Recruiting and Retaining GenZ
As leaders, we want to uplift all of our employees—and we have a particular responsibility to develop the next generation for our professions. Because stronger intergenerational teams lead to better outcomes, and because we all once started somewhere.
In my senior year of college, I interviewed for 100 jobs and was turned down for every one of them, and I was repeatedly told that it was due to a lack of experience (despite having worked as an intern for four years in my desired field.) I clearly remember that first post-graduate job search and those early roles. That time informed the leader and person I am today, so I am keenly interested in helping this next generation accelerate the journey to their full potential; as well as equipping managers to support their growth.
All generations benefit when leaders prepare and position their teams and organizations to recruit and retain new employees. But this time of year, right after graduation, it’s important to focus on distinct opportunities for your team to be a launchpad for early career professionals.
This is more than your remote work policy (though that’s a good start!), flexibility and autonomy should be baseline in employee retention in today’s world. Here are four research-based strategies for developing early career employees’ potential and simultaneously building culture in a remote/hybrid work environment:
1. Create Informal Connections Between Early Career Professionals and Senior Leaders
Part of the reason that many leaders want to bring everyone back to the office is to maintain their culture. Here’s the thing: Culture is about connections, not presence. This means that companies need to creatively create these connections for employees—no matter where they work—and provide opportunities for people to interact with teams they don’t frequently work with. This is especially important for early career professionals whose ability to be successful will be based in part on the network they develop and the people they learn from. Research shows “virtual water cooler” moments between interns and senior leaders led to more offers of full-time employment, achieved higher performance ratings, and overall were more satisfied with their job.
Companies can learn from this strategy for onboarding and retaining GenZ employees in their workplace. They can organize virtual office hours or skip level meetings for leaders to share about their work and career journey, so that team members can learn about the company and the people. In one of my teams, we launched virtual buddies, based on a model from Stanford d.school, where employees were paired up with each other to build relationships over a set period of time via text. The catch was that all of the correspondence was photos, not words, which allows people to tap into a different side of themselves and their communication with others. As the most senior leader, I was partnered with a new professional on our team, and it helped us have an open dialogue much faster than might have happened with usual office activities.
2. Write Down Your Company’s “Unwritten Rules”
Every company has unwritten rules. They’re the way things are done in your office that you learn eventually, sometimes the hard way—except it doesn’t have to be so hard. Writing down your team norms help staff navigate the organization, which can onboard employees faster and create an inclusive organization. (Yes, I’m aware of the irony of writing down unwritten rules.)
You can get started by collating the acronyms frequently used in your office, which normalizes being new and helping everyone understand and speak the shared office language. Then reflect on things you share with new team members in 1:1s or the things “you just know” about your organization and team expectations. For example, maybe your team doesn’t schedule meetings during lunch or send emails after 5:30 PM. These are certainly things you could tell someone but sharing this in an onboarding document gives a new team member a head start. On one of my previous teams, we invited a group of middle managers to take the lead on this project and involved the whole team in commenting on and revising the document on a shared file. You can also codify your team norms by developing training and onboarding videos.
3. Provide Coaching and Professional Development
According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2022, “opportunities to learn and grow” were the #1 driver for a positive work culture. Providing professional development opportunities to employees at every stage of their career is a way to show you value your employees, and for early career employees, in particular, helps them accelerate their ability to make an impact on the company.
Professional development can be more formal, such as established mentoring and coaching programs, industry conferences, and gaining certifications. It can also happen through organizing cross-functional teams for projects, skills-focused workshops at team meetings or retreats, or “Coffee with the VP” days once a month.
4. Create Career Pathways
Prospective employees want to understand their growth opportunities at companies. This doesn’t always mean climbing the proverbial corporate ladder. According to recent research from MIT Sloan, an opportunity for a lateral move is 2.5x more likely to retain employees than compensation alone. Be prepared in the interview process to showcase how people have been able to create career pathways at your company. Work with your current employees to determine if they’re looking to: evolve/expand their current role, take on a new role in the organization, or have increased flexibility in their role, so they can continue to grow within your organization.
In speaking with several GenZ employees at different companies as I wrote this article, they reiterated to me the value of being in a company where they can ask questions, have mentors to guide them as they begin their career, and have managers who demonstrate transparency and trust. Your investment in your newest team members will have valuable ROI for your company today and play a significant role in developing their careers—and our professions—for the future.