Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Age Shift

Jan 1, 2014 12:15 PM ET
Mark Shamley shares how Millennials may impact the corporate philanthropy field.

Mark Shamley
President & CEO
ACCP

Much has been written about the Millennials’ (aka Generation Y) entrance into the workplace.  Chances are, unless you’ve been off the grid for the past three years or so, you’ve read or heard something about the seismic shift about to take place in corporate America as Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as the majority of the workforce.

First some relevant statistics:

  • By 2015, the majority of the workforce will be in their 20’s
  • On average, nearly 10,000 Baby Boomers are retiring every day
  • Nearly 60% of Millennials have switched careers at least once already
  • Millennial turnover costs employers between $15K and $25K per employee
  • 72% of Millennials want to make a direct social and environmental impact
  • 88% of Millennials consider a positive culture essential for their dream job
  • Almost 50% of Millennials report volunteering through their workplace
  • Fulfilling passions and fully utilizing their abilities are among the top reasons Millennials cite for staying with an employer

(All Statistics from XYZ University)

As you formulate your corporate responsibility (CR) plan to meet your goals and expectations for the coming year and beyond, it is likely that understanding and engaging Millennials is a critical component for success.

The Millennial Impact reports conducted by Achieve and funded by The Case Foundation from 2010 to 2013 identified the following noteworthy trends:

Millennials engage with causes to help other people, not institutions.

Millennials support issues, not organizations.

Millennials are influenced by their peers.

Millennials view their time, money, networks and other personal assets as having equal value.

The question becomes how do you ensure your department is recognized as an asset in the recruitment and retention of Millennials?

The 2014 Millennial Impact Report offers guidance I believe is worth sharing.

  1. Companies that incorporate information on employee engagement in volunteer opportunities as part of the on-boarding process appear to have a better success rate. Some companies offer new hires the opportunity to engage in a project within the first few days of joining the company.
  2. Ensure employees have multiple engagement avenues for service projects. Companywide days of service, department or team service projects and individual opportunities to serve should all be part of your portfolio.
  3. Offer a range of activities that vary from opportunities to volunteer from their desk to off-site projects.
  4. Be sure to communicate results and impact. Employees need to understand the difference their actions made.

Millennials will be a force in the workplace. Let’s continue this discussion in LinkedIn. Please share your thoughts on how the workplace will change in the next few years and what corporate responsibility execs should be doing now to prepare. Look forward to the dialogue.

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