Enter Generation Alpha: How to prepare your workplace for future generations

By Janice Burns, Chief Transformation Officer at Degreed

There’s a new generation in town, and it’s about to enter the workplace. Generation Alpha, born from 2010 onwards, will arrive in the corporate world in the next decade, bringing with them a wave of digital prowess, diversity, and a unique set of challenges and opportunities. With their numbers set to swell to an astonishing two billion by 2025, organizations need to start preparing their learning strategies to ensure they’re well-equipped to harness the full potential of this fully-digital generation.

Digital Savviness is the New Norm

Generation Alpha, as the second digitally native generation, will embrace (and expect) workplace technology even faster than their Gen Z predecessors. Born in a world where the iPad, Instagram, and the term “app” reign supreme, they have grown up as screenagers. They are permanently connected, with digital technologies being an integral part of their lives. They are adopting technologies like social media and smartphones faster than generations before, including digitally-savvy Millennials and Gen Z.

For employers, this means technology needs to be integrated into every part of the employee experience, from onboarding and performance management to learning and development (L&D). Generation Alpha leads a screen-dominated, instant access lifestyle thanks to apps, social media, ecommerce, and smart assistants. They will expect the same seamlessness, ‘at-a-click’ experiences at work.

In L&D, that means giving them access to explore their online learning opportunities, with a range of virtual options from mobile, modular learning, to online academies centred around specific skills and career paths.

They crave social connections

Generation Alpha has grown up immersed in social media, so online connections are a great influence in their lives. Their identities often tie with their followerships and/or influencers in their lives, so they will actively seek out people to follow and model as they navigate their careers. They will also look to build followership among their peers and colleagues. Employers can tap into this by building communities of practice led by  “company influencers” to inspire Generation Alpha to learn from internal experts. Mentoring can achieve a similar dynamic, giving them ideas for new skills to build. Peer communities, “lunch and learn” sessions, reverse mentoring, and similar activities can encourage Generation Alpha to share their experiences, achievements, lessons learned, and tips — facilitating cross-skilling and knowledge sharing across your organization. Generation Alpha can also be encouraged to create videos and other content to share their skills with others and create a collaborative, social workplace centered around skill-building.

Visual learning will Reign Supreme

Thanks to their early and ongoing exposure to screens, Generation Alpha are likely to prefer visual formats when learning new skills. Video, graphics, and imagery can help to support written and classroom learning to meet this preference.

To reinforce learning, offering practical experiences will help Generation Alpha understand how to apply their theoretical knowledge in a role. Stretch assignments, temporary redeployments, and shadowing can stretch and deepen their skills. Meanwhile, volunteering opportunities can provide another way to build skills, while also fulfilling Generation Alpha’s ethical and social consciousness.

They Crave Autonomy

Like their predecessors, Gen-Z, Generation Alpha favours autonomy in their lives especially when it comes to personal decision-making and their digital identity. For employers, giving Generation Alpha opportunities to steer their career journey and development will help them strike the right balance with this age group. Personalized learning will be crucial, as it will show Generation Alpha that their needs and interests are recognized by their employer.

So too will be giving employees control over their skills data. That is data produced when an employee completes learning, has a performance discussion, gets peer feedback, completes a task or project, and more — including data from when they were first hired and onboarded. This data will play a growing role in future workplaces to shape someone’s career and development. Since every career is highly personal, each employee needs to own their skills data and the profile that’s populated by this.

The skills passport or profile will become increasingly commonplace as more organizations look for an easy way to link skills with workforce decisions like who to upskill and reskill, internal mobility, and leadership development. Giving Generation Alpha (and all employees, for that matter) the power and control over their skills profile will be essential to getting their buy-in and consent for its use. Personal skills profiles will move with each individual from role to role, employer to employer.

The Most Diverse Generation Ever

Generation Alpha also holds the distinction of being the most diverse generation in history, encompassing not just demographic diversity in ethnicity and gender, but also a wide spectrum of tastes, lifestyles, and viewpoints. This openness to different perspectives and experiences will serve Generation Alpha well in a future where automation, AI, and a yet unknown killer app will constantly disrupt their lives. They will need to be lifelong learners, and the foundation to this is the passion and curiosity to discover new things. As Generation Alpha joins the workforce, their openness will also help to reinforce inclusive cultures. Although, organizations that don’t have impactful diversity and inclusion programs will find themselves at a disadvantage as this generation expects a workplace that welcomes and respects all.

The Need for Continuous Learning

As previously touched on, Generation Alpha will be in the workforce for the longest time since their life spans will be longer than any previous generation. With the pace of technology development today, they can expect to see their roles changed time and time again by new inventions. By necessity, Generation Alpha will have to reskill to remain successful continuously in the future. Building learning into a habit will help them navigate their ever-changing careers.

By necessity, Generation Alpha will become experts in upskilling, reskilling, and constantly re-inventing themselves to remain employable in the future. They will also shift between different work styles, from permanent to contractor, gig work and project-based consulting. The attraction of an employer, therefore, isn’t necessarily job stability or solely remuneration, but the kind of career development and purpose offered. Generation Alpha will be attracted and retained by employers who can offer a diverse set of work and learning experiences that continuously build skills and challenge employees. The choice of these, as mentioned before, will be driven by Generation Alpha since they have a high desire for autonomy.

A Pivotal Moment

The rise of Generation Alpha is a transformative moment for employers. As this fully-digital, diverse, and visually oriented generation enters the workforce, organizations must reevaluate their workforce strategies. Embracing technology, fostering diversity, promoting collaborative and personalized learning, and transitioning to a model of continuous learning will be crucial to ensure businesses remain competitive and relevant. By adapting now to the needs of Generation Alpha while still meeting the requirements of other generations, organizations can future-proof their workforce.