What strategies can CFOs employ to help win the war for Gen Z talent?
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Focus on creating a culture that is flexible, and tech-savvy, and allows them to feel like they have a purpose. Gen Z wants to make an impact beyond the paycheck, they hate manual tasks, and they want greater flexibility and work-life balance than prior generations.
There are three ways to approach this. The first one is you have to meet the talent where they are. For example, not demanding everyone back in the office. Secondly, you need to present the company’s value proposition to get them excited. A company that invests in the environment has more social governance requirements, and is focused on DEI is going to be more valuable than a company that offers a lot of snacks and drinks in the office. Generation Z wants to make an impact and have a seat at the table. I think one of the best ways to do this is having a reverse mentorship where a CFO for example is the mentee and that FP&A or finance analyst that just got out of school is the mentor.
Lastly, eliminate the idea that your employees need to be loyal to the company. Sometimes talented people will only stay at your company for a season instead of two years. It’s important to invest in their success whether for however long they work at the company.
open. honest. tell it how it is. work technology for example is older than what Gen Z use outside.
Understanding the situation as to how it’s different.
No one size fits all.
But from my experience, all the Gen Z talents in my org are hungry for more. But at the same time they seem to want to maximize the pay-to-pain ratio. Hence, one approach that worked is pay at par or better than market and at the same time give them meaningful experiences and flexibility, and create programs to drive simplification so most of their time is spent on less menial tasks.
They also have a better understanding of the possibilities outside their current org, so one way to keep them engaged is provide a view of what career options there are in the company and what technical and leadership capabilities are required for those roles.
I find these approaches effective in attracting Gen Z talent too.
When it comes to the accounting profession, there are fewer people studying accounting right now so there is a real talent gap. A solution to this is larger companies can partner with the accounting departments at colleges and recruit people early on. Then when it comes to CPAs, the job consists of long hours and we’re seeing that accounting salaries can be lower than those of their counterparts in finance. So it can be a hard ask for people to enter the profession. You have to be able to meet them where they are and figure out what matters to them the most. Gen Z values DEI, a flexible work schedule, more vacation time, and feeling proud to work for the company. They want to feel like they are doing meaningful work and that their company is viewed in a positive light by their peers.