Next Gen News

Blogging on best practices to engage the next generation now.

Retailers Need to Change Marketing Tactics to Appeal to Gen Z

By Anna Sladek I recently read a Bloomberg article about the industries Generation Z is predicted to kill. Of all the examples, malls caught my eye. The article states that “America’s malls have been closing at a record pace as e-commerce becomes the preferred mode of shopping for Gen Zers. More than two-thirds of U.S. malls saw a decrease in national retailers in 2018, according to a report from property research firm Green Street Advisors LLC.” So, in light of the...

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by Anna Sladek

Membership is not dead. Far from it.

By Sarah Sladek, CEO of XYZ University I started researching the widespread decline in membership in 2002, and authored a best-selling book for ASAE in 2011 titled, The End of Membership As We Know It. (This book has continued to top the sales charts for the past seven years.) What I discovered while researching that book was that membership associations were facing unexpected challenges while also facing an unprecedented opportunity to grow—but few were recognizing or capitalizing on the growth opportunities. It’s simple...

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by Sarah Sladek

Leader, Teacher…Learner?

By Jodie Swee I recently had an opportunity to speak to 500 educators in the high desert of Barstow, California, at their Back-To-School rally. I was so honored to be able to encourage and challenge them as they get back to work bringing up tomorrow’s leaders. It also caused me to reflect on how important it is to be aware of the fact that we are all in a position to teach AND learn from someone else. And there is no...

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by Jodie Swee

Molding Young Professionals Through Meaningful Engagement

Association for Corporate Growth– Save the Associations Vol. 12 At the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), leadership did not need to do more than look around at a meeting or an event to recognize they needed to start recruiting young professionals. “You would just look around the room, and you could tell change was necessary,” shared Leslie Whittet, Vice President of Chapter Operations at ACG. The success of ACG’s commitment to young professionals is undeniable. Just this year, the 30-year-old president of...

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by XYZ University - Save the Associations Blog Series

Empowering Association Chapters: A strategy to energize younger generations

Associated General Contractors of America – Save the Associations Vol. 11 Earlier this summer we explored what it means for an association to empower young professionals with the Associated General Contractors of Washington. This week we spoke to their national counterpart – the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) – about what it means to empower association chapters. National Issues, Local Solutions “Like many industries, the construction industry is very much affected by a shortage of skilled workers,” shared Christi Beatty, Vice President...

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by XYZ University - Save the Associations Blog Series

Meaningful Engagement: Creating membership value for younger generations

American Water Works Association – Save the Associations Vol. 10 “Try things, give them a real chance, assess the results, and tweak your strategy,” advised Susan Franceschi, Chief Membership Officer at the American Water Works Association (AWWA). “Don’t make perfect be the enemy of good.” Franceschi and her team are committed to their goal of bringing the younger generations into the association and know that success does not come from simply talking about their ideas in meetings. They know success does not...

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by XYZ University - Save the Associations Blog Series

New ASAE Book Talent Generation Offers Strategies for Associations to Engage, Retain Employees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New ASAE Book Talent Generation Offers Strategies for Associations to Engage, Retain Employees WASHINGTON—ASAE has released a new book called Talent Generation: How Visionary Organizations Are Redefining Work and Achieving Greater Success by Sarah L. Sladek, CEO and Founder of XYZ University. It examines the different talent theories and explains why organizations need to change their culture, strategy, and structure to recruit and retain employees in today’s post-industrial 21st century-raised workforce. According to Gallup’s How Millennials Want to Work and Live report, turnover in the workforce...

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by Sarah Sladek

Marching into a New Generation

2017 has been marked by an influx of poltical demonstrations. In 2016, 3.6 million Baby Boomers retired, Millennials became the largest generation in the workforce and Gen Z started entering the professional scene. How are the current generational shifts affecting our poltical landscape? Never marched in a political demonstration? Well, it appears that 2017 is the year to step outside your comfort zone and march in solidarity with like-minded individuals. Starting with the Women's March in January, we've witnessed numerous demonstrations on...

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by Sonja Moseley

How Long Will Your Organization Exist?

How long will your organization exist? Have you ever stopped to ponder this question This week I attended a presentation given by a state demographer who shared considerable research and data on the outlook of the national workforce—and suffice it to say the nation is headed towards a shocking reality. The bottom line: Our workforce is aging. Millions of workers will leave the workforce over the course of the next 15 years, and employers and government alike are largely unprepared for...

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by Sarah Sladek

The Coffice: Season 1, Episode 1 (ROWE)

Work-from-home employees have grown by 103% since 2005 and 3.7 million employees (2.8% of the workforce) now work from home at least half the time. Coffices (coffee shop offices) are on the rise as more workplaces embrace flexibility. Read the reflections from one of XYZ U's remote employees. Coffice: A coffee shop one makes into an office where non-coffee shop work is performed. It's in Urban Dictionary and it's becoming the norm. Walk into any coffee shop and you're bound to see a...

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by Sonja Moseley