{"id":9397,"date":"2024-01-31T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&#038;p=9397"},"modified":"2026-03-20T09:30:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T09:30:36","slug":"generation-alpha-in-the-workforce-podcast","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/talent-management\/talent-acquisition\/recruitment\/generation-alpha-in-the-workforce-podcast\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prepare for Generation Alpha joining the workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b5fc8583 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:25px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7fc3d43a wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p class=\"\">Rebekah Martin, senior vice president of reward, inclusion and talent acquisition at AstraZeneca, joins us to talk about the changing motivations and requirements of the workforce &#8211; connection to purpose, skills-based learning, recognition and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">She discusses her role at AstraZeneca and sets out a series of ways in which organisations can try to ensure that they are employers of choice for Gen Alpha, the next generation to join the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"listen\" class=\"\">Listen now for actionable insights, expert analysis, and a look at what\u2019s next for HR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: How to prepare for Generation Alpha joining the workforce\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/3VTYwjq9dlRYK4WIA7INKu?utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<details id=\"transcript\" class=\"wp-block-details has-secondary-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1bea84e69d6404cac81ab9378ae7693a is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\" style=\"font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.548), 18px);\"><summary>Read the transcript<\/summary>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Hello, and welcome to the XpertHR podcast. XpertHR is a comprehensive source of leading practice, employment law and benchmarking information for HR professionals, providing solutions and expertise for every HR role, challenge and opportunity. You can find us any time of the day or night at www.xperthr.co.uk. My name is Robert Shore, and I am joined today by Rebekah Martin, who is senior vice president for reward and inclusion at AstraZeneca. Rebekah, hello.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Hello. Nice to meet you, Robert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> And we\u2019re going to be discussing Generation Alpha and how organisations might need to start thinking in order to make themselves attractive as employers to this next generation. So Rebekah, before we get onto Gen A, do people say that? Do they say \u201cGen A\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> We call it \u201cAlpha\u201d when we\u2019re talking about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Okay. So \u201cGen Alpha\u201d. I\u2019d like to do a bit of scene-setting and just ask<br>you about your professional journey to your current role. I think you began by studying biochemistry. Is that right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Yeah, that\u2019s right. So a scientist back in the days of university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. And I mean, obviously that ties in, in some degree, with what AstraZeneca does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Quite. Shall I tell you a little bit about how I got where I am today and what I\u2019m doing now? I\u2019ll try and keep it quite short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Please do, yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Okay. So yeah, I started out as a scientist and then I trained as a lawyer and I became a specialist employment lawyer. After a little bit of time in law firms I realised I wanted to move into industry, and I had the opportunity to join AstraZeneca. So AstraZeneca\u2019s a global biopharmaceutical company, and I joined as a specialist employment lawyer, did a few different roles in legal, spent time on assignment in Singapore with my family, which was amazing, and I got the opportunity to actually join the human resources function about six-and-a-half years ago. And my role is an interesting one. So I cover reward, inclusion and diversity, and also talent acquisition. So these are the centres of expertise inside the company for HR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore: <\/strong>Yeah, and that\u2019s quite an unusual sort of gathering of different functions, isn\u2019t it? Do many other companies that you know of do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> I haven\u2019t met another one of me yet, Robert! But there are companies that are increasingly bringing together reward and talent. So we do see that. But I think when we bring together different areas of expertise it is an  opportunity to think differently about the work, and that\u2019s been something which has been really interesting for us at AstraZeneca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> And actually, are you the first person to have the role which covers the different areas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> You are?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> And so, is there a wider perception of the change that\u2019s made?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Let me bring it to you from the perspective of reward and inclusion. If I start with that, in bringing those two quite different areas\u2026 Reward\u2019s quite technical. Inclusion and diversity, it\u2019s a little of a different discipline to reward, more to do with the culture and the way that we make people feel. And when we brought the two things together we really thought about this being the essence of what motivates people. So when we think about how we reward people, how we\u2019re incentivising them to deliver the behaviours and performance that we want to see across the organisation, that\u2019s clearly extrinsic motivation. So what you can put in place to incentivise someone to deliver something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">When we think about inclusion and diversity, this is about how we make people feel and how they interact with one another. And feeling valued for the difference that you\u2019re bringing, and also being able to really connect as a team to the broader company