7 Strategies to Keep Remote Gen Z Employees Engaged

The imaginary scenario with your remote Gen Z team members may look like this:

Every day, they get hypnotized by the vortex of tasks (Asana, is it?), swirling them into a never-ending, drowsy work loop. Slack (or other chat) buzzes and occasionally wakes them up. Virtual meetings are like echo chambers in headphones. Boredom and alienation substitute each other in a cyclical order. Only the glow from their screens lights their faces…

The current state of employee engagement worldwide is no longer shocking news. 62% of employees are disengaged, and one in five feels lonely. Now, let this simmer for a while: 22% of workers under 35 experience isolation compared to 19% of those 35 and older. Overall, today, the levels of detachment and loneliness, both in-office and remote, reached their highest peaks in over a decade.

What can help you disrupt this cycle and engage your remote employees, particularly those in the Gen Z demographic cohort?

The answer is in this article.

The Most Important Facts About the Gen Z Workforce

Even if you know some people that are = Generation Z (aka Gen Zers or Zoomers, born between 1997 and 2012), you may need to double-check these essential facts to understand this age category better.

They are digital technology natives.

It’s as if Gen Zers have tech-directed antennas in their minds. No wonder—they grew up and studied with technologies surrounding them. That’s why, after graduation, Gen Z job seekers expect seamless integration of digital tools in their remote work environment. They can’t stand outdated or inefficient systems and prefer using practical collaboration tools and mobile apps when working from home.

By the way, they basically never drop mobile devices from their hands, and 54% dedicate four hours at minimum to social media every single day.

They are active promoters of societal values.

Younger generations are all ears to socially resonant topics. They also support human-centric values like these:

• Diversity and inclusion
• Equality and human rights
• Social justice
• Philanthropy
• Transparency and ethics
• Sustainability, etc.

That’s why they are drawn to employers with higher social responsibility and expect their companies to drive positive societal changes. In fact, over half of Gen Zers (55%) want employers to adhere to environmentally friendly practices and address climate concerns.

They are obsessed with wellness.

McKinsey found that Generation Z is keen on a healthier lifestyle, and 56% prioritize fitness. Besides physical health and appearance, employees from this demographic segment are highly concerned about mental health awareness in companies and seek greater work-life balance.

As Thomas Medlin, Co-founder at JumpMD, noticed, employers have already taken considerable steps in this direction: “Instead of staying fully remote, numerous companies offer alternatives like hybrid work. And instead of a traditional nine-to-five routine, they give the freedom of flexible hours.”

They are avid learners.

For a Gen Zer, a perfect place to work is an ideal place to learn.

Having just graduated from colleges and universities, young people haven’t lost their zest for knowledge and willingness to develop new skill sets. They value opportunities for continuous learning and career development in virtual or physical workplaces.

Actually, Gen Z employees want to learn and grow even more rigorously than other generations: 53% of Zoomers compared to only 37% of Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.

How to Engage Your Remote Gen Z Employees

Strategy #1. Build a modern digital environment for them.

What can be more progressive and innovative than a company’s intranet?

It now shines like a beacon among other revolutionary trends in the future of distant or hybrid work. Here’s why. Most intranets have immense energy to fire up remote employee engagement in several ways:

• Regular corporate updates
• Training portals
• Customizable communication channels
• Interactive content (videos, GIFs, emojis, etc.)
• Mobile-friendliness (Gen Zers can easily access it from their smartphones)
• And more!

Corporate intranets have already become all-in-one digital homes for 65% of organizations. Likewise, being among the top-ranked ones, Happeo can help you engage your Gen Z employees in a distributed work environment. Within this advanced intranet system, they will be just one click away from each other. It syncs like a well-rehearsed duet with your most used and beloved tools, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

For example:

As a Google-run company, Dirox brought all generations of remote workers together with Happeo. It became a cross-generational home base with tons of possibilities for Diroxers, from organizing a resource center for newbies to communicating and celebrating each other’s achievements virtually.

Strategy #2. Combine monetary and non-monetary recognition.

We didn’t mention it above, but Gen Z workers are highly sensitive to appreciation. They want to affirm their self-worth after graduation. That’s why rewards (financial and non-financial) sit among the best employee engagement strategies for remote Gen Zers.

Monetary recognition methods:

• Performance-based bonuses
• Sales commissions
• Gift cards
• Personalized gifts (e.g., student loan repayment or personal development fund)
• Referral bonuses

Non-monetary recognition methods:

• A personal thank-you note in chat
• Company-wide acknowledgment (in a virtual meeting, intranet channel, or corporate newsletter)
• A blog post or video about the employee’s achievements
• A public shout-out on a social platform

For example:

Uberflip launched an employee spotlight series via LinkedIn describing a typical workday for each team member.

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Jeffrey Zhou, CEO and Founder of Fig Loans, also emphasizes the importance of spot awards. “It may be a small but meaningful recognition tactic to engage Gen Z workers remotely. It functions based on the spur-of-the-moment principle: you reward your employee right on the spot on the same day for an exceptional idea or outstanding contribution to a project.”

Remarkably, a spot award can be monetary (a financial bonus) or non-monetary (a digital certificate).

