Written by Mark Williams, WorkJam, Managing Director EMEA
In 2017, research found that the Millennial generation was the largest within the workforce, with Gen Z quickly following suit and taking up 20% of the workforce. As well as their growing rate of workers, these two generations (known as Zillennials) are also the most expressive – both in voice and in action – when it comes to their expectations of their workplace.
The Great Resignation is an economic trend that has been taking place over decades but has more recently been exacerbated by the crushing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This wave of staff resignations has left companies unable, or unwilling, to adapt their organisation as necessary and have led to staff shortages that have had devastating impacts across multiple sectors.
Some key changes need to be made to workplace processes and culture if businesses hope to attract and retain Zillennial workers. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly is driving Zillennial’s decision to apply for or resign from particular workplaces and the steps that can be taken to attract and retain them.
What Steps Should be Taken to Adapt to the Needs of Our Younger Workforce?
As Zillennials grow more and more comfortable with ‘job-hopping’ – moving from job to job within a relatively short time frame – and recruiters begin to acknowledge that this is quickly going to become the new normal, businesses need to take some key steps to help retain their workforce.
In the corporate sphere this revolves largely around at-home working, as one third of millennials have stated they would quit their position if they were asked to return to their job full-time. This is largely due to an increased desire for flexibility and a better work/life balance.
This trend is also seen in the retail sector. Frontline workers are keen to find and position themselves in businesses and organisations that not only understand their desire for flexibility, but have put measures in place to be as accommodating as possible.
Providing workers in retail sectors the necessary platforms that can facilitate the flexibility of their hiring process, their training process, and the way their shifts are managed and switched is going to prove invaluable over the coming years.
Not only does it make more sense to be able to have open and quick communication around the way frontline workers can manage and switch their shifts, but it also emphasises the trust between organisation and employee when an employee has access to this level of communication and direct action from their own personal device.
Understanding the role digitisation has played and will continue to play in the developing changes in how businesses operate is the most important step retail companies can take to being able to attract and retain Zillennial employees.
Common Themes and Trends from the Zillennial Workforce
Ensuring that your organisation embraces digitisation is beneficial in more ways than one. Operating from a sophisticated digital frontline workplace that integrates all your systems in one place provides a solution to a lot of headaches around organisation, communication, and data-keeping.
It also speaks to the Zillennial workforce. This generation of workers are digitally fluent and have grown up using technology both in educational and working environments as well as socially. This means that offering them a position in a company that puts effective digitisation at its core will have immediate appeal.
A digital frontline workplace delivers the promise of a better work/life balance because it speeds up communication between team members tenfold. It also ensures that employees can easily track and monitor the number of hours they work per shift and can request the necessary changes that meet their needs.
It’s also clear that alongside their digital engagement, Zillennials are beginning to hunt for jobs they feel reflect their values. Something that would turn a Zillennial away from a potential job is working for a faceless corporate brand. This is because inclusivity and sustainability are values these generations highly engage with.
Having a digital frontline workplace that fully engages with a retailer’s core values and mission statement – and provides employees with easy and consistent access to understanding exactly what those values are, is going to help to attract and retain Zillennial workers who want to feel that their corporation is ‘giving back’ to the wider community.
How Best Can an Organisation Retain a Zillennial Workforce?
Adaptability has always been a term used when it comes to describing what a successful business or organisation looks like. This has been particularly true of companies fighting to keep afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recognising that retaining a Zillennial workforce may mean being adaptable and open to creating the change that could entice them into a position within your organisation. Zillennials have proven time and again that they are comfortable walking away from a role they don’t feel supports them, as proven by the Great Resignation. This means that figuring out what resources and changes can be implemented to improve retention is one of the most crucial steps to take.
The second step is to consider how much the investment of digitisation attracts Zillennials by hitting several of their target values. Using the correct platform for your organisation’s needs will give your employees a sense of community and of their voice being heard, as well as improving communication between your teams.
Frontline retail workers, in particular, like to know they have access to their back-store and managerial co-workers and supervisors when needed. This can help them to feel supported during their shift and potentially more comfortable in their position as a whole.
Onboarding training and the management of shifts is another potential problem point for a lot of retailers. This problem can also be solved with effective software that allows and empowers staff to manage their own shifts according to their needs, as well as ensuring that they feel they have the flexibility they desire in their position.
About the author
As Managing Director, Mark Williams is leading WorkJam’s expansion in EMEA. Before joining the company, Mark held the position of Global Enablement Manager of Retail at Shell, where he was responsible for all frontline digital transformation projects.