purpose, that\u2019s what motivates from the inside. So that\u2019s the intrinsic motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">So when you put it like that, it\u2019s all about motivation, and that then\u2026we talk about creating rewarding experiences that inspire growth, and that\u2019s what we look to do at AstraZeneca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. So actually, tell us a little bit about AstraZeneca as a workplace. So I mean, just for instance, you know, how many people work there? What sort of range of roles? I think everybody knows since the Covid pandemic that it\u2019s a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. I think it\u2019s quite recognisable as a name. Do people have to work on site? How hybrid can you be? Just paint us a little picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> So AstraZeneca, it\u2019s quite a different company than the one I originally joined, Robert. So what we\u2019ve seen inside our organisation, we now have 85,000 employees. We\u2019re right around the world. And what makes us unusual is that whilst we are technically a UK-headquartered company, we\u2019re actually geographically super-diverse. So we don\u2019t have everyone sitting in the US or everyone sitting in the UK, particularly from a senior leadership perspective. So we\u2019re really sort of spread around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">In terms of the types of employees we have, we have our research and development functions. So we will have lab scientists, we\u2019ll have people working in the markets on our clinical trials. We have our operations function. So we have manufacturing employees, who are actually sort of moving from the molecule to the medicine and getting it out there into the market. And we have sales and marketing employees, who are engaging in dialogues with key opinion leaders, with prescribers, with healthcare professionals all around the world in order to ensure that our medicines get to patients. So we have people there who are field-based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Behind all of that, of course, we do have our enabling functions, as you would expect, and those in sort of global corporate. And these people are office-based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">And you asked about our approach to hybrid. So the first thing to point out is clearly for our field force they\u2019re in the field, for our lab-based people they\u2019re in the lab, for our people who are working in manufacturing, they\u2019re on the manufacturing lines. But in the office, what we try to get is this balance where we have a degree of flexibility. People can work from home. They can be remote. But only for a proportion of their time. We want people to be spending the majority of their time, so 60%, together. And that\u2019s really important, actually, in order to create that sense of community and to foster learning and development, both things very important to Generation Alpha, I should say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Oh yes, Generation Alpha. Now, of course there are no Generation alpha in the workplace at the moment. But you do have a certain number of Gen Z-ers, I imagine, at AstraZeneca? So can we define where Gen Z ends and where Generation Alpha begins? And maybe the line is a bit blurry but let\u2019s draw a line anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>It is a bit blurry. I mean, one of the things that\u2019s interesting about when we describe people in terms of the generation that they\u2019re in, of course we\u2019re going to be making generalisations, and what\u2019s true of one isn\u2019t going to be true of all. But let\u2019s acknowledge a little bit of stereotyping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">But when we describe Generation Alphas we\u2019re talking about people who were born between 2010 and 2024. So they\u2019re the children of the Millennial generation. And this is, you know, a group of people who will be growing up in a technological age which many of us who\u2019ve been immersed in a working environment for some time have been adapting to as we go, but they will have been in on it from the beginning, so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. So as I say, the key thing is there are no Generation Alphas in the workforce at the moment, but we\u2019re saying companies need to prepare and begin to shape policies to attract this new generation. That being the case, what are the traits that shape Generation Alpha\u2019s profile? What do we know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> So, growing up in a highly digital and connected world, Generation Alpha is likely to expect that of the companies that they work for too. So work needs to be easy to do. They might anticipate the seamless integration of technology in the<br>workplace. And they\u2019re going to value companies that provide opportunities for continuous learning and development, we think. So, Generation Alpha will be fluent in the language of innovation. And technology isn\u2019t just a tool; it\u2019s a way of life. So I think that\u2019s one of the things that I would call out as being really important \u2013 technological fluency will be key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">I\u2019ll give you a couple more. So, purpose-driven work, I think, is going to be really important. So Generation Alpha will be growing up at a time when issues like climate change, social justice, sustainability are prominent. And they might have a heightened awareness of those issues, and expect companies to have a really strong commitment to doing something about it. So making a difference in the world, essentially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">And then the third one I\u2019ll call out, I\u2019ve mentioned inclusion and diversity already, but this idea of growth and development, career growth and development. So Generation Alpha is likely to seek opportunities for that growth and development, and will be valuing companies that offer mentorship programmes, training initiatives, clear pathways for advancement. So fostering that culture of learning, which is already important now, is going to be even more important in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> How different is that from, say, Gen Z?