February, 2007 -by Peter C. Brinckerhoff

This Month's topic: Generation Change and Your Staff

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My New Book on Generation Change Is Available!  My newest title, Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime  for Your Nonprofit is available for review and purchase at the  Fieldstone Alliance website. I'm really excited about the  reaction to this book, and I know that the issues covered in it  are affecting your nonprofit and will continue to in the coming  years. Check it out.  Here's what people are saying about the book: “Helpful ideas for immediate action! Great insight into the different generations in a practical way that lends itself to clear thinking about how to most effectively engage people. Easy to understand and engaging—a pleasure to read.” —Janet Froetscher, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago: “An invaluable guide—it will be a frequently consulted resource. Brinckerhoff’s ‘Six Big Actions’ provide an excellent operational framework to plan for generational change.” —Joan M. Twiss, M.A., Executive Director, Center for Civic Partnerships, Sacramento, CA Take a moment and check out the book--I think you'll see that it applies to your organization.

Podcasts and Publications: New Topics Available for Download! New Pricing Structure! I've added to the list of available of podcasts available for download on my website, and the larger number of choices has allowed me to cut the price significantly. The podcasts are 10 minute discussions of many key issues facing nonprofit organizations. They come with a free PowerPoint file. Note: you do NOT need an iPod or mp3 player to use the podcasts, just a computer. New Podcast Topics Include: Ethical Nonprofit Management Business Development for Nonprofits Crisis Management in Nonprofits Decision Making in Nonprofits Why Making Money is Good For Mission TO UNSUBSCRIBE: If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, send an email to unsubscribe@missionbased.com and you will be promptly removed from the mailing list. I urge you to check out the free podcast. Download and play it, and you'll and see the benefits of using this method of education for your staff and board. Check out the publication and podcasts available for you at : www.missionbased.com/downloads.htm

Websites of the Month

Here are my recommendations for websites of interest on this month's topic: Generation Change and Staff:

Hiring Gen X: This paper is designed for CPA's but just translate CPA to NPO (Nonprofit Organization) and you'll do fine.	www.aicpa.org/PUBS/jofa/feb2000/jennings.htm
Generational Conflict: A good paper online about a key issue	http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=736203
Nonprofit Executive Leadership and Transition Survey 2004	www.aecf.org/publications/data/executive_transition_survey_report2004.pdf

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Generation Change and Your Staff
The entire issue of generation change is so incredibly important, that, as you saw above, I've written an entire book on the subject, titled Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit. One chapter in that book is dedicated to your staff. When most people hear "generation change" they think of execs leaving. Let's look at four issues related to generation change and employees:

 1. Boomers going out the door. This one's easy. When most people hear about generation change they think of boomer execs retiring. And, they are or will, or may want to but can't afford it. Here's the rub: its  not just the CEO/ED; for many organizations, it's the entire management team that's leaving. Are you ready? Do you have a leadership development program to prepare staff to take over? If not, start now.

2. Boomers coming in the door. These are professionals, who usually are 45 or older, who have done their 20 or 25 years in a for-profit organization, the military, or government and who want to do "something important" with the rest of their lives. They are not coming to volunteer, but to work for you. These people have enormous talents and experience, but their presence can, if you don't manage it well, present major cultural clashes. Heads up: This is a real and valuable resource, but one that needs to be well managed.

3. What about GenX and Gen@ (my term for 20-30 year olds)? Where are these staff people? If we have them, why can't we keep them? And, how can we get them to stay? All of these crucial issues require more study of generational motivations and backgrounds: Here's a quote from Generations:

"So what do we do to recruit and retain the GenX and Gen@ worker? First, we recognize that their motivations are different, their desires are different, and then, after we put them all in a nice generational box, we ask them about their motivations and desires, because not everyone fits into a nice generational box. Remember that your employees are individuals who each come from a lot of backgrounds: their family, the community where they grew up, their education, their ethnicity, their personal experience, and, of course, their generation. Each of us have all those pieces of background packed into the baggage we lug with us through life. Ask, listen with generational sensitivity, and then accommodate as you can, just as you would with any other market."

4. Financial Constraints: Your younger staff, if they went to college or grad school, probably bear a huge financial burden: their student loans. And, since they are younger and are often starting families, your health insurance is crucial to them. Both of these costs are below the radar for many organizations, but they cannot be ignored. How you address both of these areas is key to recruiting younger workers.

