Hasta La Vista Hamster Wheel

Work travellers, frugalists, work-life balancers – a new generation of employees requires the entire industry to rethink. What demands do young trainees make on fashion retailers? What do retailers do to appreciate the added value of this generation, especially in terms of new technologies and communication channels? Generation Z poses a bit of a challenge for the retail trade.

Text: Isabel Faiss. Illustration: Claudia Meitert@Caroline Seidler

LIFE-LIFE BALANCE Andreas Moreau, owner of Mode & Sport Moreau Kaprun

“We have an internal apprentice development plan that leads up to the final exam. We believe that we can learn from our apprentices on a daily basis. They often have a simpler and unbiased approach to many topics such as product presentation, customer contact, and other internal processes. This is where one can find the greatest intrinsic motivational potential. It’s vital for them to make their own decisions within a set framework and to be allowed to express their opinions openly. Our apprentices don’t even know the term “Can I help you?”. It isn’t part of their vocabulary, so to speak. This results in a completely new conversation level. In a healthy environment of give and take, our apprentices appreciate the many freedoms they enjoy despite the many other obligatory duties that are part of an apprenticeship.”

THE IMAGE OF APPRENTICESHIP NEEDS TO IMPROVE Günter Dworschak, Head of Sales at Modehaus Adelsberger

“Today’s trainees have different priorities and often live in a differ ent family environment. Today it is normal that both parents are working and pursuing their respective careers. Naturally, we have also noticed that an increasing number of young people strive to attend secondary schools. Apprenticeships are less relevant. The image of apprenticeship needs to improve. Young employees must be offered an environment where they feel at home, where they can talk about various topics. They need to feel secure and have young apprentice managers who understand their issues. One needs to both listen and be demanding. Today’s apprentices are often rather delicate plants. A lot of what they used to learn at home now has to be learned at work. A strong corporate environment with a positive image is therefore more important than ever - as is target-oriented, strong leadership. Beyond the standard, we promote trainees by organising external workshops with recognised partners, as well as offering internal training courses and apprentice projects. We pro mote and demand alike. In 2018, for example, our apprentices were afforded an opportunity to plan, furnish, stock, and run their own

store for a pre-defined period of time.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT TRANSPARENCY Amir Amiri, Communication Manager at Layers London

“Today’s employees are much more conscious and aware of what good practice and a healthy working environment is. Generally speaking, our younger generation is more emotionally connected and focused on ethics. I don’t think it’s harder to find good staff today - it’s a different game. The industry is more global, the staff are again more connected, and therefore their requirements differ. But you can still find good people out there. People would argue and say Instagram raises a bunch of wannabe celebrities who have bad ethics and work attitude. But personally, I find the younger staff more knowledgeable and just as eager to learn, develop, and work. I’m a big fan of the saying ‘work smarter, not harder’. I think trans parency is something the industry hasn’t embraced for too long. This creates a counter-reaction. People want and need transpar ency. Continuing the bullshit parade, people are fed up with feeling that they’re not good enough, not sexy enough, not skinny enough, not white enough, etc. With this in mind - and given that people are more expressive of their personalities and more comfortable with their identities - people need to feel connected to the brand values of the company they represent.”

PARADIGM SHIFT AND EVOLUTION Martina and Hannes Profanter, Founders and Managing Directors of Maximilian in South Tyrol

“With the so-called Generation Z, we are almost experiencing a paradigm shift. The rules of the game are changing. Dealing with authority and hierarchies is completely different, as are expectations regarding job and development within the profession. The value system is different. Flat hierarchies, community approaches, and a democratic division of labour are now commonplace. Expectations are high, while the resilience is often limited. The planning horizon and objectives are short-term, which has an influence on (long-term) loyalty. The confrontation with Generation Z is not only a challenge, but also an enrichment, because completely new approaches and perspectives are brought into play - new solutions and approaches that are valuable for the future and competitiveness in general. This clash of generations thus also means evolution. As far as finding the right employees is concerned, it is like mining for diamonds: the most valuable gemstones are rare and not always easy to recog nise - but they exist. We would like to inspire the new generation with development possibilities. Testimonials for this are the many employees who have pursued impressive careers at Maximilian on account of their performance.”

DESIRE AND REALITY René Weise, Store Manager at Bram Luxembourg, branch of Konen Bekleidungshaus KG

“No, I don’t agree that there are hardly any motivated, qualified and committed sales trainees. But even we are noticing that a distorted media perception is convincing an increasing number of young people that they can achieve high recognition - and even make a living - with an Instagram profile or YouTube content. From today’s point of view, even I would find it hard to find motivation to pursue an education based on standards from 20 years ago. This is where HR managers need to take responsibility. Young people no longer want to be fobbed off with tasks designed to merely keep them busy. When I talk to our youngest employees, I can see that they are willing to realise their potential once they recognise the significance, the added value for themselves, and the opportunity to shape the future of the company. We repeatedly find that the trainees or young people we hire have been deceived by the image of their previous employers. The employers’ branding had very little in common with the day-to-day job or corporate culture in general. Our trainees are allowed to design their own projects to ensure that they identify correlations and learn from mistakes. Given that we run branches in Munich and Luxembourg, young people have repeatedly accepted the offer to switch between locations in recent years.”