Nonprofit Young Pro - How to Attract and Retain, We Are For Good Podcast

Listen to this episode

Overview

Join Jon and Becky for their final installment of the Young Professionals Series discussing how and why you should be attracting young professionals to your nonprofit. We're diving into the impact-affecting qualities of this GenZ audience, what connects them to purpose, how to build thriving cultures that attract them, and how to stand out with heartfelt benefits that see beyond dollar signs. Our sector is in a season of extreme change, and we see the path toward making it a GREAT change. This is one of the secrets of that sauce.

“What a gift that you could have an incoming generation that prioritizes learning and growth and a positive culture and changing the world. This is our moment.”

— Jonathan McCoy, CFRE, Co-Founder and CEO, We Are For Good

Episode Transcript

Download Full Episode Transcript

Episode Overview

Tone setting (1:00)
The current landscape of the workforce (3:00)
Millennials vs. Gen Z (6:00)
Gen Z workplace statistics (15:00)
Building a culture that attracts young professionals (16:00)
Retaining talent on your team (22:00)
We Are For Good Community
We Are For Good PRO

Powerful quotes

“We're closing out our Young Professionals Friday Series by talking to leaders specifically, because leaders, we need to embrace this generation, we need to get ready for it, it's here.” -Jon

“if you're not in a position today that you're trying to hire, actively hiring to grow your team, think about this conversation through the lens of no matter where we're at, we're trying to attract volunteers or donors or future donors to our mission, that have a completely different context for how they view the world and how they're approaching life. So this is a conversation that I think everybody can take something from.” -Jon

“Getting a process and an engagement strategy around young professionals is the ultimate long game, because they're going to be the ones that are going to be leading our organizations in 10 to 15 years.” -Becky

“I mean, there's never been a moment on the planet where there's so many young people, they're smart and they're tech savvy.” -Jon

“This is the generation that's pushing the bottom up effect.” -Becky

“People have literally nicknamed Gen Z, the “philanthroteens”, because they're tech savvy, they're generous, they're entrepreneurial. I genuinely think our generation thinks and believes that we can change the world with the money in our pocket.” -Julie

“We know we don't have to be millionaires, we can use our voice, our social media, our access to connection to those around us to change the world.” -Julie

“That is why this generation is so passionate about purpose because we know we can't ignore it. And we know we need a workplace to help us make the change of what we've been seeing in front of our faces all growing up.” -Julie

“We value our time and our money one in the same.” -Julie

“They're highly adaptable. They're inclusive. They're fast learners, I love that they're unfazed by mistakes, and they're just skilled technophiles, they know how to work digitally.” -Becky

“The pillars that I kept seeing throughout all these articles, which I agree with as being in this generation, we value technology, we value innovation, diversity, culture, and social impact. And so we're going to dive into how you can create that in your organization so that people like me want to come work for you.” -Julie

“If we care about our people, and if we care about cultivating whatever we're trying to do, we have to prioritize the people. And that starts with mental health. But also, how do you show and support them in the causes that they care about? And how are you aligning with them?” -Jon

“Flexibility becomes one of the great hallmarks of building a thriving culture. So I think leaders need to start with listening. Don't ever assume you know what your employees want.” -Becky

“If you're not designing this workplace by actually talking to the people that are working there and saying, what do you need and want? I think that you're going to completely miss the point.” -Jon

“I think that there is space for also you need to compensate, you know, appropriately, because that's the ground floor of showing value and showing appreciation.” -Jon

“If the value of what they're bringing to your organization is extremely high, then we need to meet that value with a compensation that is appropriate.” -Becky

“The pandemic was this moment that really showed organizations true colors. Those that didn't have some of these pieces in place, those are where people have already left.” -Jon

“So if we're not actually investing today, in keeping our employees relevant, then you're going to be irrelevant, and they're going to feel not invested in and valued in.” -Jon

“Prioritizing wellbeing and mental health in your employees is going to make a more vibrant culture and organization for you.” -Becky

“So if you say you don't have time to do this, or we don't have the bandwidth to do it, we are saying we're not sure your organization is going to thrive or survive in this new world without some of these tenants at baked into your organization.” -Becky

“It's going to take you starting to implement it now to build that culture. It won't happen overnight.” -Julie

“What a gift that you could have an incoming generation that prioritizes learning and growth and a positive culture and changing the world. This is our moment.” -Jon

Resources Mentioned:

NEW: Young Professional Workshop Series Inside PRO! 🎉

Once a month, we will be dropping a PRO workshop curated specifically with young professionals in mind. We’ll dive into discovering your personal values, leveraging your leadership style, negotiation, conflict management, finding a mentor, building a network, mental health and more! Join a community of like minded professionals all just trying to figure it all out together!

Sign up today to never miss a workshop!