Training Gen Z In The Workplace

The workers of the (not-so-distant) future will look very different. Generation Z, just beginning to enter the workforce, has different outlooks on work, work culture, and work relationships.

 To say that younger generations are following in the footsteps of those before them would be a lie. These young workers and students grew up in a time of disruptive technologies and world-closing pandemics. Both are affecting how the younger generation handles and regards the workplace.

There is an important thing to note before going more in-depth: this change is not necessarily a bad thing. New technologies and world events always shake-up how the generation that experiences them interacts with the world, it’s inherent with an ever-evolving system. So, one might ask why does it matter?

Investing in Generation Z is important because:

• Within three years, they will be 27% of workers.¹
• They will be the biggest generation on earth.
• They disregard many of the traditional work culture.
• They are the most educated, but also most indebted generation.
• More likely to rebel against established leadership and unfair work culture.
• They are the most connected generation.

They Want More, Nontraditional Training

One of the biggest changes in the mentality of Generation Z is being skeptical of traditional, multi-year colleges and for good reason. According to educationdata.org, the average cost of private 4-year colleges has risen 124.2% in the last twenty years and this rising cost outpaces inflation by 171.5%.² This price increase, coupled with a growing lack of trust that college will make you more successful, means that a lot of Generation Z pursue other forms of education, including YouTube, uDemy³, or cheaper trade schools.

The want for alternative education is not surprising, especially when one considers that 63.89% of Generation Z want their workplace to value “adequate training” and the sense that the workers feel like they know what they are doing.⁴

Organizations Should Educate Their People from Within

The want for specific training means that organizations should focus on in-house training, instead of relying on theory from university and colleges. At first this approach seems costly but consider how much money and—maybe more importantly—time is spent on the process of looking, hiring, and on-boarding new people. However, to focus only on the money would be disregarding a bigger, more important cost.

What an organization pays for most in lacking these opportunities is moral. The cycling of employees without the exact skill specifications can, at best, be seen as a smart business move and, at worst, a validation that employees are expendable. Both will be damaging to the organization’s internal image, especially for a generation of worker unloyalty.

Disregarding those quitting (silent or otherwise) an organization as people who will just never be satisfied and searching for people who will be is a fool’s errand. A vast majority of workers—94% to be exact—say they would stay longer at a job if it invested in employee development.⁵ The relationship workers want is simple: they want to feel like their organization cares about them.

Do Not Hold Their Hand

Generation Z wants their skills to be fostered, not coddled. Like the generations that came before them, Generation Z has a lack of trust and confidence in the older generations. As such, they prefer to learn as they go and often without the help of those above them. An ideal environment would be having access to a plethora of resources and a platform that Generation Z workers have access to at any point.

An important note is that, while Generation Z likes independence, they still will often seek approval of those above them. 

It Is a Two-Way Street

If one invests in their people by giving them the skills they need (and allowing them to grow), the investment will pay off in the long run. ‘Up-skilled’ employees, or employees directly trained by their organization for marketable skills, reported an 80% boost in being more productive and confident.⁶ Of course, both things mean people will work more efficiently and independently.

Learning Management Systems: A Cost-Effective Solution

Generation Z demands more training and are more likely to rebel than previous generations. It is imperative for organizations to adapt their culture to Generation Z, much like how they did for Millennials, to get the most productive people possible. While the want for more education, specific training, and for it to be accessible anywhere seems like a big ask, CoreAchieve makes it cost effective and convenient implement this culture.

CoreAchieve is a learning management system for organizations, enterprises, and non-profits that can spur-on the change in company culture that Generation Z demands. The investment into an LMS is significantly cheaper than the lost hours of productivity or skill-fishing that avoiding these demands will lead to.

An LMS allows an organization to build for their employees’ growth, while giving much more control over the administration and quality of content. This increase of control also reflects in CoreAchieve’s pricing options. With CoreAchieve, one only pays for the number of active users, so if 40 employees took training, it will be cheaper than if 50 employees do. Furthermore, CoreAchieve has built-in reporting and analysis tool that gives quick access to trackable metrics, allowing an organization to scrutinize the effectiveness of their training. All of the training on CoreAchieve culminates in completion accreditation, so organizations can always know who completed what.

With popular trends such as the Great Resignation and quiet quitting, along with the wave of Generation Z, it is impetrative to begin investing into the longevity and culture of employees. By implementing the training Generation Z wants, organizations make themselves infinitely more attractive for Gen Z to invest into them.

1: https://www.axios.com/2022/06/23/what-gen-z-really-wants

2: https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-year#:~:text=The%20rising%20costs%20of%20college,130%25%20after%20adjusting%20for%20inflation

3:  https://www.similarweb.com/website/udemy.com/#demographics

4: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1338&context=senior_theses

5: https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report-2018?trk=lilblog_02-27-18_WLR-2018-launch-blog_tl&cid=70132000001AyziAAC

6: https://www.achievers.com/blog/upskilling-your-employees/#:~:text=%20Upskilling%20Employees%3A%20Top%2010%20Benefits%20%201,From%20one%20employee%20who%20suddenly%20quits...%20More%20