“Managing the Gen Z: understanding new behaviors”: interview with Elodie Gentina
The Gen Z, which represents around a third of the world's overall population, is gradually integrating the workforce. According to Elodie Gentina, author of a new book* (written in French) on the Gen Z, many companies are struggling to understand, attract or retain these young employees. She speaks about her new book and gives some advice for companies and managers in terms of recruitment, retention or the products that are specifically aimed at the Gen Z.
10/12/2023
5 min
Share
What is the aim of your new book “Managing the Gen Z: understanding new behaviors”?
The Gen Z is still integrating the job market but has been actively contributing to the business world for some time, notably through its environmental, ecological, and social concerns. Many companies are finding it difficult to understand, attract and retain this young talent. So, just how can companies manage the Gen Z?
My new book aims to answer this question by shedding light on the specific characteristics that define the Gen Z, within the context of the workplace environment. I seek to provide a detailed analysis by deciphering their behavior in society (their relationship with parents, peer groups, schools, etc.), which is different from those of other generations.
The book is designed to be very practical. It draws on field work and surveys I carried out as part of my research (over 6,000 questionnaires in the period 2020-2022, and interviews with young people and managers), as well as testimonials and interviews with over 50 company directors, HR managers and talented young people.
By 2030, the Gen Z is expected to make up 30% of the workforce in France: what advice do you have for companies and managers who are welcoming this generation into their workforce?
To interpret their behavior, it’s important to understand their specific characteristics within society. For example, young people’s relationship to authority, the way they access information or perceive happiness etc. From a recruitment perspective, companies need to look beyond the tools they use to become “ultra-connected” in terms of social interaction. That’s why recruitment has to be digital, agile and above all human.
Companies can also work on the employee experience by identifying key moments in the employee’s lifecycle: not only onboarding, but also re-onboarding, and offboarding, bearing in mind that the Gen Z has a different relationship to engagement at work. A new perception of company loyalty is emerging, which is adapted to the gen Z. This conception is based on five dimensions of loyalty: emotional, social, collaborative, intrapreneurial and ethical. Today, we are talking a lot about collaborative loyalty, in which young employees become ambassadors for the employer brand.
It’s also important to note that young people’s relationship to authority is also different from their predecessors: Gen Z transforms de facto authority into that one that depends on competence. This means that authority is “earned” through experimentation. The manager becomes a coach, a facilitator, with a range of soft skills. He or she must be able to give recognition to individuals and express this in their relations.
Young people are attracted to large companies and SMEs but are also keen to have a career that changes regularly, in terms of companies, roles or missions. Intrapreneurship is a key for this generation. The challenge facing companies, therefore, is to nurture a culture of innovation, through different measures or policies. This might include intrapreneurship schemes or the creation of shadow executive committees for example.
Last but not least, companies must encourage their employees, especially young people, to become drivers or facilitators of the ecological transition.
The challenge is to move from “declarative CSR”(corporate social responsibility) to transformative CSR. This process is successful, therefore, when CSR has been fully integrated into the corporate culture and managerial processes, and when employees – particularly young people who are very aware – really become involved.
What about companies that have products or services specifically targeted at this generation? Do you have any tips or pitfalls to avoid?
Young people are looking for new customer experiences, combining in-store and online shopping. Retailers obviously need to adapt to new communication tools (including different social networks, videos etc.) to integrate Zs at the point of sale. Stores must be ‘connected’ places for consumers. Faced with this frenzy for technology, however, it’s important that retailers don’t fall into the trap of “digitalization at all costs”.
Stores are a place where young people become autonomous, socialize and experiment. Companies also need to redefine the notion of young people’s loyalty to the point of sale. Loyalty is not based exclusively on the social dimension, but now extends to the collaborative dimension. In other words, companies can look at how the Gen Z can be a key stakeholder in their loyalty program by integrating them in the brand’s loyalty strategy.
Similarly, from an innovation perspective, companies have every interest in involving young people in their communications strategy to create UGC (User Generated Content) campaigns. Furthermore, young people are more involved than other generations in societal issues (inequality, ecology, etc.) and adhere strongly to ecological values. This leads them to question their sense of usefulness and their quest for meaning when buying products. Companies need to take this into account to ensure that their actions are in line with their message.
You mention that the term Generation Z is a concept to be used with moderation. Can you explain why?
This ‘generational’ approach is open to criticism. While the notion of Generation Z is commonly used by practitioners, scientists denounce a semantic drift of the concept and the way it can be used intensively. The term generation implies the idea of a “common destiny”, accentuating the links between individuals from the same age group and/or sharing common events. This can minimize, or even mask, the differences between individuals, providing a simple grid for reading social relationships. The concept of Generation Z should therefore be used with moderation.
While some give in to the temptation to see these young people as a uniform group of consumers that all own iPhones, wear clothes from Vinted and like to go to Starbucks or McDonald’s. Socio-demographic criteria (such as level of education, social background, rural or urban location, type of job held or country of origin) reveal obvious differences in their behavior and enable us to move beyond these clichés. For this reason, I’d like to point out again that Generation Z is a concept to be used with moderation.
The book « Manager la génération Z : Mieux appréhender les nouveaux comportements » (“Managing the Gen Z: understanding new behaviors”) is available in French from Dunod Editions.
