Digital Public Square
Director, People & Culture
Digital Public Square
For-Impact organization
On a mission to repair the damage of mis/disinformation
to help create healthy communities around the world.
Kara (hi!)
My Tech-for-Good Story
People & Culture
Product
Developer

Anyone else pacing the panic room?
Impact experiments that might help us survive the
post-pandemic resignation boom
A light and easy way to end our day!
p.s. Grab a piece of paper + pen

2019
I spent a year prototyping solutions to
boost employee engagement in
millennials

2021
The sun came out and our world went
technicolour. Everyone had the same idea.
Let’s be the ones who do it right.
Ann-Marie MacDonald

Euphoric
Change
Historically:
Take more risks
Demand more
What actually matters:
How well you live
and for how long

Relevant now:
The Clockout Cure
p.s. Basecamp!

Piece of paper
Draw a line down the middle
less television
less waste
less virtual webinars
less listening to my husband chew ice-cream

50%
2021
75%
2030
Millennials in the
workforce
My time as an
undercover millennial
exploring engagement

1. Early
Grew up with social good embedded into
their lives...mandatory service hours in
kindergarten
The most
generous
generation by
nature

2. Both
Millennials demand that work have an
impact on the world.
Pleasure vs purpose hedonistic treadmill.
The generation
with the most
turnover

3. Mavericks
...influence the behaviour of other
generations like never before.
GenX and GenZ
will join

Falling in love with the problem
Millennial employees have a deep seeded desire to
improve their world yet they have not found ways that
resonate with them to produce the impact they seek.

Enter…employee engagement?
Successfully run programs relate positively to
employee wellness and the bottom line.
6.5
fewer missed workdays/year
50%
Higher revenue per
employee

How’s it going?
85%
Disengaged
Pre-pandemic
93%
Disengaged
Prediction
“Corporate livestock”
“Death by overwork”
New factor: mid-career
millennials
Coming out of the pandemic -
does this resonate?

What isn’t working
Engagement can’t be fulfilled with things
Organization mission (rarely) drives engagement long term
Top-down CSR campaigns can be limiting
Vanity metrics over impact metrics

What might work?
We wondered how non-mission
based organizations could
engage in authentic social impact
work for maverick millennials

The experiments
Will employees do the acts +
did it improve engagement?
Expected outcome: Failure
4:00 mins
No promise of a reward at the end

Impact Packages
Turn student discarded items into
donations
Garden Gang: help us plant
pollinators!
Help beautify two Toronto
elementary schools
Transform the clothes of someone
who passed into a quilt
Serve meals to needy families the
off-season
Hand-craft something for housing
insecure person
Promote ‘body positivity’ among
youth
Warm socks on cold days
Bring joy to elderly with your dog!
Help youth remember and honour
our veterans
Take a Penny, Leave a Penny - but
for clothing
10 mins - 5 hours
Not volunteering (*not organized by charity)

48%
Completed
an action
95%
Did 2nd action
immediately
Employees
Onto something!

Results: What is the most valuable thing to give?
Time vs Money vs Others
66%
Of respondents said time was their most
valuable thing to give.

Results: Would you walk with George?
George
92%
Of respondents said they would walk
with George (or similar), with 80% gave a
proxy for commitment.

Results: Did you achieve satisfying impact?
Long term vs Short term vs None
71%
Felt perceived impact

Piece of paper
more connection
more laughter
more live music
more creating

Impact through
small acts
Acts don’t have oversized,
just human
Autonomy &
Individualism
Curated actions a la carte
Boosts
Engagement
Employees were mobilized
Giving (work)
time is preferred
Want the experience

Impact through
small acts
Acts don’t have oversized,
just human
Autonomy &
Individualism
Curated actions a la carte
Boosts
Engagement
Employees were mobilized
Giving (work)
time is preferred
Want the experience Oxytocin
(purpose/social trust)
over
Dopamine (pleasure)

Betterplace on hold
Pandemic is an anchor problem to
in-person impact work
Some immediate solutions
Best Doable Options....

Acts of Kindness - Calendar
randomactsofkindness.org
Builds compassion skills
Budget = free

WFHomie - future idea
wfhhomie.com
Subscription
Adding impact options
Budget = variable

Airbnb - Social Impact Experiences
Teaching
Empowered
Encourages empathy
Budget = $30/ee

Troop - Curated Needs (GTA)
hitroop.com
Purchase Tangible Needs
Employees vote
Monthly impact reports with pics
Budget = $5-30/ee/month
Min of $75/month.

Until we can meet in person - stay safe!
(p.s. more ireland)