Gen Z’s expectations for work are accelerating a shift toward flexible, skills-based development systems. As McKinsey & Company ’s [1]Aaron De Smet notes, younger employees “expect more from their employers” and have “higher expectations for engagement, career advancement, and authenticity of leaders.” Yet many organisations still rely on outdated, hierarchical career models “written decades ago.” This mismatch is reshaping retention, leadership pipelines, and long-term competitiveness.

What are Gen Z’s expectations, what’s driving them and how can the The Openside Group Development Pathway help?

The Openside Development Pathway already aligns with what the next generation demands: strategically aligned development, personalised career mapping, rigorous diagnostics, tailored capability-building, and coaching embedded in ongoing practice. Openside evolve individuals through the Pathway—using Vienna—to create a more dynamic, transparent, and motivating development ecosystem grounded in skills progression, rather than the traditional hierarchical promotions.

What Gen Z wants is what Openside already delivers: McKinsey highlights several trends that directly support Openside’s existing model:

· Visible, regular development: Gen Z want “meaningful career progression every year or two,” even if it isn’t a promotion.

· Skills over hierarchy: In flatter organisations—especially as AI accelerates—promotion cycles slow, but the need for new skills accelerates. De Smet argues that “there are lots of other ways to achieve career progression,” such as skills credentials.

· Authentic support and apprenticeship: Mentorship is often “rated ineffective,” yet real apprenticeship requires “much more hands-on coaching” and becomes a “contact sport.”

· Higher mobility: If not engaged, Gen Z “will find another job,” risking long-term gaps in leadership pipelines. This supports the statement that [2]74% of Gen Z and Millennials would consider leaving their job due to lack of skill-building opportunities.

The McKinsey insights aren’t trends—they are validation. They confirm that the market is moving towards the very principles Openside has championed for years. Gen Z’s expectations simply expose the fragility of outdated systems and make the need for Openside’s approach more urgent and more valuable.

Openside Is already ahead of the validation:

The Openside Development Pathway already addresses many of the systemic gaps McKinsey highlights:

· Strategic alignment: Aligns development directly with firm-level objectives.

· Career mapping: The Talent Development Pathway tool gives individuals clarity about their future trajectory—something McKinsey says Gen Z finds lacking.

· Diagnostics: Openside’s “Aligning Development with Strategy” diagnostic mirrors the shift toward translating roles into “the skills most needed for the job.”

· Tailored capability-building: From analytical problem-solving to leadership and business development.

· Coaching as apprenticeship: Openside’s model gives the hands-on, role-focused development McKinsey argues is essential.

· Measurement: Vienna quantifies impact and ROI, addressing the need for visibility employers lack today.

· Opportunity: Professionalised gamification and skill credentials through Vienna and eLearning.

McKinsey suggests organisations should explore “skills credentials” and even “gamify it,” allowing people to earn new skill badges “every six to 18 months.” While badges can sound juvenile, the underlying principle—frequent, visible proof of growth—is exactly what Gen Z values. This is less Duolingo, more Strava-for-skills—motivating without infantilising. Gen Z have grown up in an online world where they are praised and rewarded frequently, whether that is through online games or social media apps. Bringing this into the world of learning speaks their language, and provides engagement and investment.

What is the Role of Vienna in Gen Z’s needs? Vienna is Openside’s digital platform that transforms learning into lasting performance improvement. It allows organisations to track the implementation of any training intervention and subsequent behavioural changes, demonstrate ROI, and explicitly show how training translates into measurable business impact – all in one intuitive, evidence-based tool.

Vienna can evolve into the engine that powers visible, skills-based progression:

·        Display skill growth and milestones.

·        Link coaching sessions to measurable performance gains.

·        Identify capability gaps tied to strategic goals.

·        Recommend personalised next steps, strengthened by AI insights.

·        Show how individual development contributes to firm legacy—aligning with Gen Z’s desire for purpose.

Vienna transforms learning measurement tools from ‘measurement tool’ into a strategic development intelligence platform.

The Openside Development Pathway already aligns with what the next generation demands: strategically aligned development, personalised career mapping, rigorous diagnostics, tailored capability-building, and coaching embedded in ongoing practice. The opportunity is to evolve the Pathway—and Vienna—into a more dynamic, transparent, and motivating development ecosystem grounded in skills progression rather than hierarchical promotions.

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[1] McKinsey: Mind the Gap

[2] FDM Group: Are learning opportunities the key to Gen Z talent retention?