I am a GenX myself, and I am absolutely flummoxed about how many of my peer group business leaders are poo-pooing Gen Zs.
One gave me this response when we were talking about how difficult it is to attract new talent.
“Give me a 35 to 45-year-old worker any day. They want to come to work, and I don’t need to remind them to stay off their phones and they stick around.”
Another one was bellyaching about how the good old days are over.
“I wish it was 30 years ago. All people wanted was a paycheck and I could focus on getting work into the business.”
“They are so entitled and need constant coddling.”
Ugh. How foolish this position is.
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I have been blessed to interview a lot of potential employees. I am so impressed with Gen Z and millennials. They interview us as much as we want to interview them. They want to know if they will be working for a pump-and-dump company where only money counts.
Purpose is super important to them. It trumps over just making money. Will they be allowed to make a difference on the job and in general? Will there be training?
It took decades to build the company and there is a lot of job knowledge.
Did anyone record this so a new team member can quickly deliver quality work? Will there be possibility to grow their careers? How quickly will this be achievable?
How easy is it to get information? Is there an open-door policy? Are there mentorships or is the manager coming around frequently to speak and support each team members? Does the output and quality of work count of just timeliness?
How do the employees interact with each other during the interview? Is there tension? Are there toxic vibes? Why is the front lobby stuck in the 1980s theme?
Why couldn’t the company be found on the internet or the website was clunky and stuck in the 1990s? How many bad reviews are out on social media and job seeker platforms?
I could go on with this list.
Gen Z may totally skip and ghost you, or they will come and not stay when they get the notion that they are being viewed as a simple means for the business to make money. I have experienced some quitting a job without having secured another one. Just because a manager refused to listen to their concerns and repeated requests for training and support.
Meanwhile, the older folks knuckle down and work harder, later and longer before they finally retire. It’s a double whammy for the aging business leaders who, themselves, may think about retirement and getting out of their business altogether.
On average it takes around two to three younger workers to do the job of such GenX and Boomer workers. Only the later generations are okay with a totally screwed up work-life balance, knuckle down, come in early, stay late and figure stuff out on the fly because there is nobody else who would work like this.
I have found Gen Z team members to be incredibly talented. I vividly recall my one engineer to be able to look at two screens, work in an ERP on one, AutoCAD on the other, answer the phone and still listen to a podcast with one earbud.
They are so creative and want to help however they can. One summer intern who had become a full-time team member after college was the single reason why we suddenly had half a dozen of such young talent working for us. All because this one person told his many friends about how cool our workplace was. Once they were in, they found exactly what they had been told they would find at work.
Within a very short period of time, we had a vibrant and diverse workforce. Stuff got figured out, and information was freely shared. Information hoarding was abhorred as it was no longer equated to job security. When employees grew their competencies, the company grew as well and customer’s needs were better served.
It does not take a genius to figure this out.
Think about it, this young talent comes loaded with fresh knowledge from school and post-secondary education. They know and embrace technology like no other generation before.
Why on Earth would you not want this talent to show up at your doorstep? Why would you not spend some time to intentionally plan a career roadmap for everyone? With this planning comes also more financial planning stability. That’s not bad for businesses to have, is it?
Point is simply that I have found Gen Z be very interested in the big picture. They want to be included in it. They may not know how that all comes together, but they will embrace it if it is there and it makes sense.
How is this any different for any other generation? It is not.
That is why it is so important for businesses to map out career paths. Make sure that there is a stellar interviewing and onboarding process. It is super important to demonstrate authenticity and transparency. Frequent communication is today’s gold standard.
That takes true leadership to be this way. But the rewards are totally worth it.
To the GenX and Boomer readers, I highly recommend being self-reflective. Maybe it’s you and not them who need to change. You are missing out on a great talent pool.
chadwickoptical.com
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