moreover, 77% of Gen Z also consider a company’s level of diversity, and only 5% said they’re motivated by an organization’s reputation.
This values-driven generation is more likely to choose organizations that participate in social programs that give them a sense of purpose. Consider kickstarting activities or programs that leave meaningful footprints, such as social events that aim to give back to a charity or initiatives that promote eco-mindfulness.
Gen Z is Here to Stay
Millennials remain as pioneers in stepping up from an outdated and stifled workplace culture, but the post-millennial generation of the workforce is about to revamp the modern workplace yet again.
Cultivating a culture of healthy and friendly competition, modifying workplace design, and participating in meaningful projects are just some of the ways you can redefine your company culture to meet the expectations of Gen Zers and attract this new generation of workforce. Consult with a recruitment agency in the Philippines to help you build a strong company culture fit for top Gen Z talents.
