Gaining Trust with Future Generations at Work
Gone are the days where ‘trust’ is assumed because the organisation has been well established for years. Gone are the days where ‘trust’ is given tothe leader because they have the title or wear the badge ‘CEO’ or ‘boss’. Gone are the days where people will be invisible and work tirelessly at the bottom rung of the ladder, with very limited feedback, support and job interest, simply in hope that one day they may be noticed and be able to climb up to the next rung.
But let’s just take a moment to consider why emerginggenerations may be approaching work and trust from a different angle.
Generation Z (born 1995-2009) have grown up in a rapidlychanging, technologically immersed world. A world where they don’t see geographic boundaries defining community orconnection. A world of flatterstructures – where they can connect with world leaders, celebrities, brands andfriends through social networking platforms. A world where barriers to entry have been broken down – previously to have a job opportunity, one needed to do entry level work in an organisation –whereas today people are more empowered to market directly to their ‘followers’, embrace the gig economy and connect their skill sets with market needs (from Uber driving through to online freelance platforms).
They have been saturated with limitless options for personalised learning and entertainment – and as a result, will only give their attention to programs, people and portals that are engaging (and often entertaining), where they see the point in investing into – and where it is fun and rewarding to do so. They have become sensory engagers, expecting constant stimulation, and opportunities to be not only the consumers but also collaborators and co-creators of content. This has created an environment where they have a voice from a very young age, where they shape the narrative, and where they value a digital, virtual world as much as an offline, physical world.
Amidst such rapid change, Gen Z have seen the rise of disruptive organisations and platforms, and the decline of those who have not kept pace with the change. As a result, they fear irrelevance – they place a high value on change and being in a context which is innovative and entrepreneurial so that they are not left behind. Added to all this, they have notonly been exposed to unprecedented news updates about global events and areacutely aware of the broken state of the world – but they have been told theycan change the world for good – and are deeply motivated to make adifference. They want their life and the investment into their careers to actually change the world.
And then we bring them into a work environment which has a well-defined hierarchical structure (and yes, where they as the new workers are far removed from the boss, from leadership, and from having a context to contribute ideas or bring in change). We give them the job descriptions that go with the entry level roles – often tedious, repetitive, and seemingly meaningless work. And Generation Z don’t stick around. This can immediately cause frustration and intergenerational tension for older generations who did work hard in this traditional way, who did the ‘boring’ jobs for years to earn their stripes, and who believe this should be the same path for emerging generations.
However these social and technological shifts have fundamentally shaped their worldview and expectations as consumers, customers, and employees. These shifts have radically redefined how they live, work and play. So how can we build trust and effectively engage these emerging generations?
3 Keys to Build Trust and Engagement:
Be genuine, authentic and relatable.
Gen Z are looking for leaders who are real, authentic, relational andgenuine. They are quickly disenchanted by leaders they perceive to befake, superior, or out-of-reach. They crave an authentic connection with theirleaders, rather than a distant, removed authority figure who takes no interestin them and does not ‘speak their language’. Lucy (b. 1996) stated: “Whatworks is when people are relatable and genuine. I think it’s easy to sort ofspot people who aren’t being genuine – I think we can pick that up quite easilyand it doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth.”
Shape a contributing culture
With Gen Z having a voice from the youngest of age, contributing toblogs, social media sites, shaping the global encyclopaedia Wikipedia throughtheir own entries and edits, when they enter the workforce it is only naturalto them to expect to contribute ideas and continue to shape processes. From team meetings where ideas and questionsare encouraged from anyone and everyone (regardless of age or tenure), toinnovation hackathons (encouraging people within the organisation to come upwith innovative ideas and presenting them), to online platforms which capturethe ideas of all team members – try to shift the culture from an expectationthat the leaders need to come up with all the ideas to one where the bestinnovations and results can be discovered as the strengths and talents of theteam intersect and are fostered together to create a greater outcome than whatwould be possible on their own.
Cast a compelling vision
Gen Z will be attracted to organisations where they are impelled by a vision, and motivated to do their day to day work in a way that is connected to a greater sense of purpose and mission. Casting a vision of purpose will resonate with a deeply felt need in many Gen Zs who want to make a difference and while contributing want to be challenged and developed.
Claire Madden is a social researcher, author of Hello Gen Z: Engaging the Generation of Post-Millennials, and is a keynote speaker, in demand internationally for helping organisations unlock the potential of the emerging generations, and building strong multigenerational teams. Claire's showreel can be seen here. To enquire about having Claire speak at your next event, please get in touch here or email info@clairemadden.com or call us on +61 2 8091 4321.