What strategies can CFOs employ to help win the war for Gen Z talent?
Embrace Technology: Gen Z is a digitally savvy and they want employers to be the same. CFOs should make use of technology in recruitment, onboarding, training, and retention of Gen Z employees. Technology can also be used to create a flexible work environment that Gen Z want.
Also, give younger professionals a real understanding of what their career looks like. There is certainly a need and desire to show people what that looks like. A lot of the organizations that I do professional development training with do a financial leadership development program. They expose people to many different parts of the business. They're going to see the business and meet new people. When they're done with the program, they're really going to understand where they fit in and what the future looks like for them at the company. The goal is not to encourage young people to stay at the company for 25 years. It's to try to constantly engage them in different ways so that instead of exploring a new opportunity outside of the company, they might explore another opportunity outside of the group or business unit that they are in.
Alot of younger people want positions of visibility and leadership earlier on in their careers. They want to have an influence over the type of work they do, how they are mentored, and what the future of their business looks like. To empower and enable these individuals, organizations have created leadership cohorts among a select few of their peers, and they will have the responsibility for making decisions on behalf of the corporation that ultimately impacts them.
But from my experience, all the Gen Z talents in my org are hungry for more. But at the same time they seem to want to maximize the pay-to-pain ratio. Hence, one approach that worked is pay at par or better than market and at the same time give them meaningful experiences and flexibility, and create programs to drive simplification so most of their time is spent on less menial tasks.
They also have a better understanding of the possibilities outside their current org, so one way to keep them engaged is provide a view of what career options there are in the company and what technical and leadership capabilities are required for those roles.
I find these approaches effective in attracting Gen Z talent too.
Career advancement path is something Gen Z looks after and offering as much autonomy as possible.