Global Alumni Impact Study - AIESEC 2014

April

2014

1

Introduction

AIESEC enables leadership development in young people to make a positive impact in society. The AIESEC Global Alumni Impact Study uses primary data to explore the leadership development and impact of AIESEC‟s alumni.

The study involves an analysis of survey responses of over 1000 alumni from 107 countries and a range of different generations and professional backgrounds.

To explore this, the study focuses on three key questions:

• What is the extent of AIESEC‟s influence on the leadership development of its members?

• What are the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni?

• What impact have AIESEC alumni had in society?

The analysis is based on the leadership development model of AIESEC, which consists of the following three elements of leadership development:

I & Myself Self Aware – Aware of my strengths and weaknesses; Know my values

and purpose in life

I & The World Responsible to the World – Aware; Take ownership and action

I & Others Effective Communication – Engaging others with one‟s purpose and

values; Communicate effectively and build networks

The study was conducted by a global team of AIESEC members in 2014.

This report presents the findings of the study.

2

Data Overview Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a survey involving questions that are based on the three key questions of this study.

In this report, the quantitative data is reported in the form of graphs and statistics. The qualitative data that is reported is based on examples of typical comments made by alumni in

the surveys. Those typical comments were determined by examining multiple sets of samples from the total data and identifying the most common themes.

Survey responses were collected from 1087 alumni with the following characteristics:

Region Age

107 countries in total

Central & Eastern Europe

North America

Western Europe

South America

Asia Pacific

Africa

Middle East & North Africa

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 73

Age (Years)

Current Organisation Academic Background

Multinational company

Small or Medium Company

Entrepreneur

Government or Government

Institution

Not-for-Profit Sector

Other

Business Administration

Economics

Management

Other

Finance and Accounting

Engineering

Marketing

Computer Sciences

Political Science

Social Sciences

Law

Science

Media & Communications

Psychology

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Percentage of Respondents (%)

11%

7%

37% 7%

20%

18%

2% 5%

9%

27%

16%

18% 23%

Nu

mb

er

of

Re

sp

on

de

nts

3

Responsible to the World

Effective Communication

Self Aware

AIESEC’s Influence on Leadership Development The vast majority of alumni respondents (84%) consider themselves to be a „leader‟. This section of the report examines the extent to which AIESEC and its program has influenced this leadership development.

Three Elements of Leadership Development The alumni surveyed were asked to rate the extent to which AIESEC had an influence over the different leadership characteristics related to the three leadership development elements mentioned in the introduction of this report. The results are in the graphs below.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%


0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%


It is quite clear that all three areas of the leadership development were at least significantly influenced by AIESEC, and a large portion of the alumni said that they would not have those characteristics without AIESEC. Although a large portion also said that AIESEC only somehow influenced their development in these areas, very few respondents said that AIESEC had no effect.

More particularly, there were more alumni indicating that, without AIESEC, they would not have characteristics of effective communication than there were for the other two areas. However, there were also more alumni indicating that AIESEC only somehow had an influence on their self awareness. The next subsection goes into more detail regarding which programs develop which characteristics.

I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses

Responsible to

the World I enjoy taking responsibility

I am aware of my responsibility for the world

(country, city) and feel ownership towards it

I am accepting diversity

I developed new insights about other cultures

Effective

Communication

I understand and attend to needs of others

I communicate effectively with other people and

engage them with my vision

I developed new insights about Leadership

I consider continuous learning as part of my

everyday life

I set and accomplish goals for my own

development

I know my values and live according to it

Self Aware I know my purpose in life and live according to it

4

Influence of Each Program The following graphs present a breakdown of the data per program. Each graph takes into account those respondents who had only participated in that respective program and no other program. Because of this restriction on the data, the sample sizes for each graph are very low, and hence, the conclusions made here are done so with caution.

