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For many, the term “Gen Z” conjures images of TikTok dances and dependence on technology, but not for Andy Mills-Brown. The Orlando-based entrepreneur and CEO of live entertainment company TAG Live® has an entirely different perspective on the generation born between 1997 and 2012. When he looks at Gen Z, Mills-Brown sees and exciting and positive future.
TAG Live® is not only a widely recognized, but a widely trusted provider of live entertainment that is deeply rooted in a creative and entrepreneurial infrastructure. Where other live entertainment companies are run by performers, TAG Live® is helmed by Mills-Brown, whose corporate background provides unique insight regarding his approach to hiring. Mills-Brown is ahead of the curve in recognizing that workplaces must adapt to the needs of Gen Z in order to sustain their businesses.
“We do a lot of discovery and research to understand what Gen Z is looking for, which will be the predominance of our 2024 workforce,” says the CEO. “I think we have a very good grasp on mental health, Gen Z and what the future workforce looks like. We’re very progressive in terms of nurturing our stars of the future.”
The influx of Gen Z in the workplace is upon us and will only continue to grow over the coming years. Instead of resisting the ideals of the youngest demographic in the global workforce, Mills-Brown encourages his leadership to embrace them.
“Let’s say you need 1000 performers next year, they’re all likely to be Gen Z. Gen Z require a very different approach in terms of how their well-being is looked after and what they want from a business. The days are gone when somebody applies to work for you. Now we must prove what we have to offer and we should be their first choice.”
The benefits of working for TAG Live® are nothing short of unprecedented in the United States. The company’s most recent initiatives for their corporate staff include primary parental care, a markedly gender-inclusive term, which ensures employees receive increased pay during leave related to having a child. TAG Live® gives team members more than double the average days of paid vacation, to be used in any way they choose.
“We do a lot in our training and development about well-being. We understand that Gen Z are quite vocal; they’re an activist group of people. They need to believe in what we believe in,” Mills-Brown says. “Our values need to match up.”
“They [Gen Z] are more authentically engaged. They likely wouldn’t stay in a job if they didn’t like it,” he says. “Gen Z don’t necessarily need a new job to go to, they’ll just leave if they don’t agree with the corporate values, if they don’t believe what you’re doing is correct, or that we are allies of all of the good things that should be happening in the world,” says Mills-Brown.
Where previous generations rolled their eyes at millennials for their penchant for avocado toast and living with their parents well into their 20s, Andy Mills-Brown has flipped the script for Gen Z. It isn’t a stretch to say that the TAG Live® founder admires the up-and-coming generation.
“What happens is you get a truer, more authentic, engaged person working for you. And as such, what you must do as a business is make yourself truer, more authentic, and more engaging. This then translates into delivering the best performance, on and off the stage, for your clients. So, that’s a positive for everybody.”