How will you adapt your workforce to the following 5 facts?
Fact: By 2025, 27% of the global workforce will be made up of Gen Z workers, according to World Economic Forum. Similar percentages will occur in the meetings and events industry. Many of those young workers may not stay the course. Why? Because of outdated leadership, lack of positive culture and mismatched values amongst a lot of other rules and procedures embedded in tradition.
Does that scare you or challenge you?
Get ready for a very different generation that is 80% mindset and 20% strategy. Perry Marshall, an expert business strategist and author, popularized the rule that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. This generation will turn that axiom on its head with a focus on results rather than process. They will question your purpose and values, wonder why you are asking them to set up the booth your way and voice what matters to them.
If the experience they have at your event management company does not align with their values, expect them to exit. But employers beware because there may not be others waiting to take their spot at the registration table. This generation will likely move on to their dream job of becoming a solopreneur, starting their own company so they don’t have to confront the onslaught of toxic behaviors in the workplace that have left many disillusioned and questioning their career choices as event industry professionals.
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Fact: Expect Gen Z to come to an interview for a job as an events intern and ask you more questions than you ask them. There are two sides to every desk and they are coming to interview you about whether your culture aligns with their needs.
There will be no loyalty until the organization and those who lead it, show up with kindness, respect and communications that prioritize people first, according to the employee recognition software company Workhuman. They want flexibility, fair compensation, appreciation, feedback, challenges, growth and 4-day work weeks so that they can take advantage of life-work balance. Not the other way around.
Show me the money is past. Hustle culture is past. Do what I tell you to do is past. Leaders wielding their sticks are best to throw them out and listen to what this generation has to say because you may learn something you did not know before. These young professionals are smart, savvy and sensitive.
Fact: What this generation is concerned about is the planet, climate, human element, technology, digital content and AI, according to a Whitepaper from the HR platform Workday.
Gen Z is saying, “We want something different in our relationship with work, and it’s going to be built on more flexibility, choice, transparency and autonomy.”
Millennials are also buying into what brings them happiness, purpose and value. The hierarchical job for life that we boomers anticipated will not continue to be the norm. The more entrepreneurial mindset developing in the workforce comes with some attitude. Many start with the belief that they know more than their boss at the hotel. Supervisors might want to view this as an opportunity to learn from rather than call them out on things that do not matter in the overall scheme of business etiquette.
This generation isn’t afraid to push back a little bit, and then put their money where their mouth is and leave if they don’t feel heard. Staying close to your employees by keeping a pulse on their concerns, desires and plans can lead to less turnover.
For Gen Z, communication is critical for building trust. That includes answering a ton of questions.
Fact: Gen Z workers don’t view the promotional ladder as the Holy Grail. Gen Z wants to create their own bible of business ethics and teach you to think differently. They want to know: Can I take some time off? Do I move sideways before I move up? Am I compensated for extra hours worked on-site?
A company’s mission and vision must have purpose because that’s important to Gen Z as to whether they climb that mountain with you and the team.
Read More: Stop the Generational Stereotyping
Gen Z workers are chomping at the bit for some early leadership experience even if they change their mind when they realize what real people management means. Your job is to create a space for managing others that focuses on open, honest conversations. This is a time for sincere collaboration rather than the sabotaging and bullying of the leaders who have been there a very long time and who have yet to change their style of communication.
Fact: Trust cuts both ways. Is there anything Gen Z could be doing to build trust with employers?
If entry-level meeting planners demand open communication from their employer, they must be prepared to give it as well. That requires relationship-building with trust and safety and a caring culture—something not every organization has today.
Gen Z needs to learn to treat instruction as a gift. Mistakes are an opportunity to learn practical skill applications rather than relying on theories they may have learned at school.
Many still struggle with continuing childhood habits and what they saw their parents doing. Social anxiety is one of the most intimidating aspects that they face. The elder generation grew up thinking everyone wins, and that’s just not Gen Z’s reality.
For companies aiming to build trust, safety and human sustainability, the lesson is to offer real value. Getting it wrong might prove costly.
Just listen to the chatter on LinkedIn, TikTok and other social media platforms, you will get an earful about what is wrong with the new generation of employees. But make no mistake. They care about the topics that our leaders are closing their minds to—mandating psychological safety training, mental health, human trafficking, sustainability and climate change. These topics are taboo and continue to not be discussed in safe spaces like the conferences we attend. The sooner our leaders create conversations and training on these topics, the better our industry will be for it.
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Janice Cardinale Is the founder of Event Minds Matter, empowered by Club Ichi. She continues to mentor students graduating from Seneca Polytechnic in creative design and event management. She is a celebrated leader and continues her mission to bring psychological safety training to the event and meeting industry at large.
She champions and speaks on trust, safety and human sustainability in the event industry workplace. She has made great strides in spreading awareness and acceptance for people by prioritizing them. Find Janice at jc@cardinalecreative.com
