Kelly Densberger can’t wait to get back to the office.

Since the customer experience lead at Doing Good Works (asi/222095) in Irvine, CA, started her job in February, she’s only been to the distributor’s offices three times because of ongoing COVID restrictions. But that will change once the company welcomes more employees back.

“I’ll drive the hour each way to the office just to see people,” she says. “It’s hard to build relationships at a distance.”

While there are mixed feelings among employees about the return to the office, one would assume that those who are most comfortable with technology would be the strongest proponents of continuing remote work indefinitely. Not so with Densberger – and much of the rest of her Gen Z cohort – who’s very comfortable with digital means of communication but also looks forward to seeing her co-workers IRL.

Watch our Promo Insiders episode with industry salespeople and Gen Zers Josh Hinkel and Kelly Densberger.

Research has shown that, even before COVID, tech-savvy Gen Z – born generally between 1997 and 2012 – also values in-person social interaction. A 2019 survey by GenGuru, a consulting firm on different demographics in the workplace, found that 84% of Gen Z prefers face-to-face interaction as opposed to phone and email. While the rise in videoconferencing since March 2020 is manageable for “digitally native” Gen Z (meaning they grew up with rapidly advancing technology), they say they’re more concerned about the social impact of remote work, namely isolation from their peers. According to a study from Microsoft, more than half of the demographic said they felt unproductive and unmotivated at home. In fact, just 13% of Gen Z said they faced no challenges during remote work.

And now, with work-from-home being, for much of Gen Z, their sole experience of employment, many are looking forward to being in the communal office. Research firm Generation Lab, which focuses on trends among American youth, found that 40% of college students and recent graduates would prefer to be in the office full-time, compared to 12% of all workers. Gen Z’s concerns include lack of office community and mentoring opportunities, too much reliance on videoconferencing (they’d rather speak with supervisors in person), missing out on office amenities, distractions at home and being overlooked for promotions.

For those who entered the workforce during the pandemic, they’ve had to undertake the tricky task of navigating a first job, building work relationships and getting trained in the art of sales mostly via virtual means. And that’s proven to be taxing, both for them and their employers. Building authentic and important relationships with peers has been hampered due to lack of in-person work, along with receiving instant feedback about their performance and progress without having to schedule a video call. Meanwhile, employers are challenged to track performance progress at a distance while making sure no one feels left behind and keeping them engaged with a team they may have never met in person.

“I’ll drive the hour each way to the office just to see people. It’s hard to build relationships at a distance.” Kelly Densberger, Doing Good Works

Gen Z’s strengths lie in collaboration, communication and finding solutions, says Nikita Miller, vice president of product at Dooly, a software platform for streamlining CRM order entry. She and her team have been conducting deep research on Gen Z in order to build a proprietary tool that works across different demographics in the workplace. At the same time, she says, Gen Z wants a clear training plan, efficient tools and ongoing contact with higher-ups and peers for optimal satisfaction and retention. Onboarding them in a meaningful way makes it more likely that Gen Z sales reps who joined during COVID will transition smoothly into in-office setups in the near future.

“Gen Z is digitally native, meaning they’ve grown up with technology, even more so than millennials,” says Miller. “Their expectation is that everything will be at their fingertips.”

Promo’s reputation as an aging industry is finally starting to break as younger generations enter and ascend to leadership roles. As the latest group to enter the workforce, Gen Z is a crucial bridge to the industry’s future. These are the strategies that employers are using to train these young sales reps in the age of remote and hybrid work, so that they don’t lose this generation before they even get a chance to start.

Hands-On Training

Once a new hire has a start date, their required tools need to be prepared and delivered beforehand, taking into account the time it takes to set up and test equipment and software. Now that return-to-office plans are on hold in many areas, team members’ home offices may still be far-flung. So it’s more important than ever that everyone has the same tools they need to do their jobs on their first day; otherwise, Gen Z may feel lost, isolated or left behind in training.

