Recognizing Gen Z Employees: Building Authentic Connections in a Digital Workplace

The newest generation in the workforce, commonly referred to as Gen Z employees, were born between 1997 and 2012 and are currently aged 13-28. As such, those in their late teens or early 20’s have been entering the workforce in droves and currently outnumber those Baby Boomers who are still working. Although faced with a shrinking job market due to a 14 percent job displacement by automation and AI according to Socius, this new generation of workers brings a number of positive attributes to the workplace for those jobs that are available: fresh perspectives, new ideas and an ease in dealing with technology that can offer important value to your company.

These “digital natives” are the first generation to have grown up with daily interactions on technology such as smartphones and social media platforms with 94% of Gen Z currently uses social media, a majority over three hours a day. This makes them perfect candidates for helping to lead the ever-changing technology charge within your company. To balance this technology focus, Gen Z tends to look for more genuine, authentic work environments in which they expect work-life balance options, meaningful careers and professional development opportunities.

Many organizations are still catching up when it comes to effectively engaging and recognizing this emerging talent pool. For organizations to establish lasting connections with Gen Z employees, they need to understand their current job experiences and job expectations to identify the gaps in the workplace culture and recognition practices most desired by this generation.

What Gen Z Wants in a Job 

Gen Z employees crave more than just a paycheck. According to recent research by Deloitte and Pew Research Center, this generation places high value on:

• Purpose and impact: They want to work for companies that make a positive difference in the world and align with their personal values.
• Growth and development: Continuous learning, career advancement, and access to mentorship are crucial.
• Work-life balance: Flexibility, mental health support, and remote/hybrid options are top priorities.
• Inclusivity and diversity: They expect workplaces to be safe, equitable, and open to all identities.
• Authentic leadership: They look for transparent, empathetic managers who lead with integrity.

What Gen Z Is Currently Getting 

While Gen Z workers have specific workplace preferences, their actual experiences at work do not meet their expectations according to many reports. Common issues include:

• Generic recognition: Recognition methods such as plaques and certificates appear impersonal and archaic to many of these employees.
• Limited feedback: Gen Z workers frequently complain about receiving feedback only during negative events or not getting feedback often enough.
• Lack of mentorship: Many organizations do not offer structured mentorship programs, which can be informal such as assigning all new employees to a more senior employees when they start their jobs.
• Poor communication: Gen Z workers find leadership communication confusing because it often lacks relevance to their daily tasks.
• Minimal technology integration: Tech-savvy Gen Z employees frequently encounter workplace tools that function poorly or remain underused.

Ideas to Meet Gen Z’s Needs 

Organizations should implement specific strategies to establish a recognition and engagement culture that appeals to Gen Z workers, which fortunately does not require an expanded budget as much as it does greater understanding and awareness on the part of management, with corresponding changes in their behaviors with Gen Zers. Here are a few of the no-cost behaviors that any company can better focus on to get the best from this younger generation:

Personalize Recognition. Move beyond one-size-fits-all rewards. Honor Gen Z employees by creating recognition that mirrors their individual contributions along with their preferences and personal characteristics. This could include conducting team chat shout outs on platforms such as Zoom, Slack or Teams. Recognition can also be customized to include nominal experience-based gifts, paid time off, or contributions to meaningful charities—all low-cost forms of recognition that tend to be more valued by the younger generation.

Make Feedback Frequent and Two-Way. Develop a culture of ongoing feedback that extends recognition beyond just performance evaluations and allows managers to build personal relationships with younger employees. Implement real-time communication with structured check-ins to enable both parties to participate in conversations. Consider weekly 1-on-1 meetings, monthly career development chats, and quarterly “skip level” meetings.

Embrace Technology – Especially Mobile. Utilize mobile technologies to reach Gen Z employees who depend heavily on their phones for daily tasks and make recognition both accessible and engaging. Many incentive companies offer apps (often free) that can provide employees with the ability to give and receive recognition instantly, track recognition history, redeem rewards, and celebrate peers publicly in shared digital spaces. Mobile-based peer-to-peer recognition tools boost engagement while enabling Gen Z to participate in shaping team culture.

Highlight Purpose and Impact. Gen Z employees desire to understand the significance of their work contributions. When praising achievements always link positive feedback to organizational goals and values, progress towards key strategic objectives or the specific outcomes of employee contributions. For example, recognize achievements by emphasizing the benefits they deliver to customers or communities. Internal newsletters and town hall meetings should feature stories about employees who make impactful contributions.

Build Community Through Recognition. Employee recognition should operate as a fundamental strategy in developing teams. Try recognition “walls” on internal social platforms, “affinity groups,” or organize team appreciation and team-building activities at the completion of significant projects and milestones.

Provide Continuous Learning. Ninety percent of all development occurs on the job with the next work assignment or opportunity be on a new project or company task force. Find out your employees’ interests in growth and learning and integrate those preferences with the current and future work needs of your department. Employees who feel there is a plan for their development are more likely to stay where they are working and one study by Engage2Excel found there was a 19% differential between those that stay and those that leave a company in the response to the item “My manager takes a personal interest in my career.”

Encourage Leadership Visibility. Include regular recognition activities with company leaders, which can be informal in nature, such as a company-wide gathering, social activity or breakfast. An expression of gratitude from high-level management can deliver significant positive impact. Leadership should remain connected by using video messages together with spontaneous team callouts and spotlighted success stories.

Making an Authentic Connection 

If respected, encouraged, and involved, Gen Z employees can help lead the evolution of current workplace challenges. As Madeline Des Jardins, Global Senior Director of Internal Communications and Employee Engagement at WalkMe, a digital adoption platform, observes: “Gen Z is the least afraid of emerging technologies such as AI and more likely to use and integrate such technologies into their work. They can help to lead the way in adopting new technologies for the company.”

Organizations can revolutionize their interactions with this influential demographic by adopting personalized approaches that incorporate technology and purpose-driven strategies which cater to their distinctive needs and values. Leaders who utilize authentic leadership, meaningful feedback, mobile-first recognition and continuous learning to meet Gen Z employees’ expectations can transform encouragement into results and develop an environment where Gen Z can flourish.

Written by Dr. Bob Nelson.
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