Franki Hall runs Embrace Change, which works alongside leadership to prepare their employee engagement strategy for the future workforce. She is on a mission to knock down generational barriers and help create engaged, empowered, productive workforces where people and business can thrive.
Employment break-ups: It’s not me, it’s you.
Many spa business owners will recognise the heightened challenges of retaining employees in recent years. With the explosion of interconnectivity, recruitment websites and online discovery tools, attracting top talent to your spa requires a unique offering that makes you stand out amongst the competition.
You may also have experienced common challenges such as employees not performing to a standard you expect, employees not selling enough products to reach company targets, service not being delivered to a high enough standard and training investments not reflecting staff performance.
Sound familiar? The harsh reality. It’s not them, it’s you.
Generation Z grew up with a digitally dominated world manipulating their perceptions and decisions
Richard Branson said: “Look after your staff, and they’ll look after your customers, it’s that simple.”
And with Generation Z (born 1995-2010) in mind, this statement has never been more accurate.
Times have changed; we must move with them. Generation Z grew up with a digitally dominated world manipulating their perceptions and decisions. This has shaped dramatically heightened expectations of the workforce compared to those of previous generations.
The original motivations of Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers such as stability and benefits are not enough to meet the expectations of society’s younger generational mind-sets.
Generation Z are the most hyper-custom, adventurous, forward-thinking and digitally driven generation yet. They’re eager to work for companies that present meaningful roles and opportunities, fast career growth, supportive mentorship and a flexible working life.
The digital mindset is driven towards the fastest, most efficient and creative way to reach the goal in mind.
Although Gen Z demonstrate many traits that other generations might find frustrating (such as technology addictions, controversial attitudes or short attention span), the digital mindset is driven towards the fastest, most efficient and creative way to reach a goal. When applied to business, this is a characteristic could be an extremely valuable asset.
To attract, engage and retain staff in a world where loyalty to work is not served, meeting the demanding expectations of this future workforce is essential to sustain a competitive business.
To encourage staff to go above and beyond, first, leaders must:
- understand the mind-set of their people
- identity employees’ individual drivers for organisational success
- provide the tools their people need to excel.
The spa industry currently lacks many of the motivators of a Generation Z mindset
The spa industry currently lacks many of the motivators of a Generation Z mindset. However, if we begin to align the characteristics of employee expectation with workplace practice, we can maximise the engagement levels and performance of the entire organisation.
With an effective employee engagement strategy and with a corporate training and mentorship programme in place, Generation Z will become valuable assets to your organisation, as engaged brand ambassadors, enhancing business efficiency, retention, reputation and profitability.
