Gen X & Gen Z: Shaping the Future of HR Together

Work experience plays a valuable role in shaping careers, offering participants the opportunity to get their first tangible insight into the world of work. At h2h we have offered support to a number of individuals in the 20 years since the business was founded, many of whom have gone on to lead successful careers in the HR world.

We recently welcomed Beatrix Wilson, a Business Management and HR student at Lancaster University, on a work experience placement during her summer break. As well as helping Beatrix to learn more about h2h, our clients and the wider sector, this was a valuable opportunity for us to find out about her perceptions of the industry and what the future might hold for Gen Z. With that in mind, Lead Consultant Robbie Lightfoot sat down for a chat with Beatrix and they shared some questions, reflections and predictions for the future.

 

Robbie: What appeals to you about a HR career?

Beatrix: “I’m organised and like routine, so I feel like it would be a perfect job for me – to be able to organise and work with people to bring about change. Being able to interact with lots of people is another element that appeals, as well as the opportunities for advancement and progression. I think I’d like to start out as a general HR practitioner and find out what areas interest me the most.”

 

Beatrix: How do you maintain a good work-life balance?

Robbie: “I try to identify the times of year that will be busiest, when I know work will be demanding, and prepare during the quieter months so that it doesn’t get overwhelming. I also think about when I’m at my best and work around my energy levels. I’m a morning person and I like to start work early, so I do the most detailed jobs in the morning. In the afternoons, I try to do face-to-face meetings because that energises me. Every day I make a to-do list and I aim to get at least one item on my ‘top three priorities’ crossed off early. I make sure I take breaks throughout the day to keep my energy levels high and I try to take Friday afternoons off as much as possible, by working longer hours earlier in the week.”

 

Robbie: As a Gen Z student, how important is work-life balance to you and your peers?

Beatrix: “I think it’s a really important motivating factor, otherwise you’ll end up being burnt out and stressed. I like the idea of working a 9-5 and I try to replicate the routine during university, so I can switch off in the evenings. A lot of this comes with being organised and planning ahead and I hope it will help me when I start my career. I am part of a rowing club and that’s really helped me to maintain a balance with my studies, as I can switch off in the evenings when I’m training.”

 

Beatrix: What do you do for professional development?

Robbie: “I’m a coach and a member of a professional coaching body, so I have to do CPD each year. I tend to think about my learning style, which is activist and involves learning by doing. I’m not a great reader of books but I like going to events and doing face-to-face learning. I try to pick a topic each year that I’ll develop myself in. This year it’s neurodiversity, previously it’s been mental health and I trained as a mental health first aider.

 

Beatrix: What should graduates be doing to improve their career prospects?

Robbie: “It’s really important to work hard to understand people that are different to you and not to just look at the world through the lens of your own generation. This means that when you go for interviews you can empathise with other people and tailor the way you communicate to suit them. I’m a great people watcher and you learn lots from other people, especially those who are different. In addition to this, if you’re going for interview opportunities, always do your homework on the companies. It shows that you’re interested in them as an employer and it can help you to have examples when answering questions.

“Finally, make the most of transferable skills when you don’t have experience in the workplace. You can take skills learned from sports, college and other surroundings and apply them to work. There’s a big skills shortage in this country so employers have to take people and move them into different sectors – a willingness to flex and try new things can help you gain experience, particularly in the first stages of your career.”

 

Beatrix: What have been the biggest changes in the industry since you started your career?

Robbie: “It’s got to be technology. When I first started in HR, email was still a very new concept and in those days it was quite simple, it was just a messaging service. We also still had pagers – I was a HR officer in a factory and if someone needed to get hold of me they would just page me to ring them, we didn’t have mobile phones. The internet is the other huge change that’s happened during my career. Most information used to be in files or books, now it’s paperless. For me it’s good and bad, depending on how you manage it and embrace it. Email can be a blessing and a curse, it can be hard to switch off but it’s also a blessing and was vital during the pandemic. But it means the way we communicate has changed. When you speak face-to-face you’re making a judgement on non-verbal queues, including tone of voice, but on email you only get 10% of the message and that’s why people can get into conflict. I’ve noticed there is more of a tendency with Gen Z to rely on text and not have as many conversations, but things can get lost when you do this.”

 

Robbie: What trends can you anticipate in the next 20 years?

Beatrix: “Hybrid working and the use of AI and ChatGPT are the main trends that I think will grow. AI presents a lot of opportunities and can be used responsibly and managed in organisations to be a really powerful tool. But it can also be dangerous and raises ethical concerns; I’ve heard people at uni who have used it and found it to be wrong, outdated and biased. Others use it to write essays and get good results. But regardless of how you use it, nothing should replace human interaction, which is particularly valuable in the HR sector. ”

 

If you’re interested in reading more about Gen Z in the workplace, take a look at our recent blog post discussing how to set them up for success: https://www.h2h.uk.com/organisation-development/why-it-is-paramount-to-set-gen-z-up-for-success-in-the-workplace-by-sarah-tiffany/.