Gen Z employees do not possess the privilege of typical onboarding methods in today’s modern virtual work environment. As a result, they require an onboarding procedure to help them grow in their new position. Rather than meeting with their supervisors to understand the company’s processes, expectations, and culture, contemporary workers are frequently thrown into the deep end and left to fend for themselves in these remote working settings. In the hopes of figuring things out on their own, they depend on chat apps, emails, and any educational materials the firm has put together.
On the other hand, new hires require their employers now more than they have in the past. This aspect is especially true for Gen Z employees who lack industry knowledge or essential business acumen to keep them going. While innovations in online onboarding technologies have made it considerably more manageable in this area, the truth is that remote onboarding is about a lot more than excellent techniques and software. It’s about building a climate where employees feel comfortable asking questions and receiving answers and having sufficient structures and procedures to execute the job you hired them to do.
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An Efficient Onboarding Process for Gen Z Employees
Because there are many professional openings today, people are less inclined to stay at a company that isn’t reaching their expectations. Furthermore, once pandemic precautions are lifted, The Work Institute, a research and consultancy business focusing on employee engagement and retention, predicts an imminent “turnover tsunami.” Whether it’s done remotely or in person, onboarding is the initial step in the employee experience. It opens the road for customer retention and engagement.
If we see this scenario from the POV of Gen Z employees, we will realize how different their first couple of days at the workplace are from what we might well have encountered at the start of our careers. Every new employee, including Gen Z employees, requires the same basic training. They also need assistance navigating the corporate world in general, as they have missed out on many of the face-to-face experiences that new graduates typically have.
Employers will be bound to maintain things bite-sized, be highly communicative, deliberate about priorities, and become more disciplined than before due to the pandemic. When Gen Z finds itself in a bind, it ought to understand where to turn next, who else to turn to, and how to ask questions.
So, how do you, as an organization, ensure an efficient onboarding process for your Gen Z hires? Here are our recommended methods.
10 Smart Tips to Onboard Gen Z Employees
1. Encourage approachability for long-term engagement
A new job’s first day, week, or month is packed with moving parts, personnel, and data points. The most efficient companies will be able to block out the noise and focus on the most fundamental and critical aspects of Gen Z employee onboarding.
Remote onboarding can be spread out across a few days and broken down into levels to avoid confusion. Thanks to well-coordinated and well-paced onboarding, employees feel accepted and engaged but not exhausted, complete with breaks and individualized learning time. It’s also critical to communicate clearly and straightforwardly. Because various teams have different definitions, and new hires need someone to offer them clear guidelines on navigating clarity is required.
2. Establish a workplace community
Creating a sense of community at work is critical for recruiting and keeping Generation Z employees. Companies will need to comprehend and execute upon Generation Z’s aspirations to be successful — which is distinct in their apprehension to commit and their thirst for opportunity.
Companies should endeavor to know their workers and target skill segments to learn about their requirements, interests, goals, and communication preferences to attract Gen Zers. This could involve the following:
- Using fewer classic command-and-control strategies and putting more emphasis on considering human motivations — the need for flexibility, appreciation, and meaning, among others
- Creating employer branding that focuses on the qualities that Gen Z values the most
- Providing a diverse set of experiences that help them make informed professional decisions—while also satisfying their need to advance swiftly.
3. Promote structure for increased productivity
When it concerns new staff, consistency is a good thing. Having a defined schedule and planned weekdays gives individuals a sense of control and familiarity, making them feel less anxious and more productive. The COVID-driven era has had everything that was expected, and Generation Z has witnessed it all.
Gen Z employees will be more productive and motivated during the onboarding process if established structure methods are implemented. This dependence on the procedure is especially critical for remote onboarding because it’s tougher to target clients and staff who fall between the cracks when everything they do is digital.
When there’s no history of completing tasks or holding individuals accountable, it’s far more straightforward for a worker or client to disappear or disconnect from the process. Whenever a new employee is onboarding remotely and can’t come over to a colleague’s office to pose a question, they will rely more heavily on protocols. Suppose those protocols aren’t in a position to assist them to remain focused and take charge. The ethos or customer experience can quickly deteriorate as a vital element of the everyday experience is gone.
4. Incorporate bite-sized microlearning modules
Keeping things understandable and relatable is another way to improve Gen Z’s onboarding experience. Because today’s remote new workers are more prone to information overload, their employers must break down new material into manageable chunks. Figure out how to create the easiest, most simplified user experiences possible so that a person understands exactly where to begin and stop. Employers will benefit in the long run by keeping things simple, as it will assist new staff in remaining on course during the onboarding process.
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5. Introduce Gen Z employees to your work culture
Consider implementing a peer or mentor program as part of your induction process to assist new hires in quickly learning your procedures. This relationship can be reciprocal, with Gen Z employees being able to mentor more senior staff by helping them learn newer technology.
