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Arjay Osma

What are your tips for working with and managing Gen Zs?

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We recently hired our first batch of interns for our remote Internship Program. Had our onboarding activities yesterday and it was a success. I hope they'll use it with their stint with us. In the next few days, they will be working on projects, join learning sessions, and enjoy our organization's remote and virtual events. I'm a Millenial, how do you think should we consider the gap in the generational mindset in a remote workplace setting? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this. Thank you!

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Mia Pham
I work for Seal Commerce Asia and we follow the agile structure so I get to work with a lot of young people in various roles design, marketing, developer...etc. I find Gen Z(ers) are very motivated and passionate in what they do so it really depends on how the task leaders "manage" their members. I always found it helpful to offer tasks up for grabs, and give members a chance to analyze tasks and propose deadlines. There's a roadmap in mind but my team enjoys being a part of the planning and not be assigned. Of course your members are new interns and need training in the tasks but they also the room to grow. Which means clear direction and expectation of tasks, at the same time give them plenty of room to explore ideas and understand what's the best practice. I hope this helps! Please do let me know how you are doing.
Arjay Osma
@mia_pham got it! We intended to include them in our planning activities. We don't want to be the kind of organization where hierarchy is visible, especially in the Asian context where people can't and won't express what they have in mind. It might be easier said than done, but we will do our best to give them an experience they will cherish in their careers. Thanks for the inputs, Mia. I really agree with allowing them to explore their ideas and guide them with what is currently working. This will really help us.
Shashwat Singhal
All the interns we have worked with over the past year and a half are Gen Z. Of course they all different, so the filters you use for culture become extremely important for them to be happy. For instances the pillars of our culture our love for music, learning, and empathy. When we recruit the interns we make sure they have all of these traits in our interview process, and once they are in we make sure to give them the best learning experience of their lives. Daily learning sessions, music sessions, and weekly reflection sessions really keep them engaged and motivated. These people don't like to work for a boss, so we make them their own boss, by having a very clear async culture where they decide what to work on, and by when. I feel these folks really cherish the freedom, and have a really good time as a result. So just give them a lot of freedom and learning, along with the things you associate your culture with and you'll have the happiest interns. Good luck!
Arjay Osma
@lishash we really want to center our Internship Program on our learning activities, actual work experiences, and more importantly, have fun with our virtual game nights/campfires. Thank you for your inputs. I just remembered that they are the generation who were raised when screens are already available, so managing them remotely won't be a problem in line with our work culture.
Ruben Wolff
Worked remotely with Gen Z interns, and to be completely honest, I have not really notice a big difference with other people, minus the fact they might be less engaging with their co-workers (but I am not even sure of this fact). Just treat them fairly, don't patronize them, and show that you are here to help and support them in their work. If you can create a nice community atmosphere, you'll be more likely to have good work relationships with them
Arjay Osma
@rubenwolff sounds fair. I guess we'll have to establish more our relationships then. We're still in the early stages of the program and we'll have find ways to get along remotely. There's always room for growth and camaraderies within our team. Thanks for the inputs, Ruben. Definitely, there might be minimal differences in terms of working with them remotely compared to working with older generations, and we'll openly show our support for them.