Darrell speaks to Rotary on emerging Gen Z population, shifting business traditions

October 28, 2021 | 12:13 am

Updated October 27, 2021 | 11:30 pm

Kentucky Wesleyan College President Emeritus Bart Darrell had a visit with a prospective student during his term at KWC. The student was a potential mathematics major, and Darrell said plainly he’d rather do anything than do mathematics.

The student rebutted and said, math isn’t about numbers.

It’s about logic.

With that in mind, Darrell approached Owensboro’s Rotary Club on Wednesday with the suggestion that they use logic free of biases to discuss the future of the business and community scene as Generation Z ages up.

Darrell said a key fact that he has seen among Gen Z is they aren’t the future of the workforce; they are the present. Gen Z makes up roughly 30% of the current workforce.

So, he encourages businesses to connect with members of Gen Z. 

“We need to not only adapt to changing technology but also adapt to the changing workforce because we’re going to have to figure out how to bring people in. We can’t spend our time begging people to stay,” Darrell said.

When it comes to Gen Z as workers, he notices that the turnover rate isn’t the same as it was for previous generations. Now he notes that most Gen Zers are maxing out at their positions at 5 years compared to himself staying at a firm for 25 years.

He encourages people to understand this framework of thought and encourages employers to, instead of approaching with the mindset to train someone how to do their position, train them to prepare for the next move — whether it be with them or with another organization.

A common comparison he used was ad hoc committees.  

Ad hoc committees serve as temporary committees to make an area or an organization better. 

“I like ad hoc committees and I think we have to start treating the newer people as they come into our organizations, give them ad hoc assignments that are geared to helping the organization but also to help him or her,” Darrell said.

As for what this meant for Owensboro as a whole, he said the city needs to shift how it markets itself. He pointed to other cities that did not adjust to the growing ages and so they found themselves declining in population.

He noted Owensboro is marketed and known colloquially as “one of the best places to raise a family,” and while the city may be successful at that, it could harm how it grows in a time where Gen Z is aging and not looking to raise a family.

Now that working remotely is becoming more prevalent, Darrell warns the ability to get comfortable in that as it can lure families away from settling down in Owensboro, as they can find opportunities elsewhere and lose engagement.

“This community better be engaged in what we do. You better be involved because it’s not just about us — it’s more than that — it’s about us in a global sense, here in our region,” Darrell said. “We’ve got to capitalize on that.”

October 28, 2021 | 12:13 am

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