Association Executive - September/October 2007 - (Page 16)

Not-for-Profit Edge: Recruiting & Retaining Generation X By Laura Shelton and Charlotte Shelton The anagers in both the public and private sectors are finding it increasingly challenging to recruit and retain good employees. However, our recent survey of 1,200 Gen Xers (ages 28-42) suggests that not-for-profits may have a recruiting edge—their missions. Xers place more value on meaning than money. Executives of not-for-profits, many of which operate on a shoestring budget, can breathe a sigh of relief. Money isn’t one of the top motivators for the neXt generation. Gen Xers don’t place top priority on reserved parking spaces and corner offices either. In a list of 15 job factors rated in the survey, job status and prestige came in last for both men and women. As for salary, women rated it 12th out of 15 factors, behind options like having “a casual, relaxed work environment” and “opportunities for learning.” Men rated salary in ninth place, lower than options like “participation in decision-making” and “opportunities to be creative.” Shifting values are evident even in the most corporate of workers, the business school set. When Xers decide to return to school for an MBA, their Boomer bosses might interpret the move as a desire for career advancement. Not so, according to many Gen X MBA students who say they are getting their MBA for career escape. Take Stacy for example: She was working for a large telecommunications company in the corporate job she’d always dreamed of, but a job that had left her hoping for more. That’s how she found herself pursing an MBA. Here’s her story: I wanted to add value, make a difference in the lives of others. I wanted to spend my 40-plus-hour workweek doing something worthwhile that I felt passionate about and loved. I grew up in a family in which my mom stayed home and my dad was a hardworking blue collar worker. I saw working as a paycheck. But as I gained experience in the working world, I needed something more fulfilling. The values of the company did not even come close to matching what I found valuable. I no longer got satisfaction or motivation from the bottom line. Stacy talks about “passion,” “fulfillment,” and “satisfaction.” She never once mentions a big bonus or a raise. It sounds like she would be the perfect candidate for a notfor-profit job and, thanks to a service project she worked on in one of her MBA classes, Stacy learned about the joy of volunteering, finding the fulfillment she was searching for. Before she knew it, Stacy began researching not-for-profit organizations and ended up leaving her corporate job. Stacy sums it up saying, “How fortunate I feel to receive this life-changing opportunity to practice what I cherish most: faith and helping others. You won’t find that in the corporate world.” M 16 ASSOCIAT IO N EX EC U T IV E SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Executive - September/October 2007

Contents From the CEO The Executive's Role in Internship Programs 12 Weeks to Sink or Swim Book Beat Inside NYSAE Winning the War for Talent The Not-for-Profit Edge: Recruiting & Retaining Generation X Burnout Busters: 10 Ways to Cope When Work Gets Overwhelming Meeting in Atlantic City Save the Dates Index of Advertisers

Association Executive - September/October 2007

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