If you are managing a team of baby boomers, according to Fusion Risk Management, they are seeking a loyal employer with a hierarchical culture that includes respect in their value inventory. But if you are principally managing Generation Z employees (born after 1996) they want a culturally competent employer that pays a competitive wage, affords mentorship and is stable.

The in-between generations want a trustworthy and empathetic employer who provides meaningful work, training, autonomy and flexibility.

They all sound like qualities of a great place to work. But this newest generation of workers is somewhat different. The primary determinant of why a Gen Z employee works in one place or another is the culture of the workplace.

As discussed in a previous column our grandparents' generation worked to live, our parents worked to raise their standard of living and the newest generation works to create a total quality of life.

It’s culture!

Recent Microsoft surveys indicated that 41% of workers were considering leaving their roles sometime in the next year. Why? Job dissatisfaction. Again, why? Low levels of engagement. Gallup surveys have shown that only 29% of millennials (Generation Y) are engaged at work. When employees are indifferent and disconnected with their work they are more likely to leave.

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Leaders of small businesses, just like larger ones, have to focus on creating and maintaining a culture of inclusion, respect and flexibility. This younger generation of employees is not sticking around if managers/leaders are not meeting their needs and desires. And these are just a few elements that are required to retain the Gen Z employee.

What is the core of Gen Z’s work expectations? According to Bruce Horowitz, it is a culture that offers genuine growth opportunities and an upbeat work environment that fosters innovation. When building a business culture consider the following:

Goals and Objectives: Gen Z employees want to share in the impact their companies make. In order to do so they need to understand the goals and objectives of their organizations. Fifty-one percent of employees in the Ceridian Pulse of Talent survey found that they were making an impact and 92% of those who responded positively were happy in their work with a longer-term employment expectation than those that didn’t.

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If the employee and the employer's goals are not in alignment, the employee will not stay. If they don’t see how their work feeds the successful completion of the company’s goals, they leave. The cycle begins again — recruit, hire, train. When they understand the goals, they are in for the long term.

Flexibility: Flexible work options are expected. Work-at-home (W@H) options are genuinely required since this generation is more comfortable with technology and can adapt to a W@H alternative. The emphasis needs to be on results and on observed work. Allowing workers time to attend family functions during what is normally considered “work hours” feeds the quality of life objective most Gen Z employees seek.

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Flexibility also entails preventing stagnation by diversifying tasks. When a manager allows employees to wear different hats and collaborates across different functions or departments, they are reinforcing their value of culture first.

Add internal mobility to the flexibility equation and you stand a chance of keeping a Gen Z employee who in their life will change jobs according to CNBC studies double their baby boomer counterparts.

Coaching and Mentoring: Your culture needs to be founded on a lifelong learning value. Professional development is important to a Gen Z employee. They seek feedback on their performance, offsite/online training, coaching and mentoring to satisfy their desire for professional development.

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Team first, not individual first: Gen Z employees like to work as part of a team. Whether it be in person, as the pandemic wanes, or “virtually”, being part of a team is an important work requirement.

Transparency: Being transparent not only in communicating the “why” of decisions but in compensation. Today’s employees live in a digital world where sites like Glassdoor provide information older generations did not have on pay ranges. According to Ceridian's 2019 Pulse of Talent study, 37% of surveyed employees ages 18 to 34 cited compensation as the number one reason they left their last employment. This was followed by a desire to expand their scope of work and a lack of respect.

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Work-Life Balance: Work can easily take over one’s life and when it does something suffers — overall performance, burnout at work and deterioration of family relations. With younger generations constantly plugged into technology the lines between work and life have been blurred. One approach is work/life blending, is a workplace where employees are free to address life issues during work hours by giving them the flexibility that is needed. Just showing that leadership recognizes there is another side of an employee — their life — is a big move forward.

Contributed by Marc L. Goldberg, Certified Mentor, SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands, www.capecod.score.org, 508-775-4884, capecodscore@scorevolunteer.org. Sources: 10 Tips for Hiring and Retaining Gen Z Employees, Bruce Horowitz; HR Daily Newsletter, 1/13/2021. Six Strategies to Retain Millennial and Gen Z Employees, Britt Armour, Ceridian. How to Retain Gen Z and Millennial Employees During the Great Resignation, 11/1/2021, Airswift. Fusion Risk Management infographic by Mazlo.lo.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Gen Z workers want cultural competence, mentoring, competitive wages