With skill shortages putting a supply squeeze on your local talent pipelines, here's how businesses can create an engaging employer brand that resonates with Generation Z and makes you a viable career option for a youthful workforce.
Hey there, business leaders 👋
As the founder of miFuture, I often get asked about how to attract and retain Generation Z as part of a future talent pipeline.
One thing I know for sure is Gen Z is going to check out your socials before anything else, and there's a way that it can play out in your favour even if they aren't actively looking for or changing employment.
If you take anything away from this article, let it be... Transparency is key. Gen Z values honesty and authenticity.
With this in mind, I focus my suggestions on ways to leverage your channels to build an employer brand that resonates with your audience. As you read through this article remember your 'audience' is not your traditional audience you'd be trying to sell to, this is not your customer, it's your future workforce, your next employee... your future talent pipeline.
Your future talent and next employee may not even be actively looking for a role, and may still be in education and about to make this decision.
Unlike days of old where you'd pop a job advert out there and hope for applications and CVs to come in from those actively looking for work. Building future talent pipeline's is about making a connection with those that are both passively and actively looking for employment.
One thing is for sure your future workforce will want to see who you are and want to know what it's like working with you. It's possible we could blame the 'transparent' reality TV they've grown up with, or the way Instagram and TikTok let them into the behind the scenes of everyone's lives. But regardless, this is the world they live in, and if you are going to be a consideration for their application then you need to be just as transparent and honest.
1. Think Characters: Your People
Forget about showcasing your products or services. Gen Z wants to see the people behind the brand. Which means marketing your team, their stories, and the vibrant culture within your organisation over your product and service.
Check out Microsoft's Instagram it does a great job of this by sharing behind-the-scenes content and employee stories; employees explaining how they are using AI in work activities, black employees providing coverage from Black Tech Week conferences, queer employees repping Pride Month in the office, employees jumping on social trends and creating fun content that naturally highlight the company's DEI and inclusive environment.. Not a Microsoft product in sight!
The 'product' is replaced by 'people' and "work" is represented through fun and transparent content that showcases your companies diversity and inclusion in an authentic way.
2. Make Your Apprentices the 'Main Character'
Who better to talk to young people than young people? Especially those that might just be a year or two ahead in their career journey, they are the most relatable to your audience. Share their 'day in the life', training, meetings, successes, and even their challenges and frustrations.
This not only humanises your brand but also shows potential candidates that your organisation is not a scary place to work.
I recently spoke at a conference for the Care Sector, they (like the construction industry) are having difficulty attracting a youthful workforce; Living at Home UK have taken action 👏 and I look forward to see this role unfold...
A great example of an employer adopting this strategy of a young person to head up their brand building.
3. Involve Senior Staff in 'Supporting Roles'
Encourage senior staff to engage and share these interactions on social media, it could be moments of mentoring, meetings, direct to camera job posting, a casual Q&A at lunch, or even embarrassing dancing at the office summer party.
Other ways we are seeing this play out on social media is through the #WorkMom #WorkDad trend, there's great content showing younger staff and senior staff teaming up, creating content and even being besties.
📺 Work Bestie Age Gap Compilation
There is a whole other narrative (one for another day) how Gen Z crave that interaction and mentorships with older employees; this is a transparent and natural way to demonstrate that these relationships exist in your workplace.
4. Show the Fun and the Real
Naturally we'll want to show the fun side of our workplace, like the video above. But don't just rely on office dancing, trending reels, and fun days.
It's great to show the perks of the job, but nothing ignites responses like the frustrations and the challenges of the job. It's often video's like this that get a higher engagement with tagging colleagues and comments like "ha @PErSonNaMe 💀 this is you' or "@SoMeOnE this was us on Tuesday 🤣"
📺 Social Worker Challenges and Frustrations reels
Remember the more engagement through tagging and commenting, the more the algorithm kicks in locally for you, your talent pool of local people in the local community are friends, and friends of friends, of those engaging with your posts.
5. Hyperlocal Benefits of Social Content
Let's explain that a bit more.
The return on investment for adopting this approach to employer branding is huge, because unlike Microsoft you are not recruiting on a global scale, you have a distinct advantage when it comes to hyperlocal visibility. The biggest influencer for attracting a future employee is 'word of mouth' - an endorsement from a current employee, and you can achieve this digitally too.
By using real people in real content, the 'hyperlocal virality' means a tag or comment, or a share in the local Facebook town hub or group hit's your exact target audience - local people in the local community who may be open to joining your workforce.
The algorithm works in your favour; they see a friend, or a friend of a friend, commenting/ sharing/ liking the post and boom 👊💥 your workplace and your fun and honest culture is right there in front of your audience, and it's been endorsed by the digital interactions - a digital 'word of mouth', so to speak.
So, there you have it, go create content that aligns with your employer brand that your employees, partners, customers and community want to interact with, and you'll gain organic visibility in the hyperlocal talent pool.
By adopting these suggestions, you can build an employer brand strategy that not only attracts Gen Z but also keeps them engaged and motivated. Your organic visibility on their radar, and can become a viable career option for those who are actively and passively looking Remember, it's all about being authentic, transparent, and fun.
Happy employer branding! 🎉
Reach out if I can be of anymore help with this
Gem Hallett, miFuture Founder
miFuture.co.uk | @miFutureHQ
