Optimizing Engagement in the Generation Z Workplace Strategy

Generation Zers, born between the years 1997 and 2012 are the newest generation to join corporate America and they don't seem 'in the mood' to work.

"According to a study by Gallup, only 31% of Gen Zers say they're engaged at work; 54% say they're not engaged, while 15% say they're actively disengaged." To understand how catastrophic that is, we need to understand the difference between 'not engaged' and 'actively disengaged'.

'Not engaged' employees put the bare minimum effort into their work. They aren't emotionally committed to the organization they work for and certainly aren't proud of where they receive their paycheck from. Put simply, it's not great, but it's not necessarily directly damaging to the organization.

'Actively disengaged' employees are defined as actively showing their dissatisfaction at work. They display a negative attitude, toxic behaviors, show little interest in learning and needless to say- are extremely unproductive at work. From a business owner's perspective, this means they are being paid to do WORSE than just nothing. They are on the payroll and are negatively impacting others' work around them so you can multiply their lack of productivity by X to determine how co$tly this is to an organization.

As seen on this struggling rowboat, the 'actively disengaged' folks are destructive to the organization and are at risk of turning your non-engaged team against you until they are 'actively disengaged' themselves.

So how do we, as a society, need to address this epidemic? It sounds simple- we need to engage these workers as more and more of them enter the workforce and when I say 'workforce' I don't just mean Corporate America I mean every workplace - ANY PLACE where WORK happens; restaurants, hotels, automotive repair shops, country clubs, coffee shops, internships, receptionists etc... the list could go on for days.

The simplicity of the word engagement though means so many things but the following are some basic steps to getting us there:

Professional training

Professional training is a really simple place to start. Parents can schedule a training session for their kid's during the SAT prep years, school administrators can put these courses into every high school, college, trade school. After all, it's just as important to present yourself properly in an interview as it is to learn how to manage your finances or boil an egg.

Professional training includes topics like how to make a good first impression, present yourself well, build relationships, team work, and emotional quotient as well as basic work ethics- being on time, greeting customers with a smile and putting your dang phone away.

This is the generation that was born into an age of digital-everything. It's not their fault that they don't know how to enter these professional situations where actual, tangible real life relationships are critical to their success. But it is important that they learn it somewhere unless we can be confidently satisfied with cranky zombies checking us out at the grocery store, selling us our coffee or hosting us for special events. I- for one- am not keen on spending my money in places where the customer experience is ignored.

Thoughtful Onboarding

How many people entered a job and on their first day sat around and waited 4.5 hours for a laptop to become available. Then twiddled their thumbs for two more days while it got set up to send their first email? And after that, met their team mates in a "baptism by fire" type environment. In other words- "Hey newbie, welcome to the CrAzY!" How engaging is that?

Instead, we need to proactively build onboarding programs that set an example of proactivity and engagement in the success of newcomers.

How does this day sound:

You're welcomed virtually by each of your colleagues and leaders in a concise format. Your laptop is ready and waiting for your to begin your Core Connections training where you'll learn the basic expectations of your job. After that you have a clear written guide from your manager that shares their expectations for you. Policies are shared with you in writing, in one place. You are given a tour of the space or your virtual environments that you'll work in and your week has been scheduled for you so that you don't need to rely on your boss to give you step-by-step instructions. After all, your boss also has a job to do too!

Professional Development

Ok you've hooked them, they're on the payroll and they're doing a really great job. Do you think they'll be complacent with this job forever? Maybe they will be- but you need to ask the question in order to be sure. Professional development conversations are absolutely critical to keeping your talent engaged. They need to know that you have them in mind and are actively helping them grow in their careers.

Listening to your people

TheForage.com says that "disengagement comes from more than Gen Z’s attitude toward work and its place in our lives. Gallup also reports that disengagement can stem from burnout and stress (which Gen Z experiences more than other generations), not feeling connected to coworkers, and lack of motivation. Solving disengagement means getting authentic, honest feedback from employees that they feel safe giving." So how does this work?

Well to start, workforce insights studies are widely available. But sometimes what is (oddly) overlooked is actually doing something with the insights. Employers need to listen long and hard to what makes their people tick! And here's the thing- feelings are valid, whether you agree with them or not. So if you people are telling you that they need more of something in order to get work done, it's your responsibility to try and get it for them. The office of yesteryear isn't going to work forever; our world changes and evolves. So a workplace strategy could assist in creating an environment that enhances connections, productivity and ultimately, engagement.

Workplace Experience

If employees aren't feeling connected to coworkers through meaningful connection points it's no wonder they aren't engaged. Their is an innate human need for human connection. We are hard wired to require social connection and that means different things in different workplaces. So we would humbly recommend a workplace experience strategy as a next step. And no, I don't mean ping pong tables in the lunch room.

Workplace Experience is everything from enhancing these human connections to enhancing productivity for a "work smarter, not harder" workplace mantra. It's about getting people what they NEED, not what they WANT. Reach out and I'd love to tell you more.

TO SUMMARIZE

Every generation has their issues. As a millennial, I know I'm 'entitled and lazy' - mmkay... but unless we are going to accept permanently interacting with computers, self-checkout lanes everywhere, enhancing human connections and engagement is extremely important to our future.

Do you know of anyone facing any of these issues? Connect with The eXperience Group to learn how we can help you encourage engagement in your workplace.

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Engaging Generation Z - Our Newest Colleagues