Find out how to help the youngest group of employees excel
As the initial wave of Generation Z enters the workforce, employers are trying to determine how to hire and train members of the age group — and results from a new global survey indicate taking Gen Z employees’ technology skills and interests into account could help with both efforts.
Providing cutting-edge technology, for instance, may help when recruiting Gen Z employees; 87 percent say they want to work with that type of tech. Ninety-one percent say the technology an employer uses would be a factor in choosing a job among similar offers.
Many Gen Z members, though, favor non-technological interactions in the workplace. They ranked in-person communication with coworkers higher than conversing via phone, messaging or texting in the survey; 75 percent say they expect to learn on the job from colleagues, instead of through online instruction.
In addition, more than half (53 percent) of Gen Z employees would prefer to work in an office, versus working from home.
The generation generally possesses strong tech skills; 73 percent rate their technology literacy as good or excellent. Seventy-seven percent of future Gen Z employees say they’d be willing to mentor an older coworker who was less experienced with technology.
Gen Z members feel less confident, however, about some of their other skills. More than half (57 percent) say their education didn’t prepare them for their career. Fifty-two percent worry they may lack the experience and soft skills employers are looking for in candidates.