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Strategy #3. Give “food” for their minds (their preferred “food”).

Simply put, you should promote new knowledge and skills acquisition in your remote Gen Z workforce. To begin with, lay the groundwork with onboarding training.

For example:

Owkin turned to Happeo to create an intranet Knowkin with an internal Owkin Academy, an educational hub strategically built to onboard new joiners and transfer tacit knowledge to them.

Regarding other stages in the employee life cycle, Grant Aldrich, Founder of Preppy, advises employers to create personalized L&D programs for each Gen Z worker. He says, “These programs should not solely be tied to professional growth. They must satisfy employees’ personal development needs, too. Such a program may include an L&D stipend or budget on anything your employee prefers.” 

For example:

Let’s assume your Gen Z employee is curious about learning ancient languages and reading classical literature as a pastime. In this case, such a stipend could cover an online Latin course or class.

Strategy #4. Interact with them on social media.

Some organizations have an enterprise social network, a private social platform to communicate and interact with employees remotely.

Yet, that’s not enough for remote Gen Z workers who prefer open and transparent communications with employers in public. They have nothing to hide and want companies to demonstrate the same attitude via public social media channels.

Again, you may start from the onboarding stage and write a few welcoming words to a new Gen Zer in your corporate family. See how Alchemy did it in the comments section on LinkedIn.

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Remember about the importance of emojis in social media interactions.

For example:

Once Grace McNeill, a Content Coordinator co-op student at Bucketlist, shared about her remote work experience at the company, the CEO, Marketing Manager, and others from Bucketlist reacted immediately with emoji-ful comments and words of appreciation.

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Strategy #5. Encourage team bonding (both online and offline).

When engaging remote Gen Z workers in virtual and physical team-building events, you can enhance communication and drive teamwork to an unmatched level.

Virtual team-building

Significantly for Gen Zers, these must be highly inclusive and technology-driven activities if you want to boost employee participation.

Here are several ideas for your team:

• Virtual escape room
• Online home office tour
• Virtual fitness challenge (use apps like Fitbit or Strava)
• Metaverse game
• Digital karaoke
• Silent disco party, etc.

For example:

Brthrs Agency used to organize silent disco parties for their workers every Friday via a mobile app amid the lockdown.

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Offline team-building

How often do you meet with your employees in person while working remotely?

Probably not many, just as we suspected.

Since more and more workplaces are moving to virtual spaces, Roman Zrazhevskiy, Founder & CEO at MIRA Safety, remarks that it’s easy to forget the value of networking in a non-digital setting (especially for Gen Zers who crave socialization). “You should always remember about offline relationship-building, one of the key strategies for remote employee engagement. A coffee chat or an outdoor competition can be a powerful team-bonding experience not only for Gen Z employees but for the team overall.”

For example:

The MIRA Safety team traveled to Michigan for the “Wolverine 5K” tactical adventure race.

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Strategy #6. Allocate time for volunteering.

“One of my favorite benefits at Checkr, Inc. is our 20 hours of paid Volunteer-Time-Off per year.”

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That’s what one of Checkr’s employees posted on LinkedIn.

Albert Kim, VP of Talent at Checkr, believes a separate place in your remote employee engagement strategy should be dedicated to volunteering and significant philanthropic events for Zoomers. He explains, “When you engage your Gen Z employees in volunteer work and charitable initiatives (online or offline), you make the whole difference in their lives and the lives of others. You provide them with a sense of purpose and meaning beyond their job duties, undertake corporate social responsibility, and demonstrate ethical behavior as an employer.”

If you remember, it’s one of the core values supported by Gen Zers.

For example:

Checkr’s team members live their societal mission through humanitarian efforts in the community.

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Strategy #7. Always listen to their voices and count them in.

“I didn’t feel my feedback was heard.”

And that’s what 16% of Gen Z workers told Deloitte when asked why they had left their companies. In fact, it was the number one reason for quitting among Zoomers.

Yet, it’s not only about employee retention.

Alan Parkes, Owner of Denver Roofing & Colorado Springs Roofing, says, “Every employee’s voice matters, primarily when this voice comes from the generation of the youth who can actually dazzle you with fresh perspectives and groundbreaking solutions. Constantly ask yourself: Do I listen carefully to every Gen Z worker and engage them in decision-making?”

Use the following feedback collection methods perfectly suitable for remote Gen Z employees:

• 1-on-1 video calls
• Virtual focus groups
• Discussion boards or channels
• Feedback apps (15Five or Lattice)
• Virtual suggestion boxes
• Surveys or questionnaires (Typeform or SurveyMonkey)
• Interactive polls

Speaking of which, a poll is one of the newest intranet features in Happeo. If you use Happeo, there is no need to go elsewhere. Just type in your channel: It’s poll time!

Engaging Gen Z Workers Remotely With Happeo

No more scattered tools—make your remote workplace connected and engaging for Generation Z as well as other generations on your team. In Happeo, all project updates, team chats, and resources are right at your fingertips. It’s a fantastic place to socialize and feel that camaraderie spirit, even through digital walls.

If you’re still uncertain, watch a demo and see why your employees will love it! Especially Gen Zers.