Nine Things Your Company Can Do to Find, Keep, and Support Young Talent

You’ve heard a thousand conversations about what young professionals (YPs) really want and need from the pulp, paper, and packaging industries. Everyone knows that our industries are facing a “silver tsunami” of retirement, with an incredible loss of institutional knowledge and experience. Everyone agrees that finding and retaining YPs is the only path to a successful future. So, what are the keys to doing that? What will it really take to make YPs happy in our mills, our plants, and our offices?

Paper360° decided to ask them. We reached out to members of TAPPI’s YP Division, which is made up of engaged individuals committed to the industries that TAPPI serves. These men and women hold a variety of positions with both vendor and manufacturing companies. We made it clear that we didn’t want “feel good” answers about the great opportunities or fun people in pulp, paper, and packaging—we wanted actionable advice for helping them build their careers and stay on the job.

Their responses were quick, candid, and insightful. The good news? Our young professionals want to do well. They want to find balance and they are eager to contribute and grow. The hard truth: change is needed to help that happen.

Paper360° received responses to four targeted questions (see page 12) from 15 members of TAPPI’s Young Professionals division. The nine directives below are based on the themes that emerged; we’ve included the YPs’ own words to back up each point. Each “tip” on this list can get your company closer to a future where younger professionals thrive, innovate, and grow—a future in which the pulp, paper, and packaging industries can do the same.

1. GIVE UP OLD MODELS

“We need a focus industry-wide on breaking the mindset that ‘long hours’ equates to ‘high performance’ and the abusive cycle of ‘It happened to me, so it should happen to you or else it’s unfair.’ Companies pour resources into creating an engaged and empowered workforce, but pizza parties and gift cards do not address happiness or fulfillment.

“Industry culture needs to move toward making work/life balance for all its employees a core value, second only to safety. Managers at every level should provide YPs with the space and guidance to create healthy habits for long-term success. Regardless of role or experience level, all people should feel they can ‘work to live’ without cultural pressure to ‘live to work.’”

—Mike Subilia, BB – operational excellence consumer packaging, WestRock

“The pulp and paper industry is competing with other engineering and science industries that are allowing workers to work from home more and more often. I think this will be essential to continuing to recruit top talent into our industry—that is, to match the benefit packages of other technology/science-based companies, which includes WFH. Other changes needed are things such as providing paid maternity/paternity leave, onsite daycare, and other benefits that provide a family-based culture.”

—Michael Joyce, principal engineer, NextGen Materials Development

“Companies need to be sensitive about the amount of hours being worked by YPs (and all employees) and intentionally promote fewer hours and a better work/life balance. Not everyone is going to let you know when they’re overworked—some will choose to just leave instead, especially if they feel there is a stigma against raising the concern.”

—John Edwards, fiberline superintendent, Domtar Plymouth

“One way to ensure retention with young professionals involves eliminating the ‘hurry up and wait’ and ‘stay until it starts’ mentality. This way of thinking is an old wives’ tale of the paper industry that needs to adapt to have more premeditative actions of staggering shifts and sticking to the 16-hour OSHA maximum workday. Another thought: develop on-call schedules so one individual is not solely responsible for all runnability emergencies.”

—Farrah Katzer, process engineer II 1S converting, Clearwater Paper

“Allow employees to complete some of their work at home instead of in an office setting. Data reporting, presentation creating, and some meetings can be performed at home, and sometimes during any part of the day, not necessarily from 9 to 5. Being able to complete some work after hours allows younger professionals to take time to be with their families, attend appointments, or even just take a much-needed mental break.”

—Dustin Burton, senior research technologist, NA Binders, R&D

“Longer hours correlate with a decrease in productivity and an increase in mistakes. Culture is also important; managers need to be able to prioritize the happiness and safety of their employees, rather than prioritizing fast completion of jobs. Just as there are measures in place to combat fatigue and complacency, there should be measures in place to prevent overwork and burnout.”

—Tali Horst, International Paper

“Remember, if your mindset is 100 years old, you can’t solve today’s problems or advocate for change.”

—Ozlem Kubra Akdogan, R&D engineer, Technick Products

2. BE ADAPTABLE & APPROACHABLE

“Different things motivate everyone, whether it is recognition in the form of merit increases, opportunities to mentor and coach new employees, promotions, etc. Be approachable so you can have those conversations to get to know your direct report and learn what drives them. Be adaptable with your leadership skills to help your direct reports be successful in chasing what motivates them.

