Gen Z can hardly be reached via traditional channels
A recent study by the HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich shows that 83 % of 16 to 24-year-olds in Switzerland respond little or not at all to traditional recruitment channels such as email. This jeopardizes the representativeness of market and social research - and thus the basis for decisions in business and politics.
Anyone who wants to know what young people think today faces a fundamental problem: Gen Z no longer responds. A recent study by the HWZ Zurich School of Business shows that 83 % of 16 to 24-year-olds in Switzerland can only be reached to a limited extent by market and social research via traditional recruitment channels such as email. This corresponds to around one million people - and jeopardizes representative research results as well as the basis for decision-making in business and politics.
An entire generation is missing from the database
Representative samples are the foundation of market and social research. Only those who reach all population groups can obtain meaningful results. For its study, the HWZ analyzed the use and trust of the Swiss population in various means of communication - including e-mail, messenger services and social networks. The representative study shows: Overall, 69 % of Swiss people are skeptical of contact via traditional channels. Among Gen Z, the rejection is particularly pronounced at 83 %. Four out of five 16 to 24-year-olds have little or no reaction.
«If an entire generation is no longer included in studies, decisions in business and politics are made blind,» says Dr. Bruno Wüest, head of the study and research associate at the HWZ.
New paths for market and social research
The study shows a way out: Messenger services and social networks reach Gen Z where they actually communicate. WhatsApp and Instagram stand out in particular. The study therefore recommends supplementing traditional recruitment attempts with these channels in a targeted manner. This would ensure the validity and reliability of studies in the long term and reduce the risk of the perspectives of an entire generation remaining underrepresented in social and economic issues.
«The findings are directly applicable: Companies that adapt their recruitment strategies now will secure their connection to a generation that will be the main target group tomorrow,» says Dr. Bruno Wüest.
About the study
The study was conducted at the HWZ while working on traditional survey projects and was carried out as an Innosuisse innovation check project in collaboration with experts from market and social research. The results are based on a representative sample of 1,218 interviews with people from German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
Source: www.hwz.ch
