Hiring Gen Z: Challenges, Opportunities & What Comes Next

Foreign. Business can be a lonely game. But it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and and I can't wait to chat. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. This week I never get to do this, so I'm so excited about this episode. My guest today is actually one of my very closest friends. She's my golf partner every Tuesday all summer long and vacation friend. We've done so many fun things together. And Britt, I'm so excited that you're here because you have so, so much good information to share with everyone today.

Yeah, I'm so excited just to obviously, you know, going through the camera here, but you know, it's, it's fine and it's snowy outside, but we're going to start golfing soon and you never know.

I know we're ready for golf season, that's for sure. I was just thinking. So those of you who are listening to the podcast know I recently had ACL surgery. So I've been trying to plan, like, what is my golf summer actually going to look like? And I decided yesterday, Britt, that even if I can't golf, I'm still coming. I'm going to bring a cart and a blowhorn and, and we're still going to have a really good time.

Do you get like one of those flags, like the handicap flags then for carts that you can drive closer to the green?

Yes. Do you think that means they'll turn off that stupid sensor on those golf carts? Like, where I can't drive?

Yeah, I feel like you have to, like, otherwise. So then I call dibs with riding with you, then it's going to be a good summer.

I can't wait.

Yeah, your music is always on point too. Like, you are the best golf dj. Just you and Amanda have it going on with your music.

I take pride in that. I do. And those of you who are listening, I'm curious, like, what is your DJ style? Because I can't get into more than like a minute and a half of a song and then I'm like, boom, onto the next. And then I find myself saying on repeat, you're gonna love the next one. You're gonna love the next one.

And that's where you and I Get along so well because I feel like we both look at each other like, can we change the song? Are we ready for the next one?

I know, I know. It's gonna be so good. All right, well, so back to what you do on a day to day basis. So when we've been golfing together, vacationing together, I have just loved following your journey in the last year because you've taken some changes in your career and I feel like you have found yourself in like the sweetest spot. Like what you are meant to be doing, you were doing. And what's cool how our paths kind of crossed or where our, our interests overlap is what you're doing with education directly speaks to what I'm doing with spirit small businesses. So I want you to just kind of give everyone a background of like what you do and then what led you to specifically like the workforce path that you've been on lately as well.

Yeah. So like Ashley mentioned, I'm in education, so obviously completely different probably from some of your normal guests you have. But I think like you said, it's very applicable in just some of the research that we're doing. But my day to day, every day looks different. But I am an educational consultant that works for a local nonprofit. Every state has these educational servicing agencies that really. I like to describe myself as the middle person between the federal, the state government and school districts. You know, research and development of the latest trends, the latest technology, and making sure our school districts are equipped for that. So I'm a former teacher, high school teacher and principal turned just lover of all things workforce development, AI and just making sure that our kids are prepared for a future that we literally have no idea what's in store for them.

Yeah, it's so true. I heard this saying the other day. It was, someone was talking about they were visiting like an Ivy League campus, I forget which one it was. And they said, you know, it's really scary because I feel like I was watching people training students how to plow a field with oxen during the Industrial revolution, and they had no idea that they were doing it. And it really made me take a step back, like, oh, crap. Eric and I talk about this all the time with education. You know, just having a technology company and sometimes our kids will come home with word art, like word art on Microsoft. And I'm like, you don't know how to use Canva? And they're like, no, our school's not teaching us. And I'm like, ah, so there's such a gap between the Real world and not all education, but definitely some education. So you recently did this survey where you were kind of trying to get to the heart of what are the real needs out there. So tell me about, you know, kind of that train that you went down.

Yeah. So, I mean, kind of backing up a little bit. Right. I remember you telling me that story, and it was like, you know, like, as someone who is not necessarily great at technology, but I pride myself in, like, figuring out how students can use it. So really what started our quest was understanding and hearing teachers frustrations. Like, we kept hearing these kids, I just wish they would go back to the way they used to be. And we kept hearing that, and finally we took a step back, and we're like, these kids are just completely different. Right. So a lot of our research and survey that you're referring to was really rooted out of the fact that we have a completely new generation that is entering the workforce. And so we look at, like, Generation Alpha right now. They're like, ages 11 to 28. And so what we were finding is a lot of teachers wanting to pull their hair out, frustrated at, like, nothing is working. I'm standing on chairs. I'm standing at, like, not really. Right. But figuratively, like, trying to get kids to just love, you know, photosynthesis. Well, these kids, like, don't care about photosynthesis. Right. So, you know, we really started to take a look at, like, this generation of kids is just different. And I don't think we realized what we had started to uncover until we. We presented to about 20 local business professionals and leaders in our Cooley region. And they looked at us. They're like, oh, my gosh, those are my night. Those are my HR director's worst nightmares. Yep. These are the problems that are literally infiltrating into our workforce and our industries, man.

