Companies bring in generational advisors

Barely arrived on the labor market, the competition for the favor of Generation Z has already flared up. We are talking about the age group of those born between 1997 and 2012 (or between 1995 and 2010, depending on the definition). They are being courted vigorously by companies: after all, young people are today’s young professionals and tomorrow’s customers.

A Chief Tomorrow Officer should fix it

Deutsche Telekom and its subsidiary T-Systems recently created the position of Chief Tomorrow Officer. On the website of the telecom group is looking for young game changers who ask the right questions: for “pragmatic dreamers who constantly see possibilities”.

Nouran Elsherbiny, who was the first to complete the four-month internship last year, described her job in a company promotional clip as follows: “I’m here to represent my Generation Z – it’s about harnessing this force of change, to bring insights and To win ideas that lead us to a better future.» The young woman has now been promoted to Digital Marketing Manager at T-Systems.

For Elsherbiny, it is clear which criteria are decisive for the younger generation when choosing their employer: “Sustainability, ethics, fairness and flat hierarchies”. in the Video-Post «What is a Chief Tomorrow Officer?» she talks about being empowered, making an impact and being able to show initiative. “Companies that position themselves in this way end up getting the top talent of this generation,” Elsherbiny is convinced.

What makes the generation so desirable? On the one hand, there is the shortage of skilled workers: the gap left by the baby boomer generation in the labor market is getting bigger and bigger. On the other hand, the moving Zler are well trained, inquisitive and digitally affine. It is the first generation to grow up with smartphones from an early age. She is more versed in social media and online tools than any generation before her. In times of rapidly advancing digitization, this makes them particularly attractive for companies. Many companies are looking for future business models and are hoping for new impetus from the Zler.

Not taken seriously?

Around 1.4 million Swiss people belong to Generation Z. Those born after 1996 now make up almost 12 percent of the workforce. However, the integration is not going smoothly. “Employers don’t take us young people seriously enough,” says one of the most prominent representatives of Generation Z, Yaël Meier, who teaches companies how the new generation of the millennium ticks, in one interview.

Most companies talk about the young people, but not with them. The owner of the Zurich consulting and advertising agency Zeam explains that they understand neither the values ​​nor the behavior of this target group or which trends move them. “We want to take our future into our own hands and not stand idly by as the world goes to the dogs.” The climate movement “Fridays for Future” or “Black Lives Matter” are the best expressions of this.

Conversely, the generation also has to put up with some criticism: Gen Z finds it more difficult to commit to a company in the long term and there is hardly any loyalty. Various personnel managers confirm that it is very demanding. When they started their careers, the young people made a clear cost-benefit analysis. If they don’t see any development opportunities or something else doesn’t suit them in the job, then they’ll be gone quickly.

In addition, many young people demanded a clear separation between private life and work. Gen Z is the first to resist the intrusion of work life into the private sphere, affirms German generation researcher Christian Scholz.

Gen Z consulting is a lucrative business model

So it’s not surprising that many companies are looking for the help of consultants who are supposed to bring them closer to the world of the younger generation. Consulting on how to deal with Gen Z has become a lucrative business. This is confirmed by Yannick Blättler, who has specialized in this segment with his consulting firm Neoviso since 2016. “We understand Gen Z and make them your customers and employees,” is the message on Neoviso’s corporate website.

Blättler and his team offer companies workshops, work with them to develop strategies for social media presence, advise them on strengthening their employer brand and take care of the implementation of social media and other marketing content. Customers include SMEs as well as larger employers, including Helsana, the Raiffeisen Group, Axpo, Swissmem, the Graubünden University of Applied Sciences, hospitals and the federal government.

Blättler founded his company during his studies and at the same time completed a master’s degree in business innovation at the University of St. Gallen. The former part-time job has grown into a lucrative business in recent years. Before the corona pandemic, Neoviso employed six people. The company now has 24 permanent employees – by the end of the year there should be significantly more.

A closed world

The 28-year-old explains the high demand for Gen-Z consulting work, among other things, with the high demand of companies for workers and young professionals. At the same time, there is a certain helplessness in dealing with Gen Z among companies. The fact that a generation is growing up with new needs is nothing new, says Blättler. But the world of the Zler is closed: What happens on social media channels such as Instagram, Tiktok or Snapchat is not accessible or understandable for many older semesters.

