December 12, 2022 • 13 mins
There’s a new generation in the workforce, and if you want to understand them, you need to learn about Gen Z. Born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s, this group is already making its mark on the world. So, what’s different about Gen Zers? Join Hana Ben-Shabat and host Shari Simpson as they talk about what Gen Z wants from work and how managers can start preparing for them now.
Guest: Hana Ben-Shabat, Founder, Gen Z Planet
Hana is the founder of Gen Z Planet ─ a research and advisory firm. She helps business leaders to prepare for the next generation of employees and consumers. In this role, Hana combines her passion for insights with her commitment to support the integration of the next generation into society. As an award-winning management consultant who was named one of the “Top 25 Consultants” by Consulting Magazine, Hana is a sought-after speaker and business commentator and is the author of the book Gen Z 360: Preparing for the Inevitable Change in Culture, Work, and Commerce.
Mentioned in the episode:
- Hana Ben-Shabat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanabenshabat/
- Book: Gen Z 360 https://amzn.to/3UPA75l
- Website: https://genzplanet.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(upbeat music)
- Hey, and welcome to PCTY Talks.
I'm your host, Shari Simpson.
During our time together,
we'll stay close to thenews, and info you need,
to succeed as an HR pro.
And together, we'll explore topics
around HR thought leadership,
(00:20):
compliance, and real life HRsituations we face every day.
Hana, thank you
for taking a few minutes of your day
to sit down and chat with me.
- Thank you for having me.
- So you spend a lot oftime talking about Gen Z.
And I feel like the last,I don't know, 10 years,
we've been educatingourselves on millennials,
(00:43):
over and over again.
And now millennials are in management.
So now it's really timefor us to start thinking,
and diving into Gen Z, and what they want.
So what do they want?
- So I'm glad youmentioned the millennials,
because one thing that we all have to do,
before getting startedwith understanding Gen Z,
and who they are and what they want,
(01:05):
I believe that it's importantto recognize all the mistakes
that we did with millennials.
When millennials came on board,
they presented a majorchallenge to the workplace.
People just did not know howto cope, or incorporate them,
into the workplace,
because they wanted very different things,
(01:27):
like work-life balance,
they like purpose and values,
things that people didnot speak much about
in the workplace.
And there was a lot ofconfusion, and frustration,
in that process.
And I believe that as a result of that,
many opportunities got lost along the way.
And there was a lot oftrial and error going on,
(01:50):
before we actually got it right
with the millennials.
So I think the first thing is just,
we have to step back,and truly ask ourself,
and not make assumptions about Gen Z.
We cannot assume
that Gen Z are justmillennials on steroids,
because they're not.
They're very different.
(02:11):
And then, start reallyunderstanding who they are,
and what they want.
- As you think about someof the markers for Gen Z,
what are the differencesthat we're seeing now
in this generation, comparedto other generations?
- So there are, there are several things
that make Gen Z a reallyunique generation.
One is diversity.
They are the most diverse generation
(02:32):
to ever live in this country.
48% are being minorities.
And it's important to understand
that from their perspective,
diversity is not justa statistical figure.
It is a cultural lens throughwhich they view the world,
and it's something that theyexpect from the workplace.
(02:53):
So when you asked mebefore what they want,
diversity is one thing thatis quite top of the the list
for this generation.
They want to see in the workplace,
a population that re reflectswhat they see every day
in their homes, in theircommunities, in their schools.
So that's one defining factor.
(03:15):
I think the other defining factor,
is that this is the mosteducated generation.
And they have the lowesthigh school dropout
and the highest college enrollment,
compared to any generation before them.
And on top of that, theyare the digital natives.
So they grew up with technology.
(03:35):
They know how to usetechnology in multiple ways.
And they bring all thesethings to the workplace.
And that, I believe,
makes them very differentthan previous generations.
- What do you see assome of the challenges
that we need to consider,
looking at this generation?
(03:57):
You mentioned mistakes wemade with millennials, right?
So do you see mistakes,or things we should avoid,
as we think about, you know,
bringing this generationinto the workforce,
and really integrating theminto to the work we're doing,
and some change managementthat we have to do?
