The A-Z of Hiring 2024-2030
Last week, the news was absolutely chocka with articles on Gen Z – and coming up soon, Gen A – and on this supposed ‘sick-note culture’, ‘so-called ‘lazy girl jobs’ and/or the fact that they are a generation that have basically checked out of work, with sky-high rates of younger people being unemployed, taking benefits, refusing to work jobs that aren’t to their absolute satisfaction or giving up on jobs because they get a papercut – this isn’t much of an exaggeration if you believe a lot of what you believe in the mainstream press!
Whilst it is true that both culture and attitudes have shifted hugely around work in the last decade, and particularly since the pandemic, the notion that younger generations have basically checked out of professional life all together is false and consistent with the tabloid need to whip up a kind of generational resentment and fear and negative press on young people.
However, I work across industries and with a huge number of companies and it IS reasonable to say that there are a lot of challenges finding, hiring, training and retaining new talent and as I ALWAYS advise them, it’s not necessarily harder in 2024 and beyond – it’s just different. And difference requires not only insight (keep reading), but a kind of nimbleness in how you approach working with new generations.
It also requires listening and empathy, something we’re in short supply of currently, because as you’ll see here, quite often the needs and the worries of young people going into work and the companies hiring them actually mirror each other.
So, to both address and tackle some of these challenges, worries and big questions, I’ve devised a kind of A-Z of some of the big banner issues of finding young talent, hiring talent, retaining talent and I’ve also tried to demystify some of the big questions surrounding different generations and the challenges facing everyone whatever your age.
Of course, this can only scratch the surface, so contact me for further insights, data, if you have any questions on any of the following on chloecombi.net – Part 2 out Monday.
Contact me here for further ideas, data and training: chloecombi.net/
Generation (A)
Generation A are the generation born between 2011-2021 and will be the kids subject to monumental changes in education and higher education, will be heavily shaped by AI, will be the generation that question everything including the very nature of truth and facts, and might well be the generation to forego the smartphone (https://chloecombi.substack.com/p/what-age-should-you-get-your-kid-a-smartphone). What is absolutely true, is companies waited too long to understand Generation Z and even millennials and this isn’t a mistake they should make with Generation A. They should already be thinking about these newbies and asking questions about the future of training, school to work pipelines, the role of higher education and how it’ll impact Generation A and what this workforce of the future will look like, act like, and most importantly, work like.
Bullying
Workplace bullying is a thing lots of young people entering the workplace worry about, and quite often the tone of social media – not least on places like LinkedIn and TikTok can exacerbate that fear. The thing is, lots of young people come into the workplace for the first time ever (see W for work experience) and they carry over the fear of school bullying into the workplace – particularly as they are the newbies again. So, every company should have clear-cut advice on how they tackle workplace bullying right from if it happens to how to deal with it. Moreover, workplace wellbeing should be addressed in training, so that new candidates know exactly which department deals with bullying and that it’ll be taking seriously – ie, the HR manager (if that’s the person to go to) is independent and unbiased.
(Bonus) B – Bring Your Whole Self to Work.
I’m going to do a whole video next week on this message and culture but wanted to take a moment to say just no– this ‘bring your whole self to work’ circulated by lots of companies was trialled with the best of intentions and has been an unmitigated disaster in how much it’s given the wrong message to new, inexperienced candidates. The workplace isn’t the place to bring your bar, mates or gym self to work and it’s not surprising the BYWSW has caused so many problems in the workplace. We need to really push an alternative and much less problematic, ‘bring your work self to work’ ethos when communicating with new, young candidates.
Career Advice
The nature of careers advice has never been good for millions of young people, amounting to a half an hour session in a dusty library at school with an out of touch careers advisor. See (School to Work pipeline), but if companies want to secure the best future workforce, they need to take careers advice more seriously – and take more responsibility for it. This means, companies need to be much better at getting their message, what it is they do, and most importantly what they want from candidates at a school level, reaching out to a future workforce when they are in school, and not when they are ready to graduate. If school access and reaching out to schools seems daunting – it doesn’t have to be…
Get in touch, and I can advise you how – chloecombi.net
Discussions (In the workplace)
This is a tricky one, and one that’s becoming more problematic across the world, as people become more entrenched in their political and cultural silos. And this is related to ‘bringing your whole self to work’ but is the workplace the best backdrop for discussions on Gaza, gender, sex or which Beyonce is the best Beyonce? This ultimately is something for individual companies to decide, and there is a limit to what you can tell people to talk about in the tearoom, but what companies can do in training is tackle sensitivity and workplace appropriateness. My belief is, adults should be able to discuss issues, but workplace is not the bar and whilst it might be appropriate to have a political or social row in a bar and tell your friend why everything they think on an issue is wrong, the workplace is not the time or place.
Equality
In world where ‘equality’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’ are huge buzzwords and many companies are at pains to suggest they centre both as priorities, how do you square the circle with organisations that are at root hierarchical? Companies can’t shy away from the fact there are tiers of seniority in any company, but something that is effective – particularly see O for Office Culture – in building Office Culture – is team-building days, where all tiers come together to share skills and ideas. If the youngest recruits feel like they are seen and their ideas are getting heard by those on top, this is massive for building motivation and creating a culture of retention in a young workforce – another big challenge facing every company and industry in today’s market.
Fired (Getting)
Look, getting fired happens. It’s also – despite what TikTok would have audiences believe – not very common. But nonetheless, dismissals and the procedure that surrounds them need to be clear, transparent and fair. Getting fired or dismissed is surrounded in a kind of toxic mystique and like anything there’s a good and a bad way to do it. Dismissal or firing procedures often get tangled up with Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), so for the love of all that is good, please make your grounds for sanctions and dismissal crystal clear from the get-go!
