Attracting and retaining generation Z

You may be a baby boomer, from Generation X, or a millennial (Generation Y), but do you know about Generation Z (aged roughly between 14-26)? While some of the discussion surrounding the values and motivations of different generations may play on stereotypes, the era in which you were born and what happened as you grew up has likely impacted on your attitudes, values and opportunities. As such, it’s helpful to know what may motivate and attract Generation Z as they enter the workforce.

Generation Z are seen as digital natives, having always been exposed to the internet and online social networks. This means that they are likely to do their research and are adept at finding online information about potential employers and companies. They have also been characterised as searching for the truth, which includes being authentic to oneself and accepting of others differences (McKinsey & Co, 2018).

Understanding the profile of Generation Z can help you develop your unique employee value proposition - what you can offer to attract the best candidates for roles within your organisation. A recent survey of law students (Legal Cheek, 2023) also helps shed light on what recent graduates are looking for. While the survey focused on issues relevant to those looking to enter the legal profession, and clearly law firms, the findings are arguably relevant to all sectors.

Being transparent and clear in what you want from candidates was key, and for graduates this meant what degree classifications are you looking for, and what experience (if any) they need. (If you are from a law firm, this also meant being clear about what courses candidates would have had to complete and whether you would want future trainees to have the LPC and/or the SQE).

In terms of what would attract the Generation Z students surveyed to a particular firm, the most important issue was - are you friendly? A reputation for friendliness was linked to individuals feeling valued and seeing a future with that organisation, whereas a reputation for being unfriendly would put them off applying. Remember that Generation Z will be doing their research on what it’s like to work for different firms, so your reputation online will be important. The quality of work came next, with an area that Generation Z assume is a given, it is ‘essential’ and ‘nonnegotiable’. This is also a demand for diversity with substance, rather than it being a prop or unsubstantiated tag line. Regardless of what you say, Generation Z (at least) want to know what you’re doing and how your workforce - including those at senior levels - reflects this. recent graduates wanting to be part of a (friendly) team and wanting their work to have an impact. Money was the 3rd most important factor: but for future lawyers this was also linked to a feeling of, ‘if I’m working crazily long hours, I expect to be well paid for it’. The next factor was work / life balance and when you look at what the law students were most concerned about when it came to early years in the job, mental health, burn out and work/life balance top the list.

However, what can be seen as an overarching concern of the students surveyed was diversity. Diversity is

What could you do to make your workforce more diverse? There are numerous steps you could take, depending on the profile of your workforce. Greater attention may have to be given during the recruitment stage – could you adopt contextualised recruitment practices? Focus on potential, not just apparent polish. Do you take account of candidates that have outperformed their peers, even though they didn’t outperform those from private schools? Could you establish internal mentoring, networking and support groups? These could be targeted at different groups within your workforce, whether race, gender, age, accessibility or social mobility. How do you select those to whom you offer work experience, and could this experience be paid, or at least include transport costs and/ or a free lunch? And remember that what gets measured gets managed, so collect your data - not only of hires but also regarding progression.

All these steps may help attract quality Generation Z candidates and are also likely to be attractive to those generations that have gone before.

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