The new kids on the block aren’t the Millennials anymore: it’s the Zoomers. Born after 1996, many of this generation’s members are in their early-to-mid-twenties now, and are expected to constitute 27-percent of the workforce within the next couple of years. As Gen-Z continues to join the modern workplace, business owners and managers need to act quickly to guarantee they’re in the best position to unlock these new employees’ potential while also meeting their desires for flexibility, purpose, and growth.
And businesses are going to need these young people. As the first all-digital generation—with little-to-no memory of a world without the Internet, smartphones, and social media—Zoomers are likewise the most digitally fluent, able to adopt and exploit new technologies with ease. This presents an important opportunity for companies who seek to not only adapt and to survive in this new age, but to innovate and thrive.
Leverage Their Technological Fluency
Having grown up in a highly connected world, Zoomers possess not only a deep understanding of the digital landscape, they are also comfortable with the tools necessary to navigate it. They are the most qualified to be on the frontlines of implementing new software, optimizing outdated processes, and more. Their natural expertise provides employers with the opportunity to capitalize on the latest-and-greatest technological advancements in a way the rest of us cannot.
Using Zoomers as the tip-of-the-spear for innovation is also a good route towards providing them with job satisfaction, as Gen-Z is often characterized as having a strong interest in seeking new opportunities for growth and education.
Craft a Culture of Flexibility
Zoomers are strongly concerned with maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Perhaps it’s all the stories of workaholism out there, but Gen-Z hopes to learn from previous generations and avoid burnout, even if that sometimes means working part-time and supplementing their income with the independent contract work found within the gig economy. Employers must find ways to accommodate their young employees’ need for flexibility by utilizing clever scheduling or remote work—because, otherwise, they’ll find a job that does.
A collaborative autonomy is key: project management tools, video conferencing, etc. can contribute to productivity and team cohesion. Most of all, when these young employees have the freedom to balance their personal and professional lives, they will be more motivated and engaged.
Offer Purpose
Simply earning a paycheck is often not the sole gateway to job satisfaction. For Zoomers especially, meaning and purpose are just as important—maybe even more so. To be truly happy with their work, they need to contribute to a larger purpose or cause beyond making more profit for their company; they want to feel like they’re making the world, or just their small corner of it, a better place.
To that end, having a clear mission statement is a necessity: in what way does the company’s existence make the local community better? For example, a restaurant might be able to offer healthy, sustainable food in a warm atmosphere for on-the-go people too busy to cook for themselves. Moreover, that restaurant might take some of its proceeds and invest it in a local food-assistance program to help the less fortunate, maybe even donating cooked meals to an elderly. Whatever the industry, there are ways to make the work about more than just profit. If employers can find a way to align their employees with a shared purpose, they’ll find they have a much more dedicated and motivated team.
On the Horizon
Are you starting to notice more and more Zoomers within your own business, either as customers or job applicants? Looking for ways to best actualize their potential while ensuring their long-term loyalty? The Brandt Group’s mystery-shopping services and leadership courses can help. One of the most important avenues for finding purpose is by recognizing a company’s most important product is not what’s on the shelf—it’s the broader customer experience it provides. Employee buy-in on this principle leads to increased satisfaction for all . And when it comes to leadership training, The Brandt Group also offers your younger staff the opportunity to advance their own skills, a priority for that generation.
We must recognize that the only thing that doesn’t change is how much things are always changing. And you’re never too ready to get ready. So, let’s chat today, and together we’ll help strengthen your business with a well-trained and happy workforce—a youthful, tech-savvy, and ambitious one.
