Thought Leadership

Young Employees Bring Fresh Ideas, Perspectives, Creativity

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Find more ideas on unleashing your creativity in the March issue of Strategies & Tactics.


As the great French artist Henri Matisse once said, “Creativity takes courage.” Often, the things we call creative have never been done before: a new way to advertise something, a unique approach to a PR campaign, a new kind of video effect.

In a 2020 Harris Poll that surveyed members of all generations, more than half of Gen Z respondents (ages 10-25) said they consider themselves creative, compared with only 44 percent of older respondents who described themselves the same way. Projected to make up nearly 30 percent of the workforce by 2025, Gen Z — which is also the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in U.S. history — stands to bring a broad array of perspectives and creative ideas to U.S. companies.

As we market and communicate to younger generations, it’s important that we listen to their advice.

Bring in young voices.

Your interns and entry-level employees are full of ideas from what they were just taught in school, what their friends are seeing trend on TikTok and what other new platforms are being developed at this very moment. (Who would’ve thought about Wordle being successful?)

If we want to communicate with millennials and members of Gen Z, then we must have some of those young professionals in the room with us. Sure, executives have great ideas, but they’re often geared toward populations they’ve known for decades. Audiences expect authentic messages, which are best shaped by members of the age group those messages are intended to reach.

Provide opportunities to explore.

According to a 2020 survey by eCampus News, 61 percent of Gen Z professionals say the best place to learn is on the job. They want room to be creative and innovative at work, to explore and to try new things. Will their ideas always work? No. But we all should learn from failure as much as we do from success.

Invite your new employees and interns into the board room. Encourage them to speak up if they have an idea or a question. The creativity and innovation they offer may surprise you.


Landis Tindell, APR, is chair of PRSA’s New Professionals Section, a PRSSA Hall of Fame member and manager of corporate communications for the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team. Find him online at LandisTindell.com.

[Photo credit: wavebreakmediaMICRO]

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Landis Tindell, APR

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