How to develop the attractiveness of your company to younger generations and especially Generation Z to attract them and retain them?
Knowing the characteristics of the generations and understanding them to adapt and adapt our companies are one of the keys to the success of managers.
The biggest challenge today is to make the different generations coexist! Know how to make them work together when their stories, their expectations and especially their vision of the world are not at all the same.
The generations “understand them well”
1900 – 1924 : The generation of traditionalist builders or the grandiose generation // 121 years old – 97 years old
1925 – 1946 : The silent generation, also called traditionalist // 96 years old – 75 years old
1946 – 1964 : Baby Boomers // 75 – 57. The time is marked by full employment. May 68 brought about a new consumer society. Professional success defines personal success. Skills give credibility.
1965 – 1980 : Generation X // 56 years old – 41 years old. The period is marked by the economic crisis and the collapse of values. This generation conforms to its environment and challenges less. She lives the separation of the parents, the economic difficulties. Has the impression of living less well than his parents. The labor market is difficult in relation to his qualifications. This generation is marked by the AIDS which arrives, the catastrophes of which Chernobyl. Society is powerful. We expect everything. Mistrust arrives. Some movements appear to stand out like the Punk movement. The future is more uncertain and this is the period when personal happiness and self-development grow.
1981 – 2000 : Generation Y or millennials // 40s – 21s. To succeed, you have to train and learn. There is disillusionment in the labor market because there are many difficulties in finding positions. This is the why generation? It becomes individualistic. In the education received, the child has the right to ask questions. More and more arbitrates his decisions and questions the values and things that are imposed on him. Authority is gradually challenged. Generation that has studied rather than giving priority to field experience. It is also a generation that is becoming connected, they are called “Digital native” and it is developing with social networks. More volatile and impatient, she knows that she must support herself financially. Use Facebook more.
2001 – … : Gen Z, Zoomers // 20s – … More cautious, less carefree generation. She has environmental concerns. Generation quickly marked by terrorism and realizes “that it can die tomorrow”. Extremely agile and adaptable or “elastic” generation, they were born with social networks and new technologies. Considered by parents as child kings or child stars, this generation needs to shine a light, to share their personal life. Her family environment is increasingly fragile, she easily rejects authority without justification and functions in an impulsive, impatient and zapping manner.
2010 – … : The Alpha Generation // Age 11 – … It’s the next generation coming.
Focus on Generation Z, “Zoomers & Zappers”
This is the generation of new technologies and social networks. Curious, dynamic, mobile and surprising, Generation Z is also called Generation C for communication, connection, collaboration and creativity. It runs on energy, “always more”.
Faced with the crisis at the end of their studies, this generation, breeding ground for the managers of tomorrow, likes to shake up habits and does not necessarily center the success of its life on professional success. Gen Z understands that in order to be self-sufficient, their own skills must be developed. She therefore expects less from others and has a desire to progress. Its competitive advantage is above all its ease in using new technologies.
Ambitious and open to the world in general, this generation does not impose any brakes. Traveling, getting around, enriching their knowledge, meeting other cultures correspond to their desires, sometimes to the detriment of the requirement to find a job immediately.
Communication “Interactivity and connection”
Attached to their laptops, tablets and other communication tools, Generation Z likes to be approached via social networks and messaging. Sending a text message to a recruiter and inquiring about the follow-up of a recruitment by this means is a common practice for this generation which seeks immediacy and speed. The Internet is a great vector of information for her and preparing for an interview by surfing the web to find out more about a company is part of their habits, much more than for Millennials.
The company must understand this and adapt its recruitment methods. Post ads on Snapchat, Instagram (the first most used networks) but also Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and even TikTok, adopt the hashtag that will hit the mark, have a responsive site… So many essential elements today for companies and recruitment firms to reach them !
Management “Commitment and responsibility”
Generation Z attaches great importance to human values, benevolence, listening, empathy, diversity which can influence a more inclusive and responsible CSR strategy on a daily basis. It expects a company to adhere to the same values but also to show them and also to prioritize the well-being of its employees. Fulfillment at work, staying motivated and participating in joint projects are key priorities for this generation of young graduates who are not afraid to leave a position if it no longer meets their expectations. When it comes to recruitment, looking for “soft kills” in the candidate is essential. By identifying values identical to the company and the candidates, the recruiter can validate his choice and ensure at least that he can keep them.
Generation Z is good at using technology and also has a different relationship with business. She puts herself in representation personally but also in the company to affirm her power. Knowledge comes through the tribe, the pairs, its network and has a completely different relationship to authority. This generation has a great dependence on immediacy, everything is decided in the present moment but they know that they have to take care of themselves (including financially).
Development “Innovation and Challenges”
In constant search of new motivations, Generation Z flees routine and is doped up in adventure, with a taste for risk and innovation. Within a company, she will have to challenge herself, reinvent herself and move forward with exciting projects for her to want to stay. Generation Z, or generation zapping… Two years is already too long. I What we did in 4 or 6 years, we do in 1 year now.
Capturing attention during an interview, adopting different rhythms or postures, moving, asking questions conducive to interaction, questioning and knowing how to listen to the candidate’s questions generate attention and success. While skills are generally judged on the basis of seniority and experience, a young generation Z also sees it as a question of style, charisma, subjectivity, personality.
Generation Z lives in a visual world centered on new technologies, a more permissive world where individual freedoms take precedence, an accelerated world where time no longer has the same value… It is up to the recruiter to put on new glasses to know how to apprehend these emerging talents and unearthing the young shoots of management. With this great dependence on immediacy, we must take into account reactions through emotion. They have a diversity of interests more than just one in particular and an increased curiosity. The brain of the digital native is no longer the same as the other generations this generation has an affective functioning and this is what will value the manager.
Today part of this generation is “invisible”…. Where are they? They stopped their studies and did not concretely integrate active life…
Operation “Sharing and Involvement” :
In the communication with this generation, it is necessary to insist and explain the why and not only the how. Giving thanks after the effort is appreciated but especially asking them their opinion “what do you think? to involve him and take his opinion into consideration. Giving him some leeway is a proof of trust.
It is very important to restore meaning for these new generations: Ready to play an important role in sharing information provided that their contributions are visible. Authority as such is no longer legitimate unless it makes sense, it gives explanations (the why).
What is important to remember is that information is everywhere so there is no need to remember it….. Generation that is less used to making efforts to get something: Reading and writing is becoming more and more more difficult. Learning is boring. The network is the key to their success in the future. “The company that bans the personal phone in business has not understood the next generation”.
To think of….
The perpetual challenge of the company is to make intergenerational coexist within the departments.
Each of us, we are in a generation, each of us has a personal story. Our first challenge is to manage and manage several generations. If in your company or activity, Generation Z is one of the priority targets, you must develop new reflexes for a collective approach. In an organization, the responsibility of each manager to play this role of proximity with Generation Z has become essential and they must be made aware of this exercise !
