Lessons From Gen Y, Implications for Us All
November 20, 2009The nonprofit sector as a whole is underperforming in the area of talent management. Perhaps the greatest consequence of the chronic under-resourcing of organizational capacity is the failure to have more effectively developed our sector’s most valuable (and expensive) asset – our workforce. In a recent survey conducted by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, 45% of nonprofit employees said they were considering jobs outside of the sector for their next positions.
It is not surprising that some of the most lucid advocates for better talent management have come from the for-profit sector. During a presentation at the recent Independent Sector 2009 Annual Conference in Detroit, Christine Rhee, Manager, American Express Philanthropy, implored nonprofit managers to do a better job ensuring that their employees feel valued in their positions and receive the feedback they need to continuously improve. Also at the IS conference, Michael Watson, Senior Vice President of HR at Girl Scouts of the USA (formerly of IBM, GE, and Time Warner) spoke of the importance of managers playing an active role in the development of their employees – even if it means moving on to jobs at other organizations.
The need for better communication about performance has been attributed to Gen Y ever since we all started trying to learn what makes them tick and how this would impact the 21st Century workplace. Whether influenced by the “helicopter parent” phenomenon, or simply the constant connection offered by the online communications environment, Gen Y workers crave continual appraisal that tells them both when they’re getting it right and where they need to improve.
So why is this seemingly so hard for nonprofits to provide? Is there a widespread assumption that commitment to “the cause” should serve as adequate motivation? Or has the sector failed to invest the thought – and resources – necessary to develop performance management systems that facilitate meaningful feedback?
Those of us who may be reluctant to “indulge” Gen Ys and their need for feedback should consider the investment that much of the (admittedly better capitalized) for-profit sector makes in performance management. . The desire for meaningful feedback is not exclusive to next generation workers. We all need and deserve clear expectations, stretch goals, recognition for a job well done, and constructive feedback to help us grow. And if that makes for a more personal, humane, and caring workplace – as well as improved capacity to meet our missions – well then isn’t that what the sector should be aspiring to?
Tags: feedback, gen y, girl scouts of the usa, independent sector, management, Nonprofit Sector, workplace
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I think the problem nonprofits have with giving feedback at the level and frequency Gen Y workers crave stems from a generational disconnect. Most nonprofit leaders are still Boomers, a generation of self-taught nonprofit leaders. No one trained us, we often founded our own nonprofits, and for better or worse, we just muddled along and figured things out on the job. Decades later we still expect everyone else to do the same. This attitude stems from the era Boomers grew up in, where we rebelled against authority, did “our own thing” and prized creativity and fluidity over systems and efficiency. Now we are faced with a generation that has had far more positive interaction with teachers, parents and other adults from birth through college and expects the same kind of relationship in the work place. Boomer leaders need to adapt their own style and preferences to meet the needs of younger workers, or we will lose them.