5 Lessons from Industry Leading Brands: How to Attract and Retain Gen Z Talent

By Harri Insider Team | August 14, 2024

Gen Z is rewriting the rules. From igniting viral trends to fashion feuds, their impact is undeniable. Now, as this generation enters the workforce, hospitality is poised for a shift.

When it comes to popular industries amongst Gen Z, it’s no surprise that hospitality takes the lead. With 40 percent of today’s restaurant workers under age 25, the question is: how can you engage and retain Gen Z talent? Discover how five top restaurants have mastered the art by creating an environment that makes their crew want to stick around for the long-haul.

1. Meet Them Where They Live: On Their Phones

The thought of a 17-year-old walking into a restaurant to ask for an application is nearly unimaginable today. The first step to attracting Gen Z employees is to use a mobile-first approach.

A large Papa John’s franchisee achieves this with their conversational AI ambassador, Carri. Candidates can apply, ask questions, and receive the instant gratification of scheduling an interview–all through a conversation with Carri. This creates a frictionless application process and offers a real-time resource to candidates throughout their hiring journey.

Ready to transform recruitment to reach Gen Z? Learn more here.

2. Leverage the Power of Social Media

Rather than using a traditional search engine, did you know that 40 percent of Gen Z prefers to search on social media? Connecting with digital natives requires thinking outside of the box, or in this case, beyond the job boards.

One brand stands out for its innovative approach to recruitment marketing – Chipotle.

Recognizing its young workforce (averaging 24 years old), Chipotle sought to fill over 7,000 positions through social media channels in 2023. The brand’s “Behind the Foil” initiative featured documentary-style videos, in which team members talked about Chipotle’s pivotal impact on their lives.

Chipotle also leveraged TikTok to offer a behind-the-scenes look into employee life, culinary artistry, and employee perks. This six-second spotlight on crew member benefits exploded, garnering an impressive 3.9 million views.

See how you can harness social media for effective hospitality recruitment.

3. Invest in the Future of Hospitality

If there’s one hospitality brand to learn from when it comes to benefits, it’s Raising Cane’s—the only restaurant USA Today named as one of the top 25 workplaces this year. Raising Cane’s invests heavily in competitive compensation, benefits, and career development.

Over the past 5 years, Raising Cane’s has invested over $150 million to support its crew. Crew members can also increase their earnings by training new employees, obtaining advanced certifications, or picking up late-night shifts.

“Our crewmembers are the reason we have been able to grow and support our communities.”
Raising Cane’s Co-CEO AJ Kumuran

While many hospitality employees view their work as a temporary stepping stone, Raising Cane’s empowers its crew members by offering clear career pathing. In fact, 30% of Raising Cane’s support office staff got their start in crew member roles. By investing in your team’s growth and promoting career progression, you’ll not only attract top Gen Z talent but also inspire them to see hospitality as a rewarding, lifelong career opportunity.

Explore our 5 actionable strategies to establish hospitality career pathways.

4. Craft a Compelling Employee Value Proposition

To win over hospitality talent in today’s competitive market, consider leading with a compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Your EVP should highlight not only the basics–compensation, benefits, work-life balance, and career growth opportunities–but also your brand’s mission, values, and workplace culture.

Gregorys Coffee effectively combines traditional benefits, such as competitive pay and rapid promotion opportunities, with a strong emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Their commitment to creating a welcoming environment for all employees is evident in their brand statement, “We see coffee differently, and we see you too. We welcome all walks of people into our family.”

Given that 94% of Gen Z believes that companies should take a stance on social and environmental issues, highlighting your corporate responsibility initiatives is essential. Caravan Restaurants, a beloved UK brand, does this well by supporting various charities like Project Waterfall and Kitchen Social, putting its ‘Caravan of Love’ value into action.

Here’s your guide on how to integrate core values across the entire employee journey,

5. Bring Your Brand to Life

First impressions are critical. Just as hiring managers want to get a sense of who their applicants are through resumes and applications, your candidates often want to research your brand. It’s important to know what this first impression looks like for them; is there an accessible, centralized place where they can find this information?

The best way to showcase your compelling EVP is through a Career Branding page. This page should include your brand’s story, open opportunities, talent development program, benefits, philanthropy, and key initiatives, such as Burger King UK’s.

When you bring your career brand to life online, you invite applicants to explore what it’s like to work at your company, creating a positive first impression.

Dive into the power of career branding here.

Cracking the Gen Z Code

Gen Z is unlike any other generation before it. Determining how to captivate this demographic can leave hospitality leaders feeling like they’re spinning their wheels. But by exploring the strategies of these leading brands, it’s clear that the solution is two-fold, requiring both the human touch and the support of technology.

To appeal to Gen Z, human resources and talent acquisition leaders need to strategically refresh their employer branding, compensation and benefits, and recruitment marketing. But they also need the right technology at their disposal to amplify their efforts and connect with this mobile-first generation. As the workforce evolves, so too should your technology partners.

With a refreshed strategy and the tools to reach hospitality talent on social media platforms, showcase career branding, and leverage conversational AI, attracting and retaining Gen Z becomes effortless.