Creating a Workplace That Appeals to Gen Z

As a business owner or manager, you know that appealing to your target candidates is all about showcasing the qualities of the job that interest them. Many people now entering the workforce either after high school or after earning their degree are no longer simply looking for the highest paying job. With less of an emphasis on traditional family life as older generations knew it, the generation born in an age of constant online presence will be looking for jobs that keep them entertained and challenged. They are likely to take a lower-paying job if it provides the perks they looking for.

When you provide benefits that interest those looking for a job, then you’ll be sure to have a long list of candidates to pick from. Making sure you are a competitive employer in this day and age means getting the best applicants available. Here are some useful tips that you should employ to create a workplace environment that caters to attracting the new Gen Z population.

Offer Flexible Hours

Gen Z is all about convenience. They have grown up in the world of technology where they can shop at two in the morning and video chat with their grandparents from three states away with the tap of their finger. They never what it was like to actually drive to a store to rent a videotape so they can watch a new movie. There’s no longer the restrictions of the nine to five lifestyle that many older generations are used to. Rather, these individuals are looking for a job that offers flexible hours so they can enjoy other areas of their life as well as work.

Different people are more productive at different times of the day, so unless the position is client-facing, allowing them to set their own schedule is a win-win. If your employee says they do their best work at night, then open up your office to the night shift. As long as your employees are there for important meetings and meet KPIs, allowing for more flexibility in their schedule could actually get you their best work.

Give Feedback Often

With so much technology, you get feedback from what you’re doing in an instant. Gen Z is used to having a constant stream of feedback. Whereas other generations were okay with working all year to lead up to their annual performance review, Gen Z doesn’t appreciate going that long without knowing how they are doing. Rather, they enjoy having more usual reviews so they can have feedback from their performance on a regular basis. Create a workplace culture of open communication and prompt feedback, both formal and informal.

In a world of instant information, it can be frustrating not to know everything all at once. If the managers and supervisors at your company save all feedback, both positive and negative, for a one-on-one meeting that occurs on a regular basis, then you are doing it wrong! Set up a system of instant feedback, even if that is a two-minute conversation in the hall or at a desk. Your employees will appreciate not being kept in the dark about their own performance. After all, how can they feel successful at their jobs if they don’t know what it takes to succeed in their role?

Reevaluate Your Formal Education Requirements

With so much free information available online, Gen Zers will take up to learning new skills from the comfort of their own couch. They’re very effective at picking up new skills quickly by easily navigating the online realm for relevant information. You may be surprised to find out that a Gen Zer with just access to the internet can obtain the same amount of knowledge about the industry as a Gen Yer that has a four-year college degree. You should be more open-minded about formal education requirements as you’ll notice that many Gen Zers don’t have the traditional formal education requirements that you’re used to.

Instead, take time to set up an interview process that evaluates knowledge evenly across the board. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate test. You can pick a few key questions that anyone who has real experience would know. For instance, if you need a coder, you can ask what a specific function would do. How correctly and how confidently they answer will tell you what you need to know. Another thing many young people are doing in the workforce is compiling portfolios. More and more fields are using these to assess quality in their candidates.

Make Your Building a Fun Place to Be

People love talking about the perks of their job. In retail, employees might brag about discounts. Workers in the food industry might have free meals. In education, you might get longer breaks while the kids are not in school. This is one area where your company can be competitive without offering higher salaries. Choose to lease a building with amenities, like a free gym or a rock wall. If you can’t do that, you might offer to reimburse gym memberships for employees.

Additionally, make sure their workspace is adequate. If your workplace is mainly office space, you need to add these perks yourself. If you still have desks with single monitors, you are behind the times. Two or three monitors provide the needed screen real estate that skilled, young employees need to work. Also, adding a soda machine, an espresso maker, even catered lunches, and other amenities like these are all things that keep your employees happy and new applicants interested.

As the Gen Zers get ready to embark on their careers, it’s important that you target their specific needs in the workplace to get them on board with your company. There are many online review websites that allow employees to anonymously report what it is like to work for you. Like shopping around online for the highest quality products or looking for the best restaurants, new employees are comparing reviews of employers before accepting job offers. If you continue to utilize the same workplace environment you did ten or even five years ago, you’re going to miss out on obtaining the talent that is available today. You should utilize the four tips above for creating the best workplace environment for Gen Z.