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> I would say it\u2019s like Generation Z but kind of leaning in, turn the volume up. All of the things which we\u2019re starting to see as themes which are emerging now, I expect those to kind of increase in importance to a Generation Alpha workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. I suppose just to ask, what\u2019s the source of our sort of knowledge for this? How do we know? I was mentioning this to my son the other day, who was a bit outraged at the idea that, you know, so much is supposed to be known about him and his generation (he\u2019s Generation Z), so I need to be able to explain to him now that it\u2019s not just because we\u2019re looking on TikTok. Or is it just because we\u2019re looking on TikTok?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Educated guesswork is the best way that I would describe this here, because if we imagine your son, my children, these are individuals who are spending quite a lot of their time on social media. They are scrolling through vast amounts of information in very short bursts. They are hyper-connected in the digital world. Now, if they have that as their lived experience in a social setting, what are they going to expect when they come into a workplace? Will they find it totally jarring if actually they need to spend hours and hours doing something which is repetitive, or are we going to find that perhaps their attention span for certain things will be a little bit different? Their need for that social interaction in the workplace is going to be different. We might need to think about dialling up our recognition programmes because the thirst for \u201clikes\u201d, for example, on social media, it\u2019s giving people dopamine hits. If we pull them away from all of that when they get into work and they have to wait for a month to get a thank you or to get noticed, this is not going to fly, I believe, for a Generation Alpha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Forewarned is forearmed, isn\u2019t it? So another question actually relating to that is how global do we think these characteristics are?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Because obviously we have a lot of employers who are looking to\u2026well, who first of all work globally and can recruit internationally. So if we\u2019re doing that, are these assumptions that are reasonable to make across the board?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> I think the access to technology is the fundamental which will drive whether or not it\u2019s kind of global. And in some cultures they\u2019re ahead of where we would be in the UK, and in some countries they are behind. So I think it does depend because if you have communities which do not have this heavy dependence on technology, that\u2019s one of the fundamentals that we\u2019re talking about, is influencing this generation as they move into the workplace. So I think that\u2019s a key component. But there will, I imagine, be a lot of things which are universal and global, and I think that issues such as climate change and the importance of tackling a topic like that increasingly around the world\u2026there are very few countries that haven\u2019t experienced some odd weather events recently, like extreme weather events. It\u2019s touching people\u2019s lives around the world. So I think it\u2019s fair to say that, yes, it might be different depending on where people have grown up, but there will be a lot in common, I believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. So I suppose in part that\u2019s organisations thinking about their ESG, how they sort of define themselves in that way. Is that right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Yes. I mean, I think one of the things which I feel very privileged about in working for AstraZeneca is that we are a company which is looking to be a force for good in the world. You know, at its heart we are about inventing the next generation of medicines that could be looking at, you know, curing cancer as a cause of death, for example. That is a very positive purpose to get behind. But we still need to do that, you know, in a way which is helping the planet. And I think all companies are having to tackle this. We see it increasingly rising in the agenda in terms of importance to shareholders. So investors are expecting this of companies. But I think that that\u2019s something which is only going to be on the rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. So I was going to say, you know, what motivates Generation Alpha? And I think you\u2019ve already described quite a lot of that. How then, as an employer, can you begin to articulate these things so that actually your potential future workforce recognises what you\u2019re doing? What is this practically going to turn into?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> On the ESG side, Robert, or broader?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> So, you talked about, you know, climate change for instance, and you know, that this is something that is high in the consciousness of young people generally, people generally. But actually, how does a company sort of begin to speak about that in a way that is meaningful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Well, that\u2019s a really important point because there are a lot of companies that will talk about their aspirations in this space. But really what people will be looking for is action. And so when we talk about, within AstraZeneca, our ambition for zero carbon, which is to dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, even though we are a growing company, being able to demonstrate that we are, in absolute terms, reducing those greenhouse gas emissions, that we\u2019re not just looking at Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions which are in our direct control, but we are part of industry initiatives where we\u2019re actively looking to manage the indirect carbon as well. These sorts of things, and being able to show through the data that we are making a difference, means it\u2019s not just words. And I think that the investments that companies make \u2013 we have an AstraZeneca forest, for  example; we are planting trees in order to support our efforts in relation to biodiversity and the carbon agenda \u2013 these are things which there will be an expectation that companies will put their money where their mouth is and prove that the difference they\u2019re making, that these things do actually matter in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. And is there a sort of formal process, though, for showing this to the workforce, that the reporting is\u2026?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Yeah. So increasingly it\u2019s something which companies will cover in their annual report. But we also have a sustainability report inside AstraZeneca, so every year we will issue our sustainability report and we\u2019ll be describing both where we want to go but also the journey that we\u2019ve taken so far and the material developments that we\u2019re seen there. And increasingly, regulators are expecting that too. So there is more external reporting. There are plenty of certifications that companies absolutely should have. Whether or not, you know, the generations coming into the workforce will almost look at this like, \u201cThis is the passport that the company has to comply with in order for me to be prepared to work for them,\u201d remains to be seen. But for sure companies are under increasing scrutiny to be doing business in the right way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. And do you get a lot of feedback from the workforce about this, that there is a lot\u2026do you find there\u2019s a lot of engagement and sometimes uncomfortable engagement? Pushing for more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>It\u2019s welcome, when we do have that appetite from our workforce. I\u2019ve  just come off the back of our end-of-year review, internal end-of-year review and a celebration of our achievements across the year, and the enormous enthusiasm and pride that our employees are already demonstrating for what AstraZeneca\u2019s doing in this space is visible, you know. Like, you\u2019re watching all of the hearts and the thumbs-up go whenever the recording\u2019s showing on the video and it does fill us with an enormous amount of pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">I\u2019d almost say, in terms of being a force for good in the world, and you mentioned it right at the beginning with AstraZeneca now being more of a household name than it\u2019s previously been, that was due to our response to the pandemic. Now we were, you know, the only global pharma company that made such a material commitment there, where we were running that programme, not being a vaccines company originally and doing it not-for-profit, that\u2019s something which now, you know, people feel super-proud. There are so many people around the world in lower middle-income countries that would not have had a vaccine because of what we did. If we haven\u2019t have done that, you know, 6 million lives wouldn\u2019t have been saved. This is what matters. It\u2019s actually doing it that matters. And yes, people are proud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore: <\/strong>So let\u2019s talk a bit more about inclusion, diversity and equity. What role will DEI play in attracting future Generation Alpha talent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>It\u2019s going to be critical. I mean, imagine this world where we have AI that can do lots of the work that might be done today by humans, we have all of these technological advances, we have very cool tools, it\u2019s all seamless to interact with. But we will still need people. We need people because of their empathy, their relationships, the judgement that they can deploy. So we will have to have a community and we\u2019ll have to have a strong sense of community. And that\u2019s where inclusion and diversity comes in, because humans need humans, and humans need to feel appreciated for the difference that they\u2019re able to make. As we see this rise in technology, we also have to dial up the emphasis around inclusion and diversity. It\u2019s how we can learn with one another, it\u2019s how we can achieve together, and it\u2019s how people feel seen and appreciated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. I mean, again is there a sort of first practical\u2026or some practical steps that you\u2019ve found yourself taking recently that sort of illuminate that pathway?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Absolutely. Let me break it into a little bit the inclusion and diversity strategy that we have at AstraZeneca. So we put inclusion before\u2026we say \u201cinclusion and diversity\u201d, we say that one first. Diversity, people often go to that straight away because you can get to numbers on it. So it feels more measurable. It\u2019s a little bit more difficult to measure inclusion. And I think knowing your diversity is important, knowing the composition of the workforce that you have is important and acknowledging those differences is good. But if we have diversity without inclusion it\u2019s a missed opportunity. Inclusion is the mixture, and getting people to share their different ideas, appreciating that people are different from them, and putting people together in teams that are perhaps unexpected is where the magic can really happen.<br>And so if any company is looking at developing an inclusion and diversity strategy, I think sometimes there are people inside companies that think that inclusion and diversity is a nice-to-have and not a must-have. And if that\u2019s the case then all companies will appreciate that being able to do something new, being able to innovate is going to drive success and business performance, and being able to tell that story and help leaders and employees understand that it is a driver of business success, I think, is really important. So I\u2019d say that\u2019s probably one of the messages to land. But then I think it goes beyond that, and where we talk about inclusion and diversity we talk about the impact that we can have as a healthcare company because our patient populations are diverse. And so of course we have to be bringing in different perspectives as we develop our solutions or they\u2019re not going to be fit for purpose. And so seeing it as the intersection where innovation happens is important, but then also thinking about it from the perspective of, \u201cWell, who are we here to serve? We\u2019re here to serve patients. What are the patients like? They\u2019re diverse.\u201d Bringing in that diverse thinking, then, you know, it\u2019s a double no-brainer, if I can put it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Let\u2019s talk about reward and recognition. And will organisations need to adapt their programmes in that regard? You know, will you need to employ somebody who\u2019s sort of 24\/7 liking social media posts? Is that one new role that\u2019s going to be created?