“An engineer right out of college has an idea of what their career looks like, but it’s not set in stone. Their ideas and motivations change with life events. A company with a culture of being approachable and adaptable in its management style will have better opportunities to effectively match young professionals to the career paths they want to pursue and retain them.”

—Kathleen Collins, sales engineer – filtration, J. Rettenmaier USA LP

“Flexibility is key. The pandemic highlighted the ability for many companies to retain or improve their productivity through remote work. While many industries require hands-on lab work and plant presence, most roles have some aspects (meetings, documentation, etc.) that can be performed remotely on a flexible schedule. Increased flexibility allows employees to take care of necessary tasks during business hours (i.e., appointments) while preserving vacation time as an opportunity to truly rest and recharge. Comprehensive parental leave policies that give all parents the opportunity to care for their children will further improve work/life balance as they help to redistribute both the burden of childcare responsibilities and the career impact of extended leaves of absence.”

—Allyson Marinelli, associate research scientist, Dow Coatings Materials, Paper Coatings

3. DON’T WAIT TO MAKE THEM PART OF THE TEAM

“Young professionals want to be a part of the team from day one. Giving them the opportunity to lead projects and solve problems that will contribute to the company will help them see why they were hired in the first place, and they’ll want to keep contributing, thus keeping them motivated. The worst thing a manager can do is underestimate YPs’ capabilities by giving them miniscule tasks.”

—Lindsey Clifton, research and development engineer, Domtar

“Provide opportunities to highlight the strengths YPs bring to the team today (energy, innovation, fresh perspective), alongside opportunities to develop required technical and professional skillsets. Acknowledgement and appreciation of these strengths helps YPs see that they are valuable assets now, and that they should feel empowered to share their thoughts and suggestions confidently with more experienced colleagues.”

—Allyson Marinelli, associate research scientist, Dow Coatings Materials, Paper Coatings

4. GIVE THEM A SENSE OF PURPOSE

“We are not motivated by tasks or even deadlines. We thrive on the big picture and how we and our contribution fits in it. If you want to motivate us, involve us, even just a little bit to open up our worldview.”

—Morgan Waters, associate capital manager, International Paper

“My #1 tip is to develop strong relationships with the goal of building a shared purpose that provides a sense of belonging for everyone. It can be challenging under the strain of our industry’s constant operations to develop strong relationships, but with continual engagement, trust, and respect, the relationships will grow strong. Strong relationships drive a sense of belonging and purpose, which in turn provides long-lasting and durable motivation.”

—Kirk Carlson, project engineer, Clearwater Paper

“Young professionals like to understand their purpose and see the impact of their work. When communicating with YPs, remember to talk about the bigger picture, explaining how their work is connected and why it matters.”

—Jaclyn Epstein, sales and marketing strategy manager, Mica Corporation

“Communicate the purpose. Let us visualize. Allow employees to absorb ‘What difference does my contribution make other than reaching our financial goals?’ We will commit if we believe we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. Effective communication and complete transparency are the building blocks of motivating young professionals.”

—Ozlem Kubra Akdogan, R&D engineer, Technick Products

5. SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

“Have a clear set of roles and responsibilities for the job with a clearly-defined career progression. Provide educational opportunities to help workers develop skills that they may lack for the next progression in their career. Being 30-something means we are experienced but still have a long way to go. I very much value knowing what is next for me and what I need to do to get there.”

—Michael Joyce, principal engineer, NextGen Materials Development

“The best way that managers can communicate effectively with YPs is to set expectations early on, especially if this is their first job in that field. What the young individual may think are their unspoken expectations may not be what their manager’s expectations are for them. Always communicate this in-person first for any clarification needed, then follow up by email so the individual will have a reference to look back on after the conversation. These expectations will be the building blocks the individual will use throughout the weeks, months, and years ahead for a successful career.”

—Lindsey Clifton, research and development engineer, Domtar

6. STOP MICROMANAGING

“Develop trust and show empathy. This means ‘stop micromanaging.’ If I am expected to perform well in a crisis, I expect to be trusted regardless of where or when I work. I can tell you’re frustrated because you think I’m a typical millennial—we’re all slackers, right? We are not. We can’t go any further if you are unwilling to start from there.”

—Ozlem Kubra Akdogan, R&D engineer, Technick Products

“Managers need to make it feel like the YP is supported, but also allowed to take a project and own it. In my experiences, having a manager who was there to remove barriers and help move forward—rather than control the employee and task—leads to a more motivated and invested individual. With this there may be some mistakes; but it is important to make sure those are learning moments and not just negative moments for the YP.”

