Pollen Careers - 2025 impact report review
I knew I wanted to read Pollen Careers’ impact report from the moment I met their founder. And it didn’t disappoint – this is one of the best first impact reports I’ve ever read.
At their heart they’re a platform / connector where both sides are facing a big problem that’s keeping them awake at night – young people wanting to land their first job, and businesses recruiting for entry level roles.
👍🏻 Three things I like:
1. THEIR WIN-WIN-WIN BUSINESS MODEL
I love their business model – it’s one of those almost blindingly obvious solutions that makes sense on so many levels. A perfect example of Product-Market-Impact Fit.
On top of the clear commercial business model, their human and inclusive approach is helping businesses do DEI well and helping young people into work. All at a cost that is less than typical agency fees, so making it even more of a no-brainer for businesses.
2. GROUNDED IN DATA
They include data (both theirs and third party) throughout the report, both in relation to the problem they’re addressing, activities and outcomes. External data is referenced.
3. AUTHENTIC & REAL
The whole report feels very real and authentic – case studies, photos and quotes all bring it to life.
❓Three questions it raises:
1. WHAT’S THE CONTEXT?
This report is a great “line in the sand” – what I often recommend you should aim for in a first report.
But I would love to know how it sits in the bigger picture impact journey:
What’s their big hairy audacious goal?
What were their objectives for this past year / period until now and how have they done against them?
They have ambitious clear future plans but what are the specific targets?
2. HOW CAN THEY SCALE IMPACT?
The size of the community (young people looking for work) is way bigger than the number of roles currently available through their employer partners. What are they doing to increase the number of opportunities?
3. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE CHALLENGES?
What hasn’t gone to plan? What have the challenges been? What have they learnt?
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You can read the report for yourself here. Let me know what you think!
If you’re preparing to write your own impact report, you might find my FREE Impact Reporting Roadmap helpful:
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