Peek behind the scenes at any hotel and you’ll find teams running at full speed. Front desk staff are greeting guests while monitoring emails, housekeepers are juggling increased room counts, and managers are drowning in administrative tasks while providing guest service support as needed.
As if that wasn’t enough work, tenured team members are scratching their heads at the youngest hires who communicate too casually with guests, can’t handle feedback, always need help, the list goes on.
If you have these initial impressions, you’re not alone. According to a September 2024 Intelligent.com article, “3 in 4 companies report issues with recent grad hires.” The most frequently cited reasons? Lack of motivation (50%), poor communication skills (39%), lack of professionalism (46%), struggles with feedback (38%), and inadequate problem-solving abilities (34%).
While the article centers on college graduates entering the workforce, the reality is that employers share these frustrations for GenZ employees who enter our industry through any path. Whether they hold degrees or enter the workforce directly from high school, these young professionals share common characteristics that influence how they approach their work and what keeps them engaged – and those are disruptive to the way we’ve operated for decades. These characteristics, when misunderstood, lead to the statistics we see about issues in the workplace.
Before you are too quick to put all 20-something-year-old hires in the same negative bucket, I encourage you to step back and understand what has shifted over time. The next generation approaches work differently than “the way it’s always been done.” These different approaches to work are not innate weaknesses – they are opportunities to build stronger, more adaptable organizations with more committed employees. Leaders need to recalibrate how to guide and support GenZ employees because, eventually, they’ll be the ones you’re left to work with.
Aligning Work with Motivators
Employees who are aged 18 to 26 are in a distinct life stage called emerging adulthood where their prefrontal cortex is developing. During this period, they are driven by freedom, choice, and change. They’re trying to figure out who they want to be, what lifestyle they want, what they believe, and where they’re headed. Right now, this life stage overlaps with GenZ’s age (13-27 years old in 2025).
When executives say, “GenZ lacks motivation,” what they’re often observing is that traditional motivators – like the promise of long-term career growth or steady advancement – may not resonate as strongly with this group.
Take time to understand your employees’ motivators and help them connect the dots. My first boss excelled at this approach, without using my least favorite phrase, “because I said so.” She regularly asked about my career aspirations and connected daily tasks to those goals. For example, she once said, “I know you don’t love payroll-related tasks, but this skill is crucial if you want to be a Director of HR someday.” This simple practice kept me engaged because I understood how each assignment contributed to my professional development.
Give younger workers opportunities to learn different roles through rotation scheduling or cross-training. This approach satisfies their desire for variety while building valuable skills across your operation. More importantly, it helps them discover where they can make their greatest contribution to your organization. Show them possible advancement routes and paint a picture of what future success at this organization could look like for them. GenZ may not plan to stay with one employer for their entire career, but knowing what possibilities exist can keep them longer.
Because of their life stage, GenZ also wants to understand the immediate impact of their work and see clear connections between their daily tasks and their personal goals.
The “why” is a critical ingredient for GenZ, but let’s be honest: it benefits everyone on the team.
Building Effective, Professional Communicators
“GenZ can’t communicate,” is another common criticism that reflects misaligned expectations.
Communication expectations in the hospitality industry have traditionally centered around face-to-face interactions and formal written correspondence. However, today’s GenZ employees have grown up in an era of text messages, emojis, and social media. Rather than viewing this as a challenge, forward-thinking organizations are finding ways to blend traditional standards with the new workforce’s preferences.
You have an opportunity to strengthen your organization by exploring communication channels that serve both operational needs and employee preferences. What are some ways to do this? Keep the morning huddle for critical updates and personal interaction but supplement them with digital recaps that meet the GenZ preference for on-demand information access. Create a structured template for shift changes that employees can complete through an existing platform. The result of balancing formal and familiar? More consistent communication among GenZ staff.
Often the complaint that “GenZ is unprofessional” has to do with communication, too. It doesn’t have to do with where (channels) but how (tone of voice, word choice). Decision-makers scoff at the lack of professionalism in GenZ’s delivery, but what’s considered “professional” varies by environment and isn’t always intuitive. What one person sees as “common sense,” another sees as unspoken rules they’ve never been taught.
Appropriate (a.k.a. professional) behavior is learned, not innate. When I started applying for full-time jobs, I brought twenty-one years of lessons on appropriate behavior into the workplace with me. I knew my “please and thank you”s and proper email formatting thanks to my parents and college classes, respectively. Yet, nowhere in those lessons did anyone think to tell me, “Do not talk to your boss the way you talk to your friends.” My casual communication came across as unprofessional to those who were raised with different rules for “respecting their elders.” I did not intend to be rude. In my mind, I was simply building relationships and didn’t see how connecting with an authority figure was different than connecting with a peer.
