Gen Z Solutions 2: Be Who You Say You Are
Pay is a factor in whether I stay in a job or not, but it is not the only one. The values of the organisation need to mean something to me, and I need to see them in practice. Otherwise they are just words.
Gen Z
My generation does not understand how Gen Z sees marketing.
For my peers it is often about the shiny and the sleek. Show them that bit, but under no conditions that bit. Perfect, pristine, polished.
Gen Z wants the unvarnished truth and far too often they don’t get it.
Their lifetime experience of separating the genuine from the BS has sharpened their instincts. They can see a 50 year old’s brain whirring when processing what they think they should say rather than just how it is.
This really matters when it comes to recruitment and retention.
This week’s article will focus on the connection between the latter and authenticity.
Here’s four aspects to consider.
1. It is already worse than you think it is
Approximately half of your young workforce is thinking about leaving in the short to medium term.
Actually it is around a quarter of all the others too, on average across every industry. This is not an issue reserved for Gen Z.
Why are they thinking about leaving?
That’s an article in itself - but reasons include
Better pay elsewhere for the same job
Artificial intelligence may make them redundant
Lack of confidence that the organisation will survive
Improved working conditions
Planning for promotion
Some of those are age old issues and some new, or at least bigger, problems in this day and age.
But there’s another - that the organisation and the job itself were not what they thought it would be.
Worse still, they are not what they were told it would be.
Matching their perception with reality is not so easy, but as an employer you have a responsibility to lay it out. Be prepared to put people off. In fact, unless you risk that you will not appeal to those you most want to recruit.
Don’t wait for the ‘have you got a minute’ to find out. Ask your young staff directly about whether they have found what they expected to see and how you can keep them.
Getting the unvarnished truth from them also means demonstrating your own. They will tell you whether that is what they see.
2. Always. Be. Retaining.
These days retention starts from the minute they turn up. In fact, it can often start earlier.
Those who start their graduate jobs around the same weeks in autumn will share their first experiences faster and further than you might ever imagine. Expect the impression you make as an employer to be spread far and wide.
The messages that your young recruits heard when they came to selection need to be repeated when they arrive. And then again everywhere they go.
This is not about parroting a meaningless mantra. Your Gen Z recruits are checking for alignment and buy in.
Those who don’t get it, or heard that the cohort which started the week before them didn’t get it can move quickly. Vacancies at their friends’ organisations can be filled with a little networking.
The phenomenon of ghosting your new employer is not going away, but also has some method in the madness. If what your new recruits hear between appointment and start date puts them off, expect them to look. If they hear of a better deal elsewhere they may go for it. The staggering cost of living has diluted a lot of morals about turning up for a job offer they accepted.
There may be a lot more riding on turning up for a job you accepted than a webinar, but the principle is the same.
Your focus on retention needs to start from the job offer onwards. Keep them engaged and do all you can to persuade them that you were what you said they were.
3. The power of video
If you want to recruit high quality members of this generation in the first place you also need to think hard about who does the describing and in what format. Gen Z has spent their lives surrounded by clickbait. It takes longer to convince them that what you are saying may be true.
Text on a website only goes so far. In fact, websites themselves only go so far. The quality and consistency of messages across social media channels matter too.
Partly that is because what a Gen Z may reach for, but also because social media channels are full of images and video. Video is the most effective method as it conveys the greatest level of transparency. A simple, clear message is all you need.
You need to go further than you might feel reasonable in terms of being open and transparent. Vulnerable even, there is nothing wrong with saying ‘these are our weaknesses and this is how you can help’. You may find this piques interest, in that the role offers scope to shape the organisation they may work for.
If you find that the same messages are being repeated time and again by different people, treat it as an asset. Gen Z is used to the repetition of messages. If they stop they may wonder why, and what the implications might be.
They will also look for evidence elsewhere, including websites such as Glassdoor. Interacting with websites such as these needs a blog in itself, but suffice to say it does matter. Gen Z may also be far more perceptive than you might realise in filtering out messages from aggrieved ex-employees they are grateful not to have to work with.
Maintaining the narrative of ‘where your organisation is going, why it is going there and how’ really matters. When it looks as though you will have to change course, say why early on. Connecting the workforce to decisions made at the centre offers a great deal of reassurance. Keep bringing the core messages to life, and ensure others do the same.
It is so much harder in the modern age for messages to cut through. Your challenge is not only to ensure yours do so but to keep them live once they have.
Digital words on electronic paper only goes so far. They need to see them in action - show them video.
4. Discrimination matters
Gen Z is more diverse than their predecessors. As a result their collective antennae picks up on issues far more quickly.
Your commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion needs to be seen and heard in actions and outcomes. It is not difficult to commit to anything, but designing processes and challenging mindsets that have a palpable impact takes time and effort.
This should be considered as an investment. In this day and age it will make a highly significant difference in your ability to recruit and retain the best Gen Z talent. Being who you say are does not happen overnight, and demonstrating the journey to getting there will only help you on the way.
Your young staff will also spot very quickly if an organisation which claims to prize DEI has a top table which indicates the opposite. The Tallo global survey makes a valuable point. If you want to recruit and retain effectively Gen Z needs to see that you mean what you say. 69% would ‘absolutely’ be ‘more likely to apply for a job that had recruiters and materials that reflected an ethnically and racially diverse workplace’. Only 3% would not.
There is more to diversity than ‘ethnicity and race’ but it does illustrate a point. Put yourself in the position of the Gen Z looking for a job with an external view on how you come across.
The Tallo Gen Z survey referenced above stated that 77% have seen discrimination and 51% have felt discriminated against. What are the figures in your organisation? It might be uncomfortable finding out but it will tell you a lot about perception on the ground. You may be held to a far higher standard than you imagine, but you may as well find out what it is.
What you say and what you are needs to match up. If it does not then say so, explain what you are doing and the impact you expect to have.
Remember That
The main reason that organisations are not who they say they are is because they have not thought through who they want to be. If your existing experienced staff cannot reel it off then don’t expect high quality young pros to be interested.
Prospective staff hear the same corporate buzzwords repeated everywhere they go. Say your values, mission, whatever out loud. If it sounds like you are reading the weather forecast why expect it to resonate with others?
How can I help you?
1. Talks, workshops and seminars - including managing topics relevant to the areas below plus explaining Gen Z to Gen X and dealing with the multigenerational workplace. I’m a finalist in the 2025 Speaker Awards. Speaker showreel here.
2. My book The Snowflake Myth will be published in September 2025 - to receive a free chapter (when available 😬) please click here.
3. One to one coaching programmes for senior leaders who are swamped by their jobs so they can thrive in life. Click here to discover where you are on your journey from Frantic to Fulfilled? Just 5 minutes of your time and you will receive a full personalised report with guidance on your next steps.
4. Team coaching programmes - working IN a team is not the same as working AS a team and yet they are often treated as if they are the same. I help teams move from the former to the latter, and generate huge shifts in productivity and outcomes.
