Gen Z Solutions no.3 - Regular & precise feedback
Over the course of these blogs and through the talk I have put together I explain
how and why Generation Z is different, naming seven key characteristics
the challenges for leaders and organisations
five solutions not only to overcome those challenges but ensure future prosperity.
Click on the link to book Alex to speak at your event about Generation Z
Every time I pass them in the corridor I am being asked how I think they are doing, and what they could do better. I get emails from them too, directly, asking me the same kind of questions. If I answer them it appears to be taken as some form of invitation to keep asking (and asking). Why can’t our younger staff go with the same appraisal system we have for everyone else? They work! Don’t they?
Gen X manager (paraphrased) 2022
‘Appraisal type’ feedback
The issue of feedback cuts both ways. In this blog I will focus on the form which goes from manager to direct report, and anything else which may come under the general heading of ‘appraisal’.
Appraisal does of course involve a two way dialogue, but the distinction I wish to make is between a discussion about an individual’s performance and that of the organisation itself. The topic of feedback for leaders from employees on the performance of the organisation (and whether it was requested or not) will be covered in the final blog in this series.
The ‘quote’ at the top may be paraphrased, but it is close to a lot of conversations I have had with leaders. The desire for extensive, and apparently ‘instant’, feedback has come as a surprise to many. A common attitude from the older generations was that time with your manager on a one to one basis was something which should be strictly limited, and the less frequently it happened the better. The thought of being ‘called to your manager’s office’ was not an attractive one, and tended to mean bad news.
Appraisal, or ‘performance management’, systems have a bad name amongst many. Typical reasons include a lack of meaningful objectives, what will happen (or not) if they are met, the quality of the dialogue and how connected they are to what an employee actually does. It is often said that appraisal should be a ‘process rather than an event’ but reality may be different.
The fact that Gen Z expects more feedback about their performance than previous generations does not surprise me. This should not be misinterpreted as a longing for public recognition. This is primarily about reassurance and guidance.
It is about a desire to do better, and because doing good work and helping others are the right things to do. Amongst Gen X leaders it often seems to be mistaken for narcissism, and a wish for people to be told how fantastic they are over and over again. I imagine there are many employees from every age group who would be very happy to be endlessly reminded of their qualities, but for Gen Z this is not enough. Unless it is accompanied by detail on what comes next then positive feedback alone is not particularly useful.
Ultimately it is a pragmatic approach, and it comes from a good place. There is also an underpinning of apprehension, that if you are not getting feedback then there may be something wrong.
Age of feedback
There is no shortage of feedback in this day and age.
At any particular time an individual may have access to automated feedback from
Social media (number of connections/followers/friends, number of likes/hearts/comments)
Online learning (% progression through a course, test scores)
Health (steps in particular but also for those with a Fitbit heart rate, calories, sleep quality/quantity)
The key is not just the quantity and range of metrics, it is that they are instantly available and often updated by the second. A personal life dashboard is not for me, but I am probably closer to it than I admit.
Professional life cannot work in the same way, or at least not healthily, and it is not attractive when it does. That is not to say the metrics are a bad thing, but quantitative data has its limits. If a workplace is merely one long fulfilment centre then there will be limits to any recruitment and retention strategy. Values, ethos, culture all matter considerably to Gen Z, perhaps not least because they do not fit into a dashboard methodology.
Instant feedback
I am from a generation of teachers and school leaders which have done a lot to ingrain expectations around feedback into Gen Z.
For those of you who have not seen such a diagram before, or at least not applied in an educational context, this is the basis of a Personalised Learning Checklist or PLC.
This is the kind of feedback Generation Z has been used to getting in their school career. It is generated from a test of some form, most often an examination.
The diagram above is an excerpt from a spreadsheet which came into common use around a decade ago. The Qs represent questions on an examination paper, for any subject, and how well each student performed on each one. This one has three colours, based on a traffic light methodology but I have seen (and been responsible for) more.
From this each student can have their own version which identifies priority areas for revision and practice. It is good feedback for teachers too, in that whatever the topic was for Q3 has clearly been taught well but there is much to do for Q9. It offers a much higher level of precision that being told you got 62% or a B.