I am aware of my responsibility for the world

(country, city) and feel ownership towards it

I consider continuous learning as part of my

everyday life

I set and accomplish goals for my own

development

I know my values and live according to it

I know my purpose in life and live according to it

Traineeship Voluntary Program

I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses

I am accepting diversity

I developed new insights about other cultures

I understand and attend to needs of others

I communicate effectively with other people and engage them with my vision

I enjoy taking responsibility

I developed new insights about Leadership

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Percentage of respondents (%)

5

Traineeship

For participants of traineeship, AIESEC seems to have the most influence on characteristics related to effective communication. The characteristics that had the highest proportion of respondents select „Without AIESEC, wouldn‟t have it‟ are: „I am accepting of diversity‟ and ‟I developed new insights about other culture‟. The latter is substantially higher for interns than participants of voluntary program, indicating that this program is particularly valuable for enhancing cultural awareness.

Characteristics related to being self-aware also seemed to be more influenced by traineeship. A larger proportion of respondents selected „Significantly influenced‟ for characteristics like: „I know my purpose in life and live according to it‟; „I know my values and live according to it‟; „I consider continuous learning as part of my everyday life‟; and „I set and accomplish goals for my own development‟.

Voluntary Program

It is difficult to draw conclusions from the data of volunteers, since the sample size is particularly low. However, one important observation is that, similar to interns on the other program, for „I developed new insights about other cultures‟, a substantially large proportion of respondents selected „Without AIESEC, wouldn't have it‟. This suggests that traineeship and voluntary program seem to allow for greater opportunity to develop cultural awareness, and this is consistent with data presented later in this report which suggests that participants of these programs develop cultural sensitivity skills.

Summary In summary, it appears that AIESEC does have a substantial influence on the leadership development of its talents. Traineeship seems to provide more holistic development. However, the programs seem to be specifically influential on its participants‟ cultural awareness.

The next section provides more insights into the leadership traits that participants of each program develop.

“AIESEC gave me a platform to do so many things. I travelled the world.

I was a minority, I was the majority. I failed, I succeeded. I take

these lessons with me into life every day and

now look to push further in everything I do. I run

marathons and do ironmans, I continue to study and volunteer around

issues that move me. AIESEC is with me always.”

Jennifer Harwood Standards Australia Ltd.

Sydney, Australia

6

7

Leadership Traits of Alumni This section of the report focuses on the second key question of the study which aims to explore insights into the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni. These traits are presented in terms of personal and professional development, skills development and personal values.

Personal Development The alumni were asked to indicate which personal characteristics most apply to them. The following graph shows the results.

Personal Characteristics

I am open minded and accept diversity

I think globally

I am adapting fast to new/challenging

environment

I believe in myself

I learn proactively

I am persistent and result-oriented

I am emotionally intelligent

I have risk-taking attitude

I am consistent with my words and actions

I am creative and innovative

Other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%


As shown in the graph, the majority of respondents (approximately 67%) indicated that they are open- minded, accept diversity, think globally and adapt to different environments. Repeatedly, alumni mentioned in their comments how their exposure to different people and places allowed them to broaden their perspective and understanding of the world, which relates to the „Effective Communication‟ aspect of the leadership development model. Often, alumni described themselves with phrases like “global citizen” and “globally-minded”. These sentiments are summed up in the comment on the right of this particular alumnus from Canada.

While appreciation of differences was a major theme in responses, many alumni also seemed mention how they learned to appreciate the similarities that bring people together. An example is this comment on the right of an alumnus from New Zealand.

“I am a more empathetic person because of my connection to the people I met in AIESEC and the issues facing people all over the world. I feel connected to global events and believe I can make differences locally that relate to global situations.”

Alumnus from Canada

“It reinforced my existing belief that we live in a small world and people of all different cultures are fundamentally the same and equally valuable.”

Alumnus from New Zealand

8

Another dominant theme that recurred in responses was personal confidence and drive, which relates to the „Self Aware‟ aspect of the leadership development model. This is reflected in the graph by, for example, the selection of „I believe in myself‟, „I learn proactively‟ and „I am persistent and result-oriented‟ by around 45-55% of respondents. The respondents often mentioned becoming empowered to take untraditional paths and gain the skills and experience to be able to achieve goals. This is summed up by the comment on the right from an alumnus from Canada.

This comment of this alumnus from the United States is another example how AIESEC can help people develop the personal confidence to make significant life changes.

Degree of AIESEC’s Influence

The alumni surveyed were asked to rank the degree to which AIESEC influenced their personal development on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being no influence, and 10 being extreme influence).

As can be seen in the graph, most respondents indicated a high to extreme degree of influence.

10 (Extreme)

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1 (None)

0% 10% 20% 30%

Percentage of respondents (%)

“AIESEC’s international opportunities and the many talented people I met through its global network gave me the confidence to follow an untraditional career path and contribute to fixing some of the world's problems rather than settle for a typical existence based on the expectation of others. I'm very pleased to have my AIESEC experience as a foundation for whatever challenge I choose to tackle.”

Alumnus from Canada

“I am not afraid to live or work in a different country - despite all the obstacles living and working abroad inevitably entails. In fact, this year, I moved from Miami, FL - quitting my job as a successful attorney - to Brussels, Belgium to pursue a career in international public policy. Without my experience with AIESEC, I highly doubt I would have the drive and confidence to make such a drastic change!”

Alumnus from USA

De

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Professional Development The alumni were also asked to indicate which professional characteristics most apply to them. The following graph shows the results.

Professional Characteristics

I set career goals for myself

I effectively set goals and timeline for my

duties

I work effectively without much supervision

I get along well and easy with diverse

employees at my work I am proactively bringing new ideas at my

work

I work abroad or with multicultural teams

I lead a team(s) at my work

I am coach or mentor

I develop or implement new projects in an

organization I am regularly getting rewarded for the

quality of my work

I develop innovations at my work

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%


Similar to the results on personal development, much of the professional development related to diversity and new perspectives.

A large proportion of respondents (approximately 58%) indicated that they get along well and easy with diverse employees at work, which, again, relates to the „Effective Communication‟ aspect of the leadership development model. The comments from alumni seem to indicate that this may stem from the exposure to diverse people that alumni experienced in AIESEC. The comment on the right from an alumnus working in a multinational bank is one example of what many respondents expressed.

A large proportion of alumni (approximately 47%) indicated that they proactively bring new ideas and new projects in their organisation. The respondents‟ comments also seem to indicate that this may relate back to the diversity of experiences and perspectives that alumni encountered in AIESEC and its effect on their ability to generate innovative ideas and projects in diverse teams. One example is the comment on the right of an alumnus from Germany, who related his diverse AIESEC experiences to “humbling co-creation, innovation and strategic thinking”.

“Working in a company with a vast amount of cultures has proven challenging to so many people – but I seem to thrive in that arena and I believe it is due to the exposure AIESEC has given me.”

Alumnus working for TD Bank in Canada

“Living and working in several AIESEC countries and interacting with members nation-wide in several languages truly built my language and cultural understanding within varying workplaces and improved my relationship building. Dealing with complexity in multiple teams enabled humbling co-creation, innovation and strategic thinking.”

Alumnus from Germany

10

Job Promotions

The professional development of alumni also seems to be reflected in the following data, which shows how long AIESEC alumni received a job promotion after leaving AIESEC.

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Less than 1 year Between one (1)

and two (2) years

Between three (3) and five (5)

years

More than five

(5) years

I have not been promoted yet

I became an entrepreneur

Timing of First Promotion

Forty-three per cent (43%) of respondents were promoted within one year of leaving AIESEC, while 30% were promoted between one and two years after leaving. This speed of promotion may be partly due to the organisational skills and experiences that are gained from participating in AIESEC programs, as indicated by repeated comments from the alumni respondents. For example, the comment on the right is what one alumnus from Australia said regarding his internship in Switzerland.

Also, this career progress may be partly due to AIESEC enabling its members to discover career paths that they are truly passionate about, and therefore more motivated towards, since this is a very common recurring theme in the responses. The comment on the right is an example of this from an alumnus from Bangladesh.

“The AIESEC experiences prior to my internship prepared me to enter a commercial environment post undergraduate study with real value to my employers. The internship provided relevant commercial experience to jump-start my career in a management role.”

Head of Business Development and Planning at Syngenta in

Australia

“AIESEC made me realize who I am and who I want to be … It taught me how to perfect what I was good at, and how to work with what I wasn't good at. It gave me my true passions – PR, communications, leadership, innovation, and a world of social causes to fight for.”

