Faces of the Partner: Generation Z and the Channel
What can these young adults teach older generations — and vice versa?
September 1, 2023
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Abbie Penn, 19, is a University of Texas public relations major working as a marketing intern at Mejeticks, a Dallas-based IT consulting firm. She’s held the role for two years. Although she’s not sure what the future holds regarding the type of PR firm she sees herself at, Penn said she keeps the possibility open for a position within the channel.
“I have gained more knowledge and insight than I thought in this role and am excited to take it with me wherever I go in the future,” she said.
So, what has Penn learned?
“When I started interning with Mejeticks, the most confusing part was understanding the different technologies,” she said. “I was creating social media content and learning about contact center as a service, unified communications, security, etc. As I started to attend events with the Mejeticks team, I began to understand the channel as a continuous relationship. I had to research, ask questions and go to events to begin understanding.”
Penn learned other lessons, too, including what it means to work with older generations. Although it’s assumed that Gen Z is better at adopting technology than others in the workforce, this might be a challenging argument to make if one works for a partner agency focused on, well, technology.
However, Penn said Gen Z has a lot to provide in this area.
“I believe that something we can offer to the workplace is flexibility and communication. When the pandemic hit, I was a junior in high school, and had to quickly adapt to remote work and online communication. I feel that as our generation walks into the workplace, we are professional, precocious and eager to learn,” she said. “Not that other generations are
not these things; I believe we have learned from them and get to succeed from what our parents and grandparents have taught us. We also have more availability with today’s technology. Google for instance, we have answers at our fingertips. Our generation can bring quick, flexible and reliable solutions to make tasks be completed.”
That said, what do older employees teach Gen Z about the nature of work and collaboration?
Penn added that she had the opportunity to interact with older employees at Mejeticks and in the channel, watching vendors, TSDs and partners collaborate to see success with customers.
“They all work with a purpose and have a drive to create deep relationships while being successful in business. From vendors coming into the Mejeticks office for ‘lunch and learns’ to TSDs hosting an all-day event to inform us, they always wanted to help one another and drive business.”
Buddy Hollmeyer believes in longevity. At least that’s what his record as an intern at Ohio-based Advanced Technology Consulting shows. He’s held the role with the company for nearly three consecutive seasons, or seven months, working on digital transformation projects from discovery and strategy to solution implementation.
Originally from Cincinnati, 21-year-old Hollmeyer is majoring in emerging technology in business and design with a minor in entrepreneurship at Miami University. When it comes to the channel, Hollmeyer defines it as a nationwide group of technology providers, TSDs and partners that go to market together. But that wasn’t always the way he envisioned it.
“Before I started at ATC, the channel to me was a place in the ocean where boats traversed, or a place you go in Vegas to get a bunch of swag and gadgets,” Hollmeyer said. “It took me a minute to truly conceptualize ‘the channel.’ It’s a buzzword you don’t understand until you’re working in [it.]”
As other interns have said, Hollmeyer agrees that Gen Z will force a cultural shift in the workplace (and the channel) over how technology is used.
“Boomers and millennials have a particular way of going to market based on historical purchasing channels, and I think that will change substantially. Because we have grown up with smartphones, social media and instant access to information, selling to Gen Z will be more of a digital activity. We can offer new ideas in many areas, specifically in how B2B marketing is conducted and how buyers select and consume technology,” he said.
What have older adults taught Hollmeyer? Their high work ethic and unwavering commitment to their jobs and careers are commendable, he said.
“I’ve also realized the tremendous impact building genuine relationships can have on success. The power of face-to-face interactions and truly getting to know someone remains unparalleled,” Hollmeyer said. “Additionally, my understanding of collaboration has grown significantly through my experiences with older colleagues. Observing the mutual respect among professional collaborators has been a huge lesson in how business relationships should be nurtured.”
So, after three internships at ATC, is their star intern ready to jump into the channel?
“I can see myself working in the channel long-term,” Hollmeyer said. “Technology is hot, and the channel is hot. The people are fun to work with. They care about each other’s successes, creating a very positive work environment. It’s fascinating how the channel is so large but still feels like a close-knit community. Even in my short time at ATC—just seven months—I’ve established a familiar network of channel colleagues I work with closely, bouncing ideas back and forth.”
According to the Pew Research Center:
Gen Zers are on track to be the most well-educated generation yet.
They are digital natives who have little or no memory of the world as it existed before smartphones.
Gen Zers are also more likely to have a college-educated parent than are previous generations of young people.
Only 18% of Gen Z teens (ages 15 to 17) were employed in 2018, compared with 27% of Millennial teens in 2002 and 41% of Gen Xers in 1986.
Among young adults ages 18 to 22, while 62% of Gen Zers were employed in 2018, higher shares of Millennials (71%) and Gen Xers (79%) were working when they were a comparable age.
Since July, 24-year-old Caroline Peters has served as manager, organizational design, talent development at NWN Carousel. There she focuses on designing and implementing leadership development strategy and curricula.
The Hopkinton, Massachusetts, native found the most confusing aspect of the channel was understanding how “we work with all of our partners and how all of our offerings work together to create a seamless hybrid work solution. As someone who is in SG&A without a tech background, it took a while to fully understand the compatibility of our complementary technologies.”
Prior to her role as manager, she was the HR business partner to the company’s pre-sales team. To get a better understanding of the IT channel, she took the same enablement training that the pre-sales team takes and met with NWN Carousel’s leadership to connect back the company’s offerings to its go-to-market strategy.
Peters said she could see herself working in the channel for the long term as the “space allows us to constantly reinvent ourselves in terms of our offerings and addressing the market trends. Being with a tech-enabled service provider, our service delivery model is focused on customer needs and being a strategic partner.”
She added: “When you combine these two factors, you get an environment that requires you to constantly challenge the status quo of business as usual.”
Younger generations are often perceived as being better equipped to handle a fast-paced work culture, but Peters dispels that notion.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my career has been to slow down. As someone who is excited to take on new challenges, roles and jump in, I’ve learned how critical it can be to take time to focus on ‘being’ rather than ‘doing,’” she said. “Often times, when you pause, you realize that there are a lot of different working styles and competing priorities. Doing this allows you to better understand the bigger picture and find solutions that work for all.”
With that perspective, Peters may come across as an “old soul,” but she said she has learned more about the working world from actual older adults.
“I’ve never worked full time in-office. I graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and only ever worked in-office for internships. Because of this, remote work and digital collaboration feels normal to me. Those that had in-office experience have helped me to appreciate the importance of taking time to get together in person and work together. Productivity is measured in a variety of ways and is bigger than just crossing things off a to-do list. Additionally, employees who have had longer careers than me often have had roles in a variety of areas.”
Madison Kreft works as an HR intern for Caroline Peters at NWN Carousel. The 21-year-old from Barrington, Rhode Island majors in psychology and business management at Boston University.
Kreft admits she was a bit of novice entering the technology space.
“I really had zero idea of what to expect when coming into the technology industry. There weren’t any confusing parts just more so learning what the channel is and how it helps the world,” she said. “I watched a video on the Informa Tech website that showcased the ‘about us’ part of the channel and I think the information they gave showed great insight. They have commitments to sustainability, inclusion and diversity and that technology is the thriving part of a business!”
Kreft acknowledges the current economic state made it difficult to acquire a position, including an internship.
“The biggest lesson that I have learned within this role is always to ask questions. As someone who has tried for months to get an internship, this is a very important stepping-stone into my career, and I want to learn as much as possible. No matter what the question is, I still ask. This internship is all about me getting as much as I can out of it and that is exactly what I plan to do.”
Generationally speaking, what can Gen Zers offer to the workplace that maybe older employees cannot?
“I think finally we are getting our voices heard on the side of diversity. We also are bringing on flexible work schedules, and less burnout,” Kreft said. “We value a work-life balance and that will rub off hopefully on other generations to come. Gen Z also can offer technology knowledge to the workplace along with embracing change in many areas.”
However, Kreft says she values the skills she’s learning from employees older than her.
“Many employees were born to work in offices, they stay in jobs longer and take fewer days off. With that, they really retain the knowledge of the business and how things could be run and networking,” she said. “Many generations did not have the technological advancements we do now, and they had to reach out to sources for meeting new people. This allowed for more collaborations.”
Madison Kreft works as an HR intern for Caroline Peters at NWN Carousel. The 21-year-old from Barrington, Rhode Island majors in psychology and business management at Boston University.
Kreft admits she was a bit of novice entering the technology space.
“I really had zero idea of what to expect when coming into the technology industry. There weren’t any confusing parts just more so learning what the channel is and how it helps the world,” she said. “I watched a video on the Informa Tech website that showcased the ‘about us’ part of the channel and I think the information they gave showed great insight. They have commitments to sustainability, inclusion and diversity and that technology is the thriving part of a business!”
Kreft acknowledges the current economic state made it difficult to acquire a position, including an internship.
“The biggest lesson that I have learned within this role is always to ask questions. As someone who has tried for months to get an internship, this is a very important stepping-stone into my career, and I want to learn as much as possible. No matter what the question is, I still ask. This internship is all about me getting as much as I can out of it and that is exactly what I plan to do.”
Generationally speaking, what can Gen Zers offer to the workplace that maybe older employees cannot?
“I think finally we are getting our voices heard on the side of diversity. We also are bringing on flexible work schedules, and less burnout,” Kreft said. “We value a work-life balance and that will rub off hopefully on other generations to come. Gen Z also can offer technology knowledge to the workplace along with embracing change in many areas.”
However, Kreft says she values the skills she’s learning from employees older than her.
“Many employees were born to work in offices, they stay in jobs longer and take fewer days off. With that, they really retain the knowledge of the business and how things could be run and networking,” she said. “Many generations did not have the technological advancements we do now, and they had to reach out to sources for meeting new people. This allowed for more collaborations.”
If you’re an elder Millennial or a Baby Boomer wondering where the time has gone, you may find it hard to imagine that people born between the late 1990s and early 2000s — Generation Z — are now your peers in the workforce.
But they are, and Gen Z is already making an impact.
According to a study by Deloitte, Gen Zers have the ability to demand “greater personalization in how they move along their career journey.” This will require employers to change their mindsets when it comes to the programs required to retain and attract talent.
Additionally, Gen Zers are among the most diverse in U.S. history and expect work environments to reflect that diversity. But don’t take our word for it. Channel Futures interviewed four Gen Zers currently employed or serving as interns within the IT channel and many echoed that sentiment. One said that “sustainability, inclusion and diversity” are elements that are part of any thriving business.
That’s not all, of course. These employees suggested some things older generations might expect from the younger crowd. There’s the point of view among the Gen Zers we interviewed that they’ve cornered the market on technology prowess. This makes for an interesting premise, as many Millennials, Generation Xers and Baby Boomers working within the channel have robust technology skills. The nature of their jobs requires it.
Hubris aside, there’s much Gen Zers can learn from older adults within the industry, including defining what the channel is. Several acknowledged a learning curve when it came to understanding how the channel works, but some said they could see themselves working in it for the long haul.
And what else can the younger generation learn from their older peers in the channel?
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