In order for a student to become green in every question resources are made available to them, the planning for the sequence of lessons adapted and so on and so on. I have seen examples of students having access to a document with hyperlinked videos and practice questions for every topic where their score was less than 100%.
It is not just the precision available here, but the quantity. A set of 10 questions can form fewer than a third of a single examination paper for just one subject. The entire picture for a GCSE age (14-16) student could be several hundred questions or topics. This is one reason why the quality of examination results has gone up, and why grade boundaries are consistently moved up.
In summary, Gen Z is not just used to knowing how well they have performed but also a dialogue which runs something like
Here are the question areas/topics where you need to improve.
This is by how much.
Here are sets of equivalent questions to practise with.
Extra lessons have been put on for you at this time.
Here are the URLs of the youtube videos.
This is the electronic resource you can use which will give you automated feedback on the progress you have made.
While you are here, this student performed well on a question where you did not. Go and talk to them and find out how they did it.
This is not just about feedback, it is also about
a high level of precision so that the fastest possible rate of progress can be made from this point.
a swift turnaround so you can make a start (just one way in which expectations on teachers and workload in general have grown).
providing all necessary resources in one place without a student having to spend time looking.
It is not enough these days for an organisation, or a manager, just to say what went well or badly. Broad, hazy feedback is not enough, in the same way as broad, hazy appraisal objectives were never enough.
The key is to be precise.
I am not suggesting you seek to replicate all of this in the workplace, it may not be appropriate, helpful or efficient. It may encourage a sense of ‘learned helplessness’ which is hard to shift.
However, I would say that the average Gen Z may well be able to handle a more detailed level of feedback and advice than you might have imagined. They may well be more resilient than you imagined to some of the difficult areas too.
Feedback loops
All of this means there is a need for clarity and some ground rules. Organisations need to be clear about the feedback loops which are in place and how they will operate.
They also need to be clear about how much responsibility individual employees have to improve their own performance and what sources they may draw upon for that. Where sources do not exist, organisations can at least be clear about the standards they expect about higher order skills such as problem solving or strategic thinking.
How often should line management meetings take place? If relevant information about performance is available to both manager and direct report without having to meet this can save a lot of trouble. ‘Holding on’ to data which could easily be shared also requires some justification these days if it is not going to be seen as a futile power battle.
This is a topic that needs its own blog but if a ‘sit down’ dedicated meeting is going to be any less frequent than weekly (fortnightly at a real stretch) then managers may find more communication coming their way seeking feedback than they prefer. They may also find it has a more detrimental effect on well-being than they anticipate.
Synchronous communication
Managers of Gen Z may be surprised by the chart below from the Society of Human Resource Management. It is pre-pandemic (2018) but nothing I have heard or read since indicates the general figures will have changed.
In short, there is a preference for synchronous communication, with face to face and phone outweighing the rest. Note that this underestimates the true picture as non-synchronous modes of communication, text, email and social media, can also be used synchronously.
The fact that non-synchronous communication may be more easily accessed and ubiquitous does not mean it is preferable. Synchronous communication offers a much greater level of authenticity and trust (the value of which is explained here).
It also offers Gen Z the opportunity to develop the same soft skills they know they need. If you want them to learn from you, and vice versa, then get in the room.
The survey was completed before virtual meetings became the go-to option during the pandemic. Having said that, the popularity of FaceTime amongst Gen Z was long established before Covid-19 hit. A video meeting may not be quite the same as one in 3D, not least because eye contact is technically impossible. Participants can either look at their camera or the screen but not both, unlike in a face to face meeting. It is still more raw, requires those involved to think on their feet, consider their position on the basis of what you have heard and so on.
Gen Z is absolutely not immune to taking feedback and acting upon it. They may demand more of it than you feel is reasonable. The challenge for organisations is to ensure feedback is sufficiently frequent, detailed, precise and with resources to facilitate improvement easily accessible.
Click for the first blog summarising who Gen Z are and why they are different.
And then for the Key Characteristics:
no.1 - Well-Behaved
no.2 - Prudent
no.3 - Pragmatic
no.4 - Diligent
no.5 - Apprehensive
no.6 - Diverse
no.7 - Patience
Accompanying videos are all here and also on YouTube
Click on the link to book Alex to speak at your event about Generation Z.