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> God, I hope not. That sounds really dystopian! No, I think it has to be genuine. If we\u2019re recognising one another, it needs to be because we are thoughtful and we do genuinely appreciate people, you know. I think it would be very fast for somebody to see through something like that, as cynical as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">But I do see the role of recognition as being important, and it reinforces relationships and human relationships. So I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be some AI somewhere that could like all of our posts, Robert, but we wouldn\u2019t care if it did. It\u2019s about the person that\u2019s behind the appreciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> But actually, I mean, just on a serious note there, actually what is the sort of more immediate, face-to-face version actually of that dopamine hit you mentioned, because actually, you can get an awful lot of the other in a slightly artificial fashion. And so actually, what shape do you think that recognition could take? So it\u2019s people being very aware of the fact that they need to give feedback more possibly than is traditionally thought as being necessary. But are there new ways in which you give feedback as well, and recognition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Yeah. I think it can go from something as simple as the check-ins that an individual will have with their manager, which should be in the flow of work, but where they\u2019re receiving that kind of coaching support, which is appreciating what they\u2019ve done well but also helping them with sort of positive intent around the things that they could explore doing differently in the future, and looking forward to the future. \u2018Cause people, they will feel appreciated for what they\u2019ve done but they\u2019ll also really value their manager\u2019s investment in their growth and development. And I really do think that a key success criterion of the leader of the future is going to be their ability to coach their team members, develop them, and export them into other parts of the organisation. That\u2019s really a measure of the success of a leader. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">So I think that may feel like we should be doing it today \u2013 and I think that we probably should \u2013 but I think that it\u2019s going to be table stakes in the future that this kind of investment in somebody, they are appreciated for what they do and they\u2019re supported to be more successful in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">And then there\u2019s tools and technology that can help with this. So we have a global recognition programme at AstraZeneca, which can happen across every business unit. It\u2019s peer-to-peer recognition, it\u2019s in-the-moment. We can do it with an app on our phone, where we\u2019re able to record a video message, award somebody points, points mean prizes, you know, there\u2019s a material value to what we\u2019re doing, and I think this kind of thing is something which really reinforces the organisational connections beyond the employee and line manager. It really is sort of surroundsound when it comes to building up that recognition approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore: <\/strong>Yeah. I think we talk a lot at the moment about upskilling and reskilling line managers, in part in response to sort of the change in hybrid working, \u2018cause obviously that requires quite different skills sometimes to manage people who are not present. And this is obviously another aspect of the way in which actually possibly the whole idea of management, or line management and leadership at every level, needs to be rethought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>I would see, you know, some organisations are, you know, exploring whether or not there might be a different track, actually. So it\u2019s more a career coach that\u2019s needed because, actually, the work that\u2019s sitting underneath, people may be moving from gig to gig inside a company, so there\u2019s much more variability and flexibility as they apply their skills to the opportunities that are available or perhaps they want to learn in a new space, and the career coach becomes the constant. So their day-to-day manager may change as they\u2019re sort of doing this internal gig working, but there\u2019s a career coach sitting in the background. And that kind of thing, I think, absolutely can work. But in a lot of the tracks, certainly as we have it today, that traditional, you have a line manager, you have a job, that\u2019s probably going to continue to have a role, I think, in most organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> And reward. How is reward changing in response to the expectations of the changing generations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>So I think there\u2019s a really interesting challenge for us to resolve in the reward space actually, because if we look at people\u2019s expectation of reward, they will expect that throughout their career their reward will increase with their experience. And they\u2019re usually right. That\u2019s usually what happens. And what that means then is that people can, you know, move through different stages of their life, they can enhance their lifestyle according to their means, and all brilliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">What happens in a world where actually the skill cycle is increasingly narrowing, and just because I have a skill and I\u2019ve learnt a skill, well that\u2019s great but I might not be deploying it in my job. Should an employer be paying me for that skill because I have it if they\u2019re not asking me to use it? I think there is an ongoing conversation in reward professionals around skills-based pay at the moment and whether there\u2019s a role for that. My personal view, I think it\u2019s an interesting topic but I don\u2019t think it is going to fundamentally challenge the way that we reward people. I think that we will still have fixed reward, variable reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Variable reward might relate to delivery of particular work, but I think the idea of having reward that\u2019s just attached to a particular skill is unlikely to work in practice unless that skill\u2019s being deployed, which then comes back to the work itself. I could talk about this for a while but I might bore you, so I\u2019ll stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Not