It’s no secret that finding and keeping good talent is hard.
It’s a sentiment shared by Citrix Australia and New Zealand CEO Martin Creighan, who says the current market is bad for employers.
“I can tell you that almost every client and partner I speak to has talent acquisition and retention challenges. It changes how companies look at both aspects,” he says.
Citrix has 30 years of experience helping businesses digitally transform, and Creighan offers tips for leaders looking to retain and recruit new employees in the elusive, younger Gen Z pool.
Hybrid work more important than wages or fringe benefits
Creighton says that when he joined many years ago, a good salary package drove his motivation or whether a company or organization would offer a good career path.
“Will I be able to stay here and grow professionally or personally over the next 20 or 30 years? Does the company have a good benefits package? Is the office location in the right area? Because we’re going to the office, aren’t we?” he says.
“So these are all motivations for me as I was selecting where to start my career against Gen Z, who say their expectation is hybrid work right away.”
People in this younger group of workers want to know that they can participate in days at the office but also want to know that they can work from home, a cafe, or the beach.
“They want to be able to work wherever they need to work because the technology involved allows them to be productive,” he says.
“We have researResearch shows more important to Gen Zs than pay packages, career paths, and salary benefits. You must focus on that area if you want to retain and acquire young and emerging talent.”
Creighton says business leaders must support a hybrid work environment and have the technology to facilitate it.
Citrix’s recent report, Work Rebalanced, surveyed 900 business leaders, including CEOs, CFOs, and CTOs, and 1,800 knowledge workers from Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US.
The survey found that 64% of employees and 62% of business leaders say today’s work technology is easy to use and intuitive. In addition, it found that 73% of millennials believe their company is meeting their expectations regarding the level of technology delivered, but that drops to 72% for Gen Zs.
“Gen Zs say the technology in their company is pretty good, but it’s not as good as it could be,” he says.
(Martin Creighan, Citrix Director for Australia and New Zealand)
New frontiers like the metaverse
The new report from Citrix also reveals that Generation Zs see the metaverse as the way of the future.
It found that 68% of Gen Zs believe the metaverse will revolutionize how everyone collaborates, builds culture and teams, and works on projects, as opposed to just 58% of millennials. Business leaders are also eyeing the metaverse, with 74% believing it will revolutionize workplace collaboration.
Creighton says it’s easy to see why most employees and business leaders think of the metaverse, even if it’s just the way it could completely change business meetings.
“I had about four of us in a conference room here at the office, and four came in through teams. The people in the room kept forgetting that there were people on the screen,” he says.
“They’re there on the screen. You can see their faces, they’re on video, but it’s 2D. You can get so encapsulated in the conversation in the room that you forget about them. So sometimes don’t even throw at them.”
Employees who join a meeting online may also feel like the conversation is going well in the room and think they don’t want to interrupt, so they stay quiet.
“And that’s what I think the metaverse will change. The metaverse provides this presence and immersion,” he says.
“As we go forward, hybrid work and virtual worlds like the metaverse will be an important part of not only retaining and retaining employees but also keeping them up-skilled, engaged and productive.”
The challenge for companies to deal with these new trends is to figure out how to deliver services safely and effectively.
“That’s where Citrix comes in, and we thrive,” he says.
“We provide a digital workspace platform that businesses can use to securely deliver their apps and data to people wherever they are, anywhere in the world. Wherever they are, whatever device they use, the worker can be as productive as possible.”
Creighton says Citrix’s DaaS solutions provide businesses and their employees with a simple, unified way to collaborate and collaborate.
“And as the technology continues to evolve, you’ll see even more innovations built into developments like the metaverse,” he says.
Visit the website to learn more about what Citrix offers and how it can accelerate your business to a desirable workplace.