Use informal and formal venues to discuss how things are done in your firm, such as coffee breaks and meetings. To ensure that everyone knows how they may help you accomplish your individual objectives, provide examples of exceptional work that reflects your company’s values. When current Gen Z employees enter your company, host a full-staff session to demonstrate how everyone on the team works together. The introduction of a new employee might alter the dynamics of the workplace. Hence, schedule these meetings from the start and at a frequent level.
6. Offer support from continual development
Ever since the Great Depression and the Second World War, Gen Z has undergone the most trauma compared to other generations. COVID-19 has significantly impacted Gen Z’s psychosocial development, and it’s important to remember this as they enter the workforce.
Considering this, Gen Z workers are generally honest about their mental health. By demonstrating a healthy work-life balance, you may help your workers feel supported. Make a note on your calendar of why you’ll be out of the workplace. Encourage your employees to use their vacation time, and pay attention to anyone hesitant to take time off. To provide additional support to your staff, consider offering mental health awareness training or implementing an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
7. Give your employees a purpose
Many Gen Z employees love working toward a common goal and recognizing how their efforts affect your company’s vision may be a powerful incentive. Share how each employee’s job makes a meaningful difference to help create that relationship. Gen Z employees can also benefit from defined and quantifiable targets that can be monitored and judged.
Your Gen Z workers may also be curious about what it takes to advance to the next stage. Provide career frameworks that depict how your business progresses and the necessary abilities to assist them in moving to the next level. Always connect progress and goal-setting to the “what” and “how.” A monthly review of these goals can help with accountability, but it can also help with motivation.
8. Involve your leadership
It’s time for executives to pick up a fresh style of management. Again. As Gen Z enters the workforce, they must learn new personality traits and skill sets. Leaders must get to know their employees and grasp their beliefs and work relationships. They must also acknowledge that to develop a cohesive workplace, and they must guide them better than past generations.
Keeping Gen Z employees satisfied is not the same as keeping previous generations content. According to Gartner research, manager quality is the top cause for 33% of Gen Z employees leaving their existing jobs. Once on the job, Gen Z staff look for supervisors who can evaluate their abilities, interests, and passions and connect them with mentors who can help them grow.
9. Introduce Gen-zers to innovation
The Gen Z worker recognizes that change and innovation are the new normal. They are less concerned with pay and are more attracted to employers who provide flexibility and training and development programs to help them advance in their careers.
Gen Z is a generation that has put in much effort to educate themselves. With so much information at their fingertips, Gen Zers are more practical and critical in decision-making than prior generations. 65% of Gen Zers polled indicated they value understanding what is happening around them while controlling their environment.
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This group of self-learners is more easily consuming knowledge on the internet than in conventional learning institutions. They can’t recall when solutions weren’t at their fingertips, which will undoubtedly influence how they approach their work. Instead of dictating a one-size-fits-all learning path, we’re already seeing a trend toward making large amounts of knowledge available on demand. Assist managers in rethinking job objectives, emphasizing outcomes and expectations rather than step-by-step chores.
Gen Z employees tend to find a solution to the core cause of hunger in their community than donate a few hours in a soup kitchen since they have access to so much knowledge and DIY instruction at their fingertips. Keep Gen Z motivated by providing incentives to earn a difference as you continue to establish a winning culture. This “build-it/fix-it” mentality is likely to have a significant effect on efficiency and innovation in your enterprises and the rest of the globe.
10. Include memorable moments
Instead of administrative activities on a list, first-day encounters and induction should be packed with memorable moments. Providing a great experience makes a lasting impact and inspires loyalty, but it also motivates employees to spread the word about their workplace both online and off. How can you determine if they will remember the events? It’s memorable if Gen Z feels obliged to take out their phone to capture the moment.
Building a great onboarding program is like an initial insurance plan on the money you put in recruitment, regardless of generation. The days of providing a new employee a sticky note with the IT support extension are long gone.
Employee onboarding that is done correctly can increase employee retention by 82 percent and productivity by more than 70 percent. Despite these findings, Gallup showed that only one out of every ten employees thought their company did an excellent job with onboarding.
Consider this period as a prolonged wooing period. It can take an employee 7 months or more to hit their stride completely. Go the additional mile to tell fresh members why they are valuable and the rationale they were offered the position, in addition to the more formal onboarding procedures. Don’t simply educate them on work tasks; also help them with soft skills.
It’s a fantastic idea to provide beautiful memories throughout the employee journey, not just on the first day and during onboarding.
Conclusion
The training and induction issues will continue to grow as more college students graduate and enter the job market. Employers will need to provide the same basic training to college graduates as they do to any new employee. Still, they will also require assistance navigating the corporate world at large. As we embrace the post-pandemic life, employment market trends predict many more job vacancies and fewer skilled individuals, which means workers cannot overlook the value of a great onboarding experience. Establishing and maintaining a pleasant, accessible, and organized workspace for remote new hires is a beautiful way to remain ahead of the game.
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