HR Trends to Track—Move Over Millennials

vi Global’s HR Trends to Track provides a line-up of the latest hacks, new ideas and information you can put to use to help you rock employee engagement and cultivate your rock stars.

MOVE OVER MILLENIALLS­­—GEN Zers ARE IN TOWN

HR teams have had a laser-focus on millennials in the workplace for most of the last decade. As the millennial movers-and-shakers transition into new roles as managers, VPs and CEOs, their younger sibs are looking for their first corporate gig.

Meet Generation Z

In 2018, the oldest members of Gen Z (born in the mid-1990’s) will be entering the workforce as interns, co-ops, summer associates, and early career employees. HR teams need to understand how this group, larger by 1 million than their predecessors, will impact an organization and how to prepare millennials to lead them.

Gen Zers have a lot in common with millennials, but here are 3 ways these vital members of your workforce differ.

  1. Independence Day: Gen Z is often defined by their competitiveness and fierce independence. These are the digital natives who grew up in a social, sharing world. Studies suggest these individuals rely on themselves to make decisions vs crowds or trends and that they strive for uniqueness—from the brands they do business with, to employers and leaders. Generation Z may therefore value feedback on their unique contributions even more than millennials.
  2. Titans of Tech: This is a tech-savvy generation. For these emerging stars, every phone has been smart and B2C engagement is via app. Gen Z employees will expect smart, app-driven engagement in the workplace. Growing up in a digital world translates to a desire to work in a digitally-connected workplace where real-time reviews and digital engagement is standard.
  3. New Training Paths, More Internships: Studies show that Gen Z are choosing non-traditional education and training paths. More are foregoing higher education—only 64% of Gen Zers are considering an advanced college degree, compared to 71% of millennials1. Many employers are predicting that more students will go straight into apprenticeships or internships, skipping traditional higher education and opting in for online studies2.

Gen Z also understands that there’s a need for constant skill development in order to stay relevant. Employers who have tech-forward internship programs, new employee integration, and skill development programs, will be appealing to this group.

It’s time to roll the digital welcome mat out to Gen Zers who are arriving on your doorstep as interns, co-ops, summer associates and early career employees. It pays to know what to expect from these future leaders, how to prepare for their arrival and how to retain the super stars.

Learn more about new employee integration and internship program management. If you’d like more information about preparing for Gen Z, internship program management solutions, and new employee integration, we’d love to help you. We can walk you through a demo, share customer success stories and case studies, and give you the resources you need to choose the right solution for your organization. We’re ready to help, just visit the vi website for more information or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

References

Photo Credit: Photo by Samuel Zeller
1 http://www.businessinsider.com/generation-z-spending-habits-2014-6
2 https://www.business2community.com/social-data/15-aspects-that-highlight-how-generation-z-is-different-from-millennials-01244940#DbKfPhXefdCt8tHA.99