Why Kiwi businesses need to stop ignoring young people - Kendall Langston

What’s the secret to keeping Gen Z happy? Kendall Langston has an answer. Photo / 123RF

Kendall Langston is a former New Zealand Army Lieutenant Colonel and chief executive who co-founded the strategic implementation advisory firm, Pivot and Pace.

OPINION

The World Economic Forum is forecasting the global talent shortage could reach 85 million workers by 2030 and cause about $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual revenue.

That may be years away, but the situation’s already causing pinch points in businesses across New Zealand.

This year’s Trade Me Jobs’ Employer Survey shows 95 per cent of employers are planning on hiring one or more staff but only 26 per cent were able to fill their roles. In fact, ‘finding good quality candidates’ has been listed as the biggest hiring challenge by the survey’s respondents for the last three years.

But maybe we need to change our idea of what ‘talent’ is.

Statistics NZ’s most recent labour market figures show that over the last 12 months the number of people under-used (either unemployed or not employed at their full capacity) has grown by 75,000 - more than half of those (41,400) are aged between 15 and 24.

In total, there are more than 158,000 young people around New Zealand who have capacity to work and they present an enormous opportunity for businesses who are prepared to shift their mindset and overcome the generational gap.

In my experience, business leaders often shy away from hiring young people as they don’t know how to lead them.

It’s understandable that, for busy business owners, the appetite to teach a young recruit basic work habits is about as desirable as a root canal without pain relief. But if you want to bridge the skills gap and make sure you don’t miss out on revenue, this mindset needs to change.

Instead of fixating on the lack of skills or the risk hiring a young person brings, invest in your own leadership capabilities. Having the knowledge and skills to lead young people will bring many benefits.

Investing in youth

Many young people have an inbuilt optimism and energy that can boost culture – helping to lift productivity and morale. They are more agile when it comes to problem- solving and have natural instincts around tech tools and apps. They are also purpose- driven. They want to work for an organisation that is making an impact and for a leader who inspires them.

Business leaders can be too quick to fob off the younger generation – even when they are desperate for staff. The reality is the majority of New Zealand businesses will be dependent on them – if not now, in the future. Businesses simply need to improve their ability to lead this new generation.

So what’s the secret to keeping Gen Z happy? A clear values-based culture.

This should be underpinned by:

• A strong onboarding process that makes expectations clear to all new recruits and shows them how to meet those standards.
• Clear career development pathways – show them they have a future in your company and their hard work will be rewarded.
• A clear purpose – young people want to know what they’re working towards and that they’re making a difference.

Above all, respect that young people have a clear desire to have work life balance. That means you need to give up the grizzles of ‘not in my day’ and admire the fact that, on that point – younger generations are wiser than we were.