- Yes.
I think one of the big thing, in my view,
that needs to change, isthe entry level roles.
(04:18):
Because most companieshave entry level roles
that were designed forprevious generations.
And as I said before,
we now have a generationthat is most educated,
that they have highly valuableskills, like digital skills.
And we can't assume thatthey're just gonna come,
(04:39):
and be happy, in those entry level roles.
We need to think about howwe give them meaningful roles
that truly take advantageof their education,
and their digital skills,
to make them flourish in the workplace.
And I think the one thing about Gen Z
(05:02):
that I always find quite fascinating,
is that 64% of Gen Z,
will tell you that theywill stay five years or more
with an employer,
if the conditions are right.
But in reality, we arenot seeing it happen
in real life.
In fact, what we are seeingis completely the opposite.
(05:23):
We are seeing many GenZers joining the workplace,
and living after three months,or six months, or a year.
So that loyalty justsimply, that notion of,
"I want to stay longer,I want to be loyal,
"because I am looking for stability,"
is not actually takingplace in the real world.
And I think it's not happening
(05:43):
because the roles thatemployers are offering,
are just not in line with the expectations
of where this generation see themselves,
in terms of what they bring to the table,
and where they can contribute.
- Gartner recently dida study around Gen Z,
(06:03):
and it was fascinatingbecause one of the, you know,
they did like the topfive concerns for Gen Z,
and you know, I thinkmost people would think,
"Oh, it's gotta be pay."
It wasn't pay.
It was skillsets for the future,
which really aligns to what you're saying
about, you know,
them staying in a rolea short period of time,
because clearly,
they're not getting theskills, or the opportunities
(06:24):
that they think will set themup for success for the future.
- That's right.
- So I think that propels us
into thinking about thatmodel of skills-based work,
rather than just a verygeneric job description, right?
You're bringing in employees
for the set of skills that they have.
So as we think about that,how do we keep them engaged,
and moving forward, beyond just,
"Hey, you're gonna get promoted."
(06:45):
How do we think about it differently
from a skills-based perspective?
- So you know, I thinkwhen it comes to Gen Z,
and that's what makes thema very complex generation,
there is, on one hand,
all the work aspectsthat they're looking for.
So one way to keep Generation Z engaged,
is give them regular feedback.
And they want that feedback,
(07:07):
and they just don't understand the notion
of annual performance reviews,that are done once a year.
They want to know all thetime where they stand.
And that's not because they're insecure,
it's the opposite,because they're ambitious.
They want to know how they're doing,
they want to exceed expectations,
(07:27):
and they want to movequickly in the organization.
So, that's one thing about the workplace,
and engaging them.
I think the other thing is,
what technology are you providing?
How do you walk in?
(07:49):
How much autonomy do you givethem to perform their roles?
And then there are things
that are not related directlyto the role that they have,
but what the company stands for.
So it's the purpose of thecompany, it's their values,
it's diversity and inclusion.
(08:12):
It's, what do you do tosupport your community?
So Gen Z are looking at all this aspects,
and they make decisionsabout employers, as you said,
not only about compensation and benefits,
but all these other aspects,
meaningful roles, and what thecompany has beyond that role.
(08:35):
- I wanna highlightsomething that you said,
'cause I think it's so importantfor HR to understand it.
You talked about theambition that Gen Z has,
isn't insecurity.
They want the feedback, notbecause they're insecure,
but because they arecraving the information
to improve themselves in advance.
(08:56):
What an exciting type of employee
to have in your organization,
somebody who's highly coachable,
in seeking advancement opportunities.
I think that's something we'vemissed in the conversation,
when we talk about Gen Z,
is that they are gonnabe the highly educated,
but I feel like they're alsogonna be the most coachable,
and the most moldable,
in the skills that you're gonnaneed for your organization.
(09:18):
- Yeah
And I think one thing thatwe didn't discuss so far,
that is, again, uniquefor this generation,
is how well they adapt to change.
And this is in my view, oneof the most important things
that Gen Z brings to the workplace.
