How to Attract and Retain Gen Z Talent in India’s Competitive Job Market

Merely hiring Gen Z talent in India is not enough. Just like planting seeds doesn’t make trees grow, you cannot reap the benefits of hiring Gen Z in your workforce, if you don’t give it the necessary care and nourishment. This is why recruiters and hiring managers are trying everything they can to attract and retain these young talents. While there are challenges along the way, hiring Gen Z in India offers many benefits and opportunities for business success. The increasing demand is evident in the fact that Gen Z will constitute 27% of the Indian talent in 2025.

This blog will cover young talent acquisition in India, challenges in managing Gen Z employees in India, and strategies to hire and retain the Gen Z workforce in India.

Why Hire Gen Z Talent in India?

Gen Z workers bring immense innovative value to businesses aspiring to grow amidst changes and challenges. These fresh, young minds offer a host of benefits, skills, and personality traits that the evolving economy demands. When you attract Gen Z employees in India, you will benefit from the following:

● An Entrepreneurial Mindset

Gen Z employees have an entrepreneurial mindset; in fact, 67% of them aspire to found or lead a business within a few years of starting their careers. This leadership mindset translates into taking ownership of their work as well as feeling at one with the company’s values, which drives them to stay purposeful and success-driven.

● Tech Expertise

Known as the generation of the internet, Gen Z can easily operate the tools and technology typically used in corporations. Throw in a learning mindset and training in the mix, and you’ll have created a robust, steady, and easily adaptable workforce. When you attract Gen Z talent in India, you inspire existing employees to keep up, learn, get trained, practice, and take initiative.

● Creativity and Innovation

The new generation is educated on new concepts, technologies, values, etc., which it naturally brings to your organization. A fresh point of view can help uproot old aspects of the workplace and make room for creative solutions and ideas. Plus, this generation is not afraid of asking questions, which fosters transparency and inspires innovation.

Challenges of Hiring and Retaining Gen Z

In an attempt to make their roles and offers attractive, employers offered Gen Z workers an average salary hike of 9% in 2024. However, the new youth’s expectations go far beyond a hefty paycheck. They want freedom, flexibility, growth, and other benefits that many companies have not caught up to yet. Therefore, recruiters who don’t analyze what Gen Z looks for in a job in India 2025 face a few challenges in hiring and recruiting Gen Z.

● Changing Expectations

Gen Z prioritizes work-life balance and respects the agreed-upon working hours. Unlike previous generations, the new generation doesn’t take pride in spending after-work hours at the office, especially when it’s not needed.

Additionally, Gen Z employees demand a workspace that utilizes technology, is diverse and inclusive, offers growth opportunities, and is open to change. Businesses that can’t offer these attributes may lose out on connecting with a key work demographic.

● Lack of Communication

Clear and regular two-way communication is the way to go when hiring and retaining Gen Z employees. Companies that delay communication or keep it vague regarding application status, the next steps in the application, and the job role quickly lose Gen Z interest.

Two-way feedback is also a big part of communication for Gen Z. They welcome constructive criticism and require it at frequent intervals as part of performance evaluation. Companies that fail to acknowledge this need for recognition and improvement and don’t support upward feedback find it challenging to attract Gen Z talent in India.

● Disengagement

Today, most hiring and work processes are remote or virtual, including interviews, meetings, collaborations, festive celebrations, and engagement initiatives. These processes, when conducted in person, foster connection and belonging, which are lost on the remote workforce. According to Gallup, 54% of Gen Z employees are not engaged, and 15% are actively disengaged.

Communicating company purpose to Gen Z employees in India and using technology to engage the Gen Z workforce in India can help overcome this challenge.

Tips for Hiring and Retaining Gen Z

With the right mix of openness, adaptability, and a dedication to grow, businesses can overcome these challenges and hire the best Gen Z talent for vacant roles. The following are a few tips you can use to demonstrate your willingness to accommodate Gen Z workplace expectations in India and, in return, let them bring a new workplace revolution to help your business thrive.

