Gen Z Solutions 1: Be Clear, Be Thorough
‘The companies that have the worst reputations do not develop them because they are rotten. It happens because they sell you a dream that's completely false’.
Gen Zer
This is the first of five blogs about solutions to recruit and retain the best of Gen Z, the youngest generation in the workplace.
As of June 2025 the recruitment element may not seem so difficult.
The job market is beyond awful for those entering it.
Stories of young would be professionals applying for hundreds, and occasionally over a thousand jobs, are now commonplace.
Yet still I speak to employers who cannot find the calibre they are looking for.
What do organisations need to consider? Here’s four things to consider.
1. Clarity & Detail
If you want to recruit the best (then retain and motivate them) you need to be ultra-clear.
You also need to ensure that all the detail anyone may ever wish to see (or at least to know it exists in an accessible format) is available.
Collectively clarity and detail generate transparency, and that is the starting point for trust.
The distance between know, like and trust is further for Gen Z. They have many good reasons to be suspicious. They include inheriting a very poor set of financial circumstances, alongside responsibility for resolving enormously expensive issues around an ageing population and climate change. Like everyone else they are bombarded by content of all forms, and filtering out what is not useful, truthful or interesting absorbs a lot of energy.
As an organisation you cannot resolve the former (although you can contribute, more on that in the next solutions blog) but you can help your own case with the latter.
And as I keep saying to leaders, the most able Gen Zs are looking for organisations who get this right. It may be difficult to cut through and get attention amongst the noise, but I would not advise anyone to adopt a starting point of compromising on quality.
On the contrary, Gen Zs are looking for ambitious organisations who know what they are about and seek high-calibre candidates. All those coming out of university with first-class degrees did not put in the work to achieve them only to end up with an employer happy to get what they could.
2. Clear and detailed about what?
If you think an employee should know it, or a potential one might be interested - then make it available.
If you have to be asked you are already creating an unwelcome air of ambiguity.
No one wants to have to wade through an enormous pile of documentation, but they do need to know that they can find it.
Then there is the material you will send prospective candidates. It needs to be quickly and easily digested, preferably look as though it has gone through various versions or used AI to trim the word count.
High quality presentation also aids quality. Times New Roman font size 11 on a purely white background (yawn) is a start, but is hardly setting the world alight.
More importantly, if something is really important, then slide decks and videos can go a long way.
Go back through the small print, what needs to be in the big print instead? Everyone understands the need for a little legalese, but not if it conceals something which should be front and centre.
If in doubt, spell it out!
Examples include:
Job description
Person specification
Hours of work
Flexibility, and the degree to which it may vary
Arrangements for leave
Benefits and perks
Training opportunities
Appraisal & feedback
Line management arrangements
Workplace culture
How employees can feedback
Last but not least…what the purpose of the work is
Hang on I hear you say…we do all of this already!
And you may well, the point is how well and to what extent?
It may feel clear and sufficiently detailed to you, but it may well not to prospective Gen Zs.
Take person specifications for example.
When was the last time you revised it properly?
How many aspects are tested as part of recruitment?
How does it connect to the appraisal process?
Does everything within it really REALLY matter?
If a candidate is short in some areas (and who isn’t?) what resources are on hand to support them in addressing it?
Or line management?
How often will you actually have a sit down meeting with your manager?
How does the relationship best work for both sides?
What could day to day interactions look like?
What should you go to them for, and what should go to others?
What relationship, or not, will you have with your manager’s manager?
Assume nothing. Avoid polish. Authenticity is always better than sheen.
3. Resources
Gen Z’s education has taught them that the resources on offer to help with their revision are vast and available in any format they choose. A step-by-step guide is instantly there for everything, and it will assume no prior knowledge. Furthermore, it will cross-reference and link to anything which could possibly be of use to anyone.
Video has a further advantage in this day and age, in that it conveys a greater degree of authenticity. Anyone can piece words together and make a claim. The same can apply to video too of course, but it is harder to do so. Video testimonials from your current employees on your website will add a lot more credibility than an image and a grab quote.
Make sure your documentation is crystal clear and is what you really want in each component part. If you need employees to undertake tasks for which they may not be best suited or could be automated elsewhere, explain why. Gen Z understands the need for efficiency, so if something on face value presents as inefficient be clear on the value you see it adds.
4. Quality Control
Ultimately the quality and nature of your documentation forms a window through which you will be seen and judged. Churning out the same versions year after year will only be to your detriment.
Version control is the kind of phrase which comes more naturally to Gen Z than many of their elders. They understand the value and the attention to detail it implies.
Gen Z needs to see that you take and act upon feedback from your employees, not least because they assume you want to improve as an organisation. And if you don’t, why would they stay?
Demonstrating that you prioritise thinking the detail through has one other major advantage. It gives the impression you are more likely to survive whenever the next economic crisis/pandemic/constitutional crisis hits. GenZs know well about the unpredictability of life and value those who think ahead.
Remember that
Do not just rely on your own instincts. Get as much feedback as you can from the Gen Zs you already have on the payroll. They will tell you the extent to which you really were clear or thorough.
Fewer Gen Z had work experience at school than previous generations. They may have been earning previously, but often not in a physical workplace. They may be entering your organisation without the reference points you expect.
How can I help you?
1. Talks, workshops and seminars - including managing topics relevant to the areas below plus explaining Gen Z to Gen X and dealing with the multigenerational workplace. I’m a finalist in the 2025 Speaker Awards. Speaker showreel here.
2. My book The Snowflake Myth will be published in September 2025 - to receive a free chapter (when available 😬) please click here.
3. One to one coaching programmes for senior leaders who are swamped by their jobs so they can thrive in life. Click here to discover where you are on your journey from Frantic to Fulfilled? Just 5 minutes of your time and you will receive a full personalised report with guidance on your next steps.
4. Team coaching programmes - working IN a team is not the same as working AS a team and yet they are often treated as if they are the same. I help teams move from the former to the latter, and generate huge shifts in productivity and outcomes.
