Are You Ready for Generation Z?


1,333
Filed under - Archived Content,

Reg Dutton of EvaluAgent discusses how contact centres can best prepare for their next generation of team members.

Along with the next generation of contact centre advisors (Generation Z) comes the perennial problem of how to improve motivation.

Also known as Post-Millennials, Generation Z is the group born since just before the start of the millennium. They have their own particular take on the world and they are bringing their unique perspective to your organisation.

So, what do we need to know about this next wave of talent? In order to answer this, the global research and advisory firm Universum surveyed 49,000 members of Gen Z across 47 countries, and this is what they concluded.

This tribe of ‘digital natives’ or ‘screenagers’ grew up in a world steeped in financial and political turmoil and, as a result, they are keen to look after their money and make the world a better place.

Most importantly, the report also points out that Generation Z is the first truly global generation and companies may need to: “Retool what they think they know about their incoming employees.”

This sentiment is echoed in an article which quotes Jim Link, Chief Human Resource Officer of Randstad: “Companies really can impact their recruiting and retention success by paying attention to what makes this generation tick.”

But before you commit your valuable time to unravelling the mysteries of these newbies, ask yourself a simple question: is it really going to help?

Can we really define people purely by the generation they were born into?

Surely not everyone born into a certain generation behaves in an identical manner. After all, aren’t we all individuals at heart?

Why stop at the era that people were born into? Why not delve into whether they are an Aries or a Capricorn? Perhaps it would help to know whether they were born in the year of the Rat or the Rooster?

Alternatively, if celestial bodies and the zodiac don’t move you, there’s always Jungian personality testing such as the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

In an ideal world, we would all love to get to know every individual at a granular level, but when you are managing 50, 100, 500, 1,000+ agents, it’s simply not practicable.

Businesses are already struggling to accommodate the multiple generations that are currently in the workplace; the addition of Generation Z simply adds yet another layer to an already complex mix.

The solution isn’t separation, it’s unification

Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials, Generation Zers; this melting pot of different identities is always likely to cause a degree of friction, dysfunction and even conflict.

The key is to acknowledge the different generations, but then find a common solution under which they can all thrive.

Everyone should have access to timely, relevant information, that is clearly communicated and meaningful at both an individual and collective level.

Communication is the key

In an era dominated by the need to absorb information in the fastest possible way, far too many contact centres still rely on outdated processes such as the decades-old spreadsheet.

The 21st-century contact centre demands intelligent tools that communicate relevant information in a clear manner and reveal insights that everyone can understand.

Which is why companies like EvaluAgent have focused a great deal of their efforts on creating engaging and intuitive dashboards that disseminate information in a universally understandable format.

These dashboards have been engineered to collect data from multiple sources and then present it simply and intuitively.

Customer metrics, agent performance and management overview have never been so easy to recognise and act upon.

Furthermore, by communicating clear information directly to agents, the dashboards enhance the team’s ability to act autonomously, which increases engagement and motivation.

Reg Dutton

Reg Dutton

Delivering clear, real-time communications across your entire workforce quite simply enables everyone to do their job more effectively. And, as a direct result, it paves the way for your organisation to save time and money while improving that all-important customer experience.

It’s true that the agents in your contact centre belong to very distinct and clearly defined generations, each with its own unique style of working.

But there is one activity that has united people of all ages, since the very dawn of time.

It’s called communicating, and that’s something every generation can agree upon.

Author: Robyn Coppell

Published On: 27th Mar 2018
Read more about - Archived Content,

Follow Us on LinkedIn