Organisations must address these expectations by embracing technology. We believe it drives efficiency and provides data which – when properly analysed – yields valuable business insight. What’s more, automation of processes promises to free up people’s time to focus on the more stimulating aspects of their roles and Generation Alpha will expect this as a matter of course.

Innovation: the key to survival

As has always been the case, innovation will be crucial to retaining Generation Alpha customers and employees for that matter.

More than any youth generation before them Generation Alphas will seek the ‘latest’ and the ‘newest’ and they’ll have no qualms about switching products and services. One consequence is that the life cycle of brands and products will become shorter. Brands will have to invest to make sure they have a new product and service pipeline that continually delivers.

I’m often challenged on how best to instil a culture of innovation in organisations. We’ve chosen to adopt a shared enterprise approach which is aimed at encouraging collaboration and contribution of ideas from throughout the organisation. We see this as one way we can make sure our people take ownership of the firm’s performance and are also rewarded for their contribution.

Delivering beyond profit

Part of the challenge from Generation Alpha to brands will be to deliver more than just profits. Much like their predecessors, the Millennials, Generation Alphas will expect businesses to operate with a purpose beyond just profit and with an eye to their impact on people, communities and the environment. Generation Alphas will expect transparency. The advent of technology has put supply chains under the spotlight and there will be no place to hide.

Attracting the screen-centric employee

People-intensive industries such as care, hospitality and retail will also have to give careful thought to how they attract Generation Alpha employees. This generation will have grown up spending many solitary hours interacting with computers or with friends and peers online. How then can they be recruited into social, care giving roles? Adopting flexible working practices, social mobility programmes and family friendly employment approaches will be important for making these industries as attractive as possible.

Generation Alpha are the customers and employees of tomorrow but many of the trends and issues they herald are already making themselves felt.

How we are preparing

We’re preparing the ground by thinking about how we engage with our markets and our people differently. We want to help shape an economy that instils trust and integrity in markets, drives sustainable growth and fosters environments where people and businesses thrive. We think this will be key to helping us generate the innovation and dynamism that will make the firm fit for the future.

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