Alumnus from Bangladesh

Perc

en

tag

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f R

es

po

nd

en

ts (

%)

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Skills Development

The alumni were asked to select from a list of skills that they felt they gained the most from their AIESEC experience. The following graph shows the results:

Public speaking

Cultural sensitivity

Ability to see the big picture

Relationship building

Project management

Co-creating and brainstorming

Collaboration

Strategic thinking

Networking skills

Problem solving

Dealing with complexity

Foreign language skills

Planning

Oral and written communication skills

Time management

Ability to work virtually

Sales skills

Negotiation skills

Personal effectiveness

Coaching

Teamwork

Innovation

Other

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%


The graph shows that the skills that are most commonly developed (greater than 40% of respondents) are public speaking, cultural sensitivity, ability to see the big picture, relationship bulging and project management. The skills that seem be to least commonly developed (less than 25% of respondents) are teamwork and innovation.

For this data to be more useful, though, it is worthwhile segmenting it according to each program.

12

The tables below show the top 10 skills developed by participants in each program.

Traineeship Voluntary Program

Cultural sensitivity 76%

Public Speaking 65%

Ability to see the big picture 57%

Relationship building 56%

Foreign language skills 56%

Project Management 52%

Dealing with complexity 50%

Collaboration 49%

Strategic Thinking 49%


48%

Public speaking 59%

Cultural sensitivity 58%

Strategic thinking 51%

Project management 50%

Ability to see the big picture 46%


44%

Collaboration 42%

Foreign language skills 42%

Relationship building 40%

Planning 40%

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There are a few interesting observations from this data.

‘Cultural sensitivity’ is substantially higher for participants of Traineeship (76%) than another program. This may be due to the intense cultural immersion for an extended period of time that is usually experienced in traineeship, which alumni respondents have repeatedly mentioned. For example, in the comment on the right, an alumnus from Austria describes the value of his internship experience.

Although ‘Foreign language skills’ does not appear within the top 10 skills of the total respondents, it does for interns and volunteers (fifth and eighth, respectively). Again, this may be due to the exposure to a different country and culture.

Certain skills do not appear in any of the top 10 lists, including „Oral and written communication skills‟, „Ability to work virtually‟, „Sales skills‟, „Negotiation skills‟, ‟Personal effectiveness‟, „Coaching‟ and „Innovation‟. This indicates that perhaps none of AIESEC‟s programs are particularly effective in developing these skills. It may be relevant for AIESEC to explore how its programs can be enhanced to better deliver this skill development.

“My internship in South Africa during times of change … This traineeship outside Europe influenced my views on the world and Africa heavily and definitely changed me as a person.”

Alumnus from Austria

“Knowledge of my English became better and I'm thankful to all my AIESEC international friends because of that.”

Alumnus from Croatia

“I gained the ability to speak English and work with multicultural teams.”

Alumnus from France

Personal Values

The alumni were asked to list their personal values. The word cloud below visually depicts the commonality of words used by respondents to describe their values.

The list below shows the top 10 most common sets of values mentioned by alumni and their frequencies.

Values (Keywords)

Count

%

Responses

Containing

Keywords

1 Honesty, integrity, sincerity, genuinity, authenticity, ethics, trust,

reliability

389

36%

2 Respect, diversity, inclusiveness, tolerance, peace, harmony 200 18%

3 Family, friendship, relationships 178 16%

4

Kindness, generosity, compassion, care, altruism, love, empathy

136

12%

5 Enjoyment, fun, humour, positivity, optimism, happiness, joy 121 11%

6 Hard work, proactivity, excellence, progress, achievement 92 8%

7 Personal growth, development, fulfilment, learning 72 7%

8 Perseverance, reslience, determination, commitment, boldness,

courage

69

6%

9 Work-life balance, health, well-being 67 6%

10 Equality, fairness, justice 56 5%

14

“Until death, we are too

young to have preconceived

notions.”

Pratyush Sureka Alex Astral Power Private Limited

Kolkata, India

15

The majority of alumni respondents (36%) identify with values related to honesty, integrity, sincerity, genuineness, authenticity, ethics, trust and reliability. Values relating to diversity, respect, inclusiveness, tolerance, peace and harmony are also common, which is consistent with the

The

personal and professional characteristics related to diversity that many alumni have developed (discussed earlier).

