Recommendations for Employers Looking to Hire Generation Z
During the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Future Ready DSM podcast, guests share insights about the employment landscape for people entering the workforce, as well as those looking to advance or change their career paths with The Partnership’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Dr. Marvin DeJear.
Casey Welch, co-founder and COO of Tallo, joined the Future Ready DSM podcast to discuss how Generation Z, or Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, can find opportunities — from internships to jobs to scholarships — in Greater Des Moines (DSM). Welch emphasizes how Tallo connects job seekers with opportunities to find the right career fit. He said Gen Z prioritizes three things: skills, the location of opportunities and the ability to live the lifestyle you want to live and offered additional insight into how employers can attract and retain this next generation of employees.
While Tallo is a national company, the business strives to work locally to help regions like DSM cultivate and retain talent. Even during the pandemic, Tallo focused on connecting talent to opportunities and that will remain constant into the future. The company works to leverage their talent database by engaging with members of Gen Z, sharing their insight into the cohort with employers and building effective strategies for employers to move forward in finding the right candidates for jobs. Tallo has found that Gen Z’s workplace priorities include:
Specifically, for DEI in the workplace, Tallo found that among Gen Z:
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77% want diverse leadership
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74% want diverse employees
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70% want women in leadership
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67% want a collaborative environment
Recommendations for Employers
Welch said that employers need to understand how Gen Z wants to connect. Many in this population want to understand a company prior to joining it. Potential employees also want to connect with employers through email and professional sites as opposed to personal social media sites. He also highlighted three factors that will motivate Gen Z to take a job. These were:
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Salary
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Meaningful Work
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Work-Life Balance
Welch suggested thinking about connecting early and often. Seventy percent of potential employees decide on future employers they are interested in during their later high school and early college years. Welch said that people aren’t waiting until their senior year of college to decide where they’d like to work. When it comes to retaining talent, employers need to invest in rescaling, upscaling and learning development programs. Potential employees want employers to invest in them as well as invest in the company. Gen Z expects their first job to last two to three times longer than the Millennial population.
The Greater Des Moines Partnership will host DSM Career Launch: IT + Technology, in collaboration with Tallo, on Thursday, Oct. 14 from 9 to 11 a.m. This virtual event is part of an ongoing career exploration series for high school students that provides insights into industry sectors and local employers.
The Future Ready DSM podcast brings Greater Des Moines (DSM) employment leaders and experts in to discuss the latest trends in talent attraction and retention in the region. Hosted by Greater Des Moines Partnership Senior Vice President of Talent Development Dr. Marvin DeJear.
Future Ready DSM
The Future Ready DSM Podcast brings Greater Des Moines (DSM) employment leaders and experts in to discuss the latest trends in talent attraction and retention in the region.