So go back to some of these. Like, I've heard you talk about why this generation is different, so we can talk about problems all day long, but what is it that makes Gen Alpha so different than the other generations?

Yeah, so they're the first generation. So if you think about that 11 to 28 age range, they're the first generation that'll have full stream AI. Now, not generative AI. Right. But your Alexa, your Siri, they are the first generation to have that since birth. And so this what we're finding. And Dr. Jean Twingy, she does a ton of research. I think she has, like, millions of data points at this point. So if you're nerdy and want to learn more, she Has a book called generations. It's a 15 hour audible, so I don't recommend that. But it's really interesting because they are digital natives. And so what we're finding is that there are some really positive attributes for Gen Alpha. They're very inclusive and just like these are the kids, like on campuses, they are the kids that like, are just like wanting to see. Just like, they just want to see everyone kind of get along. They want to make sure that they're fighting for rights. This is also a generation that is very digitally native. They want to use technology. I mean, it's attached to everything they do. They prefer to communicate that way. And they are also very savvy with, with technology in terms of they want to be creative. Like, this is the most creative generation that we've ever had in terms of innovations. Thinking about like innovating the workforce, innovating businesses. But then there's also some, like, negative attributes of this generation which come from like, you know, parenting. Like millennials. Like, Ashley, we rode bikes with no helmets. Right? Right. Like our parents didn't care. And now we're like, they were like.

See you at dark.

Right? Put on a helmet, bubble wrap, you, oh my gosh, you got a boo boo. Like, oh my God. Right? Like, yeah, back when we were kids, it was like, throw dirt on it and be fine. Whereas, like, this generation is very risk adverse. So we're seeing kids not drink, therefore, like vaping. Right. That feels safer. We're seeing kids, you know, not take risks with wanting to put themselves out there. Like we're seeing kids show up to interviews with their parents right now because they're so risk adverse. And then we're also seeing the fact that they're very socially isolated because they're so on. They're, they're on their smart devices. And so what we really started to look at is if schools, if education is not equipped to handle the positive attributes of these gen Alphas, like think about digital natives, creativity. If we're not tapping in to how they learn and they want to show us their critical thinking skills, then the negative attributes rise to the surface. So that's where teachers are like, oh my gosh, you're telling me I'm not going crazy. It's literally just these kids are completely different.

