How Are Your New Recruits?
It's that time of year again.
The September intake has arrived, fresh-faced and eager, ready to make their mark on your organisation.
But as autumn settles in, how are your new young professionals really doing? And how are you doing with them?
These days it is not as easy to know.
As I argue in my book The Snowflake Myth, the disconnect between Generation X and older generations, Generation Z is wider than it should be, and it's playing out in workplaces across the country.
Does your organisation understand your version of that disconnect and what that means for recruiting and retaining Gen Z talent?
Here's 4 aspects to consider.
The Snowflake Myth is available again for pre-order. Only 99p for the ebook edition!
1. Debunking the myths
As a leadership speaker who works extensively with organisations, I consistently encounter the same myths about Gen Z employees: they're lazy, they lack work ethic and so on.
Yet my research and experience tells a completely different story.
These myths aren't just wrong – they're actively damaging your ability to recruit and retain talented young people.
When your managers approach new Gen Z recruits with preconceptions about their laziness or fragility, they create self-fulfilling prophecies that undermine performance.
I will add my usual rider that the differences within generations are far bigger than those between, but the reality is that Gen Z has achieved outstanding academic outcomes and demonstrates remarkable resilience in navigating an uncertain world.
Organisations that succeed with Gen Z recruitment are those that actively challenge these stereotypes. They create space for them to demonstrate their actual capabilities rather than defending against false perceptions.
2. Understanding feedback expectations in the digital age
Your new Gen Z recruits have grown up in an age of endless, continuous feedback.
They've had access to constant, automated feedback from social media engagement, online learning platforms, fitness apps, and gaming systems.
This isn't about neediness – it's about having learned that regular feedback accelerates improvement and prevents small issues becoming major problems.
When they ask managers "how am I doing?" in corridor conversations or send emails requesting performance updates, they're applying successful learning strategies from their educational experience.
This is quite a contrast with the traditional annual appraisal system.
Organisations that implement regular check-ins, provide specific (and actionable) feedback, and create multiple pathways for performance discussions should expect to see an improvement in their retention rates among Gen Z employees.
This doesn't mean abandoning performance management standards – it means delivering those standards through communication styles that resonate with how this generation has learned to excel.
3. Leverage their collaborative strengths
One of the most misunderstood Gen Z characteristics is their expectation of collaboration.
Strictly hierarchical structures can get in the way too often. Flattening out the culture can also open it up.
This generation has extensive experience working collaboratively throughout their education, using digital platforms to coordinate group projects, share resources, and solve problems collectively.
When they arrive in workplaces that don't value collaboration, they tend to find it genuinely puzzling.
This isn't about being unable to work independently – it's about recognizing that collaborative approaches often produce better outcomes more efficiently.
Your multigenerational workplace benefits enormously when you create structured opportunities for intergenerational knowledge sharing.
Gen Z employees bring fresh perspectives on process innovation, customer experience, and technological solutions - and many of them will be solving these problems themselves in their side hustles.
The magic happens when you deliberately combine these strengths through cross-generational project teams, reverse mentoring programs, and collaborative problem-solving initiatives that value different types of expertise.
4. Authentic leadership that resonates
It’s becoming an overused word.
What’s more, you are not the best judge of your own authenticity.
If you feel a slight edge of discomfort in how you lead, that you just might be going that ‘bit-too-far’ then you are probably in the right place.
The buzzwords, company and industry jargon…it can all fall so flat.
Social media has changed our culture.
Gen Z responds exceptionally well to leaders who demonstrate authenticity, admit when they don't know something, and seek input before making decisions.
Their filtering skills are unbelievably good. They can quickly identify leaders who say one thing publicly while operating differently behind closed doors.
This doesn't mean they expect leaders to be friends rather than managers – they expect leaders to be genuine about expectations, transparent about challenges, and consistent in their decision-making approaches.
They want to understand the "why" behind initiatives, not just receive instructions about the "what" and "when."
Organisations that develop leaders who can communicate authentically across generational lines, who create psychological safety for questions and challenges and who demonstrate genuine investment in employee success will have retention rates that are the envy of their competitors.
Remember that:
Onboarding is a particularly vulnerable time. It is not a subset of probation either, it is where you prove yourself as a good employer not them as a good employee.
Age diversity is a considerable asset if you choose to use it. You still need a workplace that works for everyone, but that cannot be one which works for everyone other than your new recruits.
Multi-generational workplace issues in the news this week
1. Job vacancies fall
Now THIRTY SEVEN months in a row - as shown by the ONS
The truth is we are back to pre-pandemic levels, and still above post Global Financial Crash levels.
The point I’m making is that if any organisation is still struggling to recruit as it was a couple of years ago - there’s a need to check the strategy.
2. Birth rates are still falling
The fall continues - and has halved in 60 years.
It is no surprise - Gen Z cannot afford children as was previously the case.
It is not just about cost of course, but if older generations want their health, social care and pensions to be funded by younger taxpayers there will not be enough to make it happen at current levels.
3. ‘Gen Z doesn’t know what a day’s work is’
Says a sausage maker.
It is what it is.
I had to find a more frivolous story somewhere!
How can I help you?
1. Talks, workshops and seminars - I am an award-winning speaker. My talks recruiting and retaining Gen Z, understanding Gen Z, overcoming the challenges of the multigenerational workplace plus those relevant to the topics below. Speaker showreel here.
2. My book The Snowflake Myth will be published in September 2025 - to receive a free chapter please click here. The ebook is now available at the special pre-order price of 99p - 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.