“You need to equip them with the right software and hardware, like web cameras, meeting green screens or banners, and high-quality microphones,” says Stefan Smulders, CEO of Expandi, a marketing automation platform. “This will remind them of the importance of the work they’re doing and they’re more apt to pay attention to training and doing well in their roles.”   

Supervisors and other team members should also guide new hires through their toolkits to mitigate confusion while being aware that, even for tech-savvy Gen Z, a lot of platforms and hardware can prove overwhelming. Try to streamline it as much as possible, and only use what’s absolutely necessary for them to start.

“Gen Z wants to do meaningful work,” says Miller. “But the number of tools can cloud that.”

In addition to equipment, the training plan should be readily accessible and clear, like a syllabus. Gen Z wants a well-defined roadmap to success; they don’t appreciate jobs where they’re expected to sit down and figure it out on their own.

“Each department has to work concomitantly and agree on what’s important for training. It can’t be one person in HR or one experience officer designing it for everyone.” Josh Hinkel, Vantage Apparel

At On Promos Powered by Proforma (asi/491390), younger sales reps receive a detailed “training milestones” checklist for the first 90 days, an incubation period to determine that they are indeed a good fit for the position and the team. The first week is typically an orientation to the basics of the company and their individual roles, and everyone receives a detailed training manual with screenshots of the different platforms and step-by-step instructions. They also recruit industry resources to supplement in-house training.

“We also rely on supplier reps, industry associations and our franchisor for additional resources,” says co-owner Kimble Bosworth. “We schedule a weekly supplier presentation to help them learn new products and build relationships. It’s a constantly evolving process.”

It's a different time from what sales used to be, when new reps often “sank or swam” with little expectation of in-depth training. Gen Z wants a clear onboarding plan, consistent guidance and feedback, and regular communication.

“They want to be walked through the process,” says Logan Altman, director of customer experience at Doing Good Works. “We have them sit in on sales calls so they can see how to read the room and listen to the back-and-forth with clients. We want them to see how business meetings flow. They’ll also help us put together sample kits that we ship ahead of time so customers have tangible items. And we keep in consistent touch on email, Slack and Zoom.”

Listen as Logan Altman and Gen Z sales rep Jolene Pringle at Doing Good Works discuss onboarding during the early days of the pandemic.

Similar to On Promos, the first week at Doing Good Works (which also has a 90-day incubation period) is a basic orientation, followed by tutorials on pitching products.

“I did mock sourcing and presentations, and Logan critiqued them,” says Densberger. “We also watched sales training videos from ASI. My entire team is BASI-certified.”

Consider laying out the process in a handbook that can be referenced once the formal training period is over. It should be detailed and developed by those who know the position well, says Gargi Rajan, head of HR at Mercer | Mettl, a talent assessment platform. “It should have a detailed rundown on leading the conversation, the types of questions to ask, the questions clients may ask and the answers to them,” she says. “There could be insights into the best key features of certain popular products, the flow of communication and how to upsell and cross-sell. Also consider presentations by seasoned sales reps on these topics.”

Through all this, it’s essential that everyone is trained in digital communication since video calls are poised to remain an integral part of the sales arsenal. “In a physical, face-to-face meeting, you have lots of personality and behavioral cues to give and receive,” says Rajan. “In a digital environment, emphasize enunciation, sales etiquette and deep knowledge of products and features.”

Also make sure to have detailed case studies on team sales that were successfully closed, and how the reps were able to accomplish them. Consider asking seasoned team members to give presentations to younger reps on how their successes came about, and hard-won lessons they’ve learned along the way. At the same time, keep the sales process simple and easy to remember.

“The more straightforward it is, the more likely it is to be used,” says Andres Lares, managing partner and CEO of the Shapiro Negotiations Institute, a sales training agency. “We came up with a very lean process: Prepare-Engage-Close-Service, which focuses on core skills like preparing, asking questions, asking for the business and servicing an account. And definitely provide coaching opportunities; younger reps usually come with fewer bad habits, so coaching has impact.”

