• Some companies and colleges are offering new grads training on how to work in person, WSJ reported.
  • The courses can cover everything from office chitchat to work attire and meal-time etiquette.
  • Some experts say Gen-Z is lacking in soft skills due to virtual classes and remote internships.

Recent graduates, who spent most of their college career taking virtual classes and working remote internships, might need to brush up on their soft skills — from how to write an email to elevator chitchat and appropriate work attire.

Some companies and universities have already begun offering training to help Generation-Z employees adapt to the office, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

For example, KPMG is offering new hires introductory training that includes how to talk to people in person, with tips on the appropriate level of eye contact and pauses in a conversation, the company's vice chair of talent and culture, Sandy Torchia, told the Journal. Deloitte and PwC also began offering similar trainings earlier this year, the Financial Times reported in May.

Similarly, the consulting company Proviti said it expanded its training for new hires during the pandemic to include a series of virtual meetings that focus on issues like how to make authentic conversation, according to the Journal. Scott Redfearn, Protiviti's executive vice president of global human resources, told the Journal the company has had to remind new hires to avoid casual attire like blue jeans with holes in them. 

Each generation faces some sort of cultural gap when entering the workforce, whether it pertains to the definition of what qualifies as business attire, the ways to use technology and social media appropriately, and how to conform to ever-changing corporate social mores.

This is no different for Gen Z than it was for Millennials entering the workforce as the first with a complex history of social media usage, or Gen X entering the workforce amid rapidly evolving corporate fashion. 

Some universities have also stepped in to bridge the gap. Michigan State University's director of career management, Marla McGraw, told the Journal that companies need to be more direct when it comes to telling new hires what to wear and how to act in the office. The school now requires many of its business majors to take classes that foster soft skills like how to network in person.

The Journal reported that one course breaks down a networking conversation by reminding students to pause after they introduce themselves in order to let the other person say their name, as well as respond to signs the other person might be looking to end the conversation.

Spokespeople for KPMG, Proviti, MSU, and Miami University did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

While it's common for companies to host onboarding sessions that cover office dynamics like attire and rules for interpersonal relationships, some experts say younger employees need these reminders now more than ever.

"It's things like understanding norms, values and etiquette: Who should you call? How should they be contacted? Are some people out of bounds?" Helen Hughes, associate professor at Leeds University Business School, told BBC in April, regarding some of the issues young workers may face.

Meanwhile, some CEOs have said that younger workers could benefit from more time in the office. Earlier this year, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg said that employees who joined in-person performed better on average than those that had joined remotely. Since, the company has begun requiring its workers to come into the office for at least three days a week.

Read the Journal's full story on its website.