What Retailers Need to Know About Hiring Gen Z for the Holiday Season

The holidays are nearly upon us, and brick-and-mortar retail stores will soon be playing festive music as they gear up for their busiest months of the year. Retailers, and grocers alike, will need additional staff to cover the influx in shoppers. According to a survey conducted by Profitect, now Zebra Prescriptive Analytics, 44 percent of Gen Zers, including those currently in college, already have experience working in retail or grocery stores, making them a key labor pool for these soon-to-be-busy retailers.

In order to attract, engage and retain this growing digital generation, prospective employers need to adapt their task-management approaches. One way to achieve all three is by investing in technology like prescriptive analytics, which offers a simple, Gen Z-friendly approach to task management. Here are three ways retailers can use prescriptive analytics to appeal to Gen Zers:

Incorporate Technology Devices Into Day-to-Day Tasks

Gen Zers are digital natives, and digital natives enjoy using their tech devices at work. Prescriptive analytics can be enabled through most mobile devices, including Zebra scanners. Employees who have access to prescriptive analytics via mobile devices can be automatically assigned tasks in near-real time, such as replenishing out of stocks, setting up new promotional displays, unloading deliveries, and more. This workflow tool empowers Gen Z employees to have a clearer understanding of their tasks and completed work, helping them to more faithfully fulfill their duties.

Reduce Time Spent Analyzing Reports

While reports still hold value for any retailer, Gen Zers are looking for a smarter way to identify the tasks they need to perform vs. reading a report. The Profitect survey indicated that 65 percent of Gen Zers feel that antiquated processes — like reporting — make a potential employer less appealing. By using prescriptive analytics to break down the data and provide clear, concise actions, employees of any age can better understand what's expected of them.

Provide Clear Directions

In any scenario, prescriptive analytics tools send Gen Z employees an alert directing them what to do, and how to get the task done. This simplified workflow also frees managers up for higher-level tasks such as store recaps, recruitment and customer service. Providing training in a manner Gen Zers prefer brings them up to speed faster, easing the strain on company time and resources.

Retailers are looking to engage all employees at the edge. Hiring, training and retaining Gen Z workers to cover the holiday season means leveraging technology that empowers them to deliver stellar results. When employees are empowered to do their jobs well, everyone, from the cashier at the front of the store to the stockers in the back room, to the customers shopping, will enjoy a better experience.

As general manager of Zebra Analytics, Guy Yehiav is responsible for setting the organic and nonorganic growth, leadership strategy, and customer success for the Zebra Analytics business unit.