There is, of course, much more than just these four issues. I'll cover a bit of tech and a bit of marketing in the tip areas below.

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If you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at www.missionbased.com. Check them out--they're free.

And, remember to take a look at the Mission-Based Management Blog.

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My recommendations for texts and other readings on Generation Change and Your Staff are shown below.  

Change Ahead, a key report on nonprofit leadership transition. In .pdf format

Losing Your Executive Director Without Losing Your Way: A Nonprofit's Guide to Executive Transition, by Carol Weisman

Managing the Generation Mix: From Collision to Collaboration, by Carolyn Martin

Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace, by Claire Raines

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How can Tech help generation Change and my staff

This is directly from Generations:

"Meeting generational techspectations for staff requires that you have a mix of technology solutions available, because different groups have different needs. For example, you can have all of your forms, policies, staff surveys, meeting minutes, and the like available on your web site or intranet, and you can have them available in hard copy. This way, the Gen@ people feel at home, and the less techno-comfortable staff don’t feel left out. You can advertise your positions online at places like Monster.com, and put ads in the local paper. You can set up meetings with online scheduling and allow people the option of calling in their times.

While you can be generationally specific, you can’t let tech laggards fall too far behind. The world is moving online, whether in accountability (most states want outcome measures and billings online) or oversight or things like electronic scheduling, presenting in PowerPoint, and so forth. Imagine if, ten years ago, you had let your Luddites not learn to type. Where would they be in a word-processed world? Thus, you need to gently pull even your tech resisters into the twenty-first century, but with sensitivity to resistance points.

The way to do this sensibly, with the lowest cost-to-outcome ratio, is to ask your staff (all of them) what they love and hate about your tech. Ask them how you think the organization can improve its use of technology. Ask them to pay attention to what technology is doing in other organizations and to bring ideas to you."

If you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at www.missionbased.com. Check them out--they're free.

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Below you'll see the date, location, and topics of public training I'm scheduled to do in the next few months. For more information on a particular speaking engagement, get in touch with the contact person listed in the right hand column, or email me.

For more information on my availability throughout the next 12-18 months, available topics, sample agendas, and fees go to www.missionbased.com/training.htm

Date	City	Topic	Contact
2/22-23/07	Orlando	Business Development	NISH Deborah Atkinson Datkinson@nish.org
2/28/07	San Francisco	Nonprofit Stewardship	Development Training Institute Kristina Samsom ksamson@dtinational.org
3/27/07	Las Vegas	Social Entrepreneurship	NCCBH Annual Conference Gabrielle Bosco GabrielleB@nccbh.org
4/18/07	St. Louis	Nonprofit Stewardship	Development Training Institute Kristina Samson ksamson@dtinational.org
4/22/07	Chicago	Performance Counts	Kellogg Executive Education Jane Hoffman j-hoffman@kellogg.northwestern.edu

And, if you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at www.missionbased.com. Check them out--they're free.

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Future Topics for
The Mission-Based Management Newsletter....

March	Are Admin Costs Important?
April	New Tech Uses for Nonprofits
May	Generation Change and the People You Serve
June	Mentoring
July	Better Cash Planning
August	What if you are a (really) small nonprofit?
September	Generation Change and Technology
October	Crisis Management
November	Generation Change and Marketing
December	Signs of Organizational Trouble
Send me your topic suggestions at: peter@missionbased.com

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You asked, so here they are: Past Single-Topic Issues of the Mission-Based Management Newsletter...

	2004	2005	2006	2007
January	Business Development	Strategic Planning	Generation Change	Conflict of Interest
February	Fund Raising	Leadership	Accountability
March	Volunteers	Core Competencies	Ethics and Management
April	Financial Management	Expanding to New Markets	Staff Satisfaction
May	On-line Marketing	Endowments	When Boards Cross the Management/Policy Line
June	Transparency	Tech and Mission	Staff Rewards
July	Nonprofit Start-up	Sustainability	Saying No to Community Needs
August	Governance	Ethical Benefits	Board and Non-CEO Relations
September	Political Activities	Entrepreneurship	Executive Transition
October	Attracting and Retaining Younger Staff, Board, and Volunteers	Internal Communications	Advocacy
November	Outcome Measurement	Board Recruitment	When Boards Fail
December	Lifelong Learning	Better Budgeting	Conflict of Interest