Generational Skill Sharing
This is one of the most important assets for any company to strive for. It is often presented as a negative, but the notion that a company might have four or even five generations working concurrently should absolutely be viewed as an asset. What Generation Z and soon Gen A can bring to the table professionally should be as valuable to millennial, Gen X and Boomer employees, as what younger employees can learn from those who came of age professionally in the ‘80’s, 90’s and noughties.
Of course, there is a real art and science to maximising generational skill-sharing, so take a look at X and Z or drop me a line, this is something I help a lot of companies with!
HR
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently right now, is what is the role of HR in 2024? Once upon a time, it was to hire people and greenlight time off, but now the role of HR has become infinitely more complex, as HR is required to grapple with employees’ mental health, incredibly complex DEI questions, understanding everyone’s individual needs from neurodiversity to navigating thorny office politics. So, the big question is, what is the role of HR and what should they have to deal with, what is beyond their remit, and does there need to be an entirely new department to deal with the personal and psychological demands of workforces? A lot of this can be resolved in very clear and comprehensive initial and ongoing training, so every individual has a clear idea of what is expected of them from the get-go, but for further ideas on training, writing manuals and the new expectations of HR managers, I’m working with lots of you – drop me a line at my website or message me here!
Imposter Syndrome
Like DEI, Imposter Syndrome is one of those buzz-terms that’s suddenly everywhere and frequently touted by A-List stars and university students the world over. In truncated terms, Imposter Syndrome is the constant sense that you are faking it, and you don’t belong where you are, particularly in professional settings. It is my view that Imposter Syndrome can be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy and the more we talk about it, the more people suffer from it. But that’s not to say Imposter Syndrome isn’t very real, and something suffered by people of all generations. I think the key to keeping IS at bay at work is lots of communication and frequent training. Imposter Syndrome tends to raise its head when people feel isolated and unsure of what they are doing. Cross-generational and cross-managerial communication and skill-sharing are absolutely critical because when everyone feels on the same page and like they are working to the same agenda, those panicky feelings of ‘what am I doing here?’ and ‘can I do this job?’ tend to come up far less frequently.
Jacket (and Tie)
This is a tricky one, and an issue that has been made even more relevant since the pandemic – what should we wear to work? Once upon a time a million years ago, this was easy. Suits for the men, dresses and heels for the women. Smart hair, makeup, clean shaven and absolutely no tattoos. Of course, now, it’s a very different world, and every office and industry has different ideas about office dress codes, with, for example, the tech industry being notoriously laissez-fair about what people wear (*see Notorious Tech Boob Man) and the finance industry being more traditional. What I think is crucial in dress codes are three things. One: clarity. If you have a dress code, be clear about it in training or the manual and ensure all new recruits are aware of it. Two: Fairness: you cannot in 2024, ask, for example, women to wear makeup and heels if you don’t require this from the men. Three: Practicality: Does your dress code suit the job? One of the key attractions of WFH is the lack of dress code, so if you want to rebuild an office culture, creating a dress code that suits the tattoo-covered and the three-piece suit enthusiasts is critical.
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But no, I don’t think asking employees to wear clean clothes without holes in them is unreasonable at all.
Keeping the Camera On.
This is a big question in our WFH age and one worth being clear about. There are lots of people for numerous reasons, and some very legitimate who have issues with being on camera in meetings and even in interviews and client meetings. The trouble with this is in many situations, particularly in an WFH environment, human contact and interaction can be essential. So, what’s the best policy for when you work with those who are camera shy? The key is, you guessed it, clarity. There needs to be absolute clarity in hiring and training what the expectations are on this and why. For example, in a quick team meeting, there is a reasonable argument that cameras aren’t necessary, but when interviewing or meeting clients and human interaction is paramount, if cameras are non-negotiable, this must be understood on the point of signing contract.
If there is a good reason why someone can’t turn on a camera it’s super important this is honestly discussed and clarified between employee and employer and an arrangement can be reached that works for all – but not just before or during and important meeting!
Lip Service
We live in an age where companies like to wear their values on their sleeve and whether it’s women’s rights, Black History, LBTQ+ visibility, disability rights etc. lots of companies like people to know they are supporters of said rights. Which is great if they actually do.
Where lots of companies come undone is when they pay lip service to a cause on the banner day or month, for example International Women’s Day or Black History Month, and then it transpires they don’t pay women equally or they have no people of colour on their Board. What’s critical is, companies walk it like they talk it, and practice equality from bottom to top (and that includes senior positions), transparency and fair hiring practices for all, 365 days of the year.
And no, making a day pink for women one day of the year or putting an LGBTQ+ flag on your Instagram page for a month doesn’t make you fair, it makes you a fraud, unless you are practicing equality in every part of your company.
Millennials
Those born between 1982 and 1997 were once the fresh-faced new kids on the block, but no more. That’s now Generation Z and even Generation A, who will soon be entering the workplace (see Z and A). Millennials are at an interesting time in their lives because statistically, this is an age where you are often trying to cement your own career path and might be chasing promotions and partnerships and might have the added weight of young children/families that makes returning to the office a challenge.
Quite often, millennials are paired with fresh Gen Z recruits in a kind of buddying or mentoring capacity, and also quite often, this is a catastrophic pairing, as their needs are incompatible and in direct conflict with each other. What I’ve often found is the newest recruits buddy up much better with Gen X employees, who can often be more empathic of the needs of Gen Z, whilst millennial workers have a different set of needs to juggle.
The bottom line is, if you are thoughtful about what every person is going through outside the office, they will fare much better in the office and millennials need consideration too!
Part 2 out Monday.