Ilitch School, Society of Human Resource Management partner on panel event on how to attract Gen Z applicants
On November 14, 2024, students involved in the Ilitch School chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) brought members of the Detroit SHRM chapter to the Ilitch School for a panel discussion, focusing on bridging generational gaps in the workplace. Over 80 SHRM members attended to learn how to improve recruitment processes and company practices to attract Gen Z applicants.
SHRM is the largest professional HR organization in the world, with chapters in cities and on college campuses across the nation, with the goal of supporting the development of HR leaders and professionals throughout their careers.
Heba Khadre, a senior majoring in management with a concentration in HR management at the Ilitch School, organized the panel. Khadre was a member of SHRM before coming to the Ilitch School and saw an opportunity to host a paneling event when she joined MPREP, and was paired with an HR leader at Plante Moran, who invited Khadre to attend a SHRM event with her. There, she introduced herself to the Detroit Chapter SHRM president, and the panel came together from there.
“The topic of the panel that day was about the future of diversity, equity and inclusion for HR professionals and one of the topics that had been brought up was age, and the changing demographic of age in the workforce,” explained Khadre. “That topic was very interesting to many people, and when they thought about the idea of collaborating with our student chapter, that became the focus.”
Matt Piszczek, associate professor of management, participated on the panel as a representative from the Ilitch School, and was excited to share his expertise with the future generations of HR leadership.
“The panel was an excellent opportunity to connect our students with metro-Detroit HR professionals in a mutually beneficial way,” said Piszczek. “Our students got to hear a real-world perspective on recruitment, selection, retention and employee relations, and the professionals got to hear the perspectives of recent graduates and students navigating the job market.”
Khadre also hopes that this event has brought more attention to the HR profession, and help management students go from college to career.
“I hope it brought awareness to HR as a potential career path for students who maybe weren’t considering it before,” said Khadre. “I truly believe the future of work will continue to be people centered. If we can get more young professionals, we can get excited about HR, I think we’ll be able to advance the profession because of it.”
If you are interested in joining the Ilitch School chapter of SHRM and participate in events like this in the future, head to the student organization page on our website to learn more.
The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business prepares students for challenging and rewarding careers, advances the boundaries of scholarly and practitioner knowledge, and enhances the economic vitality of the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and beyond through its programs, research and community engagement. Established in 1946, the business school was renamed in 2015 in recognition of a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch. Thanks to this lead investment, the school moved to a new state-of-the-art building in the heart of the District Detroit in 2018, and academic programming and collaboration with city businesses are expanding. For more information, visit ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu.