TABLE OF CONTENTS
Since most of the communication takes place over the Internet, how one comes into contact with one another, and where one can get information is changing in this age group. Real-life is increasingly merging with digital.
When it comes to relationships and bonds, Generation Z prefers to remain non-binding. Only your own family and close friends have top priority. Other connections are primarily maintained digitally and are often short-lived.
The most important values of this group of people are:
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health
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freedom
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individuality
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friendship
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family
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justice
Diversity and multiculturalism
Gen Z leaves the optimism of Generation Y behind and looks at the future more realistically. Traditional ideas or ideas of the perfect life do not resonate with these people. Members of this generation quickly become insecure and seek confirmation from their fellow human beings. They always have the urge to realize themselves.
The internet and social media platforms are most effective. The digital natives use these channels for entertainment as well as for obtaining information. They even prefer to use digital media to process job offers and applications.
Generation Z and the labor market - what counts
While for Generation Y, the joy of work was still critical. Generation Z is more concerned with job security. You reject fixed-term contracts and want regular working hours. The work’s meaning determines whether you pursue it—the willingness to deal with and apply work topics beyond regular working hours. Private life and work are becoming less and less blurred. I also reduce the bond with the company and the inhibitions about changing jobs. The desire for clear structures, however, is increasing.
Take advantage of GenZ's visual preferences.
GenZ's average attention span for online content is only 8 seconds, which is even shorter than the 12 seconds attributed to millennials. But in brevity lies the spice and also an opportunity: Growing up in a post-newspaper, Netflix-dominated world, GenZ's visually packaged messages are very accommodating. Instead of long job descriptions, meaningful pictures and concise videos are ideal for bringing the company closer to potential customers.
Build a strong employer brand on social networks
Traditions are becoming less critical for GenZ. In contrast, the meaningfulness of work, long-term career growth, and job security are gaining in importance. While Generation Y still favors open-plan offices, focuses on collaboration, and prefers text and email communication to one-on-one meetings, this is reversed with Generation Z: They like to solve challenges in personal exchange with their counterparts (even if this includes video streaming for them) and they value independence - "35% of Generation Z prefer to share socks than office space," says GenZ guru David Stillman. If you can convey these points credibly as part of your corporate culture, you as a company have almost won the competition for Generation Z for yourself. Companies have a much more comprehensive range of channels that they can use for employer branding and messaging - above all, social networks.
Ensure authentic and cross-platform communication
Merely communicating the employer brand is not enough; however: communication has to be consistent. Generation Z is used to obtaining information from a wide variety of platforms. Its members meticulously comb through all channels and playfully uncover inconsistencies. For this reason, cross-platform authenticity and consistency of employer branding is the key to a positive candidate experience at GenZ.
Create opportunities for entrepreneurs
You increase your company’s attraction for GenZ significantly if you offer them opportunities to gain entrepreneurial experience. The GenZ not only has a strong interest in entrepreneurship but also actively encourages it. Drucker's concept of “entrepreneurial management” describes the right balance between sufficient entrepreneurs in the company, the so-called intrapreneurs, who drive “creative destruction” in a positive sense, and classic managers who have set themselves the goal of improving and optimizing what already exists. Entrepreneurial employees are not always easy to satisfy. Still, they are indispensable for your organization’s survivability, as their drive for innovation ensures that it does not come to a standstill.
Posted by Anna
