Accountancy firm Forvis Mazars has announced that its Generation Z employees are to be enrolled on a new course on social skills. 

Skills they will be taught will include the correct way to answer and talk on the phone. 

On Lunchtime Live, HR expert Caroline Reidy said that she knows lots of people “outside of the Gen Z bracket who could do with that training as well”. 

“A lot of those are entry level graduates,” she said. 

“They’re going into the work environment and what a lot of the firms are noticing is that that first, they’re very much digital first. 

“They’re used to being [communicated with] by text messages, WhatsApp, Slack - all those quick messaging communication preferences. 

“Whereas our baby boomers, Generation X and our millennials who have been in the workplace before them, are much more used to in person direct communications. 

“Picking up the phone rather than sending the message.” 

A young man using his phone and laptop. Picture by: JYPIX / Alamy Stock Photo

Ms Reidy added that social skills become even more important when staff get promoted and end up managing people. 

“If you want to progress to manage people or take over a client portfolio, you need to develop really good people skills and really good emotional intelligence,” she said. 

“Ultimately, that skill of still being able to manage a team, work well as part of a team with your individual contribution being really important [and] just because we’ve a lot more hybrid and remote working now, we still definitely need to enhance those skills. 

“So, I think this is a really good thing and I think it’s something a lot more organisations will be picking up on as well.” 

Main image: Man shows woman something on phone (Andor Bujdoso / Alamy Stock Photo)