The personal values of the alumni are generally aligned to the organisational values of AIESEC. For example, Set 1 relates to „Demonstrating Integrity‟; Set 2 relates to „Living Diversity‟; Set 5 relates to „Enjoying Participation‟; and Set 6 relates to „Striving for Excellence‟.

This indicates that AIESEC may attract like-minded people who share similar values because they are aligned to the organisation‟s set of values. This is reflected by the comments of some of the alumni respondents, such as the comment on the right of an alumnus from Nigeria.

AIESEC also seems to allow members to achieve greater clarity in their personal values. Some alumni respondents made comments like the one on the right.

AIESEC

Values

Living Diversity

Demonstrating Integrity

Striving for Excellence

Enjoying Participation

Acting Sustainably

Activating Leadership

“My closest friends where cultivated through AIESEC because our values and beliefs are aligned.”

Alumnus from Nigeria

“The values that drive my life were defined during my time in AIESEC and the original learning plan I developed when I was still in AIESEC still influence my life and who I am as a leader in the corporate world.”

Alumnus from Brazil

160

How AIESEC Enables Impact

The explanations of the alumni respondents regarding specifically how AIESEC enabled their ability and willingness to create positive impact can be summarised to six recurring responses:

Developing the passion and drive

to impact the world

Helping understand the world and

what it needs

Helping develop organisational

skills and competencies

Creating a network of like-minded

people

Helping become open to different

points of view

Creating exposure to new cultures

and countries

“The experience has impacted greatly my global desire to work with all cultures to help them improve themselves, especially with regards to the financial sector.”

Alumnus from Finland

“The global network made me realize that we have the same kind of problems in this world and it is up to us to solve these problems.”

Alumnus from Indonesia

“AIESEC influenced my ability to make an impact by providing me with the hard and soft skills as well as the confidence to be successful.”

Alumnus from Australia

“AIESEC has exposed me to a plethora of impact- driven people from around the world, which has highly inspired and influenced who I am today.”

Alumnus from Greece

“AIESEC taught me the importance of sharing ideas and mindful listening.”

Alumnus from Canada

“Connecting with other cultures gave me a broader understanding of the world and global problems. I felt part of a big community, a global village.”

Alumnus from Armenia

21

Conclusions This study aims to create an understanding of the leadership development that AIESEC enables in its members and the subsequent impact that they go on to create in the world. Below is a summary of conclusions, structured according to the three key questions of this study.

What is the extent of AIESEC’s influence on the leadership development of its members?

• AIESEC has a substantial influence on the leadership development of its members through its programs.

• Traineeship seems to provide more holistic development in the three areas of „Effective Communication, „Self Aware‟ and „Responsibility to the World‟.

• Voluntary program, along with traineeship, seems to be specifically influential on its participants‟ cultural awareness.

What are the leadership traits that characterise AIESEC alumni?

• The most common personal characteristics that AIESEC alumni seem to have developed include broader perspective and understanding of the world, appreciation of similarities, and personal confidence and drive.

• The most common professional characteristics that AIESEC alumni seem to have developed include the ability to get along with diverse employees at work and proactively bring new ideas and projects in the workplace.

• The vast majority of alumni surveyed obtained a job promotion within the the first two years after leaving AIESEC.

• The most common skills gained by alumni are public speaking and cultural sensitivity.

• Cultural sensitivity skills are more particularly developed in GIP participants. • Foreign language skills are more particularly developed in participants of traineeship and

Voluntary program • The most dominant set of values that most alumni hold are related to honestly, integrity,

respect, diversity, family, friendship and relationships.

• Values held by AIESEC alumni are generally aligned to AIESEC‟s values.

Written By

Ala Al-Mahaidi Australia

Contributors

Ala Al-Mahaidi Australia Wilfried Assoko Côte d’Ivoire Caio Donini Brazil Darko Gazibara Bosnia and Herzegovina Viktor Karevski Republic of Macedonia Agata Lowkiet Poland Olga Tsygankova Russia

Global Alumni Impact Study - AIESEC 2014

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