3 Steps to Prepare Your Company for the GenZ Workforce

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again ‒ GenZ is an oncoming storm. 

Their drive, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion are going to alter corporate culture for the better ‒ but attracting this talent means companies need to start preparing now.  

Jennifer Openshaw, CEO of Girls With Impact, recently spoke to Melissa Kilby, Executive Director of Girl Up, to explore what steps need to be taken to attract GenZ talent. Girl Up is a global leadership development organization transforming a generation of girls to be a force for gender equity and social change. 

As a leader in GenZ talent and mentorship, Kilby has some amazing insights into this generation. 

 Here is her advice on what actions need to be integrated into your company now to ensure you are ready to take on this talented and transformative generation. 

Action Over Sentiment

“You have to walk the talk with this generation,” says Kilby. 

GenZ is an action-oriented generation ‒ that’s why they are inclined to pursue entrepreneurship and activism. But this desire to put action over sentiment is also ingrained into their appraisal of their company’s philanthropy and social presence. 

PR statements and policies on paper are simply inadequate unless this culture of awareness seeps into every crevice and crack of the company. Truth be told, GenZ would rather you not make these statements, and instead just act.

Carve Spaces for your Women Leaders

We’ve known representation is no longer enough ‒ GenZ is now looking at retention rates and culture to assess how truly inclusive a company is. 

But how exactly do corporations achieve these sought-after markers of inclusivity? In the case of women specifically, Kilby believes it’s through shaping spaces to fit women leadership styles. 

Seeing a corporation that has women on their executive board truly means nothing if they are unhappy in their positions. Far too often do corporations simply try to erase the different leadership styles that many women encompass ‒ thus making women feel unwelcome.

Instead, give women in leadership positions the ability to shape their roles and styles in ways that may be new and different to a company who has never had a woman lead. 

Move Towards Transparency 

GenZ needs to fully agree with the mission statement, culture, and actions of their company ‒ the only way they can achieve this is through transparency. 

While many companies publish annual corporate social responsibility reports, hold charity days, and publish PR reports, this doesn’t tell employees everything. Employees want to know how much, and where, charitable donations are going; they want to know if there were microaggression claims within the company; they want to know about the efforts being made internally to produce inclusivity. 

While there might be difficulty transitioning towards this level of transparency, it will lead to higher retention rates and employee satisfaction as the workforce feels truly integrated in the company.

While the majority of GenZ is still studying in high school/college, we recommend preparing for this new was of employees now.

These steps are put in place to genuinely alter corporate culture ‒something that cannot happen overnight but is necessary for the GenZ workforce. 

By Jody Bell

Jody Bell (19) Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, after-school, entrepreneurship program for teen girls, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators.