--New research reveals Gen Z values opportunities to grow in their careers over 
salary and long-term earning potential, despite the fact that 80% of Gen Zers 
enter the workforce in debt from student loans

Nintex, the global standard for process management and optimisation, today 
released new research findings about Generation Z employees in New Zealand to 
reveal career drivers and values for the country's soon-to-be-largest 
generation, who is overwhelmingly saddled with student loans. The study, "The 
Gen Z Effect in New Zealand: Understanding your newest employees' views on 
work, corporate culture, automation and you", unveils that Gen Z, those born 
between 1996 and 2012, are ready to commit to an employer provided their values 
align and they are given learning and development opportunities to succeed in 
their chosen careers.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/899332/Nintex_New_Zealand_GenZ.jpg
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/700078/Nintex_Logo.jpg 

Nintex's research shows distinct differences between Gen Z and their Millennial 
predecessors. Recruiting firm Robert Walters found ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2489829-1&h=882749960&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.robertwalters.com%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Frobert-walters%2Fcorporate%2Fnews-and-pr%2Ffiles%2Fwhitepapers%2Fattracting-and-retaining-millennials-UK.pdf&a=Robert+Walters+found 
) external motivators, like public recognition of achievements and 
opportunities to exercise influence, kept Millennials engaged at work. Nintex 
research, however, found Gen Z employees have clear career ambitions that first 
appear at university and follow them into the workforce. The study reveals 
"personal interest" is the primary motivator in selecting their focus of study 
at university, not long-term earning potential. Forty-two percent of Gen Zers 
cite "new learning opportunities" and 61% cite "expected career growth" as the 
most important factors for job selection. 

"Our research reveals that Gen Z is a career-driven generation who need to be 
managed and mentored differently than the prior generation," says Nintex Chief 
Evangelist Ryan Duguid. "Employers who appreciate the personal interests, 
values and career ambitions of their Gen Z employees and effectively coach and 
train these young professionals, while celebrating good work and meeting in 
person, will have happily committed Gen Zers in the workplace." 

Complete Gen Z study findings from New Zealand are available in this eBook at 
https://www.nintex.com/resources/gen-z-effect-in-australia-and-new-zealand/ and 
include data and comparisons to Gen Zers in Australia. 

Key Findings:

    -- Gen Z has a personal and purposeful stake in their work: Though the
       majority (80%) of New Zealand Gen Zers take on student loans, their
       focus of study in university is informed by genuine interest rather than
       earning potential. Gen Z's emphasis on personal interests follows them
       to the workplace -- where one in three prospective Gen Z employees said
       the job offer they accept after university must come from a company
       whose mission or values align with their own. 
    -- Opportunities for growth drive both Gen Z job selection and attrition:
       New learning and growth opportunities were the most important factors in
       Gen Z's job selection process -- far ahead of salary (31%). In fact, the
       absence of long-term growth opportunities could send about one-third of
       Gen Z employees searching for a new job sooner than planned. Company
       leaders, however, do not understand their youngest employees'
       motivations. When asked why Gen Z employees might leave a role sooner
       than planned, 61% of decision makers thought it would be for a better
       -paying job, while 31% attribute attrition to slow promotion timelines. 
    -- Meet Gen Z in real life (IRL): Gen Z may be stereotyped
       as "screenagers", but their preference is for frequent, in-person
       communication with their manager. Almost all (94%) Gen Z employees
       prefer in-person check-ins with their manager over virtual meetings. Of
       that group, three-quarters want every check-in to be in person rather
       than through collaboration platforms. These conversations can prove
       fruitful for the Gen Z employee and for the company. Overwhelmingly
       (89%), Gen Z feels their managers are open to their ideas for
       improvement, while the managers Nintex surveyed report that about one in
       every five suggestions from a Gen Z employee regarding improvements to
       process, technology or tools are adopted. 
    -- Gen Z is not fazed by tech troubles: Gen Z is able to solve their own
       tech problems as well as their managers'. In fact, more than half (53%)
       of Gen Z employees say they have been asked to fix a superior's tech
       issue. When Gen Z encounters tech problems at work, fewer than 40% said
       that they would submit a formal request. Instead, the notable majority
       (61%) will either solve the problem themselves by Googling it, ask a
       colleague for help, or solve through trial and error. Managers are fully
       aware of Gen Z's tech aptitude, with 76% of managers acknowledging that
       Gen Z is more tech savvy than they are. 
    -- Leaders worried by potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and
       automation for future generations: Both Gen Z and decision makers see
       the opportunity in technologies like AI and automation, with the notable
       majority of Gen Z workers (75%) and decision makers (82%) stating that
       automation has the potential to make their job easier. The two groups
       are also in agreement when it comes to concerns for new technology as it
       relates to their own job security. Forty-three percent of Gen Z
       employees are concerned about the impact of automation on their job
       security, and 45% of decision makers said the same. But when asked about
       Gen Z job security, not their own, more than half (53%) of decision
       makers are concerned about the impact of automation on the career
       prospects of their youngest employees. 

The Gen Z Effect in New Zealand study provides strong evidence that the 
youngest working generation's identity is deeply tied to their jobs. It will be 
critical for business leaders and managers of Gen Z employees to ensure these 
individuals find meaning in their roles and do not hinder their ambition with 
inefficient or broken business processes. 

Process management and automation capabilities can play a decisive role in 
fostering workplaces that help Gen Z flourish and build their careers. 
Technologies like the Nintex Process Cloud platform were designed to help 
companies improve how people work by making it easy to manage, automate and 
optimise every business process with powerful technology that keeps employees 
engaged and customers happy, and drives businesses to outpace competitors.  

"People are your most important asset in today's tech-driven workplaces," says 
Duguid. "Empower your employees, including Gen Z, to make wise choices and 
select technologies that improve how everyone works as it is people who are 
critical to ensuring your business and all of your processes are the best they 
can be."

Just last week Nintex published country-specific Gen Z study findings for 
Australia and will do the same for the United Kingdom and United States later 
this year. All of the company's Gen Z research will be publicly available on 
Nintex.com in eBook formats.

Media Contacts

Kristin Treat                       Laetitia Smith
kristin.treat@nintex.com            laetitia.smith@nintex.com 
cell: +1 (215) 317-9091 	    cell: +64 (21) 154-7114


About Nintex

Nintex is the global standard for process management and automation. Today more 
than 8,000 public and private sector clients across 90 countries turn to the 
Nintex Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys 
by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimising business processes. 
Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global 
partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA).

Study Methodology 

The study by Nintex was conducted by Lucid Research in March 2019 and consisted 
of two surveys. The first was completed by 125 current and future Gen Z 
employees in New Zealand. Those that qualified for current Gen Z employees were 
graduates of a three- or four-year university degree program who now have a job 
where they use a computer for 5+ hours a day. Future Gen Z employees were 
current enrollees in three- or four-year university degree program who will 
actively seek full-time employment upon graduation and graduates of a three or 
four-year university degree program who are actively seeking full-time 
employment. The second survey audience comprised 180 enterprise decision makers 
in New Zealand. To qualify, respondents had to work at a company with 250+ 
employees, be at a management, VP/Director or C-Suite level, and were directly 
involved in choosing or helping their organisation to implement new technology, 
including buying/selecting new tools.

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their 
respective owners.
 
SOURCE: Nintex