From Boomers to Gen Z: what the next generations want from your tax department
Your tax analysts are likely to be Millennials and now beginning to be Gen Z. They are game changers in the workforce who want learn from their professions, be challenged, have a healthy work environment, and they want to be seen for all their talents.
What do Millennials and Gen z's look for in the workplace? First and foremost: flexible work culture, where work/life is in balance. They want to see that technology is leveraged to support work/life balance and that it increases efficiency and communication.
Millennials and Gen Z are information gatherers: They want transparency. Open door, open book policies help create a sense of unity within your tax team. Share with your team information about compensation, rewards, advancement paths, and how decisions are made.
Work needs to be meaningful. Feedback is a fast way to reinforce the purpose behind their work. Providing 1:1 time to this generation will be like getting a bunch of "likes" or "comments" on their social platforms. Give them the acknowledgement and they'll give you the output.
These generations are so used to being connected to their peers, they want that from work too. Collaboration and group debriefs regularly makes them feel seen and therefore valued. Create meaningful rewards that celebrate success of your team. Build a sense of community and inspire collaboration with supervisors and across the company. Teamwork from tax projects to volunteerism are all important to these generations. Here's a link to team building exercises that don't suck: https://fairygodboss.com/articles/team-building-activities
Another good read from Deloitte on understanding Gen Z: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/understanding-generation-z-in-the-workplace.html