Sarah’s Evolution
Cool Things We’ve Done
When Sarah Sladek started her business, statements like these were prevalent:
Our organization can’t reach young people
We can’t get people of different generations to work together.
Young people are always leaving. There’s constant turnover.
Our organization is aging out. We’re no longer relevant.
Inspired to provide the solution, bridge gaps, and create cultures of belonging,
Sarah created a niche company from scratch.
Here are a few of the super cool things Sarah and her team
have accomplished since the business began.


2002
Sarah launches her business to identify why organizations are struggling to engage younger generations and provide much-needed solutions to reverse the disengagement and decline.


2007
Sarah publishes the first book to address declining membership among young professionals. The New Recruit points to a troubling future, urging association executives to accept change, modernize, and prioritize engaging the next generation.


2008
Sarah authors Rock Stars Incorporated. Her research proves existing talent management strategies are failing to retain young professionals and contributing to increased employee turnover and revenue loss.


2009
Sarah hosts the first conference to address generation gaps and declining engagement trends among young professionals in the workplace. The event draws in representatives of Fortune 500 companies and generates national media coverage.


2010
Sarah and her team publish the research paper New Generation, New Politics examining political engagement trends among 18–40-year-olds. The paper calls for increased efforts to educate and engage young people in government.


2011
Sarah authors The End of Membership as We Know It, which would become a best-selling book for nine years. Her book identifies the core causes of membership decline and provides recommended changes to reverse the trend.



2012
Boomer retirements were accelerating alongside skilled labor shortages and a loss of critical knowledge. Sarah and her team author the research paper, America’s Aging Workforce Crisis, exploring the crisis in detail and ushering up a call to action.


2013
In preparation of the largest shift in human capital in history, Getting Gen Y to Buy is authored to help industries prepare for Y becoming the workforce majority. The research paper explored trends n consumerism and demographics in detail.


2013
Sarah and her team publish Engaging Young Generations, a research paper exploring the behaviors and traits of Generation Y. Best practices and strategies are shared to help membership organizations and companies prepare.



2013
An updated version of America’s Aging Workforce Crisis is published, sounding the alarm on skilled labor shortages and employee turnover. Sarah develops a proprietary process to assess organizational culture and bridge engagement gaps.


2013
An ebook is released to scare organizations into action. Scary Stats: 52 reasons Why it’s The End of Work As We Know It highlights declining employee engagement and increased turnover, urging leaders to innovate and prioritize future generations.


2014
One of the first research papers on Gen Z is authored by Sarah and team. The first Generation Raised in the 21st Century confirms Sarah’s predictions. Change is needed and additional shifts in value and engagement behaviors will occur.


2014
Sarah was again ahead of her time, bringing the market a cutting-edge solution. Millennials to Members would become the first e-learning course to teach membership organizations strategy development.


2014
Sarah’s fourth book, Knowing Y, draws upon research to understand influences on Gen Y’s engagement behaviors. She makes a major discovery, revealing Y’s path to engage in an organization differs from previous generations.


2016
The research paper Why They Quit explores why employee turnover is higher among younger generations. Sarah and her team study organizations observing high retention to glean best practices and also interviewed many young professionals.


2017
For Talent Generation, Sarah studies several organizations experiencing high employee retention and high profitability. She identifies six traits shared among all, and guides readers through the process of achieving the same results.


2018
Sarah and her team publish Ready or Not Here Comes Z, featuring the results of a survey taken by 1,800 Gen Z’s globally ages 13-21. The paper identifies the unique traits of Gen Z and what they are expecting from their employee experiences.


2018
Sarah and two Gen Z members of her team author Teaching Z to better understand what Zs are looking for in their education and workforce preparedness. The paper is written from the Gen Z vantage point, incorporating Gen Z research.


2018
Membership decline among young generations gains momentum. Emboldened to help associations and ‘save’ them from continued decline, Sarah and her team author Save the Associations, featuring 12 case studies and best practices.


2019
Sarah authors Young Americans, Advocacy, & Social Change, featuring the results of a survey with 1,200 18–37-year-olds from 46 states and interviews with young professionals.


2020
When pandemic causes a global shutdown, Sarah launches Save the Associations, a web show featuring her interviews with membership professionals worldwide. Viewers from more than 30 countries tune in to watch the series.


2021
Sarah launches The Membership IQ podcast in both audio and video formats, sharing insights and solutions to membership challenges. She takes a unique, edu-taining approach with the show, often incorporating themes, props, and costumes.


2022
Members and association staff in 59 countries participate in the Global Membership Health Study. Sarah presents the key findings in a report and via webinar. The study becomes the first global research effort focused entirely on membership.


2023
Sarah co-produces and is featured in a Jobs of Tomorrow docuseries in cooperation with WorkerbeeTV based in Canada. The show will broadcast on streaming channels in late 2023 or early 2024.


2023
Sarah’s sixth book, MemberShift, arrives in fall, bringing readers an entirely new approach to membership. No other book has gone into such depth to explain membership strategy and provide practices proven to lead to membership growth.