Letter from the Editor: recruitment vs. retention of young professionals

Every office has its version of a morale booster. Sometimes it's a pizza party. Sometimes it's branded merch, a summer barbecue, or free coffee. These things certainly don't hurt — and I would never complain about free pizza — but they also aren't what convinces someone to build a career with a company.

People stay in a job because they feel like they're growing, they know their work matters, and because they can picture themselves being there five or ten years from now. That topic came into focus during the recent Canadian Association of Recycling Industries Convention, where I moderated a panel centred on the next generation of recycling professionals. The conversation went beyond flashy recruitment campaigns and explored a much more important question: once you've hired talented young people, what gives them a reason to stay?

One of the biggest critiques of young professionals is how communication has changed. Younger professionals still value relationships, handshakes, and personal connection, but they approach things differently than previous generations did. Emails, text messages, and video meetings have become normal parts of business, but that doesn't mean personal relationships matter less. If anything, it means leaders need to be more intentional about creating opportunities for genuine connection rather than assuming they'll happen naturally.

That might mean bringing younger employees to industry conferences, or involving them in association committees or next-generation leadership programs. It might mean introducing them to people throughout the industry and helping them build networks that will serve them throughout their careers.

Workers are much more likely to invest in a company when they believe the company is equally invested in them. That investment doesn't always require expensive training programs, and can be as simple as regular conversations about goals, strengths, interests, and future opportunities.

For decades, effective management often meant directing work closely and ensuring every decision went through multiple layers of approval. Today's professionals increasingly value autonomy. They want guidance, support, and accountability, but they also want the freedom to apply their own judgment and solve problems independently. Trust is a powerful, but often overlooked, retention tool.

In the end, it's about building companies people are proud to join, contribute to, and spend their careers helping grow. Young professionals don't need to be convinced that the work matters. The goal is to make sure they experience that purpose first-hand inside the workplace.