Yeah. And there's nothing that any teacher is going to do to change them or to change this generation. So you have to adapt. Okay, You've got to know about this if you have thought about being a member of the boutique hub or if you're already a member of the Boutique Hub. This year we added something that I just can't wait to get into your hands. Okay, so if you're a monthly member of the Hub, awesome. Glad to have you. It's a great experience. But we were like people who are really serious about their business and growing it into the future. They don't just join the Hub monthly, they join for the whole year because it takes more than a month to impact and make real lasting change in your business. So this year we have updated our annual offer offer for those of you who are our members or thinking about becoming a member and joining for the entire year, you want to hear about it? All right. If you're an annual member of the Hub, not only do you get access to everything the Hub has to offer from all of the education, live, training every single week, all of our exclusive discounts, resources, wholesale brands, all the things. But now, as an annual member of the Hub, you also have access to some of our very best selling masterclasses and handbooks. That's right. I'm throwing all of these crazy things in for free. If you are an annual member of the Boutique Hub, this includes our best selling Small business marketing handbook, which is over 100 pages of content, calendars, live sale ideas, TikTok ideas, real ideas, social media ideas for literally every day of the month, engagement questions for literally every month of the year, collections, event ideas to run in your brick and mortar, and so much more. The small Business Marketing Handbook is a must have for every type of retailer no matter what you sell, I guarantee it. We're also throwing in our small business hiring handbook, which is all the things you know to hire, train, onboard job descriptions, everything you need to know to grow a team. Plus our holiday marketing masterclass, our content sanity masterclass, Best of our Boutique summit videos, and so much more. There's over thirteen hundred dollars added in courses, masterclasses and handbooks just for you. Plus, when you're an annual member of the Boutique Hub, you get access to join one on one coaching calls with myself and several members of our team. We don't give out an opportunity to do one on one coaching anywhere other than for our VIP students in Retail Bootcamp or those who are members of Boutique Hub Black. So this is a real opportunity for those of you who are a member of the Hub and you're like, hey, I just need to pick Ashley's brain for an hour. I need to pick Sarah's brain for an hour. What does that look like? You can book an annual Coaching call if you are an annual member of the Hub. Did I say annual coaching call? I meant to. Anytime you can book a coaching call. Only if you're an annual member of the Hub. So that's it. I'm excited. I'm rambling. I just want you to know, if you're going to join the Hub, this is the best opportunity to get the most out of your membership. If you're already a member, reach out to our team@happypeopleutiquehub.com we can get you upgraded to annual. If you're not yet a member, scroll all the way down to the join page at the boutiquehub.com and click annual to join us now. I can't wait to see you inside and get you all of these extras. We're going to do a lot together to grow, scale, optimize, and secure your business together in the next year. Let's get started. So it's funny because I see those same, like all those same positives and negatives than in the workforce that I'm hearing from retailers. Literally the idea that someone's going to bring their mom to the job interview with them, I hear it all the time. The other day I had a retailer tell me, and I know I told you the story, but they were, they had to have like a serious conversation with an employee and kind of reprimand this young employee. And she had her phone in her lap and they were like, is someone on your phone? She had her mom on speakerphone on her lap while she was getting kind of the talk. So they immediately fired her and let her go. These kids just, they don't know any different. And so I hear such a negative connotation from retailers saying, I can't employ this generation. They're terrible to work with. They're wah, wah, wah. But now since I've been talking to you, I'm like, oh, wait, there's hope. There is a way around this. There is a way we can work with them. So tell me more about what you found in this study and kind of where we can go forward with all this.

Yeah, so I think it was like conversations with you, those local business owners, and it was just like, man, how can we get this information to teachers and to districts? I like to say, you know, we're living in a time of chatgpt, right? So I always tell teachers, if Google can answer your kids questions, they're not the right questions anymore. If your assignments are chatgptable, they're not the right assignments. And so when we do when we, when we push into districts and I work with staff and leaders, it's like, well, what should we be doing then with kids? So we're like, well, let's ask the employers, right? Let's, let's ask like if so many of our schools, they pride themselves on like getting kids to be college, community and career ready. So let's go ask community and let's go ask careers. And so we put together a survey and we just kind of wanted to ask questions like, what skills do you value in employees? What skills are you seeing that are lacking in employees and in education? We call some of those like workforce skills. Social emotional learning, which oftentimes gets a bad rap. But we're really trying to say that social emotional learning is just getting kids to be able to collaborate, to be self managers of their own time and their learning to be, to build relationships, to be positive with each other and be able to just talk. Right. And thinking about some of their attributes of that generation and how we can tap into them. So we did this survey, we had a number of results. I think we have close to 100 now just in our local area. And that's huge for our little town. And so yeah, we really found that analytical thinking, critical thinking, problem solving are the number one that employers are really wanting out of kids. Like, don't teach them what photosynthesis is. Teach them like how to critically think about photosynthesis. Like I was a science teacher, so.

I've never seen anyone so excited about photosynthesis.

Wow, Brit. I mean, I didn't really like to teach it, but now that I look back, I was like, man, I don't know why I use it on all my examples. So good.

So there's a lot of, honestly in this industry, there's a lot of business owners who are former teachers or that have education in their family. So I think there's a lot of people who are going to relate to from the teacher side of like, what else can teachers do? Would you say it's important too that all teachers are, are pulling the technology and AI into the classroom as well?

Yeah, yeah. Because if you, like I said before, if you're not, if you're not tapping into those positive attributes of this generation, like you said canva, right? Like word art. Why are we using word art? Like let them use canva. But what I found in a lot of conversation with teachers is they don't know how to grade that. They don't even know how to help kids. So like you might have a teacher that's like, I never use Canva, so I'm not going to let my students use Canva. So there's that like fear because teachers just want to be helpful. Like, that's our innate being is we want to have answers for kids. We want to like help them grow. And if we don't know how to use technology ourselves, then we fear that we can't put it in front of kids. But how do kids learn? They're just gonna go watch YouTube, right? Like, they just, they're gonna go watch YouTube. So I think that's, that's the message to educators right now, that we're, we're kind of, let's take risks. Let's think about these digital natives you have in front of you that wanna be creative and innovative. Because if we can tap into their, if we can harness these positives and think about then what they're going to go into that workforce. Being able to do like overrun marketing and use AI to completely marketing strategies, financial, looking through data and book reports. I'm just thinking of how are we leveraging that to make kids and tap into those positives in innovation.

