Generation Z is now an integral part of retail teams. Its arrival on the job market comes with new expectations in terms of management, recognition and career development.
It is sometimes criticised for its instability or lack of commitment. Yet the question deserves to be framed differently: what if the problem were not the lack of commitment among young employees, but the way companies try to engage them?
This generation expects more transparency, dialogue and consistency between the values displayed by brands and the reality experienced on the ground.
This shift is prompting Maisons to rethink certain management practices.
From top-down management to proximity leadership
The traditional model of a manager who issues instructions and checks their execution is showing its limits when faced with employees seeking autonomy and understanding.
Young talents want to know the meaning of their tasks, understand the objectives set for them, and benefit from regular support.
The manager's role is therefore evolving towards a coaching stance: passing on knowledge, guiding, encouraging and supporting individual progress.
This requires a genuine presence on the ground, constructive exchanges and regular feedback.
Authority does not disappear, it is increasingly built through example, competence and the quality of support provided.
Concrete career prospects
Promises of career advancement are no longer enough to retain employees.
To see themselves having a lasting future within a company, young talents need to understand the possibilities available to them and the skills required to progress.
Training pathways, mentoring programmes, internal mobility or cross-functional assignments are all ways to give visibility to their professional future.
The challenge is not to promise everyone a quick promotion, but to offer clear and accessible steps for progression.
An employee who sees no prospect of advancement will find it harder to envisage their future within the Maison.
Values that must translate on the ground
Maisons communicate extensively about their commitments, their culture and their values.
But these promises must also be reflected in employees' daily experience.
A company that promotes respect, listening or wellbeing in its communication must be able to bring these principles to life in its management practices.
Working conditions, the quality of dialogue, how difficulties are managed and recognition of effort are all concrete proof of this consistency.
For young employees, the authenticity of an employer brand is not measured solely by its discourse, but by the reality of their experience.
A Maison's values must not only be communicated. They must be embodied.
Recognition, an essential lever for retention
In a commercial environment where targets occupy a central place, recognition can sometimes take a back seat.
Yet positive feedback, a success acknowledged or an effort recognised help strengthen motivation and a sense of belonging.
Recognition does not necessarily require complex systems.
Congratulating an employee for a great customer experience, highlighting progress or thanking a team for its commitment are simple but important practices.
Maisons can also go further by involving their young employees more closely in discussions about customer experience, organisation or in-store practices.
Giving them a voice is also a way of recognising their ability to contribute to the company's development.
Evolving management to retain talent
Generation Z does not necessarily challenge rigour or performance. Rather, it invites companies to rethink how they support their employees.
Proximity leadership, career prospects, consistency of values and daily recognition are essential levers for building lasting commitment.
These expectations, moreover, do not concern only the youngest employees. They reflect a broader shift in the relationship to work.
The real challenge for Maisons is not to ask Generation Z to adapt to old models, but to build an environment in which all generations can commit and progress, because retaining tomorrow's talent begins with the quality of today's management.
