How to Talk to Gen Z: Listen First

Internal communications teams are obsessed with young people, like the rest of society.

Communicators seem baffled by Generation Z, known for its love of TikTok, anxiety about climate change, commitment to a life outside of work and power to push Sabrina Carpenter to the top of the charts.

Maybe we’re just jealous. But we don’t envy growing up amid the Great Recession, COVID-19 pandemic, the killing of George Floyd and another economic downturn.

Employers will grow when they connect with these workers born from 1997 to 2012, while employers that don’t will fall behind.

“Let’s face it, they are the future of our company,” Sally Henderson, group head of talent at Switzerland-based Zurich Insurance Group, said earlier this year.

We have seven tips for communicating with Gen Zers. The need is great, with 45% of workers aged 18–25 feeling lonely during the workday, significantly more than other age groups, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association released last month. Gen Zers are also more likely to feel stressed out (48%) than every age group except millennials (51%).

We’re cautious about generalizing about generations, especially Gen Z. Mindful of those limits, here are our tips:

1. Take their suggestions. Companies spend a lot of time gathering ideas from employees but little time evaluating those suggestions. But younger workers have the nerve to expect feedback.

“Six in 10 Gen Zs (61%) and millennials (58%) believe they have the power to drive change within their organizations, particularly when it comes to workload, the services offered to clients, learning and development, DEI, wellness, social impact, and environmental efforts,” according to Deloitte’s “2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey,” released in May 2024.

This result reflects optimism but also a challenge to managers and leaders. If young employees’ ideas are shut down, they’re likely to be more disillusioned than workers who don’t share their outlook.

2. They look online first. This group is used to getting information quickly via the internet, which puts pressure on employers to make their intranets as fast and as easy to use as the web.

“Through Google, Siri and Alexa, they got answers to anything they wanted to ask,” Professor Megan Gerhardt of Miami University’s business school, told The Washington Post in April. “In the workplace, they’re moving into situations where free information about why things are done a certain way is elusive or muddled.”

3. Text first? Both Gen Z and millennials say they prefer to communicate at work via email and instant messaging rather than talk by telephone, according to a survey by recruiter Robert Walters released in May. And don’t you dare call them without sending a text first.

Managers need to be aware of this resistance, but that doesn’t mean giving into it. A telephone call can deliver the personal attention that Gen Z craves. They’re just not used to it. It may take time for younger workers to get used to a work culture where unplanned phone calls are accepted.

4. They don’t like email either? “Gen Z appears to struggle the most with email stress and stacking up a huge quantity of unread emails due to a combination of factors,” a linguistics and culture expert at Babbel, a language-learning platform, told CNBC in April.

Workers of all ages have complained about too many emails, but many corporate leaders don’t get the message. Maybe Gen Z will make them listen.

5. Have a conversation. Stanford University researcher Roberta Katz and her colleagues asked Gen Zers to choose the type of communication they like best.

“We expected the interviewees to respond with their favorite type of digital communication – e.g., text, email, chat group, DM, FaceTime, Skype, etc.” said Katz, co-author of “Gen Z, Explained.” “But instead, nearly every single person said their favorite form of communication was “in person.”

6. Establish digital office hours. Gen Z employees “often hesitate to reach out to mentors and colleagues because they can’t tell when they are available or don’t want to bother them,” according to an article by the cofounder of the Future Forum think tank and the president of Chicago-based design firm.

Managers always say, “My door is always open,” But nowadays managers are working remotely and when they’re in the office, they’re cramming in meetings. Digital office hours for managers encourages employees to “drop in.”

7. Use social media. Earlier generations used social media to share their experiences with a broad audience, one-to-many communication. But Gen Z uses social media to communicate one-on-one.

“Social media is becoming to Gen Z what email, phones, fax, ‘snail mail’ or even telegrams were to prior generations: the way to stay in touch and build connections,” Marcie Merriman of Ernst & Young wrote four years ago.

Social media isn’t considered an internal comms channel, but it is. Your presence on the social apps will shape your employees’ perceptions of the company.

Like Katz, we respect this new generation of workers.

“They often do things differently, have some different values and have some different ideas about the future than I do,” she said, “and I have come to appreciate and trust that they often have a new and better approach.”

Tom Corfman thinks connecting with Generation Z employees requires messages that are clear and creative, like the generations before them. A senior consultant with Ragan Consultant Group, Tom directs the company’s Build Better Writers program.

Want to learn more about how we can strengthen the writing skills of your communications team?  Set up a call with Tom and Kristin Hart, vice president of sales and marketing. Follow RCG on LinkedIn and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.