Four tips to unlock high-impact Gen Z talent (before your next hire even starts)
By Micaela Kelly
Generation Z (Gen Z, born 1997-2012) is often framed as complex, but the reality is simpler: when organizations provide clear expectations, support and opportunities for development, they set Gen Z students set up for success.
At Gen Z Decoded: From hiring to high-impact work terms, the evidence was clear. The difference between an average and high-impact work term comes down to how employers and supervisors support their co-op students.
Dr. Katie Knapp, Research Associate at the Work-Learn Institute (WxL)
Dr. Katie Knapp, Research Associate at the Work-Learn Institute (WxL) presented the latest findings about Gen Z in the workplace.
WxL's research drew insights and data from more than 2,000 Waterloo student and 400 employer survey responses.
“These students really bring valuable skills and perspectives that can help your organizations both innovate and move forward,” Knapp says.
If you want to help students stay motivated and make business impact at your organization, here’s where to focus:
1. Emphasize learning and development to attract top talent
Gen Z want roles that build skills, create momentum and set them up for what’s next.
“By a pretty large margin, the most important factor for Gen Z is an employer who offers professional training and development. So, these students are really looking for growth. We see this with about 73 per cent identifying this as a key priority,” Knapp adds.
When students feel like they’re actively learning, they're more invested, and likely to produce stronger outcomes and ramp up faster.
Start here:
- Frame roles around skills and development.
- Be explicit about what they’ll learn and gain in job descriptions and during onboarding.
- Reinforce how this experience builds future opportunities.
2. Provide AI clarity
Gen Z are open to using artificial intelligence (AI), but they need guidance to avoid inconsistency, hesitation and misuse.
Specifically with the AI priorities, we saw that students are prioritizing transparency, training and policies around the responsible use of AI, and employers instead are really focusing on that strategic importance and encouraging its actual use in the workplace.
When employers give clear expectations around responsible use, policies and transparency, which is likely to remove friction and improve output quality.
Start here:
- Define how AI should (and shouldn’t) be used on your team.
- Share examples of prompts and use cases.
- Build confidence through training.
3. Set expectations early to avoid misalignment
Gen Z has defined expectations about pay and upward progression, but those expectations don’t always match reality.
“Gen Z is overestimating what they can expect to earn early in their careers—this highlights a gap between expectations and reality when it comes to pay,” Knapp says.
When employers make those realities clear upfront, they reduce confusion, build trust and set students up to succeed faster.
Start here:
- Be transparent about compensation, timelines and advancement.
- Set clear expectations for performance, feedback and growth.
- Explain how decisions about raises and promotions happen.
4. Focus on supervision for impact
Prioritizing mentorship and supervisor support helps students excel for high-impact work terms.
WxL makes it easy through the 4C model:
- Communicate clearly and often.
- Connect the student to the organization.
- Care about the person behind the role.
- Create meaningful, outcome-driven work.
“Supervisor feedback is so vital for learning and for creating that incredible student experience,” Knapp emphasizes.
Start here:
- Protect time for consistent one-on-one meetings.
- Tie tasks to real business impact.
- Build trust that translates into better outcomes.
The bottom line for employers
When employers make expectations clear, invest in development and show up consistently as a supervisor, students quickly become high-impact contributors.
As Knapp emphasizes, turning insight into action makes the difference. Acting on these signals leads to better outcomes for students and for your team.