According to the young entrepreneur, many companies also noticed during the Corona crisis that they were very sluggish with their digital communication and online marketing. At the same time, they thought about new forms of work.

And what are the biggest challenges for companies that want to get fit for the younger generation? They should communicate more openly and a new understanding of leadership is needed, says Blättler. Zler appreciated clear leadership, supervisors who were involved in the team and maintained regular exchanges with employees. “I often hear that young people shouldn’t make so many demands, but should deliver first,” says the consultant.

Then he tries to explain that the world of work and the demand situation on the labor market have changed. “Young people today don’t want to work less. They want to work differently, have a certain freedom and flexibility and do something that inspires them,” says Blättler with conviction. He advises companies to form mixed teams in which the different generations can exchange ideas and to give the young people more responsibility.

The 51-year-old executive doesn’t necessarily need to be tasked with building the company’s social media arm. He can make clear specifications for this, but a Zler usually knows better how a contribution is posted and how it should come across.

At Ikea, learners on Tiktok are in charge

Many companies have also adapted their social media strategy accordingly and geared it towards younger customers and employees – sometimes with external support. For example, the Zeam company set up a channel on the Tiktok video network for Ikea Switzerland. The channel, whose films reach a wide audience, is controlled by Ikea apprentices. Ikea wants to make itself attractive to the younger generation. Because the pool of junior staff in retail is melting. The company has also whipped up other channels that are used a lot by the younger generation, such as the Ikea app.

UBS is also adapting to the younger generation: “If you’re not present on social media, it will be difficult,” says Patrick Stolz, Head of Human Resources at UBS Switzerland. Seven years ago, in his position as Head of Recruiting at the time, he deliberately transferred responsibility for the social media marketing team to an employee in her early twenties who could use all new media virtually.

It is important that the company cultivates a culture of internal mobility and that young people are given the opportunity to present themselves in front of a “higher level”, explains Stolz. Many business areas of UBS have also introduced what is known as reverse mentoring. An older person slips into the role of the mentee and learns from a young person, for example on digital topics.

They are also experimenting with hierarchically mixed teams, and rotations give the opportunity to work in a different area for a certain period of time. With more flexible work models, such as hybrid work, annual working hours, part-time work and unpaid vacation, the bank wants to win the favor of both young and older employees. Structured wage increases in the first few years after the apprenticeship as well as targeted further training and support programs are further measures.

The wheel does not have to be reinvented

However, companies and generation researchers rightly point out that Generation Z does not have to reinvent the wheel. The previous Generation Y is also tech-savvy and familiar with social media. She, too, is less willing to subordinate everything to her career. Millennials also demand more sustainability, meaningfulness, fewer hierarchies and more flexible working models from their employer. It was above all the pandemic, and not the pressure from young people, that helped the home office to break through.

But with Generation Z behind us, the need for adjustment seems to have increased again. And they also currently have the job market on their side. It has developed from an employer to an employee market. It is now more the companies that have to apply to potential employees – and no longer the other way around. Accordingly, they are challenged and more willing to respond to demands.

The pressure on companies to adapt is great. Even popular employers in Silicon Valley are feeling this: tech employees there are currently rebelling in droves against having to commute back to the office. The resistance has prompted some companies, such as Apple and Google, to put their return-to-office plans on hold or adjust them and continue to allow working from home. Even rigid, hierarchical banks like Goldman Sachs cannot ignore the issue of work-life balance and promise their employees more holidays.

With all these adjustments, however, it is not just the question of generations that is in the foreground. The change in the world of work goes far beyond that. Especially in view of the upcoming challenges, it does not seem advisable to play baby boomers, millennials and generation Z off against each other, says strategy and communications consultant Christiane Döhler. After all, it’s about having a team on board that drives a company forward.

“Perhaps Generation Z is braver when it comes to creating ideas. But it’s naïve to think that they’re going to do the whole transformation alone,” says Döhler. This requires the ability of the entire team: “Experience and ideas, creativity and structures as well as mutual recognition of different strengths and perspectives. Young game changers who ask the right questions are not enough. After all, even a Chief Tomorrow Officer who constantly sees opportunities needs support.”