How successful is your organisation at attracting young workers? How successful are you at retaining them? In a highly competitive labour market, hiring and retention of young talent is a vital component of success. Deloitte’s survey of Swiss Gen Z and Millennials explores their desires and motivations, what they are looking for from employers, and what causes them to leave.

Some of the survey’s results are perhaps surprising. Pay and status are not young employees’ main motivation. Young workers are idealistic and want to retain their own identity, friends and hobbies while sharing a sense of purpose with their employer. They want to feel that within their organisation and society they are heard, empowered and able to make a difference.

Deloitte’s Swiss Gen Z and Millennial Survey explores the values and motivations of the two youngest generations in the workforce. The survey’s findings are valuable for employers who want to hire and retain young talent successfully in an extremely competitive labour market, in which skills are in short supply. Young workers’ motivations may be different to what you imagine.

Short time horizons

A first point to note is that the two younger generations and, in particular, Gen Z, have itchy feet: they don’t expect to stay in a job for long. Almost half of Swiss Gen Z workers plans to quit their job within the next two years. Millennials are somewhat more settled: one in three plans to stay in their current job for more than 5 years. With young workers generally less than committed to remaining in a job for more than a short time, employers need to present them with a compelling employee value proposition (EVP) if they want to retain young staff.

Global mobility may want to review and adjust it’s policy suite to reflect young workers’ different expectations, for example by increasing flexibility and facilitating more short-term assignments.

A sense of purpose

Key to doing that is creating a sense of purpose. The two younger generations want the work they do to feel fulfilling and useful. Among both generations the number one reason for quitting a job was not pay but a sense that their work was not meaningful to them. They want to believe, too, that the organisation they work for shares their sense of purpose. This purpose would also need to be reflected globally across the organisation, in all the countries in which it is present, to encourage both generations to consider cross-border or international assignments.

Identity

This need for purpose is also reflected in their desire to bring their authentic selves to work. They do not want to adopt a corporate persona; rather, they want to be true to their own identity and values. They feel their identity is shaped more by their family and friendships than by their work or employer. Their hobbies and interests are precious and central to their identity. Global mobility may want to consider providing additional relocation support to help individuals settle in and highlight locations where their favourite communities or hobbies are available. Virtual assignments may offer a different solution by providing new job experiences while remaining close to family and friends.

Flexibility and work/life balance

The desire to remain true to themselves mean that both Gen Z and Millennials are looking for a healthy work/life balance. They expect flexibility from their employers on where work is done – onsite, or at home. 45% of Swiss Gen Z currently working in a hybrid or remote way would look for a new job if they were compelled to work full time on site. One in three among the two youngest generations likes the idea of shorter working weeks. The possibility to take a sabbatical from work also appeals to many.

At the same time younger workers, and in particular Gen Z, wants the opportunity to work onsite some of the time. They see contact with colleagues as a way to learn, build their profile within the organisation and obtain opportunities to move to different roles and gain promotion. But from their employers it’s clear that they expect flexibility.

Remote work policies and hybrid work arrangement have become more important for companies. However, ensuring compliance across borders, from a tax, social security and immigration perspective, remains challenging in a fast-changing regulatory environment. Robust processes and the use of technology can help alleviate many of the challenges, allowing mobility functions to more rapidly and comprehensively, respond to individual and business requests for greater flexibility, without putting the company or individual at risk.

Pay, living costs, promotion

Pay does matter to young workers and can be a reason for quitting a job if they feel the salary they receive is not competitive. They are very much concerned about high living costs and, like their older colleagues, are aware of the importance of building a pension.

They want to see a path ahead for them in the organisation and the opportunity to try different roles and be involved in different projects in order to advance their career.

Mobility can play a key role in facilitating new opportunities. It should be used in a strategic way to help move forward the talent agenda and ensure the career path remains clear and varied. Additionally Benefit packages will need to be adjusted to ensure the required standard of living is maintained when taking on an international assignment.

Heard, and contributing

Young workers want to be heard. They feel they can see ways in which work can be done better and they want management to take their ideas on board. This desire to be empowered extends, too, beyond the company: younger generations want their values to make a difference in today’s society.

The survey highlights the need for employers to understand workers in the two youngest generations and establish a robust retention strategy.

Organisations need to ask themselves if they are establishing a shared sense of purpose with young staff as well as offering them the flexibility they demand. It’s also important to provide varied work experience and exposure and set out a compelling EVP, which offers young workers opportunities for growth and development.

Global mobility functions will need to consider if their current processes and policies are fit to accommodate the new desires and motivations of the two youngest generations, allowing them to be a key strategic partner in the talent discussions.

Are the voices of your young workers being heard in the organisation? They want to make a difference. Organisations that listen to them and harness their energy and idealism are more likely to succeed.

Access the full report here.

If you would like to discuss more on this topic, please do reach out to our key contacts below.

Key contacts

Matthias Thalmann - Human Capital Leader

Matthias is a Partner in Deloitte’s Human Capital Consulting Practice, based in Zurich. Matthias has more than 18 years of international business consulting experience. He collaborates with complex, global clients to achieve high business impact with a focus on transforming Human Capital strategies, programs and services. In addition, Matthias has extensive experience in transforming HR functions and he is leading the Swiss HR Transformation team.

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Veronica Melian - Managing Partner People & Purpose and Human Capital Partner

Veronica is a Partner with 24 years of consulting experience at Deloitte. She is currently Managing Partner People & Purpose and the leader of the Human Capital Practice in Switzerland. Previously, was the Americas Human Capital Leader. She has more than 20 years of experience leading large scale global transformation programs. She advises business leaders on how to transform the way their business works and prepare them for the future of work. Veronica holds an MBA from The Ohio State University, USA; and a PhD in Psychology of Human Resources from the University of Valencia, Spain.

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Renaat Van den Eeckhaut - Partner, Global Employer Services Lead Switzerland

Renaat leads the Global Employer Services (GES) Practice for Deloitte Switzerland. He specialises in international assignment and cross-border employment matters and advises on tax, social security and international mobility policies. Renaat has 24 years of experience with Deloitte Belgium and Switzerland and has worked with many companies across a broad range of industries. Renaat holds a Master in Law and Accounting Law and has authored many publications on international taxation.

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Richard Goodwin - Partner, Global Workforce Solutions 

Richard is a Partner within the Global Employer Services team of Deloitte in Switzerland. He is based in Geneva and specialised in Global Mobility. Richard has 20 years of experience in expatriate tax consulting with Deloitte across 5 countries. In addition he has a solid experience in leading an in-house major global mobility change project for a leading company from the Technology, Media & Telecommunications industry, including the review and implementation of the process, systems and technology required for a world class global mobility operation.

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