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Getting Gen Z up to speed in a Covid world

August 13, 2020

Onboarding new associates and getting them up to speed quickly can be a challenge at the best of times. Gen Z brings a whole new set of needs and expectations that must be met, and now delivered in the changed world now created by the pandemic. Getting workplace learning right while creating a highly-engaged cohort has never been more important – or more difficult.

Firms understand that workplace learning and development (L&D) is vital to nurturing and retaining highly valued talent. Yet firms will need to rethink their entire approach when it comes to growing and developing Gen Z associates.

Gen Z (born mid-1990s to early-2000s), are digital natives, having grown up with apps, instant messaging, and online services such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, Amazon, Instagram and Snapchat. As a result, their expectations revolve around, fast (think instant), consumer friendly, flexible, customisable, personalised, compelling, collaborative and engaging services.  This extends to how they expect to learn. Quite a challenge indeed.

What works well for Gen Z?

  • Learning that uses tech and embraces gamification appeals to Gen Z’s enjoyment of video games and employs the idea of competition to accelerate learning in the workplace. It also satisfies their expectation of instant communication and team-based games highlight the need for collaboration.

Gamification allows learners to test concepts in the safety of a game, and rewards participation as well as contribution, but it does have its detractors. Some say that it can prioritise winning over other objectives and gamification alone cannot meet the needs of a diversified firm. 

  • Immersive and responsive – tech is intrinsic to who Gen Zs are – it’s not an adjunct – and that applies equally in the workplace. Some firms have started to adopt mobile and social networks and others have even started to explore some of the more adventurous ed-tech tools available such as artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR), with a view to providing immersive learning experiences for their Gen Z people.
  • Social learning – which is essentially the continuous process of learning from colleagues, is a tried and true method in the traditional professional services firm setting. Face-to-face learning still works and is still necessary. In the more challenging Covid-19 world, this could be adapted to mean guiding associates to write blogs, conducting virtual coaching sessions, asking them to start and drive internal discussion forums or creating micro-videos or podcasts that feature colleagues providing expert advice. This content could be offered either as a live stream across a firm or as an “on demand” service, an approach which allows associates to take responsibility for their own learning journey while still leveraging the expertise around them. It can also be delivered “just in time” which works well for Gen Z who expect to access content exactly when they need it, and in bite-sized, easily digestible blocks.
  • Customised, micro learning – Micro learning is a series of bite sized sessions of learning content, packaged to be delivered during brief pockets of time; for instance, between tasks in busy working schedules. Each micro session is topic specific which meets the Gen Z need for just-in-time learning. Gen Z’s preferred device is mobiles and smartphones, so micro learning must reach them in the most natural way that they consume information ie on their phone. With that in mind, course content is designed to be succinct and easy to absorb, especially as Gen Z learners may lose interest and enthusiasm quickly. Micro learning uses highly interactive approaches and content formats such as video, quizzes and current affairs articles to engage the Gen Z learner. Micro and mobile learning can also introduce instant peer interaction and social learning between colleagues in a virtual world. In the professional services setting, micro learning lends itself especially well to the development of many soft skills.
  • One size will not fit all – Firms will need to draw together a number of threads to arrive at an engaging learning solution if they hope to retain Gen Z talent over the longer term. Firms that truly deliver a vibrant learning programme may find they have an important point of difference that can be showcased as part of their talent retention strategy.
  • Involve the Zs – the research indicates that Gen Zs will probably be less loyal and more prone to career changes than earlier generations. Inviting these young learners to be part of the design of any learning strategy seems to be a sensible approach to adopt.

L&D solutions for Gen Z will drive change for all – everyone’s lives are changing as a result of the pandemic and the firms that reflect those changes will be the firms more likely to succeed. The impact of the pandemic when combined with the influence of Gen Z is already placing pressure on firms to re-think the delivery of their development programmes across all levels. 

Accessing the right information needed for learning, at the right time, yet in different ways is the immediate L&D challenge and some significant re-thinking may be required if firms are to thrive in the new reality.

We would be delighted to hear your thoughts and continue the dialogue with you. We hope you’ve found this Insight to be constructive and thought-provoking. We share comments and ideas of a general nature, with the aim of helping firms contend with current challenges. As such, the content above is unlikely to be complete and comprehensive enough for a firm to re-imagine the future. Rather, it may be a beginning or a conversation starter, as each firm is different and the challenges each face are unique. If you would like to continue the conversation, then please connect with us for a confidential conversation at click here.

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Jennifer Milford

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Aubrey Rogers

Aubrey Rogers