Holly Onstenk Young Professionals in Social Value Network
5 Minutes with
Holly Onstenk is the Vice-Chair of The Young Professionals in Social Value (YPSV) Group and a Principal Social Value Consultant at CHY Consultancy. Through her role with YPSV, Holly champions greater representation within the social value sector, leading regional initiatives to foster in-person networking for young professionals.
She has also represented young professionals at the Social Value Institute and has chaired and spoken on various panels. As a Principal Social Value Consultant, Holly helps organisations strategically embed social value into their operations, both internally and externally.
Her expertise includes social value measurement (such as supporting the development of proxies), crafting strategies, leading workshops, and managing and supporting major regeneration projects.
Can you tell us a bit about the Young Professionals in Social Value Network?
The Young Professionals in Social Value Network is a free network for young professionals working or interested in social value. It originated as a LinkedIn page, and we now have almost 500 signed up members with over a thousand followers on LinkedIn.
We have regional leads and hold in person networking events, we have buddy systems where we pair people in the industry so they can chat to each other, and we also have a cross-sector collaboration mentoring scheme. On top of this, we also have our thought leadership groups and a great steering group. We all run it as volunteers.
The Young Professionals in Social Value (YPSV) network fosters mentorship, inclusivity, and career growth in the social value sector.
Is a big part of the ethos having a network of people who are at the same stage as you or just a little bit ahead of you, but who still remember what it's like to start a career?
Yes, I think so. There are probably different pillars to it. There's being a young professional in terms of age. So, how do I advocate for myself and my job? What is my job? Where do the lines end? What are the boundaries? What should I be doing? What should I be advocating for myself more as a young professional?
But then also it's the industry. It's so difficult, I think, to enter in any way. So young professional in the industry, young professional in terms of age, I guess, as well.
What do you think it is that makes the industry difficult to enter?
There's nothing out there that's impartial, in my opinion, that just tells you this is what social value is.
And I don't think, personally, we need a term for it. I don't think everyone has to agree on one thing, we're just trying to have better outcomes for communities and people. We're trying to make people happier. How you do that may be different in different sectors. I think there's nothing out there to tell you where to go or job roles.
So as a young professional, when you're not established or can't advocate for yourself in any way, what should you or shouldn't you be doing? What skills do you need to have?
It's changing every day. You're trying to learn how to be in a workplace, how to interact with people, what skills you need, and also trying to navigate the political landscape of an industry as well.
Do you think young people have even heard social value?
No, because even if I'm in the pub and people ask me what I do, I think how do I even explain what I do? And then when you explain, everyone loves it. People have just never heard of it before.
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Do you think there’s a need for more direction and training?
Yes, I think people don't know what they don't know, particularly with young professionals, they don't know the questions to ask to find out the information they need all the time.
So how is that going to be unlocked for anyone? One thing that I've spoken about a lot recently is the people that have a more holistic view of social value, are people that have senior role models and have had that mentorship.
In a lot of organisations, they hire young professionals but there's no mentorship there for anyone joining the sector. And because of that, those people are left to figure it out themselves and they sometimes don't know what to ask.
On the flip side though, people have the opportunity to create their own roles. So in terms of professional development, it's a really big area to grow in.
Having a healthy mix in the workplace of those with experience, and a bit of healthy realism, versus the enthusiasm and passion of young people is really powerful – do you agree?
Yes. I'm really grateful for that in the organisation I work in, because I have the enthusiasm for example, ‘Oh, but why can't we do this way?’ And then I'll get told why not from the people with more experience, and so I'll say, okay, let's flip it. And then I'm still encouraged to think of those new ideas.
Social value is such a niche area because you have very young professionals sitting in very senior meetings as well. And I don't think there's many other professions that have that.
What can people do if there's people listening and they're under 35, they can join you?
You can find us on LinkedIn - Young Professionals in Social Value. We have members all over the country.
If you're over 35, you can help support us through the mentoring scheme. I know that a lot of young professionals have had so much value out of that and so offering to be a mentor is the biggest thing.
How can we help
At Samtaler, we understand the importance of your social value commitment. You’re here because you care about your business's impact on society and want to improve. We want you to succeed, and we know from experience that achieving social value requires skill, strategy, and support.
To find out how we can help, send an email to hello@samtaler.co.uk
