'The new Gen Z workforce have a new look on the work environment and the world around them,' says head of HR at Samsung NZ
To attract and retain key talent, encompassing values that lead to a higher purpose is becoming increasingly important for Kiwi businesses, especially as Gen Zs flood the employment market.
This was highlighted in a global survey conducted by Deloitte recently - the 2023 Gen Z and Millennial survey revealed that the drive for greater environmental sustainability and social impact is guiding lifestyle and career decisions for the younger portion of the workforce.
More than half of respondents said they had researched a brand’s environmental impact and policies before accepting a job offer, and more notably, one in six respondents said they had already changed jobs or sectors due to climate concerns, with one in four saying they planned to do so.
The new age of HR
“We are in a new age of HR and recruitment,” said Rebecca Dobby, head of human resources at Samsung, New Zealand.
“Now, many new job seekers are looking at companies that not only offer the right role but offer a high purpose within those roles,”
The company’s corporate social responsibility vision of “Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People” strives to empower the next generation to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes.
“The new Gen Z workforce are not just the managing directors of the future, they are today’s graduates and young professionals,” said Dobby. “They have a new look on the work environment and the world around them, as they have grown up more attuned to social and environmental issues.”
Even at the graduate level, Samsung looks to give their people the ownership to oversee business sustainability projects. Not only do graduates get to shape a local sustainability pillar from inception to completion, but the process also enables the development of their core leadership skills.
“We emphasis development of core skills with real live project management for our graduates that speak to their passions, whilst ensuring that we adhere to our strong value of CSR. This allows our young future leaders to have a clear succession plan within the business,” said Dobby.
Dobby believes the biggest responsibility she has as head of HR is to see how the company can make each role more meaningful.
“The Samsung business philosophy is simple: to devote talent and technology to creating superior products and services that contribute to a better global society,” said Dobby. “To help achieve this, Samsung sets a high value on its people, and we look to promote our huge strides in sustainability to our benefit when it comes to recruitment.”
Aligning with a higher purpose
One way the organisation achieves this is looking at ways to entice to these candidates by ensuring that the company’s values, missions and aspirations are aligned with the higher purpose the employment market is seeking.
“My team consistently looks at ways in which we are able to improve culture, learning and development, remuneration, benefits and DEI,” said Dobby. “People make the company, they bring their own passion, skills, experience and unique perspective to the business, which in turn drives our culture and performance.”
“HR is all about people. I heard this Māori proverb, a long time ago and I feel it really does encompass my beliefs are around HR - ‘he aha te mea nui o te ao? Māku e kī atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
Translated: “What is the most important thing in this world? It is people, it is people, it is people.”
