Why delivering on your promises is the key to securing Gen-Z talent

Throughout history, young people have entered the workforce and had a dramatic impact on the direction of business and society. Whether we want to realise it, every young generation before Gen-Z would have also been deemed different, innovative, and to some, unagreeable.

Maybe it’s because they joined the workforce during a pandemic, or maybe it’s because they happen to be allegedly among the most tech savvy generations in the midst of an AI revolution – for whatever reason, today’s youth seem particularly unique in the way they interact and exist in the corporate world.

For this reason, attracting and retaining Gen-Z talent is at the top of many HR practitioner’s agendas for the year. Yet, understanding these members of the workforce has never seemed more difficult, and this is going to have to change considering Gen-Z is set to make up a quarter of the workforce by next year.

Attitudes and stereotypes

Gen-Z is often treated as a homogenous group. And because of their unprecedented introduction into the workplace, they have different expectations and attitudes compared with their older coworkers. The desires of this generation to want flexibility, to prioritise wellbeing, and hold their employer accountable for living up to DEI and ESG promises, have given young workers the blanket reputation of being demanding and entitled.

There’s no two ways about it, this generation is more likely to call you out for using the wrong language in gender discourse, to tell you if your hiring process isn’t diverse enough or make it obvious that your perks offering doesn’t cut the mustard. In general, employers are finding that Gen-Z is more opinionated than previous generations.