at all. But I guess that can get quite complicated as something that you actually need to apply in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Quite. And if you think about that from an equity perspective, you know, we have differentiated reward inside AstraZeneca and many organisations. We have to differentiate it in a way which is equitable. So you\u2019re treating people differently, their outcomes can be different, but it needs to be justifiable. And you get into a much more kind of subjective space, potentially, when we\u2019re talking about skills-based reward because it\u2019s reward that\u2019s framed just around a particular person and their composite mixture of skills. How you then can do a read across and say, \u201cWell, we\u2019ve got a man over here that\u2019s paid in this way and a woman over here that\u2019s paid in this way\u201d, and be able to then triangulate back and get confidence that that\u2019s an equitable approach, it becomes much more difficult. It becomes pay for the person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore: <\/strong>And we were talking as well about continuous learning as an expectation. How is that going to be met by companies? How should they be preparing themselves to think about, you know, making sure that they retain talent because actually they\u2019re providing people with that sense of an ongoing personal and professional journey within an organisation, ideally, within a single one, without leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> Without leaving, yeah. We talk at AstraZeneca about you don\u2019t just join for a particular job but for the career that you can have. And I mean, I\u2019ve certainly\u2026 I feel like I\u2019m a proof case of this, right? I wasn\u2019t expecting to have this career and be in a position in HR but I\u2019m so glad that I am. I think that there\u2019s a component which we\u2019ve mentioned around the role of the line manager in coaching people, giving feed-forward on an ongoing basis and helping to be more successful tomorrow than they were today or yesterday. But then there\u2019s also the access to learning opportunities. And I see there are two key components to this. I\u2019m sure there are more but I\u2019ll call out two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">One would be the access to learning. And so learning content. People who are invested and curious, they can go to all sorts of external places to get their information, but getting access to academy-quality learning content through any device at any time, at a time that suits them, is going to be, I think, very important. And then there\u2019s also the access to opportunities, development opportunities, and having a really democratised approach so that people get visibility of those internal opportunities and can participate in that internal talent marketplace, I think is another important piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> Yeah. Finally, I think, corporate social responsibility. How do companies integrate initiatives, CSR lines, that resonate with Generation Alpha\u2019s social consciousness? \u2018Cause you\u2019ve described that actually it\u2019s a generation that pushes that more in the foreground, ever more, even more than Gen Z. How will that work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin:<\/strong> So I think organisations will have to be super-clear around what their purpose is. A bigger purpose. It can\u2019t just be about profit. I do wonder if the accountancy firms, for example, how they\u2019re going to be able to sell what they do to people who will want to work for them. I\u2019m sure the work is super-attractive but I think coming back to, \u201cWhat\u2019s the difference that we\u2019re here to make as an organisation in the world? What is that difference?\u201d Finding the meaning in that, that people can connect their personal why to the corporate why, I think will be important. And doing it in a way that\u2019s good for the environment and respectful of people, I think is the other key component here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore: <\/strong>Yeah. I mean, as you said, with the Covid vaccine, this was done not\u0002for-profit and was a tremendous altruistic gesture. Have you found that that\u2019s in any way set a precedent for everything to be done in precisely the same way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Well, I won\u2019t comment on the company\u2019s kind of strategy. I think we were at a very special moment in time in facing the pandemic and the way that we dealt with it was differentiated. And because we strongly believed that it was important we play our role in the world\u2019s response to it, and I think we did take a leading position on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">I think when it comes to other topics where we can take a leading position, be it from an environmental or other perspective with an ESG lens, then this is something that we absolutely do, and something which we continue to be proud of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> So, Rebekah, that\u2019s been a really interesting conversation. I\u2019ve really enjoyed that and I think it\u2019s been really illuminating. So thank you very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Rebekah Martin: <\/strong>Well, thank you, Robert, for your time today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore:<\/strong> To our listeners, that has been a podcast on AstraZeneca and Generation Alpha in particular, and we\u2019ve had some interesting ideas, I think, there about future directions that we may be taking in the workplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">And so again thank you to Rebekah, and I wish you well until the next time.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"speakers\">Brightmine host<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-thumbnail is-resized is-style-rounded\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/09090240\/Robert-Shore-150x150.webp\" alt=\"Robert Short - HR markets insight editor at Brightmine\" class=\"wp-image-7049\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:100px;height:100px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/09090240\/Robert-Shore-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/09090240\/Robert-Shore-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/09090240\/Robert-Shore.webp 399w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>Robert Shore<\/strong><br>HR Markets Insights Editor, Brightmine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Guest speakers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized is-style-rounded\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/01\/13144636\/speaker-avatar.webp\" alt=\"Rebekah Martin, Senior vice president of reward, inclusion and talent acquisition, AstraZeneca\" class=\"wp-image-14506\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:100px;height:100px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>Rebekah Martin<\/strong><br>Senior vice president of reward, inclusion and talent acquisition, AstraZeneca<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column lnrs-hide-block-on-mobile is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-left-color:var(--wp--preset--color--secondary-gray);border-left-width:2px;padding-left:10px;flex-basis:30%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained wp-container-2 is-position-sticky\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-secondary-gray-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-db4c44a6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:14px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:10px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:10px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4b827052 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom:5px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400\" class=\"\">In this resource:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-primary-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-459ffb2a7b3dc338c93226d3be8270c8\" style=\"margin-top:5px;margin-bottom:5px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.274), 16px);line-height:1.3\"><a href=\"#listen\">Listen now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-primary-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-53b045a32da828cda288ce2a72946a2d\" style=\"margin-top:5px;margin-bottom:5px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.274), 16px);line-height:1.3\"><a href=\"#transcript\">Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-primary-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-71518ad09f03d83428d3713a9cbb6f21\" style=\"margin-top:5px;margin-bottom:5px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.274), 16px);line-height:1.3\"><a href=\"#speakers\">Speakers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-bleach-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a36fa716 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:14px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:15px;padding-bottom:15px;padding-left:15px\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Navigate HR complexity with confidence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">With Brightmine, you can build powerful people strategies, implement best practices and set your organisation up for a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Learn how our tools, resources and automation can empower you and your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/uk\/solutions\/?intcmp=cta|blog|solutions|learn-more\" style=\"border-radius:25px\">Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<p class=\"\"><a href=\"#top\">Go back to the top<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4b7a3f7f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:25px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You may also be interested in&#8230;<\/h2>\n\n\n<section id=\"resources-search-filter\" class=\"wp-elements-a7e80f5980a3637f47ca7c36674d307e wp-block-brightmine-resources-filter has-text-color has-primary-black-color has-background has-primary-white-background-color\">\n\n\n<div class=\"ajax-filter\">\n<div class=\"lnrs-resources-search-filter editor-posts-filtered-types  \">\n\t\t<div class=\"search_terms_bottom\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom_left\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"search_terms_result_count\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom_right\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"loader-container\">\n\t\t<span class=\"loader\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-filter-widget__container\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource\" style=\"background-color: #f3f2f0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/total-rewards\/pay-trends\/pay-reviews-in-2026-balancing-budgetary-pressures-and-employee-expectations\/\"><div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource_image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/29135358\/employee-reviewing-documents-at-workstation.webp);\"><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__inner_content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-top\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category\">Podcasts<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"title\" style=\"color: #00728B\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/total-rewards\/pay-trends\/pay-reviews-in-2026-balancing-budgetary-pressures-and-employee-expectations\/\">Pay reviews in 2026 &#8211; balancing budgetary pressures and employee expectations<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"color: #202526\">What do pay reviews look like in 2026? 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Join robert and Stephen as they explore compliance, &#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource\" style=\"background-color: #f3f2f0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/employment-rights-act-2025-will-women-in-the-workplace-benefit\/\"><div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource_image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/02\/26173003\/professional-working-on-laptop-at-desk-in-modern-office.webp);\"><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__inner_content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-top\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span 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style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">Start your free trial today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\">Register today to gain free 7-day access to the Brightmine HR &amp; Compliance Centre and stay up to date, compliant and save valuable time<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-primary-white-color has-secondary-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" 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