If hiring was like picking teams for dodgeball, Gen Z might be picked last.

Some 40% of business leaders think Gen Z candidates—specifically those who graduated between 2020 and 2023—are unprepared for the workforce, according to a recent survey by online education publication Intelligent. Of the 1,243 leaders surveyed, the majority (70%) think the workforce’s youngest entrants have a lackluster work ethic, and the same percentage blame communication skills.

“Every generation gets talked poorly about…But Gen Z has advantages that previous generations entering the workforce [didn’t] have,” said Tara Salinas, professor of business ethics at the University of San Diego. “Because [their] communication skills aren’t great, it’s making managers and employers discount this generation as a whole, and that’s just a mistake.”

A skills tradeoff. Salinas told HR Brew that Gen Z applicants may not have the best interpersonal skills because they came of age during Covid-19 lockdowns and communicate mainly via text, a combination that has caused a “skill loss.” When interviewing them, she advised keeping in mind what they do bring to the table.

Keep reading here.—MC

Every company wants to thrive. And the best way to do that? Make sure your employees are thriving first.

Measuring and understanding employee wellbeing is a major key to attracting and retaining talent. And you can get a close-up look at how to do it thanks to Indeed’s 2023 Better Work Awards.

A small but mighty crew of 20 companies are being honored for having the highest Work Wellbeing Scores on Indeed within the past year (each biz had more than 1k employees + at least 200 employee ratings). The scores are based on the world’s largest study on work wellness led by industry experts and based on millions of employee insights.

Help your workforce thrive by learning from the companies that are building better work. Check out the list of Better Work Award winners.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently shared its priorities for the next fiscal years, targeting businesses’ use of AI and machine learning for employment decisions, as well as protecting a wider group of vulnerable workers from discrimination.

Here’s what HR pros should know about the EEOC’s focus for the coming years, as well as about a new partnership between the agency and the Department of Labor.

EEOC finalizes Strategic Enforcement Plan. The EEOC released its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) for fiscal years 2024 to 2028 on Sept. 21. The document is separate from the strategic plan released by the agency in August, which laid out general, long-term goals and objectives for the EEOC. The SEP, by contrast, “establishes specific goals related to the agency’s enforcement authority,” the EEOC said.

The EEOC laid out six priorities in its latest plan.

Keep reading here.—CV

We’re rolling out a new tech series: Tech you love. We’ll check in with HR pros about the programs, applications, and software they’re using to make a tough job a bit easier. This month, we’ve learned that a good mix of classic tech and intuitive HRIS and surveying tools can help get the job done.

Mandi Spindler, talent director, Ulteig

Glint is an HR tech platform that has made it easier to gather employee feedback and activate responses more seamlessly. Its pulse survey feature allows our team to conduct regular check-ins and gather immediate feedback from employees. We can quickly analyze survey results and make data-driven decisions with real-time analytics and reporting capabilities within the platform.

Jen Fong, VP of people, Customer.io

We recently implemented a new HR system called HiBob, which has made managing all things people-related much easier! HiBob is a platform that simplifies the management of different HR-related tasks, including time off, sick days, and holidays. It also helps organize various documents, employee events, activities, and more. HiBob has helped to streamline and automate our HR processes and tasks, making them much easier to manage.

Keep reading here.—AD

Build a solid foundation. When you choose Betterment at Work, you can empower your employees to plan for their financial futures. And when you take time to learn about their financial wellness solutions (through Dec. 31), they’ll send you a $25 gift of your choice.* See for yourself.

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Women who receive insurance through their employer spend $15.4 billion more on out-of-pocket health expenses annually than their male counterparts. (Deloitte)

Quote: “You deserve what you’ve earned. And you’ve earned a helluva lot more than what you’re getting paid now.”—President Biden, the first sitting US president to join a picket line, addressed striking UAW workers in Belleville, Michigan (Reuters)

Read: Unionized movie and television writers reached a tentative contract deal with studios that includes a 3.5–5% increase in pay and residual earnings, as well as minimum staffing requirements for shows. Actors with SAG-AFTRA remain on strike. (Associated Press)

Winning work: Learn from the best by checking out Indeed’s 2023 Better Work Award winners. It lists 20 companies that have the highest Work Wellbeing Scores on Indeed within the last year. Peep the list.*

Tracking RTO: Employers and employees all want the scoop on return-to-office policies. Learn how one company built a database to track RTO in our latest article, sponsored by PwC.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}