Alex Atherton

Alex Atherton – Educator and Generation Z & Multigenerational Speaker

Alex Atherton is an experienced educator, executive coach and leadership team coach. He worked in education for 25 years, over half of which was spent as a secondary school headteacher in large inner-London comprehensives. On appointment he was the youngest secondary school head in the country. He has also led a pupil referral unit, and has worked with both primary schools and further education.

Alex Atherton runs a leadership development consultancy which supports individual clients and executive teams from a range of industries. He is highly passionate about the value of professional development and in empowering others to overcome their leadership challenges. He specialises in working with senior leaders, supporting them to think big, shatter glass ceilings, achieve beyond their wildest expectations and work together with impact they did not think possible. Clients include CEOs and leaders from the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Alex Atherton’s focus on Generation Z came from two sources. The first is from clients who presented a range of frustrations in being able to recruit, retain and motivate the youngest generation in the workplace and wanted to call upon his expertise. The second was the negative stereotypes in the media about the generation he had worked with in schools. In short, he heard one ‘snowflake’ comment too many and decided his own generation needed to do some listening. He also supports organisations in thinking differently about Generation Z and managing their development as multi-generational institutions.

Speaking Topics

Recruiting and Retaining Gen Z

In today’s rapidly evolving job market, attracting and keeping top talent from Generation Z has become a critical challenge for organisations across all industries and the future of work in general.

Gen Z is the most significant generational shift so far. Many organisations are struggling to recruit and retain the best of this generation. Traditional methods of recruitment no longer work, and problems with retention are more acute than ever. Senior leaders, including those in Human Resources and Learning and Development, often find themselves behind in the race to secure the services of the best young staff.

For those they do recruit, a generational disconnect can open up as motivation and engagement become issues which hold organisations back. This has a further impact on succession planning.

This talk identifies their key characteristics and the solutions organisations can use to recruit and retain the best of this generation in any industry.

Managing The Multi-Generational Workplace

Unprecedented levels of age diversity are now the norm in many workplaces. As life expectancy increases and retirement ages rise ever higher the age gap between the youngest and oldest is expanding, sometimes spanning more than 50 years.

For the first time in history, organisations have four or more generations working side by side, from Baby Boomers to Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. This brings both unique opportunities and the potential for a generational divide which demands both attention and a strategic approach.

This widening range brings a wealth of diverse experiences, perspectives, and skills. It also presents challenges in areas such as communication, technology adoption, work styles, and expectations around career progression and work-life balance.In this talk generational expert Alex demonstrates not only how to overcome the challenges from multiple generations in your workforce but use them to move the organisation forward, and faster.

Understanding Gen Z

Generation Z is the most significant generational shift so far, poised to reshape the workplace with their unique perspectives, values, and expectations.

Recruitment and retention of young staff are core concerns for many organisations. Yet those who have recruited the young staff they need often find that they do not understand Gen Z’s aspirations. A generational disconnect can open up as motivation and engagement become issues which hold organisations back.

As the oldest members of Gen Z move into management positions it has become even more important to understand what they need, so that succession planning is secure. In this talk Alex uses his original research to describe the key characteristics of Gen Z and also the strategies organisations can implement so that leaders and their young staff can get the best out of each other.