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Every generation brings with it new challenges, new opportunities, and new ideas, but few have been as transformative as millennials and Generation Z. While differing in key areas such as political views and religious beliefs, these are two generations united by their coming of age during the Information Age and their break with older styles of working. Broadly defined as the consecutive generations dating from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, and the mid-1990s to the present day, the emergence of these millennials and Generation Z alongside the growth in ubiquity and utility of the internet has led to massive disruptions in the way businesses operate, connect and manage themselves.

These shifts require that your organisation adapts to new ways of recruiting, managing and working with staff that allow them to deliver their best work. At Horner, we have a thorough understanding of what millennials and Gen Z are looking for in an employer. To help you capture the permanent talent and temporary staff you need to drive your business forward, we’ve put together this article highlighting the similarities between millennials and Generation Z in workplace attitudes, helping you identify the key things that these two generations look for in an employer, the workplace and the job itself. With millennials and Generation Z already making up more than 40% of the workforce – a number that can only rise – they’re a significant and growing focus for employers and recruiters.

Read on and learn how you can attract emerging millennial and Generation Z talent, helping to future-proof your business.

Flexibility in everything

One of the major ways in which millennials and Generation Z break from previous generations is in how, where and when they like to work. Traditional corporate models of everyone arriving at the same time at the same place and doing similar jobs don’t motivate these generations the way they have empowered previous ones.

Being raised around technology that allows instant access to other people and to information from anywhere in the world has led younger people to consider these older models of working outdated. What is the value in bringing everyone together at 9am in a central location when work can just as easily be done remotely at any hour of the day?

To this end, if you’re looking to make your organisation attractive to these generations, you need to be offering systems that enable these ways of working. Flexible working hours, remote capabilities and prioritising performance and talent over simply ‘showing up’ are three ways you can start building a workplace that’s millennial and Generation Z ready.  If the role has flexible options or the opportunity to work from home then highlight this in the recruitment process.

Putting office tools at their fingertips

Hand in hand with offering flexibility in how they structure their workdays needs to come a flexibility in their tools. With more millennials and Gen Z’s looking for ways of working outside both the standard 9 to 5 and the traditional office environment, the need to invest in tools and technology that supports that is clear.

This means choosing software and apps that can easily be accessed from anywhere and on a large variety of platforms. It’s not enough to offer work email access as their only tool– millennials and Generation Z want to be able to connect, communicate, view their workflow and leader boards, upload files as well as make leave and expense requests, often from their personal devices.. Many common software suites for businesses are built with mobile or off-site use in mind, providing their own app ready for rollout across your device network. Do your research and find out how you could be better supporting your staff.

Career progression & personal advancement

It’s not just structural and technological changes that millennials and Generation Z are looking out for. A key concern for many young workers is ensuring that they’re getting the right support and education at work. Creating opportunities to learn new skills and hone existing ones in both formal and informal settings is crucial to ensuring that your millennial and Generation Z workforce are satisfied. Many young workers have reported that a significant motivating factor behind staying with or leaving a company is the level of professional development provided – both in the form of collaborative learning and more structured programs. This ambition can be put to use – a little education not only keeps your younger employees happy, it can help to develop your organisation in new and exciting ways, better preparing you to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

If you’re looking to add industry-leading talent from any generation to your team, look no further than Horner. With three offices across Melbourne and more than four decades of experience, no one understands this city better than us.

Start a conversation with one of our team today to learn more.