Managing Generation Z: How to Recruit, Onboard, Develop, and Retain the Newest Generation in the Workplace

by Robin Paggi, Kat Clowes

Expert advice on attracting, training, managing, retaining, and succeeding with America's newest generation of hard-working, tech-savvy employees.

A new generation is entering the American workforce—Gen Z, the age cohort born after 1996. Having grown up with smartphones, social media, emoji-speak, helicopter parenting, and no expectation of privacy, Gen Z has a unique culture and working style that can be baffling to their Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer managers.

In Managing Generation Z, Robin Paggi, a veteran HR manager, and Kat Clowes, an educational consultant who has worked with hundreds of Gen Z'ers, join forces to give employers and managers a practical, easy-to-understand guide to the new generation defining the future of work. Based on Clowes's in-depth knowledge of Gen Z habits and Paggi's real-world experience of how generational miscommunications can cause expensive personnel problems, Managing Generation Z gives managers at all levels a plan for getting quality work from Gen Z employees while avoiding cultural clashes at the office.

Gen Z is highly educated, extraordinarily tech-savvy, eager to meet expectations, and loyal to employers, but many Gen Z workers have never been trained in the basics of professionalism, workplace communication, and the unwritten social rules older generations instinctively expect. Managing Generation Z teaches managers how to bridge the communication styles between Gen Z and older colleagues, how to train Gen Z staff to make work objectives clear, and how to evaluate and correct Gen Z employees so they will listen, accept, learn, and improve.

Like having an expert HR manager at your fingertips, Managing Generation Z is essential reading for both front-line supervisors and C-level executives who want to get the most from the newest generation in the workforce.

Genres: Nonfiction

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2021

Reviews

[Marije · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wat een slecht boek

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of good information in it, which would be wonderful for people who haven't been managing or supervising gen-Z folks. Still, it is worth reading. Just bear in mind, there is also still some views in the book that don't necessarily fully acknowledge generational nuances. Still, it's very readable, even if some of it might be redundant with your experience or knowledge of working with gen-Z workers. One thing that is definitely as it gets the authors less out of the area of redundancy and potentially writing off swaths of the generation regarding their skill base. It's the appendices, which cover wider spread and practical examples of what they're trying to get across in the chapters.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a member of generation z, I mostly read this book to figure out what people think about my cohort. In this sense, it was fairly entertaining. Many of the quotes from employers were contradictory (i.e. one person said that gen z was extremely over confident, and another said they had no confidence at all). Like all books about generations, there were lots of generalizations, which may not be actually helpful to business owners.

[Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because it’s on the AF Chief of Staff’s reading list and is in line with some of my research. The book might have better been called “Managing People with a little bit of Gen Z sprinkled in.” The beginning of the book seemed to focus more on Gen Z, but then it turned into a human relations textbook by the end, walking through a variety of topics that are applicable to all generations.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice overview of managing Gen Z employees and how a manager’s approach might differ. A lot of good information, and I definitely got some ideas of new things to implement for my summer internship program.

[Angus Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kat's insights are invaluable! Robin you can leave most of it aside as general HR practice. This being said the first authoritative text I've found on Gen Z in business.