We need to make sure we are attracting young people into the sector who are good at what they do, and are really committed. But for this to happen I think, for the Managers and Trustees of my generation, there are some underlying issues we need to be more aware of.
When we were young and idealistic, and our bones didn’t creak and pension plans were of absolutely no importance at all, we lived (if we had only known it!) in what now appears to have been a sort of Utopia. Living was relatively cheap, we were usually debt-free and we had the comforting feeling that there was a safety-net under us. Dentists were all NHS, our care needs would be met if we made it to old age, we could choose to buy our homes or to pay a relatively cheap rent, things would only get better – so why bother about a “career”? Only sad types with creases down the front of their jeans thought about anything like that.
But now, for the most part, the safety net has gone. I had a friend in my younger days who bought his house outright using the results of a particularly well-judged series of bets at Beverley racecourse – nowadays that wouldn’t even raise him a deposit.
So we need to think about our younger staff and volunteers differently. They are people who live in a less secure world, and that means we need to work with them, to help them use the skills we can give them now as a way forward into a more secure future. Otherwise, stress and debt will send them into other sectors where they can see some kind of security, even if their hearts are pulling them another way .
But how to do this when you are a small local Charity with 1.5 paid workers and the one full-timer isn’t going to leave anytime soon? Maybe it will help if you see progression as happening within the Sector as a whole, not just within your organisation, and then just hope that what goes around comes around. The following are a few ideas.
- Portfolio building – make sure staff and volunteers keep some kind of written record of any new skills and achievements. It doesn’t need to be a folder full of certificates, perhaps just a well laid-out appraisal form?
- Know where they want to go and help them get there – all too often, talented interviewees who let slip that they aren’t aiming to live and die in harness with your organisation are viewed with suspicion. Appoint them, support them and then wave them goodbye with a glad heart.
- Can you offer anything special to help them on their way to their ultimate goal – the chance to take part in a particular project or to meet up with a specialist?
- Make new responsibilities overt – acknowledge when people have moved up a step (see below).
- Job titles matter – oh yes, they do! If you have asked someone to work at Supervisor level, call them a Supervisor (even if it’s just a temporary “acting up” status). This will make a huge difference to their chances of making their way onwards and upwards.
- Know where your past employees have ended up and advertise this. Demonstrate that a couple of years working for you is a good pathway to other opportunities.
And please, however stressed you are and however much extra work their giving notice leaves you with – let them leave positively. Use their success as a way to attract the next motivated, energetic young person to your team, and be thankful that you began your career in a freer and more relaxed time.
toughworldtips 