• Kimberly Prescott
  • Blog
  • October 24, 2022

Gen Z and Workplace Expectations

Gen Z, also known as “Zoomers,” is the generation demographic succeeding Millenials. Born in the mid to late-1990s and early 2010s, this generation is starting to enter the workforce and they are bringing a slew of new expectations with them. If you aren’t sure how to manage Gen Z’s workforce expectations at your organization, keep reading for a few helpful tips from the experts at Prescott HR!

 

What is Gen Z Like?

To better understand Gen Z, it’s helpful to take a look at trends in the generation’s overall upbringing. Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and portable electronic devices from a very early age, which is why they are often dubbed “digital natives.” Studies have shown that members of Gen Z are a more educated, well-behaved, stressed, and depressed demographic than generations before them. These are all important considerations to keep in mind when hiring Gen Z employees at your organization.

 

What are Gen Z’s Values?

While this is a broad assumption of an entire generation’s values, there are trends in what Gen Z expects between an employer and employee relationship. Here are several important factors:

 

Work-Life Balance

This is a big one. Flexibility at work is a top priority for Gen Z workers and often falls at the top of the list for this generation’s job seekers. Gen Z values their professional lives almost as much as their personal lives, so they want to work for an organization that does not compromise their freedom outside of work. We recommend offering flex or remote work options to your employees to help establish a proper work-life balance in the office.

 

Health and Wellness

In line with a better work-life balance is access to important mental health and wellness resources at work. As mentioned above, Gen Z is one of the most stressed generations of our time. Having access to health and wellness programs at work is a great way to appeal to this younger generation and demonstrate that you value their well-being in and out of the office.

 

Social Issues

Gen Z is a very organized generation, especially when it comes to social and cultural issues affecting our country. They are one of the most involved generations in organized social activities that advocate for change. That’s why many Gen Z employees want to work for organizations that align with their values. As an employer, this could mean offering paid time off for your employees to volunteer with an organization that matters to them.

 

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help with understanding Gen Z and their workplace expectations? We are here to help! Prescott HR offers a wide range of services that can help your organization evaluate your current policies and incorporate new ones, as needed. Our unintimated HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with precisely what you need. Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

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  • Kimberly Prescott
  • Blog
  • October 17, 2022

How to Reward Employees for Good Work

In order to keep your team members happy, you have to be willing to recognize and reward the work being accomplished by your employees. That’s why we recommend implementing an employee rewards system that appropriately acknowledges your team’s work in a fair, consistent, and authentic manner.

Keep reading to learn more about how to reward good work from the experts at Prescott HR.

Why should your organization recognize good work?

Nothing makes an employee feel valued quite like public recognition of their hard work, and as an employer or manager, it is your responsibility to identify opportunities to make your employees feel valued and appreciated.

Recognizing the efforts your employees are putting into their jobs is a great way to boost company morale and increase employee retention, all while creating a positive work environment that attracts the best talent available in your field.

Here Are Some Ways to Reward Good Work

Now that you understand how important it is to reward your team members for their hard work, here are some inexpensive and authentic ways to show your appreciation below.

A Handwritten Note

A handwritten note of appreciation is a small and often undervalued gesture in today’s world. We tend to take for granted how important it is to sit down and write out our appreciation for other people’s efforts. A handwritten note or post-it note is a small way to show your employees that you care about their work and value their efforts.

Give a Shout Out

Nothing feels better than being recognized by your peers for your hard work. That’s why we recommend giving one hardworking employee a special shout-out before a team meeting. Just be sure that you are recognizing your employees in a consistent and fair manner.

One suggestion is to keep a spreadsheet of different employee recognition efforts to make sure you aren’t showing favoritism to a select group of team members.

Organize a Group Lunch

Finding a set time to leave the office and bond as a group over lunch is a great opportunity to reward good work. This could be a monthly effort on your part as a manager to organize a group lunch, or a quarterly reward when your team meets its goals.

You’ll want to ensure that you are selecting restaurants that accommodate any dietary restrictions your team members follow, so ask before you make a reservation at a particular place.

Feature a Team Member in Company Communications

Another underutilized opportunity to communicate an employee’s hard work is to recognize them in a company newsletter or e-blast. Create a section in your publication that highlights an individual team member’s background, current role, and efforts.

Use this company newsletter or e-blast blurb to rotate through different team members to ensure everyone gets their chance to feel special and appreciated.

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help with implementing an employee rewards system? We are here to help!

Prescott HR offers a wide range of HR services that can help your organization set up an employee rewards system that is consistent and fair to all team members. Our stringent HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with precisely what you need.

Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

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  • Kimberly Prescott
  • Blog
  • October 10, 2022

Soft Skills Explained

Have you heard of the term “soft skills” when recruiting top talent for an organization? Soft skills can mean the difference between a competent employee and a stellar one. If this buzzword is unfamiliar to you, keep reading to learn how hiring employees with soft skills may be the way to go, from the experts at Prescott HR.

What are soft skills?

Let’s start by defining what “soft skills” means first. A soft skill is a characteristic or personality trait that goes beyond an employee’s set job expectations.

Here are a few examples of soft skills in employees:

  • Strong communication or collaborative skills
  • Critical thinking
  • The ability to multitask and meet deadlines
  • Communication skills
  • Dependability

Why are soft skills important?

All of the above qualities are great things to look for in job candidates, but they aren’t always easy to find. Most employers are looking for employees who can perform their technical job tasks well, but it’s the possession of the soft skills above that can really set excellent employees apart from the rest.

Recruiting team members who are dependable and critical thinkers are going to pay dividends in the long run, especially if you run a highly collaborative team.

You can hire an extremely talented software designer to help run a project, but if they are incapable of meeting deadlines or unwilling to communicate clearly with the team, you are only doing yourself and your company a disservice.

What are the top soft skills in demand right now?

According to a Zip Recruiter market outlook survey, here are the top ten soft skills in highest demand right now:

  • Communication
  • Time management
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Flexibility
  • Problem-solving
  • Collaboration
  • Innovation
  • Mentoring
  • Multi-tasking
  • Proactivity

How to discover soft skills in a job candidate?

During the interview process, it can be difficult to assess your potential hire’s soft skills. We recommend incorporating behavior-based questions into your interview to get a sense of the soft skills your potential hires may possess. An example of a question to ask job candidates is to ask them to share a time they had to deal with a difficult customer or client.

How can your organization discover your current employees’ soft skills?

The good news for your business is that your current team is probably full of soft skills, maybe even ones you haven’t noticed yet! That’s why continuous employee training is paramount to discovering and fostering your team’s soft skills. Start by discovering and developing your team’s soft skills through training programs or team exercises.

This is an opportunity to see how your team members perform under different kinds of circumstances, and the soft skills you are looking for should rise to the surface during these exercises.

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help with recruiting new team members? We are here to help!

Prescott HR offers a wide range of services that can help your organization evaluate your team’s current skills, plus offer ways to improve. Our stringent HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with precisely what you need.

Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

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  • Kimberly Prescott
  • Blog
  • October 3, 2022

How to Adopt a Remote Work Policy

If the COVID-19 pandemic has shown employers anything, it’s that not all work needs to be done in person or in an office setting. The initial COVID-19 lockdown forced many organizations to re-examine how their teams work and what’s possible in remote work settings.

Not only can a virtual office cut down on expensive overhead costs, but surveys have shown that employees prefer flexibility.

We’re sharing a few helpful tips to adopt a remote work policy from the experts at Prescott HR. Keep reading to learn more!

What is a remote work policy?

One of the very first things you should do when deciding if you want to allow your employees to work remotely is to write everything down. The only way for employees to be successful at working from home is for the organization to clearly outline rules and expectations. That’s where a written Remote Work Policy comes into play.

A Remote Work Policy is essentially a written agreement between an employer or organization and an employee. Your Policy should clearly outline any expectations your employees will be required to meet during their remote work hours. A Remote Work Policy document can outline expected office hours, time off approval processes, and more.

Now that you understand how important a written Remote Work Policy is to the function of an organization, here are several important considerations to keep in mind when creating one.

Be Clear, Thorough, and Direct

Nothing causes chaos more than unclear communication. This Remote Work Policy document should be as clear as possible, so there is no misunderstanding between employers and employees.

Establish Working Hours

It’s important to determine which hours you expect your employees to be “logged on” during remote work. There are several different ways to go about this. Some employers may not require set work hours, and just want to see that the work is being done. Another option is to set a time range, similar to how the hours would be in-office, like 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for example. Finally, there’s the option to set a total number of hours expected for each employee to complete. That could mean eight set hours, to be completed when it’s most convenient for the employee.

Decide on a Dress Code

Just because an employee is working from home does not exactly mean that they should wear sweatpants and t-shirts to work. If maintaining a set dress code is important to your organization, you should lay out these dress code guidelines clearly in your Remote Work Policy.

Get Feedback from Your Team

The best way to know how your remote work policy is going is to ask the people most affected by it: your team! After drafting an initial Remote Work Policy, run it by different members of your team for constructive feedback. This is also a document that can be reviewed regularly and adjusted according to your organization’s needs.

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help implementing a remote work policy? We are here to help!

Prescott HR offers a wide range of services that can help your organization evaluate your current remote work policies or how to develop a new one. Our unintimated HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with precisely what you need. Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

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