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This past August, Intelligent.com queried nearly 1,000 business leaders regarding the performance of recent Gen Z hires – and the news is troubling. As reported on their website and shared out by Fortune magazine, statistics include:
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75% of the companies said that they found some or all of their recent college grad hires unsatisfactory
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6 out of 10 of the companies fired a recent grad hire in the past year
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A majority of hiring managers find recent college grads unprepared and unprofessional
What emerges in the workplace as poor communication, low motivation, resistance to feedback, and poor problem-solving skills may look pretty familiar to higher ed faculty and staff who regularly face these challenges with students. And, no surprise, these characteristics don't promote success in either arena. But a student who can shrug off a C in a gen ed course may experience much higher stakes when they risk losing a job along with the money and benefits they thought they could count on. Even more significant are the big-picture stakes for companies, communities, and the country as a whole when new workers cannot rise to the challenges on the job.
Coaching is ready, able, and willing to be deployed to combat the slide down this slippery slope. In a coaching conversation, coaches can give students an opportunity to examine their habits and attitudes, consider how they are setting themselves up for success or failure in the workplace, and begin to head this crisis off at the pass by developing more professional habits and practices. Here are two examples of approaches:
- Think about your career goals as a [job the student wants]. What are the qualities and characteristics you think that a person needs to succeed in this career? On a scale from 1-10, how well do you think your current habits match what you need to perform well in this career?
- Consider how you are operating in [course] – how you are keeping track of your work, how much you attend class, how on time you are with submissions. Now imagine operating like that on the job. If you were a manager, would you hire yourself? Why or why not?
After a student has a chance to look carefully at how they are operating, the coach can challenge them to define the changes they need to make and the actions they will take to set these changes in motion. With time and effort and the support of a skilled coach, students can build the work ethic and professionalism that can begin to combat the troubling track record of Gen Z in the workplace.
Make a difference for your Gen Z students by honing your skills at a LifeBound training. Join us in October for our next 3-Day Inclusive Coaching Class.
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