ATREVIA celebrated a new edition of ATREVIA People Forum under the title “Generation Z: the new collaborators and their coexistence with other generations” which analyzed the key aspects to define and analyze Generation Z, the cohort of young people born between 1994 and 2009 that conforms to this new type of collaborator in the business environment.
The ATREVIA People Forum held the participation of Isabel Lara, vice-president of ATREVIA and Iñaki Ortega, lecturer and director of Deusto Business School in Madrid. They spoke to us on how to manage the talent of these new collaborators. ATREVIA, together with Deusto Business School recently published the report Generation Z: The latest generational gap. It defines the distinguishing characteristics of the new Generation Z, a new worker, consumer and citizen model that will mark the immediate future of companies and also society as a whole.
During the ATREVIA People Forum, Isabel Lara highlighted that “the young people of Generation Z are natural entrepreneurs and are accustomed to immediacy. They have grown up with the Internet and economic crisis so they are aware that they will not have a job for their whole life. They are very worried about growing professionally, they demand flexible labor environments that facilitate conciliation and support creativity. This is why companies should know how to adapt themselves to Generation Z, if only to capture this talent and incorporate it to our organizations.”
Iñaki Ortega, for his part added that “what differentiates Generation Z is not only their desire to change things, but also technology and the language that they dominate. The Young Z’s are used to finding solutions instantly, being self-educated and decisive. This is why the way of working is being completely reinvented in all sectors. Organizations have the challenge to incorporate the talent of new generations to our teams because only together we will build a successful team.”
Are organizations prepared for these new consumers and workers? This topic was debated during the ATREVIA People Forum “Generation Z: the new collaborators and their coexistence with other generations”. Among the Young Z’s worries include not being able to find a job according to their personality, not having opportunities of professional growth or not reaching the goals in their careers. Additionally, their preference for independence within the labor environment has brought many professionals to become entrepreneurs even before having their first job. 55% of 50,000 adolescents surveyed by Universum in 45 countries showed their interest to launch a startup. In Spain, the percentage lowers to 39% but it still continues to be relevant.
Among the conclusions from the report Generation Z: The latest generational gap highlights that the members of Generation Z are characterized by being self-educated and creative. They are the first generation to incorporate the Internet into the early stages of their learning and socialization. Additionally, their personality was conformed within a liquid, diverse and in crisis society.
Generation Z is defined by their great capacity to network with different cultures and in positions related with creativity and innovation. Another one of the conclusions that the report extracted is that the most valuable professionals in the future will not be those who are specialized in a concrete field but in instead those who are well educated and can hybridize knowledge from different areas.
Related with the opportunities that link the digital collaborative environment is the gig economy, in which the new generation is going to be protagonists. This manifestation reflects the step of an economy where work was stable for everyone to another which tends to be temporary, independent and for various people throughout their professional career. Generation Z will be linked more to projects that in the future will generate a big network of independent jobs, linked together will enable powerful initiatives.
The ATREVIA People Forum is a space for analysis, generating knowledge and debate on the trends of managing people, which regularly reunites leaders and people responsible in the areas of Human Resources and Talent Management.