—Brennan Augst, technical expert II dryer fabrics, Voith

“Give employees ‘projects’ instead of ‘tasks.’ Being recognized for completing something meaningful is motivational. Set a deadline for completion, but limit the number of times that you ‘check-in’ or intervene to allow the employee to take charge, make mistakes, and find their own solutions. Having the ability to learn from mistakes, yet still complete a successful project, makes people feel valuable.”

—Dustin Burton, senior research technologist, NA Binders, R&D

7. PROVIDE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

“Support YP career growth by encouraging self-development through multiple avenues such as training, stretch assignments, and mentoring. Behind every avenue for growth there needs to be deliberate, purposeful, and actionable feedback on both sides to communicate what is helping and what is not. It is important as a YP to seek out opportunities in other areas to become well-rounded; it is in the organization’s best interest to develop cross-functional leaders who can be successful in any situation.”

—Kirk Carlson, project engineer, Clearwater Paper

“Workers are much more willing to invest time and energy into their workplace when their workplace is similarly willing to invest resources into their employees. A workplace will always be more favorable to applicants if it can offer scheduling flexibility, working from home, and options for ‘making up’ the extra time put in on weekends or outages. To appeal to young professionals, companies need to focus on employee growth, and recognize that growth happens both inside and outside of work.”

—Tali Horst, International Paper

“One thing that is huge for YP career growth and that I have heard from more and more peers is training. YPs are often expected to make large jumps and take on positions that would usually have many more years of experience. We are prepared to take on that challenge and make those moves—but if a company can provide specific training to help prepare their YPs, it will make that transition easier and hopefully lead to a better prepared, more efficient worker. Make sure YPs know who their resources are and give them everything possible to succeed. Also, the ability to step away from the mill or office and receive job-relevant training can be as valuable as the experience in the mill or office.”

—Brennan Augst, technical expert II dryer fabrics, Voith

8. LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY

“Looking toward the future with industry 4.0 in mind, greater work/life balances can be leveraged through AI and innovative technologies. These advancements will help create an environment that could give employees a more predictable schedule to achieve their work/life balance goals.”

—Lena Sharesky, sales representative, Packaging Corporation of America

“Let us be inventive. We like to work smarter, not harder. If that means changing a manual system to something automatic and it scares you a little, put a little faith in our go-getter, risk-taking spirit. Change is the only way forward.”

—Morgan Waters, associate capital manager, International Paper

9. TREAT THEM LIKE INDIVIDUALS

“YPs can be at various stages in their careers. Some have been in the industry since graduation, are managing teams, and are on their way to being considered experts in their field; others are newer to the industry, are still finding out what they want to do, or haven’t yet learned how to manage others. At this stage, many YPs are starting to balance new responsibilities like parenthood with their full-time careers. Wherever someone is in their career, work to understand what motivates them. Are they looking for more management experience or responsibility? More training? More flexibility? Are they looking for ways to grow their visibility in the industry? If you’re on the same page about what motivates them as individuals, you’ll have much more success than making an assumption based on their age.”

—Jaclyn Epstein, sales and marketing strategy manager, Mica Corporation

“Companies willing to listen to the needs and desires of YPs stand the best chance of supporting their growth inside the company. Not all are aiming for the same career goals, and companies should strive to be in tune with the individual goals of each YP as much as possible.”

—John Edwards, fiberline superintendent, Domtar Plymouth

“Take the time to get to know YPs on an individual level. Do you know what their short term and long-term personal goals are, in addition to their career goals? Being part of a company that not only supports your career growth, but personal growth as well, is invaluable. This creates a space where employees feel comfortable sharing their challenges in order to work through solutions together, as opposed to jumping ship without warning.

“For work/life balance, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. How that is defined not only varies between employees, but can change throughout the course of an employee’s life. With these variables, the immediate action is to approach this topic on an individual basis. By having 1:1 conversations with YPs, companies can better strategize ways to achieve a healthy and productive balance.”

—Lena Sharesky, sales representative, Packaging Corporation of America

“Guide your team members to identify their personal and professional motivators by having private development discussions and encouraging them to dedicate time to self-reflection. In my case, I realized that I am motivated by teaching and coaching to help individuals and teams become independent and successful. This personal insight allows my manager and me to create short-term goals I care about achieving. It also uncovers future learning and development areas to further my long-term growth.”

—Mike Subilia, BB – operational excellence consumer packaging, WestRock