Page 12 - ACF Young Australians Research Report

3.1 Giving habits of young employees
The Millennial Impact Report found that 84% of young employees donated to a charitable cause in 201414 and 38% had, at some point in their career, donated to a company WGP15. 79% of young employees who did not engage in WGPs still donated to a cause outside of work16. Interestingly, a higher percentage of low-level employees had participated in WGPs when compared to manager-level employees17. However, manager-level employees donated higher dollar amounts. 30% of manager-level employees donated $500 or more compared with 15% of low-level employees in 201418. 62% of millennials would agree to give up a certain amount of their salary to work for a responsible company19. This finding also suggests that employees’ income level may play a large role in the differences in giving habits between low-level and manager-level employees.
Comparing the Millennial Impact Report findings to Australia, the Australian Productivity Commission identifies that ‘corporate volunteering is in part a response by business to demands by their younger skilled workers to engage with the community on issues that matter to them20.’ 73% of young employees surveyed volunteered for a non-profit in 201221. The majority of young employees volunteer between 1-10 hours a year22. Young employees are more likely to want to volunteer their time than participate in other forms of giving. Web psychologist Nathalie Nahai explains that this is because they become emotionally invested in the cause itself, and not just the organisation behind it23.
3.2 Motivations to give
The Millennial Impact Report found that young employees donate to causes they are passionate about and have a personal connection with. Therefore it is important for companies to align the causes they support with causes popular amongst their employees to increase staff engagement with their WGP. Beyond personal values, young employees are also heavily influenced by their peers. Direct co-workers were identified as the most influential factor driving individuals to engage in work related giving or volunteering24. Young employees are typically more likely to give if asked by their peers on a face-to-face level25. 65% were more likely to volunteer if their colleagues also participated26.
There are also variances between short-term and long-term motivations. Young employees respond positively to incentives and competitions. Cultivating a sense of competition around a WGP or volunteering project will generally increase engagement. Tangible incentives including name recognition, prizes and additional time off encourage participation27. While this promotes short-term involvement, long-term involvement requires companies to show employees the impact that their donation is making on a person’s life or how the donation has benefitted a community28. This could be done by engaging young people through social media instead of the traditional communications channels, including advertising29. Another way to encourage donations is for companies to match the donations of their staff. 69% of young employees stated that they would be more likely to engage in WGPs if their employer matched their donation30.
Dynamic communication methods can also influence young employee giving habits. WGPs and volunteering projects that are marketed using multi-channel campaigns were more likely to attract young employees. In particular, the integration of social media marketing into such campaigns increased the level of engagement experienced31.
3.3 Communication methods
Social media has gained widespread adoption by young adults. Young Australians regularly consume information through content on social media32. Videos, articles, success stories, blog posts, memes, and newsletters are all examples of material likely to be shared through social media networks33. As of the third quarter of 2015, Facebook had globally registered over 1.55 billion monthly active users, with 1.01 billion daily active users on average for September 201534.
Online content and social media is an important tool as a means of packaging and communicating messages
10 YOUNG AUSTRALIANS; MOTIVATIONS FOR WORKPLACE GIVING | 2016