If you are frustrated by your young employees falling short, ask yourself: What is my expectation, where does it come from, and have I shared it? Again, the “why” is a key ingredient for GenZ. An expectation that isn’t rooted in reason – or a reason that your employee understands – is not going to engage your team to make behavior changes.
If your goal is a lasting change and talent, clearly communicate your expectations and why they exist. GenZ employees aren’t resistant to rules – they simply want to understand the reasoning behind them. When they grasp how their actions impact guest satisfaction or team efficiency, they’re more likely to embrace standard procedures and improve their performance.
Receiving Constructive Feedback
Another common complaint is that GenZ struggles to receive constructive feedback. In my experience, receiving feedback gracefully is challenging for workers of all ages – not just GenZ. Does anyone really like getting constructive feedback? Hearing that you’ve missed the mark is hard, especially when you’re trying your best.
I learned this lesson the hard way when I took on a role as a project manager. About three months into the job, my boss told me I was coming across as overconfident and was taking charge in too many meetings. This confused me because “manager” was in my title and leading meetings was in my job description. But I took the feedback and reverted to my default, less confident behavior: asking more questions in meetings. A month later my boss told me I was slowing the team down with all my questions. I felt defeated – like I would never understand the rules I was supposed to follow.
If a recent hire is coming straight from high school or college, they likely haven’t received much direct feedback on behavior. They’re used to getting grades on assignments and deliverables. The shift to an unstructured workplace, where feedback is nuanced and tied to behavior, can be a tough adjustment.
Is there an unspoken expectation at your organization regarding how feedback should be received? If so, don’t forget the last strategy of communicating expectations. Also practice delivering constructive feedback in a way that it will be received well. Before asking an employee to change their behavior, take the time to understand the full picture. You might be missing a key detail, or your feedback might contradict earlier guidance. At Magnet Culture we teach that without empathy and curiosity, constructive feedback is unlikely to result in lasting behavior change.
Creating Independent Problem-Solvers
Many employers believe GenZ struggles with problem-solving. This is more about context than capability. GenX grew up as latchkey kids who learned to “figure it out” because they had to. In the 1980s, the rise of 24-hour news networks brought stories of crime and danger into every home. Parenting shifted to a “stranger danger” mentality, and by the 1990s, federal funding for after-school programs significantly reduced the number of latchkey kids. The result? Millennials didn’t have the same opportunities to learn independent problem-solving. Instead, they learned to “phone a friend” or to seek help from peers or supervisors when challenges arise. GenZ, raised with on-demand access to information through technology, prefers seeking help from digital resources.
What resourcefulness looks like has shifted. This doesn’t mean younger workers can’t solve problems – they just solve them differently.
We also need to consider the experience of new employees of all ages. Starting at a new company can feel like packing for a vacation in someone else’s closet. I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, learning the job takes a long time, and I know I’m forgetting something. Executive, you might know where to find the answers because you have been here a while. Maybe you even created the resources that employees should use. But new hires can’t read your mind and they need help knowing where to find answers.
Are we creating environments where they can thrive, or simply expecting them to “figure it out”? How do we create teams of independent problem solvers who get the job done without handholding?
To start, take the time to guide employees on how to do the work. Are you noticing the “communicate expectations” trend? Inevitably, obstacles will arise that your team needs to overcome. If your team keeps asking questions about things you think they should solve on their own, you need to provide more support. Tell them the resources that exist in the workplace – internal websites, SOP documents, you name it – and where to find them. Already did that? Great. How long ago was that? Has anything changed that you forgot to review with your employee?
After you’ve provided guidance and support, do not blow up on employees when they miss the mark. Remember what we discussed about curiosity and empathy with constructive feedback.
For more strategies, check out Cara Silletto’s article, Why Can’t Staff “Figure it Out” On Their Own?, (HotelExecutive, February 2024).
Investment in the Future
We get it – leaders need employees who can get the job done and who stick around to deliver results. But it’s important to remember that nobody begins their career fully equipped with every skill or expectation. At some point, someone invested in your growth, teaching you the skills that helped you succeed. Now, it’s your chance to pay it forward by mentoring the next generation and helping them become competent, confident professionals.
Why? The cost of continually replacing GenZ employees far exceeds the investment required to engage and retain them effectively. By understanding their motivations, supporting their development, and creating meaningful connections to their work, you can build a more stable and committed workforce.
Remember, today’s young employees represent the future of our industry. Their different approach to work isn’t a deficit – it’s an opportunity to evolve our management practices and create stronger, more adaptable organizations. When we invest in understanding and supporting GenZ employees, we don’t just reduce turnover – we build the foundation for long-term organizational success.
Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com.
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