Yeah, I always think about this when our kids come home with homework. What is the difference between having resources and being resourceful?

That's a really great question. And I think that goes down to that critical thinking, right? Like, I don't think we are tapping into that strong enough because the workforce, like one of the questions we asked in that survey was, what is your worst nightmare? Like your HR departments, we called it lagging skills. Right. We made it sound nicer, but it was like what you're talking about. Like kids like just stare at, like stare. New employees will just like stare at a piece of paper and stare at a screen or stare at like a pen and not know how to use it. Like, I think one of the employees are like, I have employees that don't even turn lights off. Like, they just stare at this, like, switch. Like instead of asking for questions, asking for help, or like you said, being resourceful versus having the resources. Like, I feel like we live in a generation that. Or live in a world that this generation of kids has everything at their fingertips. Like they can ask theory right as mine goes off. But you know, they can ask. And that to me is being like having access to resources but not asking kids to be resourceful with the resources they have in front of them.

Yeah, I think a lot of them are scared to make any mistake at all. Again, going back to how they were raised and just perfection Mindset that I think a lot of millennials have imposed on their kids. You've got to be perfect all the time. And they grew up in that Instagram, you know, Gen 1 generation. So that's a huge issue. I think about it too. Like, when our kids are doing homework, we'll do the homework. And then I'm like, okay, now go run it through ChatGPT. Like, go check your work. Go look at it this way. Like, use the resources you have at hand. Thank you. Even though it's banned on all their school computers. I was like, that's not banned on my computer kids.

I just did that with, I just did that with my son too. It's like he turned in an essay and he got a C and he got A's, A's, A's, 1C. And it's like I reached out to that teacher and I said, my son is going to be chat to make himself a better writer. Because to me, those are the skills that are, that our kids are going to need to know. Like, how do I, how do I ethically and responsibly interact with AI? I mean, that's just one component of technology. But like you said, I mean, we've done interviews with college professors and deans and I mean, just kind of really like not only career and community, but also college and colleges are finding kids are so fearful to use AI because they're afraid they're going to get expelled or kicked out or reprimanded.

And that's what the future of their job is going to depend on is how they use AI. They're going to have to use it.

Right? Look at LinkedIn right now. It's like, you know, like back in the day when we would apply for a job, it's like, do you have word processing skills skills now? It's, can you use GPTs? Like you have to be able to use AI?

Yeah, absolutely. All right, so if you're speaking to an employer, Brit, and you're giving them, you know, just, I don't know, advice or tips on hiring a first time employee. Like, I'm going to hire this high school girl, she's never had work experience. What advice would you give that employer to make it a good experience with that employee?

That is a very, very good question, Ashley. And I would just say thinking about those positives of that generation, just really tapping into, like giving them roles or finding ways to tap and harness their innovations and creativity, that's really what they want. At the end of the day, I would say have Patience. Because I say this to my teachers, this generation is also learning like they were just in a system. Like think about a K12 system. If they didn't tap in to those positives, they might have so much of that like anxiety that that comes with that like risk being risk adverse. So I would just say like knowing those attributes I think is huge. Like understanding they might not offer up like in a staff meeting, they might not offer up like suggestions or ways to improve, but they might know it. So finding maybe other avenues to, you know, talk to your employees to harness that. Because like even college professors are like, these kids aren't talking in class anymore, high school, middle school. Like they're not talking like they're not raising hands even though they may know it. So I guess my advice is just to like know what makes this generation like positive and try to tap into those positives, but also kind of thinking about like we, we're different, we're from a different generation and we are completely different in the way we operate. And so just to kind of have grace, which is oftentimes hard to do as employers. Right? But I think, I mean, I think that would be a good starting point and just like find ways to get them one on one. Because again, they're not going to want to, you know, say it in front of other people. Going back to that interview with that, you know, that, that company that or the, the boutique that you were having to talk to, who fired that person who had their mom on their lap, on their phone. It's that risk. It's that feeling like feeling like social, like isolation and risk and needing that safety net. So for that one, like just even finding a way to reframe questions or talk to that employee before you have that sit down meeting, like, hey, we're going to have to have this meeting but I want to prepare you for it, which is hard to do, but it's stepping back and having grace because they're different people than us and they weren't necessarily educated in the sense system that was ready for them.