I would say adaptability tochange is their superpower.
(09:42):
And I think it's important
to understand why this is happening.
You know, when we talk about generations,
we always say, you know,
"A generation is definedby some landmark events
"that took place duringthe formative years
"of that generation."
And we talk about the Vietnam War,
and the Civil Rights movement,
(10:02):
when we talk about baby boomers,
or we talk about September 11,
when we talk about millennials.
When we talk about Gen Z,
there isn't two, or three, or four events.
It is a series of eventsthat happened so quickly,
over the past 24 years,
and they absorbed those eventsin the most visceral way,
(10:25):
through their cell phones,and social media feeds.
So you just think about it:
the election of the first Black president,
the Great Recession of 2008,
the rise of social movements,
like Me Too, and Black Lives Matter,
the growing up in the shadowof school mass shootings,
(10:47):
and most recently the pandemic.
So if you look at thislist of landmark events,
there is enough to fill a lifetime,
and they are only 24 years old.
So Gen Z got accustomed to the fact
that life is about change, andchange is the only constant.
And they just learn to adapt to it.
(11:09):
They literally go with the flow.
And they bring that thinking,and skill, to the workplace.
And I think it's extremely valuable,
at a time where the world around us,
is changing so rapidly,
to have people who are notbeing overwhelmed by change,
but able to embrace it, and move on,
(11:32):
and do something with it.
- How do you think we help this generation
grow in our organizations then?
If they're adaptable to change,
and they're willing to learn new skills,
how does that change how we work?
And I know that's agiant question, but like,
I feel like this generationis gonna move us forward
in new definitions of work
(11:54):
that maybe we haven't even considered.
- Absolutely.
And I believe that theonly way to do that,
is to actually givethem the opportunities.
Let them show what they can do,
give them opportunities to shine.
And it could be within their core role,
within an organization,
(12:15):
but also it could be, give themspecial projects to walk on,
so they can show what they can do.
And I think the quicker we develop them,
and allow them to moveinto management positions,
I think the better it'll be.
- How exciting.
Thanks for taking a few minutes
to get us up to speed on Gen Z.
(12:35):
And you know, I'm reallyexcited for this generation.
My kids are in this generation,
so I'm excited to seewhat they're gonna do
for the future of work,and future of the world.
- Thank you so much for having me.
- This podcast is broughtto you by Paylocity,
a leading HCM provider,
that frees you from the task of today,
so you can focus more onthe promise of tomorrow.
(12:57):
If you'd like to submit a topic,
or appear as a guest on a future episode,
email us at pctytalks@paylocity.com.
(bright music)
(upbeat music)
- Hey, and welcome to PCTY Talks.
I'm your host, Shari Simpson.
During our time together,
we'll stay close to thenews, and info you need,
to succeed as an HR pro.
And together, we'll explore topics
around HR thought leadership,
(00:20):
compliance, and real life HRsituations we face every day.
Hana, thank you
for taking a few minutes of your day
to sit down and chat with me.
- Thank you for having me.
- So you spend a lot oftime talking about Gen Z.
And I feel like the last,I don't know, 10 years,
we've been educatingourselves on millennials,
(00:43):
over and over again.
And now millennials are in management.
So now it's really timefor us to start thinking,
and diving into Gen Z, and what they want.
So what do they want?
- So I'm glad youmentioned the millennials,
because one thing that we all have to do,
before getting startedwith understanding Gen Z,
and who they are and what they want,
(01:05):
I believe that it's importantto recognize all the mistakes
that we did with millennials.
When millennials came on board,
they presented a majorchallenge to the workplace.
People just did not know howto cope, or incorporate them,
into the workplace,
because they wanted very different things,
(01:27):
like work-life balance,
they like purpose and values,
things that people didnot speak much about
in the workplace.
And there was a lot ofconfusion, and frustration,
in that process.
And I believe that as a result of that,
many opportunities got lost along the way.
And there was a lot oftrial and error going on,
(01:50):
before we actually got it right
with the millennials.
So I think the first thing is just,
we have to step back,and truly ask ourself,
and not make assumptions about Gen Z.
