Hiring & Retaining Generation Z
IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, October 2024
Article by Chris Stark, Associate Director, Business Advisory, Ambition.
The term ‘Gen Z’ or ‘Zoomers’ refers to individuals who were born between 1997 and 2012. For many firms, this generation already constitutes a large part of your junior to mid-level work force and will form your entry level staff for the next decade.
With hiring and retention of staff being listed as a key challenge for firms across almost all industries, including insolvency & restructuring, understanding this group and what they want out of work is going to be essential for any company looking to grow over the next decade.
Gen Z prioritise flexibility and work-life balance
A 2023 Deloitte report revealed that 61% of Gen Z employees view work as a key part of their identity, compared to 86% of their managers. With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why these individuals have work-life balance as one of their higher priorities.
Almost 5 years on from the Covid-19 pandemic, most workplaces have adopted some kind of hybrid work policy. Due to the nature of work done by insolvency & restructuring teams, most employers have found that spending time in the office is an essential requirement to service their clients.
Though office time is clearly beneficial for early-career employees, it’s important to remember that many Gen Z workers started their careers with remote work as the norm and might need extra encouragement to recognise the benefit of face to face interaction. Making sure that team leaders are in the office at the same time as juniors will help Gen Z employees to see the benefits of coming into the office.
We’ve also seen more insolvency firms introducing flexible working hours and even some that have experimented with 9 day working fortnights, allowing staff to work reduced hours on Fridays once every two weeks if they’re on track with their work. These kinds of policies can be great for attracting and retaining staff that place work life balance as their highest priority.
Gen Z want career development
While work life balance is important, Gen Z care just as much if not more than others about career development. One of the most common reasons we hear from individuals looking to move companies is the feeling that they’re working for a firm where progression isn’t on the cards for them at all in the future.
It can sometimes be a negative stereotype that Gen Z “want everything right now and aren’t willing to work for it”. In our experience, this is rarely the case. Too many companies expect their junior employees to be happy doing the same basic tasks for over a year with little talk of when they will have the opportunity to move onto more complex tasks.
There are now a range of qualifications available to those working in the insolvency industry and we’d strongly recommend that all companies offer study support to junior staff to clearly demonstrate a commitment to their long-term career development.
Creating clear and transparent plans for how employees can progress is essential to retaining your people and should be something put into place for all staff as soon as possible.
We’re also seeing more companies establish formal mentorship programs. These can be a great way of creating your future leaders, pairing junior staff with existing senior employees. We’ve regularly heard how these can be beneficial for not just the junior staff but also director and partner level employees who are able to learn by looking at issues through the lens of their more junior staff.
In summary
Getting the hiring right for Gen Z candidates will be essential for all companies over the next decade. The world of work has changed more in the last 5 years than it arguably has in the past 20 years previously. Key areas to focus on for firms are around making their junior staff feel valued by offering genuine career development opportunities. Also striking the right balance between creating an environment where staff actively want to be around their employees in the office but also an understanding that for this generation, they are not defined by their work. If there is one piece of advice we can offer, it’s to talk to the junior staff in your company and ask them what they want out of their careers and what changes (if any) they would like to see.
Please note that guest content does not necessarily represent the views of the IPA.