I attended a conference last week and one of the topics during a panel discussion focused on how to attract and retain Net Geners. The main ideas included:

• Highlighting a social agenda and reinforcing the idea “we do meaningful work”
• Give Net Geners the opportunity to drive the business
• Connect generations across the company: Boomers to Xers to Net Geners
• Recognition; highlight employee achievements (not necessarily with monetary awards)

Always on the lookout for businesses that illustrate ideas in action I came across 504ward. Their mission is to keep the young talent in New Orleans (504 is the city area code). If companies in healthy, balanced economic regions are experiencing difficulties in retaining their Net Gen talent, these challenges are amplified in regions where a great disparity between the socio-economic classes exists. The following is an excerpt from how 504ward came into existence and their social-based mission statement:

In early 2008, following an independent consulting firm’s assessment of the unique challenges and opportunities facing New Orleans, Leslie Jacobs, a local venture philanthropist, spearheaded the 504ward movement to engage the young movers and shakers who are arriving in New Orleans with dual aspirations of sparking social change and advancing their careers.

Representatives from a broad spectrum of New Orleans organizations have united to address the issues pertinent to this 23-35 year-old dynamic: career prospects, social engagement, and opportunity for community impact.

An initiative of The Idea Village, 504ward was developed in collaboration with our partner organizations to retain the New Orleans “Vanguards,” those brave enough to see an opportunity and crazy enough to lunge for it. It is our belief that this generation is capable of delivering social and economic change, and we are committed to making New Orleans the hub of opportunity.

Join the Movement. Our mission is to engage and retain New Orleans’ best and brightest: the talented and ambitious young people like you, people committed to working hard, playing harder, and giving back to a community with so much to offer.

Clearly highlighted by the ambitious mission statement, 504ward encourages young people to embrace a social agenda by re-building a community that has been devastated by both natural and economic disasters. Another initiative undertaken by 504ward in conjunction with businesses in the New Orleans area is the $100,000 Business Competition for entrepreneurs with “business ideas that retain and engage the 23-35 year old demographic in New Orleans.” The competition closes on December 4, and the winning entrepreneur will be selected from a group of 5 finalists to be determined, in part, by an audience of 23-35 year olds in New Orleans region. Certainly a way to let Net Geners drive the business process, wouldn’t you say?

Geared towards retaining and engaging the Net Geners, the 504connect program emphasizes the importance of fostering connectivity across generational lines. The idea is to connect “seasoned pros” with young, ambitious professionals in New Orleans and create a learning environment where the veterans share experiences, knowledge and provide career guidance to the up-and-coming leaders. The ultimate goal of this program is to turn six degrees of separation into two and help erase the generational divide which can hinder business improvement or limit business success.

504ward’s Talent Profiles is a place that recognizes one “young New Orleans cultural rock star” each week. This Talent Profile shines the spotlight on a member of the New Orleans vanguard community and the contributions that he/she made in order to make a difference in New Orleans. Take for instance this week’s cultural rock star, Will Donaldson. He is president of the Tulane Entrepreneurs Association which hosts business workshops and sponsors business competitions that award $20,000 grants for workable social and business enterprises.

Born of necessity, New Orleans has pioneered an initiative to retain and develop young talent in a community that has faced considerable adversity. With an ever increasing level of global mobility among business people, and a giant chasm separating generations in the workforce I believe the value of such an initiative will continue to grow. Developing a talented group of emerging young people requires not only commitment on their part, but on the part of established generations as well. Bridging this generational gap is vital to preserving existing skill-sets and knowledge, while such collaboration also augments the business community with fresh thinking and new ideas. Adversity or not, it’s easy to see how such an endeavor would benefit any community, and I believe it’s only a matter of time before others stand up and take notice of what is going on in the 504.

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