Guest Commentator: Kris Mendoza, Founder & Executive Producer, Maestro Filmworks @MaestroKreative
How does participation in organization-driven impact initiatives enrich the careers of young professionals?
With a growing staff of young professionals at my company and the average age being 29 across my entire staff’s demographic make-up, I have found that impact driven-initiatives are super important for engagement, organizational alignment, and individual fulfillment in one’s career. In both the hiring phase and consistent check-ins, our management team has uncovered that injecting purpose and impact, as well as a sense of belonging to a team that genuinely believes in these initiatives, is just as important, if not more important, than the financial compensation aspect of employment for many young professionals. In fact, it is often the biggest check-box of what they not only want, but expect, from their employer.
However, simply having these initiatives set up is not enough – walking the walk and genuinely believing in the causes woven into the fabric of the construct is duly important, as young professionals are smart enough to decipher what are performative initiatives for recruitment and PR purposes and what are real, genuine initiatives coming from an authentic place.
The intentional crafting of these initiatives obviously takes time and energy- two resources often already scarce for small businesses. But if people are the most important asset in the business you’re in, this is time and energy well spent for creating happy and engaged workers, from my experience. So, while it does not seem to be the most cost-effective thing to focus on in the near term, know that it will pay long-term dividends for the health and culture of your organization in the form of retention, productivity, and engagement.
What is the most surprising opportunity that's come out of your Chamber membership?
I am grateful for having not one, but two opportunities to have a grant from Wells Fargo cover my Chamber membership dues – because admittedly, the cost and not really having solid expectations of how to engage with the Chamber were the biggest barriers for me to not get involved on my own.
Thus, I was naturally inclined to give back in some way, both inherently and as a show of gratitude for the opportunity, and so I readily signed up for the Pay it Forward program to mentor a young entrepreneur. I knew that from my experience as a minority in the film industry (feeling like a double minority in a room of businesspeople) I would make the most impact on a young person of color in the film industry to pass long learnings from my own career, and so that was my only request in getting involved. To my surprise, the matchmaking process brought me to meet a bright young man who I have enjoyed mentoring on the aspects of navigating this industry as a minority, and it has made the entire experience and involvement fulfilling and productive.
Upcoming Event
Diverse Procurement Collaborative Reception
Thursday, June 8, 2023 | 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM | VUE on 50
Network and strengthen relationships with suppliers and buyers who are a part of this growing movement to cultivate minority business growth through supplier diversity and inclusive procurement practices.
