Do you own the modern collaboration tools that these young professionals will be expecting as they enter the workplace? Time to consider a Communications Platform that translates better with Gen Z's sixth sense - technology?
Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and even Millennials have adapted to and learned to utilize great technology advancements in the last 20 years. For the emerging generation in today's workforce, it just comes naturally.
Meet Generation Z. Raised on the Internet with a smart phone or tablet in hand, this generation has an ingrained connection to technology from their very beginning. The newest members of today’s professional workplace, GenZers were born between 1997 and 2010, and make up 25.9 of the US Population. Technology has often been described as Gen Z's sixth sense.
You may have GenZers in your workplace now. If you don’t, you will soon.
In either case, is your organization prepared to embrace Gen Z's sixth sense? Is your technology infrastructure set up to accommodate how they communicate? How they collaborate? And how they prefer to conduct business every day?
Are You Ready for GenZ? 4 Key Characteristics to Consider
1. Mobility is a Must.
This should come as no surprise.
IDC predicts that by the end of 2020, three quarters of the total US Workforce will be mobile. Consider too that, according to online magazine Visual Capitalist, 98 percent of GenZers own a smart phone, and 50% are connected online for 10 hours a day.
Whether you’ve embraced the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) era, or currently struggling with managing your scattered workforce, a Unified Communications platform can help you manage an increasingly scattered workforce and respond to Gen Z key wants.
2. Technology Performance Matters.
Job performance is very important to Generation Z.
According to a survey conducted by Monster.com and global research firm TNS , 76% of Gen Z respondents described themselves as responsible for driving their own career. Meanwhile 58% said they’d be willing to work nights and weekends for higher pay. Compared with previous generations: Only 45% of Millennials said they’d put in more hours for more money, while for Gen X and baby boomers the percentage dropped to 40% or lower.
But what about YOUR technology performance?
Generation Z grew up during the most accelerated times for technological advancements, and have little patience for technology that drags. They expect work phones and laptops. They depend on instant access to information.
Are you still trudging through manual, inefficient, paper-based workflows? Is your technology hardware obsolete - from PCs to video conferencing capabilities to telephone systems? Do you own the capability to share and edit files seamlessly from any device?
3. Flexibility Matters, too.
For Generation Z (and Millennials alike), workplace flexibility is an employee benefit more important than healthcare coverage.
Flexible schedules, flexible locations: These digital natives are used to accessing information anywhere, any time, blurring the lines of what constitutes workplace and workday.
Considering and adapting to these work environment conditions is important. Of equal importance, however, is constructing a business and technology strategy that fully supports both infrastructure requirements (is the home Internet connection sufficient?) and employer expectations.
4. Collaboration Tools are Critical.
Indiana University recently released a new study that showed remote attendance through collaboration tools cut absenteeism by 50 percent and increased student satisfaction. This trend, almost certainly, will continue into the workplace.
Developing collaboration tools - video conferencing, content management, file sharing, texting, etc., and integrating them into your everyday workflows will help your organization adapt to GenZ mode of communication: One that is increasingly remote, and one that calls for increased flexibility.
Is your communication platform ready to attract and retain a Gen Z Workforce? Do you own the modern collaboration tools that these young professionals will be expecting as they enter the workplace? Time to consider a Communications Platform that translates better with Gen Z's sixth sense - technology?
