Baxter & Woodman's consistent investment in its YPs has created significant benefits for the company, its clients, and its communities.

Companies like B&W that are successfully hiring and keeping team members are taking steps to build a sense of community, meaningful engagement, and high morale. Leadership and communication skills development at all levels is a smart way to integrate employee retention strategies.

B&W does several things that make its program both popular with YPs and valuable to the company:

• Consistent and influential senior manager sponsor who "gets" YPs and tirelessly advocates for YP investment
• YP committee set up to design and guide all aspects of the program with great mentoring from the sponsor 
• Genuine endorsement at the CEO level
  
• Aligning the YP program directly to the company's strategic plan
• Meaningful budget support for YPs to attend events, which sends a clear message about priorities and importance
• Many ways throughout the year for YPs to engage online and in-person: social events, connecting with company leaders, professional development opportunities, etc.
• Open to inventive event design approaches to provide invigorating experiences that feel different from day-to-day work
• Willingness to create honest and psychologically safe spaces to challenge the status quo
• Getting feedback from YPs and then learning, adapting, and expanding the program each year through changes such as pandemic, post-pandemic, rapid company growth and hiring, etc.
  
• Many ways for engaged YPs to develop each year: committee membership, participation in events, leading and organizing aspects of the programming, etc.
  
  

Crucially, the program acknowledges that YPs make up more than one-third of the company and that the YPs provide essential leadership and strategic insights. YPs are offered the opportunity to step into leadership by designing and running these programs, and this translates to a great company culture for everyone and skills that they bring to their other roles at B&W.