Josh Hinkel, a young rep who’s new to promo, joined Top 40 supplier Vantage Apparel (asi/93390) in May. He says Vantage’s training program was clear and he felt supported from the beginning in his role as an inside sales rep for the Central region of the U.S. He visited the company’s Avenel, NJ, headquarters just once so far to meet other team members in person. Though he continues to work from his home office about two hours away, Hinkel has tentative plans to move closer to Avenel to be able to go the office more regularly. But the virtual tools, he says, made an important contribution to his onboarding and training.

“I shadowed the Central U.S. team and different departments over Zoom, which I don’t know would have happened without COVID and more widespread use of videoconferencing,” says Hinkel. “I was a ‘fly on the wall’ and saw how Vantage sells.”

30%
Percentage of workforce in 2030 that will be members of Gen Z.

(Snap/Oxford Economics)

When not on video calls, he referenced Vantage’s detailed training manual. “When I was in retail management, I created those for others,” he says. “It should be clear and accessible – that’s more important than ever now that so many people are remote.” He adds that HR should also be ready to walk new reps through benefits packages – what everything means, what to expect – since many of them don’t have much experience with that yet.

“Be transparent and organized,” he says. “Each department has to work concomitantly and agree on what’s important for training. It can’t be one person in HR or one experience officer designing it for everyone.”

In the meantime, Hinkel looks forward to getting back to in-person work. “Communication and camaraderie are critical,” he says. “Just laughing and joking around is important. There are positives to being remote, like saving money and time on commuting, but in-person interaction is crucial.”

Assuring new hires that things are in hand, with equipment and software that arrives on time, communicating training plans clearly and keeping them in the loop with the team as much as possible, can quell much of the anxiety that comes with taking a new role, especially in sales during remote work.

“People want to enjoy their jobs,” says Miller, the VP at Dooly. “Sales tends to be anxiety-inducing, but no one wants to deal with that day in and day out, especially Gen Z.”

Stay in Touch

Purposeful work is yet another key attribute of younger generations. No longer satisfied with being just another cog in the machine, they want to know that they’re part of a team with purpose and that their contributions are valuable to achieving larger objectives. Once the initial training period is over, it’s imperative that regular communication, support and acknowledgment continue. Otherwise, Gen Z may not stay long.

“Gen Z has higher standards and greater expectations when it comes to what they give and what they get back,” says Miller. “They don’t want to be overlooked. They want their hard work and impact recognized.”

Build regular one-on-ones and team meetings into the work week, and commit to those meetings, even if it’s just for a few minutes. “It helps establish better communication, which is key with new reps,” says Chelsea Cohen, co-founder of Amazon inventory management platform SoStocked. “Check in with them consistently to see if they have any questions or concerns.”

With lingering COVID uncertainty as we head into the fall, many companies’ plans to bring employees back to communal offices are on hold. Consistent communication among team members and departments, while always important, has taken on new urgency during remote work.

“We need even more collaboration now,” says Rob Watson, chief experience officer at Vantage Apparel. “We have standing 15-minute meetings daily where we discuss yesterday’s challenges and today’s goals. It gets people connected at the start of the day, reinforces priorities and keeps them connected to something greater than themselves. We also give them as many virtual high-fives as possible.”

For Gen Zers who are often new to a company, industry and/or the working world, working and selling at a distance can be especially isolating. “Have consistent, quick touchpoints every week, show you’re there for them and remind them that they’re seen and you’re paying attention,” says Miller. “Remote work can be a lonely thing. Managers need to be mindful. Especially in sales, there’s lots of pressure and responsibility.”

In addition, make sure to incentivize sales reps to engage and motivate, says Lares. Consider friendly sales competitions among team members, and if possible, book annual trips for top rookies and performers and host monthly social events. “Making sure that salespeople are passionate about their company and services is one of the best ways to make it likely they succeed,” he says.

While sales is a numbers-based discipline, Miller says Gen Z reps don’t want to be treated like a number. “It’s about the bottom line, but it’s not just about that,” she says. “Even though these are transactional jobs, Gen Z doesn’t want them to be transactional. They want authenticity.”