We cannot assume
that Gen Z are justmillennials on steroids,
because they're not.
They're very different.
(02:11):
And then, start reallyunderstanding who they are,
and what they want.
- As you think about someof the markers for Gen Z,
what are the differencesthat we're seeing now
in this generation, comparedto other generations?
- So there are, there are several things
that make Gen Z a reallyunique generation.
One is diversity.
They are the most diverse generation
(02:32):
to ever live in this country.
48% are being minorities.
And it's important to understand
that from their perspective,
diversity is not justa statistical figure.
It is a cultural lens throughwhich they view the world,
and it's something that theyexpect from the workplace.
(02:53):
So when you asked mebefore what they want,
diversity is one thing thatis quite top of the the list
for this generation.
They want to see in the workplace,
a population that re reflectswhat they see every day
in their homes, in theircommunities, in their schools.
So that's one defining factor.
(03:15):
I think the other defining factor,
is that this is the mosteducated generation.
And they have the lowesthigh school dropout
and the highest college enrollment,
compared to any generation before them.
And on top of that, theyare the digital natives.
So they grew up with technology.
(03:35):
They know how to usetechnology in multiple ways.
And they bring all thesethings to the workplace.
And that, I believe,
makes them very differentthan previous generations.
- What do you see assome of the challenges
that we need to consider,
looking at this generation?
(03:57):
You mentioned mistakes wemade with millennials, right?
So do you see mistakes,or things we should avoid,
as we think about, you know,
bringing this generationinto the workforce,
and really integrating theminto to the work we're doing,
and some change managementthat we have to do?
- Yes.
I think one of the big thing, in my view,
that needs to change, isthe entry level roles.
(04:18):
Because most companieshave entry level roles
that were designed forprevious generations.
And as I said before,
we now have a generationthat is most educated,
that they have highly valuableskills, like digital skills.
And we can't assume thatthey're just gonna come,
(04:39):
and be happy, in those entry level roles.
We need to think about howwe give them meaningful roles
that truly take advantageof their education,
and their digital skills,
to make them flourish in the workplace.
And I think the one thing about Gen Z
(05:02):
that I always find quite fascinating,
is that 64% of Gen Z,
will tell you that theywill stay five years or more
with an employer,
if the conditions are right.
But in reality, we arenot seeing it happen
in real life.
In fact, what we are seeingis completely the opposite.
(05:23):
We are seeing many GenZers joining the workplace,
and living after three months,or six months, or a year.
So that loyalty justsimply, that notion of,
"I want to stay longer,I want to be loyal,
"because I am looking for stability,"
is not actually takingplace in the real world.
And I think it's not happening
(05:43):
because the roles thatemployers are offering,
are just not in line with the expectations
of where this generation see themselves,
in terms of what they bring to the table,
and where they can contribute.
- Gartner recently dida study around Gen Z,
(06:03):
and it was fascinatingbecause one of the, you know,
they did like the topfive concerns for Gen Z,
and you know, I thinkmost people would think,
"Oh, it's gotta be pay."
It wasn't pay.
It was skillsets for the future,
which really aligns to what you're saying
about, you know,
them staying in a rolea short period of time,
because clearly,
they're not getting theskills, or the opportunities
(06:24):
that they think will set themup for success for the future.
- That's right.
- So I think that propels us
into thinking about thatmodel of skills-based work,
rather than just a verygeneric job description, right?
You're bringing in employees
for the set of skills that they have.
So as we think about that,how do we keep them engaged,
and moving forward, beyond just,
"Hey, you're gonna get promoted."
(06:45):
How do we think about it differently
from a skills-based perspective?
- So you know, I thinkwhen it comes to Gen Z,
and that's what makes thema very complex generation,
there is, on one hand,
all the work aspectsthat they're looking for.
So one way to keep Generation Z engaged,
is give them regular feedback.
And they want that feedback,
(07:07):
and they just don't understand the notion
of annual performance reviews,that are done once a year.
They want to know all thetime where they stand.
And that's not because they're insecure,
it's the opposite,because they're ambitious.
