What can Gen Z-focused publishers teach agencies about the talent battle?

“You can’t sleep on the benefits of Gen Z”, said Sophie Peachey, a producer for the publisher. Members of that generation are eternally online; ingrained in a culture with its own language and ideals. They’re “the most racially diverse, most global” generation, Peachey says – and, despite being seen as somewhat superficial, they are “the most non-conformist” generation we have.

And with Gen Z’s purchasing influence equating to $7tn a year, marketers could be losing out on revenue by not knowing how to resonate with them. A good first step to remedying this is recruiting (and retaining) Gen Z talent. But how?

Horizontal storytelling and reinventing the news cycle

“Seeing a workplace that is actually based on the acumen of Gen Z — there is a hierarchy and you have roles — but having an environment where professionals take you seriously and listen to what you're saying is so important”, says Peachey.

When getting through to Gen Z, there’s a need for them to see the world through the lens of people like them. In the UK, 46% of consumers say they avoid the news, with a significant proportion of younger and less educated people saying it is hard to follow or understand.

The traditional approach to news broadcasting can be described as “And-now-the-weather news,” says Peachey. “You sit down, you watch the news at 10, it tells you the most horrific things you've ever heard in your life, and then it goes ‘and now the weather,’ and you're expected to go to bed and not be miserable.”

Peachey knows her generation is alienated by the current news cycle, but her job revolves around making it ‘warmer’ and more accessible. “We’re trying to provide an outlet for young people who feel disenfranchised by the current news-scape”, she says, “and we’re trying to tell it differently.”

Good influence

Younger members of Gen Zs in particular are more susceptible to ideals promoted by influential figures, which can shape their career choices.

Peachey recently produced a documentary on Andrew Tate, the online personality who recently faced charges of human trafficking and rape. With such figures drawing substantial attention from younger audiences, Peachey says, employers need to show their value to Gen Z.

“Otherwise, a lot of people are gonna grow up thinking that they’re going to make it as a YouTuber,” she says. “And actually, a lot of people probably won’t.” Figures like Tate, she says, muddy the waters by “telling young men that the traditional lifestyle won’t make them any money, that they'll be miserable, that they'll be trapped in nine-to-five jobs.”

But are employers doing enough to offer the youngest workers attractive options? In journalism particularly, Peachey says, workplaces offer little incentive for Gen Z employees, leading to a “chronic churn of people”. She describes a previous job that had “no career progression, nothing in place to make you feel like you might escape those hours or that job role, or that money. And there was also no financial transparency whatsoever.” Meeting these criteria (progression; transparency): this is what employers need to pay attention to, says Peachey.

A matter of economic urgency

For Angel Fletcher, senior policy and public affairs officer at Youth Futures Foundation (YFF), attracting Gen Z is about both moral and economic investment. In the UK, she says: “if we were able to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment, or training, and matched it to German levels, it would increase the GDP of the UK by £38bn”.

Employers must diversify the way they hire, says Fletcher. Many young people don’t have LinkedIn, which can exclude them from the recruitment process, for example. “If your workforce is made up of people with very similar backgrounds,” she says, “you might be missing out on the huge untapped potential of different perspectives and experiences.”

Blind application processes can also be fruitful to this end, says Fletcher: “You’re not immediately looking at someone’s CV; you’re looking at them as a holistic person rather than the experience they have.”

Experience doesn't pay the bills

When there was talk of an internship placement at The News Movement, says Peachey, its Gen Z employees did not hesitate to ask: “is it paid?” and, “are you going to provide them with accommodation?”

Our webinar hosts argue that employers have a responsibility to make job openings more accessible and more attractive, especially to those from low-income backgrounds and areas outside of London. “If they can't commute to London, they can't afford to stay in London. Obviously, the journalistic salary of an internship is not going to cover London accommodation,” explains Peachey.

Companies will only attract Gen Z hires if they can make these adjustments and not take for granted the ability to attend an interview, Peachey says.

“There might be things like lack of financial resources,” Fletcher adds. “Even something like being able to attend an interview: we might take it for granted. But actually, that can be a real barrier that can stop someone from being able to get a job or apply for a job in the first place.”