● Offer Flexibility and Freedom

Gen Z workers entered the workforce during the pandemic, so they are used to the idea of flexible working, including hybrid work for Gen Z India. Companies should offer them flexible work models—remote or hybrid—and benefits packages, which can include more, no-questions-asked paid time off (PTO), mental health support, and personal finance consultation. Give them the freedom to ask questions and offer suggestions to make them feel valued.

● Create a Likeable Employer Brand

Employer branding is how people, including job candidates and your employees, perceive your brand. The easiest way to make your employer brand attractive to Gen Z is to build a consistent social media presence. Share brand values, customer success stories, office behind-the-scenes, and social impact. 12% of Gen Z job seekers consider social impact the most important thing about a job, even more than money and job security.

Social media also aids you in reaching active and passive Gen Z applicants directly and understanding Gen Z values in the workplace India. According to Semrush, 33.86% of LinkedIn users and 35.92% of Indeed users are Gen Z, which makes social media a gold mine for tapping young potential.

● Provide Purpose and Growth

According to EduBirdie, 26% of Gen Z employees prioritize personal growth and fulfillment, while 24% prioritize career and education. Additionally, 33% of employees blame stagnant growth for quitting their jobs.

Therefore, companies should assign purpose-driven work to Gen Z India and provide growth and development opportunities consistently to help them learn, challenge themselves, and perform better. Regular job-related training, sponsored courses, and mentoring can be part of these initiatives to offer career growth for Gen Z India.

● Support Mental Health

The new generation believes in talking things out, and if companies stigmatize mental health problems, let alone provide support, they will see Gen Z quit.

57% of Gen Z admits to struggling to protect their mental health at work, which ultimately affects their happiness and productivity. Thus, managers and employers should actively and loudly advocate for mental health awareness and destigmatization. A few good initiatives in this direction can be conducting mental health awareness training and seminars, having an on-call therapist or counselor ready, and sponsoring any therapy sessions or time off that employees may need.

● Prioritize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Discussing, considering, and making fun of stereotypes at work is a thing of the past because Gen Z stands in strong support of DEI. Any trace of bias in recruitment, performance evaluations, promotions, or benefits can make your company unattractive to Gen Z.

Hence, conducting operations fairly and creating an inclusive workplace for Gen Z India must be a priority. Using AI and automation can help eliminate a huge fraction of the existing bias in processes. Additionally, hiring third-party consultants for evaluations, conflict resolution, recruitment, and other tasks can guarantee fairness.

How PERSOLKELLY Can Help?

Hiring an external recruiter or HR solutions provider can take the load of hiring off your back and deliver exceptional results. PERSOLKELLY is one such recruitment expert that you can turn to for hiring Gen Z talent in India. By partnering with us, you can take advantage of the following benefits:

● Targeted Results: You don’t have to buy an entire package of services that you don’t require. Communicate your specific requirements, and we will implement a targeted strategy to fill your vacancies or solve HR complications promptly.
● Experience and Expertise: Partnering with PERSOLKELLY means benefiting from the expertise of an agency with decades of experience in providing HR solutions to clients in 13 markets across Asia Pacific.
● Resources and Insights: Before finalizing the professional partnership or even after utilizing our services, you can check our website for various related resources that will help you make informed HR decisions. These include articles, salary guides, workforce and industry insights, whitepapers, and updated HR reports.
● Access to a Variety of Talent: Whether you need permanent talent for a long-term requirement, contractual talent for particular projects, local professionals for regional expertise, or international talent for global expansion or remote work purposes, PERSOLKELLY has you covered.

Think Ahead to Build and Retain a Robust Gen Z Workforce

The challenges of adapting to the new generation’s expectations, values, and ways of working are plenty. But with a mix of traditional and new strategies and the right resources, organizations can master how to attract Gen Z candidates in India. Offering Gen Z workers growth opportunities, flexibility, and mental health support, as well as being supportive of their choices and personalities, can make them feel welcome at your organization. These are some of the best ways to retain young employees in India. Additionally, partnering with a solution provider like PERSOLKELLY can speed up your company’s process of recruiting Gen Z graduates in India.