So true. And different doesn't mean worse, right? It doesn't mean one is better than the other. Hey guys, if you are headed to the Boutique Summit, which I hope you are, I want you to stop by the soda shop that is going to be powered by comments sold. Now I know many of you are familiar with comments sold or you have lots of questions about live selling. I see them every single day. So this is your opportunity to grab a drink, find out something new, meet somebody all of the comments sold reps are going to be there to help you figure out how to grow your business with mobile apps and live selling and just better using short form video. I know that apps and lives, especially in this economy, have been a game changer for so many small businesses right now. So stop by, see what's working in boutique tech right now. Even if you're just curious, maybe it's for you, maybe it's not. There's only one way to find out. So check out commentsoul.com or stop by at the boutique Summit and grab a drink from their soda shop. And what would you say, Brit, about even just again doubling down on the constant communication loop with them? Reiterating, driving positive reinforcement like over communing. We talk about when we teach, we have a program called retail bootcamp. And so when we talk about employing people, we have a TTRR method. Train, test, review, repeat. Train, test, review, repeat. And I think a lot of employers feel like I told you this once, you should know it and then take the initiative to go do it. But I don't think that's really possible with this group.

No, I don't think so. And I, to me it's the way they were educated. Like I sit in classrooms and I as the adult can get bored because I think we're just talking at kids. So kids have been trained for six hours a day to just be talked at and they're not really like, they're not able to just harness some of that. Like, like you said, repeat, like test, repeat, test. Like they want hands on learning. They want to learn in a way that brings some of that tactile and kinesthetic. Right. So and we don't see that. We see kids sitting in desks in rows like they did in the early 1900s still. So I would say just like that constant communication with them because they're literally used to probably blanking out, you know, adults at this point with the shortest.

Attention span that we've ever seen in history.

Seven. I think research is saying potentially seven seconds and a goal. Goldfish are nine.

Like what? So crazy. All right, so if someone's listening today and they would love like more resources or other places to turn to kind of speak your speak, where would you send them?

Oh, I mean, I would first like just look up any research that Dr. Jean Twingie has done on Generations. Her book, like I said, is just called Generations. And it's, it really gets the heart of like just tapping in and like, like I said, I just gave a very it's a 15 hour audible. Obviously, I just gave you like, you know, five minutes. But I would also say, like, looking at the World Economic Forum like that, really, we get a lot of our data from that of just thinking about what are those skills that we need to think about upskilling in humans. Like maximizing human capabilities and potential, I think goes untapped. Like, we're not tapping into human capacity. So to me, it's like thinking about that generation and how can we actually maximize human potential and capabilities.

Oh, that's so good. I love that train of thought. And as an employer, the idea, like, you should love the whole person as the employee. This is not just a person who is a ends to a means. A means to an end. What is that saying? How does it even go?

It means. Means to an end.

I don't know. I don't know. They're just. They're not your workhorse. They're human. How do we make it better for them? All right, Britt, you just had a big award. I'm so proud of you. Will you please tell everyone about the award that you just won?

Yeah, I don't know. I mean, it's still. I feel like I have imposter syndrome here at this point. Like my. You have to, like, just realize, Brit. So, yeah, pretty exciting. It is for a large worldwide conference. It's out of San Diego. It's called the AI show and AI Summit. It's where all the big leaders in technology are going to be there. Google, LinkedIn, Apple, I mean, you name it, right? And so I was just honored as a K12AI innovator. So I get to. Yeah, so I get to showcase. I get to showcase, like, going back to, like, you know, your example of Hadley and bringing home word art. That's what I've been doing with a number of districts. Now I think we're up to 10 districts in our region who have said, Brit, yes, we love what you're talking about. How can we do this on a large structural change for school system? So starting with some of our rural districts, you know, you and I are from small town. Like, my town's 600 people. Like, career readiness. Right. I didn't get skills that made me. I just. I'm a millennial. We just do it. I'm a millennial. Like, I feel like there's memes for that. Right? So, yeah, so I'm super excited. I get to showcase just like what local school districts are doing here in our Cooley region because they're doing some really amazing things with, like, how can we leverage AI and then make teachers be able to have time to tap into that human potential and capacity?

So good.