03 Aug Gen Z Service Agents : How to Attract and Retain The iGeneration
There are more Zoomers than Boomers in the workforce now. The World Economic Forum projected that by 2025 Gen Z will make up 27% of working people in the 38 OECD countries and one third of the world population. They are likely to become some of your customer service agents (and your customers). Are you prepared to meet their needs and retain the Gen Z service agents in your contact center?
What Gen Z Wants
Deloitte’s 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey is an international study across 44 countries that finds both generations favor career decisions based on their values. Work-life balance is the most important factor when choosing where to work. 73% of Gen Z employees specifically want permanent flexible work. Listening to your workers and finding a way to create such balance will be an important factor to attract and keep Gen Z service agents.
They also want jobs that reflect their values. Compared to other generations they are more stressed at work, according to Gallup. They want employers that support their mental health. Considering the impact that stress has on performance and job longevity, it’s good business sense to support worker well being.
How Gen Z Sees the Bigger Picture
It isn’t just about their immediate needs either. Zoomers want to build a positive future for themselves and beyond. Their concerns include environmental and financial issues with 51% indicating they live paycheck to paycheck. Many feel it will be harder or impossible for them to be homeowners or have a family.
They also place great importance on climate change. Over half of the respondents to the Deloitte survey research company policies and impact on the environment before taking a job. One in six said they switched jobs because of these concerns and about a quarter plan to. Where your company stands on such issues may impact the talent you attract.
Much of Gen Z recognizes that diversity is an important part of a company’s culture. This goes beyond the often recognized race, gender and sexual orientation to include neurodiversity. Awareness and discussions about these differences are increasing, and Gen Z is a big part of that change. If you want to engage these workers you’ll need to be able to have such discussions.
The Gen Z Influence Will Only Get Bigger
As stated by Edward Segal on Forbes: “The latest research underscores the growing influence of Gen Zers in the workplace and should remind business leaders they’ll have to contend with the challenges and issues unique to this segment of the labor market.”
With more and more members of this generation entering the workforce you will likely have more and more of them working with you. Understand their needs and show that you value their contribution to your business by creating an environment they want to work in. Give them the tools to succeed in their agent role.
CSAT.AI patented software not only provides automated quality assurance, but also notifies managers not only of customer sentiment but also agent abuse. This gives your team an opportunity to provide support for agents after difficult interactions and show practical investment in their well being. CSAT.AI acts as an ongoing training tool to enhance agent proficiency and so much more.