One thing is constant between the generations: older adults’ cynicism about the habits and behaviours of young people entering the workforce for the first time. This year, Gen Z is in the spotlight, criticized for their sensitivity, their distractibility, their dependence on shortcuts.
That criticism has some foundation. Two years of intermittent lockdowns robbed early career talents of their opportunity to observe and adopt the office etiquette that most of us take for granted. But while experienced colleagues adapted to working from kitchen tables or topping up office hours after the kids were in bed, Gen Z started their professional careers during some of the most tumultuous years in our history, and they took this completely within their stride. It’s this adaptability – this ease with new situations – that will be one of the most in-demand skills in the workplace in 2024.
Agility and curiosity
We are working in an environment that would have been unrecognizable just ten years ago. The way we interact in the workplace has completely changed. For example, in an international company like Centrient, business air travel used to be relatively commonplace. When the pandemic came, we learned to live without it through necessity. When the option to fly regularly was gone, we discovered that not only could we live without most business air travel, but we could also cut costs and reduce harmful emissions.
Or consider how recently it was normal to work exclusively on a desktop computer, which would make today’s hybrid working close to impossible.
Navigating change requires two important skills: agility, and curiosity. Agility, to quickly adapt to changes with minimal disruption. And curiosity, so we can anticipate change and absorb fresh ideas through asking what things are, how they work, and exploring what drives ourselves and others.
This is particularly true at Centrient. In a highly competitive, VUCA environment, we are continuously adjusting our plans to remain competitive and serve our customers. We must be ready to adopt new technologies and processes that can advance our way of operating, and we must do it faster than our competitors. Agility and curiosity are also important in our hiring practices. To attract people with the qualities we want, we are continuously listening to people’s needs and coming up with a proposition that reflects what we hear – whether it’s non-gender contingent parental leave, or flexible hours that demonstrate that agility goes both ways.
We’ve also adapted our onboarding process to be more aligned with Gen Z newcomers. New hires of all ages start with a digital “pre-onboarding” experience. As soon as they sign their contract, they have access to apps where they can discover what they need to know about the company, at their own speed and convenience. Gamified digital learning programs put career development at employees’ fingertips in a way that’s accessible and engaging, and with an added incentive of rewards and recognition. We are listening and modifying our approach year on year.
Looking forward
Of course, we cannot always hire for curiosity and agility: we have to embed them in our existing workforce. For older adults, that can present a challenge. Society values curiosity now, but that hasn’t always been the case. Many of us were brought up in an education system that favoured unquestioning compliance and preservation of the status quo. Asking questions, changing direction, and challenging authority were not welcome attributes. Now, this ability to challenge, to process, blend and remix ideas, are the very qualities we are looking for in our new hires.
Experience brings many advantages, but it can also blind us to possibilities. Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, “The light which experience gives is a lantern on the stern, which shines only on the waves behind us!”. That is to say; to move forward in the right direction, we should be focusing on the path ahead.
Outside in
Curiosity and agility are challenging to teach. This is partly because they are only now revealing their value, and partly because these skills are driven by mindset, and changing mindset is a highly personal endeavour. But I strongly believe we can make progress. At Centrient, we have mentoring programs in place to connect early career talent with Executive Committee members. Each of our senior leaders has at least two mentees who benefit from their guidance. This is a two-way exchange, and is cross-functional: for example, an HR leader can mentor a growing sales talent. This gives both parties a regular channel to hear a fresh perspective. As much as possible, we get employees out of their typical workday, participating in conferences and training in their field of expertise or beyond. For example, if we send two people to a training focused on Artificial Intelligence, we might send someone from Sales and someone from HR, to ensure a range of perspectives. And we also challenge employees to participate in speaking opportunities and educational programs with engineering and business schools who can bring the outside into our company.
There are many advantages of a multi-generational workforce. Older colleagues bring unique insights and experiences to their work. They have confidence, leadership skills and empathy, and that brings enormous richness and value to Centrient. By layering agility and curiosity on top of these skills and offering an environment that keeps people challenged and fulfilled, we set up our best team to manage the challenges of the dynamic years ahead.
