Gen Z in Deathcare
This article was originally published on Dec. 20, 2020 on ConnectingDirectors.com. Click here to see the article on the web page.
BY ERIC PEREIRA
In a 2020 panel discussion of Millennial morticians, some panelists said they had a sparked interest in the death care profession after participating in the services of a loved one when they were children. While they may or may not be pursuing the profession for the same reason as their neighboring generation, we are going to see a lot more of Gen Z in death care soon enough.
I wanted to dig a little deeper and see what we could anticipate of Gen Z as customers and professionals in death care.
Gen Z As Customers
Members of Generation Z are currently ages 10 to 25, although this varies slightly per source. The eldest members are integral in planning funerals while the youngest may observe or offer input according to Georganne Bender and Rich Kizer of Kizer and Bender. “Listen to what they have to say regardless of age because how you respond to them will have a big impact on the relationship you have with these customers later on,” they said in a joint statement. “They crave human interaction so you cannot follow the old ‘children should be seen and not heard’ – Gen Z will be part of the conversation, regardless of age.”
Along with being more racially and ethnically diverse than previous generations, they have aged with social movements such as Black Lives Matter, feminism and transgender rights as well as responsibility towards community and the environment. In regard to tech, you can think of them as “hyper connected multi-taskers.”
“They are digital natives who love their phones,” Kizer and Bender said. “The average Gen Z receives his/her first phone at 10 years old – they rarely unplug. They spend six to nine hours each day seeking information, using their phones for communication, learning, work, play, and shopping. Although Gen Z enjoys shopping brick and mortar first. This means funeral homes will need to have an interactive website, solid social media presence that serves as an information hub, and a physical location that is up to Gen Z’s standards.”
Gen Z as Professionals
Predicted to be the “Greatest Generation,” Gen Z Funeral Directors are foreseen as kind, understanding and loyal service providers who are dialed into customer needs according to Kizer and Bender. Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science President and CEO Jack Lechner had a similar view.
“I don’t see them as interested and concerned with money as they are concerned with knowing that they’re doing something for the good of society and the families they service as far as funeralizing goes,” Lechner said.
One thing to note in regard to education, Lechner said more non-legacy students are pursuing the death care profession. He said classes are now around 70% female in what was once a male-dominated career choice.
“The sons and daughters of funeral directors who would’ve been those legacies have witnessed their mother or father working seven days a week, all hours of the day and night and don’t see the reward for it. Or don’t see that as alluring to them,” Lechner said. “So, the people who are coming in now are normally new to the profession.”
Lechner noted that about half of the CCMS student body are Gen Z with the other half being millennial. Karen Henson, Distance Learning Coordinator at Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service estimated half or fewer of their student body falls into the category of Gen Z, with more Millennials in the mix of their student body.
“One of the reasons for this may be due to the fact that frequently, funeral service education is not the first stop for many students; unless they are from funeral service families, they may come to the field after they have begun college elsewhere or training for other professions, as this is often a second career for these students,” Henson said.“However, the significant number of Gen Z students means that there is a definite presence that is felt in the classroom online and on ground.”
She added that Gupton-Jones instructors are conscious of the fact that younger generations are now needing funeral service care, and students need to take note of this.
“Our instructors who are working in the field share their own professional experiences with the different needs and wants of the generational groups that our students will encounter; this is also discussed extensively in Funeral Service Management classes in the units on Funeral Directing and in Funeral Service Psychology and Counseling, where the different generations and their emotional needs are discussed.” Henson said.
Henson mentioned the importance of technological integration for younger generations is increasingly more significant as time goes on and tech advances become a greater part of the lives of the families these students will serve. “Our students will serve to bridge the gaps between more traditional practices of the industry and the ever-changing needs and requirements of the families,” she said.
“Funeral directors now have to become funeral producers too,” Lechner said. “There’s a lot of live streaming. All of a sudden, the young funeral director or the owner of the funeral home is going to be worried about the lighting, the audio, the angle of the picture when they’re live streaming. A whole new host of considerations.”
“They embrace technologies and use them to make family’s lives easier when they are appropriate, but will refer to analog practices when they are not,” Kizer and Bender said. “Gen Z funeral directors are more likely to put their funeral homes out there, utilizing social media connections and community events to help people feel more comfortable with the death care services they provide.”
