Gen Z Discovers Workplace Tech, and how to take advantage

I have to highlight a recent article in the Washington Post for IT services companies.

Titled “What’s a scanner? Gen Z is discovering workplace tech.”, the first few paragraphs give you what you need to know.

Quote

Since 22-year-old Erika Loc is an up-and-coming IT whiz, the boss at her first cybersecurity internship figured she knew how to use a printer.

That boss was wrong.

When Loc and a fellow intern needed to print and sign some paperwork in the office, they started out confident, she said. The printer had a touch screen interface, so how hard could it be? But the printer wouldn’t print. They tapped the screen. They hunted for ink and toner — all accounted for. The machine was plugged into the wall, and the outlet was working. Finally, they found the problem. There was no paper inside.

“It was embarrassing how long it took us to think of that,” Loc said.

Why do we care?

The article focuses on specific scenarios. All the advice is specific changes to behavior around tech, like using cell phones rather than desk phones or cell phone cameras for scanners.  It misses the real critical insight.

Training.  

When employers make assumptions about the skills of their employees, there are bound to be issues, regardless of age.  It’s easy to assume young people “know it all,”… but that’s unfair to them too.    And here’s another big technology area to explore – training.  It’s not just for the olds.