Future-ready workforce series - Engaging the next generation of talent

Beyond the application and interview phase, one of the first ways that organizations engage with talent is through onboarding. While many organizations have developed programs for onboarding talent, a lot has changed for organizations over the past year as we shift to fully remote workforces.

Employers report that they hire co-op students for two main reasons:

1. Access to a flexible workforce of talented students who can help get work done within the organization. In this case, the students’ performance in the organization is a key measure of success.
2. A talent pipeline that begins with bringing students in to work and assessing whether they would be a good fit for the organization after graduation. In this case, organizations hope to build a sense of commitment among their top talent.

Does the remote onboarding process affect student performance? Will organizations have a more difficult time building commitment with co-op students working remotely?

To assess the success of the experience from an employer’s perspective, they need to consider both performance and commitment. There is also a connection between the socialization process that a newcomer undergoes within an organization and the commitment they have to the organization.

When we think about employer and student perspectives during the work term, there is some potential for tension. From the student perspective, they want to contribute to the organization, but they also want to learn new things. From the employer perspective, there are new students coming in every four months and if the work they receive is not straightforward, organizations need to spend more time and resources training and supporting each new student.

One simple way to resolve the potential tension between the goals of the employer and the goals of the students: Vary the complexity and criticality of the tasks.

The Work-Learn Institute also examined the differences between students’ Rate My Work Term responses from Fall 2019 as compared to Fall 2020, after most students shifted to working remotely, to see if students still had meaningful and engaging learning opportunities.

In the case of students’ reports of opportunities to learn and opportunities to make a meaningful contribution to their employer, students rated these opportunities consistently or higher in the remote setting.

Students rated the opportunities to build their professional network lower in the remote setting. While the individual needs to take some responsibility to take initiative and to reach out to make those connections, organizations have an opportunity to support early career talent by assigning mentors or creating a culture with opportunities to meet more people within the organization.

Innovation mindset is one of the key future-ready talents needed to help Gen Z talent succeed in a complex future workforce. In fact, studies show that emerging adults between the ages of 18 – 24 have neurological traits in common with successful entrepreneurs and innovators – such as the ability to be creative, observant, curious and experimental.

Tap into the potential for innovation among Gen Z employees and reconsider how you approach role design to offer:

1. A highlight project: work that is important to the organization and something that young talent might share as a report or presentation at the end of the term.
2. Daily or routine tasks: work that allows young talent to use their own experience and perspectives to identify incremental improvements for the organization.
3. Side projects: work that is less time sensitive but enables young talent to have opportunities for experimentation.

Instead of seeing Gen Z as ‘in transition to adults’, view this stage of emerging adulthood as an untapped source of social and economic potential. Tailor roles to tap into the heightened brain capacity and entrepreneurial spirit of your young talent and they will be more likely to innovate and bring world-changing ideas to the global marketplace… and your organization!