Don’t have the time to read?Listen here instead or save to your Spotify playlist.
|
Gen Z isn’t shy about shaking things up. They’re bold, quick to adapt, and digitally wired. But with Gen Z’s soft skills, and the human side of working with others, they’re still finding their footing.
“Every age group has its blind spots. But if we’re being honest, many young professionals entering today’s workforce are missing the reps on things like face-to-face conversations, conflict resolution, and basic collaboration,” said Ruffy Galang, CEO and Co-Founder of Remote Employee.
“82% of managers indicated that Gen Z’s soft skills need more support and training. These skills are built through practice, experience, and exposure. While the focus here is on Gen Z, the truth is that everyone, regardless of age, benefits from sharpening these non-technical skills. You also have options for finding younger employees with the skills you’re looking for.”
Let’s break down the ones that matter most and how Gen Z can develop them, not just to fit in, but stand out, and how you can easily find (and hire) best-fit employees.
Why Hiring Gen Z Feels Like a Gamble
Managing Gen Z talent is a calculated risk.
Despite growing up online, many Gen Z candidates aren’t entering the workforce with the tech fluency that hiring managers expect. Digital natives? Sure. Digitally proficient in business-critical tools? Not always. A surprising number struggle with platforms beyond social media and basic productivity software.
Add in shaky communication skills, limited self-management, and a general discomfort with ambiguity, and hiring Gen Z starts to feel like a potential source of friction during onboarding. Nearly 4 in 10 managers say they’re seeing less initiative, less drive, and more hand-holding than they expected.
That doesn’t mean Gen Z lacks potential; it means the gap between potential and readiness is real. Managers aren’t avoiding this generation out of spite. They’re reacting to real performance gaps, the kind that slow down teams and chip away at productivity.
Until those soft skills catch up, hesitation is going to stay on the table.
Skip the Training Curve. Hire Talent That’s Already Ready!
Work with pre-vetted, coachable professionals with the tech skills and soft skills to thrive in fast-paced teams, at up to 70% less cost.
Why Does Gen Z Lack Soft Skills?
When schools shut down and Zoom took over, a whole generation lost out on everyday social conditioning, and no live presentations with a dozen eyes staring back.
The result? A digital-first generation that’s confident behind a screen but clunky in a conference room. They can type a killer Slack message but freeze when it’s time to speak up in a meeting.
Without real-world practice, key workplace behaviors like reading the room, handling tough conversations, or delivering feedback never had a chance to develop. Many managers are seeing the fallout firsthand: blank stares in 1-on-1s, missed social cues, and team friction from avoidable miscommunication.
The bottom line? Businesses need to help Gen Z employees close the soft skills gap. But, if you don’t have the time to do so, you have other hiring options.
How Your Business Leadership Can Help Close the Gen Z Soft Skills Gap and How You Can Make Hiring Easier
Gen Z shows up with credentials, hustle, and plenty of tech savvy, but soft skills? That’s where the gaps show up. Leadership plays a key role in helping them close that distance. Here’s how to do it right. Yet you could also skip the hassle of hiring early on.
1. Skip the Headache and Hire Remote Employee® Talent
You do not have to spend months coaching new hires on how to show up, communicate, and perform. With Remote Employee®, you get candidates who already have the discipline, experience, and work ethic you need. They show up ready to contribute.
Every Remote Employee® hire comes fully vetted. You still control the interviews and the final decision, but we handle the sourcing, screening, and admin. No cross-border paperwork. No payroll headaches. No wasted time.
Instead of rolling the dice on entry-level hires who need years of soft skill development, you get career professionals who know how to work in your business model right now.
2. Pinpoint Their Strengths Early
Gen Z candidates aren’t one-size-fits-all. Some are SEO whizzes. Others are fluent in Python, Canva, or TikTok strategy. Thanks to online courses and certifications, they’ve often picked up niche expertise you won’t see on a traditional résumé. The catch? Their skill sets vary wildly from person to person.
To get the most out of your new hires, and set them up for growth, start by running structured skills assessments or in-depth onboarding interviews. These help you uncover both strengths and soft spots before day one even ends. When you know what they’re good at, you can drop them into roles that highlight those strengths while creating space to sharpen what’s missing.
3. Lay Out a Clear Growth Roadmap
Many Gen Z professionals missed internships, campus jobs, and real-world work experience during the pandemic. That means they’re entering the workforce without some of the unspoken lessons other generations got from the grind.
They don’t need handholding. They need a system.
- Mentorship matters. Connect them with seasoned team members who can model strong communication, time management, and collaboration in action. This can also help with Gen Z social skills.
- Feedback should be fast and frequent. Don’t wait six months to say what could’ve been fixed in a week. Gen Z values real-time input; it shows you’re invested in their progress.
- Challenge them. Toss them into stretch projects that test their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Learning happens fast when the stakes are real.
When you give them a clear path from “here’s where you are” to “here’s where you can go,” you unlock their drive to prove themselves.
4. Make Soft Skills Training Hands-On
You can’t learn communication from a slide deck. Want Gen Z to master soft skills like conflict resolution, negotiation, or public speaking? Put them in the driver’s seat.
Interactive training beats passive learning every time. Host live workshops. Run real scenarios. Let them shadow top performers and debrief afterward. Encourage peer-to-peer feedback in a safe environment where they can make mistakes and course-correct without judgment.
Learning by doing isn’t just a Gen Z preference; it’s how growth sticks across any generation. When they practice in a structured, feedback-rich setting, confidence follows.
5. Build a Culture That Fosters Connection
49% of Gen Z employees use instant messaging as their form of workplace communications. The reality, though? Soft skills are absorbed from the environment. That’s tough when half the team works from home and the other half dials in from another city. Hybrid work can unintentionally isolate Gen Z employees from those organic learning moments.
Counter that by creating intentional opportunities for collaboration and community:
- Kick off meetings with personal check-ins or quick team-building exercises.
- Celebrate wins, big or small, and spotlight contributions.
- Design workflows that promote problem-solving in pairs or small groups.
Also, teach teams how to work asynchronously with clarity. Set norms for communication tools, deadlines, and handoffs. Utilize visual project platforms that facilitate easy and transparent participation for everyone.
| Learn more about how you can find reliable employees: |
6. Create a Safety Net They Can Actually Use
Here’s the truth: A lot of Gen Z employees are scared to ask questions. They don’t want to look unprepared or bother anyone. The result? Silence, hesitation, and avoidable mistakes.
Fix that by making support visible and accessible.
- Set up buddy systems across age groups.
- Host virtual office hours where leaders are available for quick questions.
- Be vocal about your open-door policy, then prove it by showing up when it matters.
Reinforce that asking for help isn’t a weakness; it’s part of the workflow. When Gen Z knows they’re not flying solo, they’ll stop holding back and start showing up.
Don’t have the time, or margin, to coach every Gen Z hire from the ground up? That’s where Remote Employee® steps in.
Remote Employee® is Where Experience Replaces Guesswork
Why settle for entry-level when you can hire proven talent? With Remote Employee®, you can bring in professionals with 10 years of experience for up to 70% less.
You get:
- Skilled, fully vetted professionals who deliver from day one
- Real savings with experienced talent
- A team you control: interview, select, and manage as if they’re in-house
