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When it comes to talent acquisition, a particular concern of business leaders in the Nordic countries is how they can attract and retain Gen Z. Compared to the previous generations, Gen Z has unique challenges, characteristics, and opportunities, which sets it apart from its predecessors.
Knowing and understanding Gen Z’s preferences and aspirations is crucial for Nordic companies’ talent acquisition as these young people continue to join the workforce. Before analysing further the factors companies hiring Gen Z should consider, let’s take a look at who belongs to this generation.
Gen Z – Who Belongs to It?
Gen Z, also called Zoomers and Generation Z, refers to the people born between 1997 and 2012.
This generation has grown up experiencing multiple transformative forces, starting from the internet’s hyper-connectivity to the climate crisis, a racial reckoning, political gridlock, a global pandemic, and the rise of AI (artificial intelligence).
Despite being tech-savvy for having grown up entirely in the digital age, Gen Z focuses on building meaningful connections and demands a recruitment process that blends digital with a human-centric approach.
Additionally, this generation focuses on being highly competitive and career-minded but aspiring a work-life balance too. Gen Z favours innovation, transparency in communication, collaborative work, DE&I, and continuous learning and growth opportunities.
Understanding how several factors have affected Gen Z’s character traits, which are reflected in their behaviours, attitudes, and expectations is vital to know for Nordic business leaders and their talent acquisition teams.
Such knowledge will help them fine-tune their Gen Z hiring processes to help attract the top talent and retain them.
Gen Z Hiring – Top 3 Factors to Consider
1. Provide Work Flexibility, Stability, and Growth Opportunities
Gen Z prefers flexible working hours to work at a self-directed pace without micro-management. Companies that fail to fulfil these demands may find their Gen Z employees moonlighting or even rage applying (sending resumes to multiple companies simultaneously).
Doing meaningful work and having purpose-driven roles that align with their values are equally vital to Gen Z. Since these people prioritise work-life balance, having flexible work options like remote work, flex hours, hybrid work, or a four-day workweek are things that can play a decisive role in their acceptance of a job offer.
Financial stability is one of the key priorities of Gen Z as the generation has grown up in a recession and experienced their parents’ struggle. Since financial worries are a significant concern for these young people, in addition to the aspiration of maintaining a particular standard of life, they prefer Nordic companies where stability at work is on offer.
Having a fulfilling work profile and financial stability are both related to career growth opportunities. From developing new skills and brushing up on the existing ones to growing in a role and benefitting from mentoring programs, Gen Z have their eyes firmly set on adequate career progression and growth opportunities. Offering these can help tempt them to accept job offers from Nordic companies.
2. Competitive Salary and Employee Benefits
For Gen Z, a competitive salary that meets or exceeds the market value of a specific position is of particular interest.
It will be wise to mention the salary a particular role pays with transparency in the job description instead of using terms like “salary based on profile,” as the latter can be a big turn-off since it indicates the payment is subjective.
It’s important to remember that salary alone won’t help much as these young people consider benefits too when deciding to accept one job offer over another.
Flexible work arrangements, work-life balance, resources for managing emotional health, and continuous learning, professional development, and growth opportunities are key non-financial benefits Gen Z looks for.
By tailoring their recruitment approach and proposing benefits that align with the needs and preferences of Gen Z, Nordic companies can attract and entice these people into accepting their job offers.
3. Commitment to DE&I
According to ManpowerGroup’s 2023 workforce trends report titled “The New Human Age,” 56% of Gen Z said they would refuse a job without diverse leadership, while 68% opined their employer is falling short of doing enough to create a more diverse workplace.
This generation is more socially aware than its predecessors and values companies prioritising DEI as workplaces they will prefer to be a part of. Business leaders can ensure their branding materials and job descriptions mention their commitment to DEI in the workplace, in addition to making their hiring processes aligned with the approach.
By being authentic about their DEI approach and initiatives and making candidates understand what the company’s initiatives, progress, and expectations related to it are, attracting and retaining Gen Z would become a bit easier.
Final Words
Your Nordic company’s Gen Z hiring approach should focus on providing meaningful work with flexibility, stability, and growth opportunities, along with offering competitive salaries and benefits and a transparent commitment to DE&I.
Highlighting your company’s culture and values, commitment to environment-friendly initiatives, and gathering and acting on feedback from your Gen Z workforce are other factors to consider.
Having a supportive management style that prioritises employee well-being, work-life balance, and job satisfaction is equally crucial to attract these young people into accepting to work for your Nordic company.
If you need help attracting Gen Z into your company, contact us at InHunt World today!
This article was written by InHunt World