Is your company technologically prepared for a Gen Z workforce?

By the end of the decade, 30% of the workforce in the U.S. will be Generation Z, those born between roughly 1997 and 2010. Employers are worried about this new wave of workers’ arrival on the job market, and with good reason. Gen Z has an unparalleled degree of tech fluency, having been born into a world on the cusp of reinventing itself digitally. The traditional workplace may be ill-equipped to handle their ascendence.

While there are always generational divides in the workforce, Generation Z and previous groups are fundamentally separated by a digital gap, a gap that overwhelmingly favors Gen Z. So, there is bound to be a significant chasm between the new working generation and previous ones when it comes to technological skills.

Related: The keys to recruiting, retaining Gen Z graduates

Although employers may know how to impress, attract and retain workers of previous generations, Gen Z is a whole different ball game. These younger workers come with a new set of expectations of the workplace, and employers may struggle to appeal to them in the recruitment process.

So, how do you attract talent in this emerging workforce? And then how do you stay in sync with your new employees? It’s time to start preparing and reshaping both your office culture and your technological savvy.

New expectations

Coming of working age in the COVID-19 crisis, younger workers emerged in a world running on remote. They have thus come to see this as the norm, and most young workers don’t anticipate returning to pre-COVID world that they’ve never really formally participated in.

Therefore, for a younger workforce, flexibility is the number one demand; they’re expecting a better work-life balance than previous generations experienced. They want to work to live, and not the reverse.

Members of Gen Z want to choose where they work from and when they do so. Why not let them? As long as they’re putting in the correct number of hours, employers should be lenient regarding which times or days employees work. Plus, there’s a suite of software to allow employers to monitor their remote working employees and track productivity. Make sure you have utilities in place that are suitable to keeping track of hours for remote workers, such as digital time clocks.

While it may seem burdensome to cater to Gen Z expectations, it’s actually good for business. One survey found that employees who work remotely at least a few times per month showed an increase in productivity of up to 77%, with 30% saying they can accomplish more from home in less time. Think about it: the less time employees waste sitting in traffic or squeezed into a subway car, the more time and motivation they’ll have to devote to their work.

So, even if your organization cannot go entirely remote, a hybrid approach is a key to standing out: good for your employees and productive for business. Consider allowing at least two to three days a week to be remote, rotating who comes into the office on what days. Otherwise, if you try to enforce archaic outdated time and attendance regulations on Gen Z, they’ll likely move elsewhere, finding a new trendy start-up that is more in tune with their needs.

Adapting your infrastructure

While catering to the Gen Z desire for flexibility is one way to seamlessly integrate “zoomers” into the workforce, the workplace itself must also be technologically prepared for them. These workers have no memory of a world without technology, and they’re likely to be suspicious of any business that doesn’t embrace it.

But when you realize that 38% of companies still use paper timesheets, it’s hard to imagine how Generation Z will ever mesh with the existing workforce. Keeping track of something manually? Forget about it.

So, the underlying principle here is to look to automation and accept that it’s time to throw out the paper and pen. With the latest software and internet-enabled devices, businesses can do everything from automating the clocking-in and -out process with mobile apps to deploying digital locator tags — linked to the cloud — to keep track of products in a warehouse.

Whatever steps you take, it’s crucial to make sure your workforce environment is ever-changing and adapting, continually incorporating new technologies and systems to keep things progressing while also stimulating your workers.

This is crucial because as Gen Z comes of age, many once-a-fantasy technologies are also reaching maturity: virtual reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, to name a few. These technologies pose a learning opportunity for everyone, and are a key selling point to younger workers. Plus, applied wisely, these technologies have the potential to transform the way you do business.

Consider that 80% of Gen Z workers surveyed said that they are seeking job opportunities where they can learn new skills or expertise, particularly in relation to technology. That’s compared to 55% of millennials and 36% of boomers. Gen Z wants a challenge; are you prepared to give it to them?

Otherwise, if you’re stuck in the past, you’re not going to appeal to the new workforce. They want flexibility, but they also want to grow and develop as they find their footing in the world. It’s your job to guide them.

Adam Day is president and CEO at Timerack, a time & attendance, payroll integration and HR software provider for the staffing industry.