They want to know how they're doing,
they want to exceed expectations,
(07:27):
and they want to movequickly in the organization.
So, that's one thing about the workplace,
and engaging them.
I think the other thing is,
what technology are you providing?
How do you walk in?
(07:49):
How much autonomy do you givethem to perform their roles?
And then there are things
that are not related directlyto the role that they have,
but what the company stands for.
So it's the purpose of thecompany, it's their values,
it's diversity and inclusion.
(08:12):
It's, what do you do tosupport your community?
So Gen Z are looking at all this aspects,
and they make decisionsabout employers, as you said,
not only about compensation and benefits,
but all these other aspects,
meaningful roles, and what thecompany has beyond that role.
(08:35):
- I wanna highlightsomething that you said,
'cause I think it's so importantfor HR to understand it.
You talked about theambition that Gen Z has,
isn't insecurity.
They want the feedback, notbecause they're insecure,
but because they arecraving the information
to improve themselves in advance.
(08:56):
What an exciting type of employee
to have in your organization,
somebody who's highly coachable,
in seeking advancement opportunities.
I think that's something we'vemissed in the conversation,
when we talk about Gen Z,
is that they are gonnabe the highly educated,
but I feel like they're alsogonna be the most coachable,
and the most moldable,
in the skills that you're gonnaneed for your organization.
(09:18):
- Yeah
And I think one thing thatwe didn't discuss so far,
that is, again, uniquefor this generation,
is how well they adapt to change.
And this is in my view, oneof the most important things
that Gen Z brings to the workplace.
I would say adaptability tochange is their superpower.
(09:42):
And I think it's important
to understand why this is happening.
You know, when we talk about generations,
we always say, you know,
"A generation is definedby some landmark events
"that took place duringthe formative years
"of that generation."
And we talk about the Vietnam War,
and the Civil Rights movement,
(10:02):
when we talk about baby boomers,
or we talk about September 11,
when we talk about millennials.
When we talk about Gen Z,
there isn't two, or three, or four events.
It is a series of eventsthat happened so quickly,
over the past 24 years,
and they absorbed those eventsin the most visceral way,
(10:25):
through their cell phones,and social media feeds.
So you just think about it:
the election of the first Black president,
the Great Recession of 2008,
the rise of social movements,
like Me Too, and Black Lives Matter,
the growing up in the shadowof school mass shootings,
(10:47):
and most recently the pandemic.
So if you look at thislist of landmark events,
there is enough to fill a lifetime,
and they are only 24 years old.
So Gen Z got accustomed to the fact
that life is about change, andchange is the only constant.
And they just learn to adapt to it.
(11:09):
They literally go with the flow.
And they bring that thinking,and skill, to the workplace.
And I think it's extremely valuable,
at a time where the world around us,
is changing so rapidly,
to have people who are notbeing overwhelmed by change,
but able to embrace it, and move on,
(11:32):
and do something with it.
- How do you think we help this generation
grow in our organizations then?
If they're adaptable to change,
and they're willing to learn new skills,
how does that change how we work?
And I know that's agiant question, but like,
I feel like this generationis gonna move us forward
in new definitions of work
(11:54):
that maybe we haven't even considered.
- Absolutely.
And I believe that theonly way to do that,
is to actually givethem the opportunities.
Let them show what they can do,
give them opportunities to shine.
And it could be within their core role,
within an organization,
(12:15):
but also it could be, give themspecial projects to walk on,
so they can show what they can do.
And I think the quicker we develop them,
and allow them to moveinto management positions,
I think the better it'll be.
- How exciting.
Thanks for taking a few minutes
to get us up to speed on Gen Z.
(12:35):
And you know, I'm reallyexcited for this generation.
My kids are in this generation,
so I'm excited to seewhat they're gonna do
for the future of work,and future of the world.
- Thank you so much for having me.
- This podcast is broughtto you by Paylocity,
a leading HCM provider,
that frees you from the task of today,
so you can focus more onthe promise of tomorrow.
(12:57):
If you'd like to submit a topic,
or appear as a guest on a future episode,
email us at pctytalks@paylocity.com.
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