Unlocking Gen Z Talent: Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention in a Modern Workplace

There’s nothing like the graduation of 4.7 million 2023 college graduates to prompt employers to think deeply about how to attract a new generation of talent. From recruitment to retention, the wants and needs of the new Gen Z workforce are front and center as hiring managers continue to send offer letters to those born around the turn of the century.

While the oldest members of Gen Z, those turning 26 this year, are advancing in their careers, the majority of Gen Z is just beginning to enter the workforce, and this influx into the job market is not slowing down anytime soon.

We’ve heard it repeatedly in recent months: my company is struggling to maintain Gen Z employee engagement and retention post-COVID.

You’re not alone.

While “The Great Resignation” headlines may have subsided, the economic trends driving this phenomenon are far from over. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, record numbers of workers continue to voluntarily resign from their jobs. Over 4 million workers quit in February 2023.

DoSomething Strategic (DSS), the Gen Z-focused consultancy of DoSomething.org, the national hub for youth-centered activism, knows firsthand the importance of engaging this generation in the workplace. This new crop of talent has unique needs and preferences when it comes to purpose in the workplace, skills development, and mentorship.

You hold the key to bringing your employee engagement and retention practices to new levels.

RECRUITING GEN Z PROSPECTS FROM A POOL OF DIVERSE CANDIDATES WITH LOTS OF OPTIONS

Let’s start with recruitment. How can you make your company stand out from the rest to a sea of new graduates hungry to make an impact in their careers?

It starts with personalized brand, marketing, and ESG strategies that ensure your company is well-received by new hires.

City Year by AmeriCorps enlisted DSS to increase the recruitment of young men - and in particular, young men of color - to apply to their Corps program. As it stood, young men did not understand how City Year would fit into their career plans and future aspirations. That changed after DSS got involved.

DSS understood the importance of ensuring City Year messaging resonated deeply with young men of color, aligning with their self-perception, abilities, and aspirations.

We conducted a user insights study, qualitative interviews, and audience testing to identify key motivators and obstacles that young men of color faced when considering applying. We then applied those learnings to develop an inclusive communications strategy and creative assets to amplify their recruitment efforts.

As a result, the new recruitment strategy generated 250% of the number of applications from young men of color compared to previous years.

An intentional recruitment strategy is the first step to having a functioning workplace for Gen Z.

ENGAGING GEN Z NEW HIRES THROUGH TARGETED AND FUN PRACTICES

It’s one thing to get Gen Z applicants to apply to work for you. It’s another thing to keep them engaged once they’ve been hired. As we know now, it takes more than a healthy salary to keep the newest additions to the workforce engaged. And while flexible work options, generous PTO, and internal growth opportunities are all extremely important, what may actually keep them around is the friends they make.

“Interpersonal [work] relationships have a sizable and significant positive effect on the job satisfaction of the average employee. [Relationships] rank first out of 12 domains of workplace quality in terms of power to explain variation in job satisfaction,” said the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) in a global workplace study.

Sure, happy hours and Zoom icebreakers can scratch the surface of getting to know someone, but employee engagement programs are far more effective. We know how socially conscious young people are — giving them the tools to engage to drive change in the world alongside colleagues is a surefire way to integrate them into the company culture and keep them engaged longer.

DoSomething Strategic is no stranger to employee engagement programs. PVH, the mega clothing company that owns both Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, tapped DSS to increase their employees’ engagement with the water conservation platform DSS had supported them in developing - the PVH2O Challenge.

This challenge highlighted the ways employees could conserve water around the world. Employees submitted thousands of creative social posts from around the world showing what they were doing to conserve water, many of those were from employees in Asia and Europe, who had traditionally not engaged in internal comms efforts at such high levels. In just three weeks, PVH doubled the number of downloads of its internal communications app. 

RETAINING TOP GEN Z TALENT THROUGH MENTORSHIP AND GOAL SETTING

A 2022 study found that 65% of Gen Z employees were not planning to stay at their companies for more than a year. Another study from August 2021 revealed that 91% of Gen Z were interested in switching jobs. Maybe it’s the restlessness that comes with being a young employee. Or, maybe companies are missing the mark when it comes to helping them grow in their positions.

They are, however, the most likely generation to stay at their job when offered upskilling or reskilling opportunities. According to a DoSomething study on Economic Mobility, young people were interested in seeing potential employers pay for courses and training; building the bridges between the worlds of learning and work can lead to positive outcomes on young people’s path to higher education. This is a great opening for employers looking to keep top talent while also implementing new practices that benefit the entire workforce.

An engaged employee is a retained employee.

That’s why PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) enlisted DSS to leverage their firm's strong purpose-first ethos to create a more meaningful work experience for its employees, particularly its significant young employee base. We found that the first 24 months at their firms were predictive of success, especially for Black and Hispanic/Latinx employees.

Following a complete deep dive into their existing employee engagement practices, we helped PwC launch the Thrive Program in 2020. Thrive helped provide these young employees with the tools to help career success through customizable and interactive workshops, networking, mentoring, and leadership engagement. It also fostered a unique two-way learning experience between the employees and their mentors. Participants learned how to magnify their strengths, map their unique career paths, build an enduring network, and differentiate their impact while mentors received special training to prepare new joiners for the program.

Since its start, 2,400+ employees have participated in the program. 95% felt Thrive helped them feel included at PwC. 98% said they are confident they can apply the new knowledge and skills gained through the program to their jobs. Thrive and other programs we supported helped PwC achieve its highest employee engagement numbers in the firm's history. They saw a 40% increase in employee participation!

WRAPPING THINGS UP

We know that the workplace looks very different today than it did just three years ago. Young new workers are eager and ready to kickstart their careers, but not at the expense of essential practices for a modern work environment. To compete against an increasingly competitive market, it's vital that your recruitment, engagement, and retention practices are tailored for a 2023-and-beyond workplace.