Nonprofits Have an Advantage During the Great Resignation – If You Choose to Wield It
2020 has given us new perspective on our lives, on work and what we want out of both. We were living within a social contract that, looking back, was not allowing us to flourish in a number of ways. Many of us have reprioritized what’s important and established new expectations around work-life balance and our experience in the workplace.
Anticipating a large number of people quitting their existing jobs as we emerge from the crisis Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School has coined the phrase the great resignation. And while there’s debate about how vast the trend of employees resigning from current jobs will be, new data does suggest that “Resignation rates are heating up, signaling high risk of turnover for summer 2021.” (“’The Great Resignation’ Migration and What This Means for Your Career,” Bryan Robinson, Forbes)
Regardless of how expansive the great resignation turns out to be, if you want to attract, hire and retain great talent in this new reality it will serve you well to foster the transformation employees expect in our social contract. Yes, employees are looking for more flexibility and work life balance. They are also seeking more purpose in their work including more opportunities for growth and a more compelling reason for spending time in the workplace.
The great news is that, in my opinion, the nonprofit sector is actually well positioned to be competitive in attracting talent in this tough market if we effectively wield a couple of key differentiators:
You’re already mission-driven; a sense of purpose is inherent in the work of nonprofit organizations. However, nonprofits sometimes fall into a trap of assuming that the appeal of your mission is intriguing enough. That theory can fail if your work is not laser focused on your mission, your vision is not clear and universally shared or if every employee does not feel their work directly impacts that mission. Make sure everyone who works for you or everyone you would like to recruit to work for you can “see” your vision and understands how their role allows you to serve more and serve more effectively.
You’re probably not entrenched in a corporate mindset with the limitations of an overly bureaucratic structure. You may not have the highest pay scale, but you can offer direct relationships with and access to leadership, more agency for each employee around their work, close mentorship, professional networking and other valuable benefits that support employee’s personal goals and grow their professional trajectory.
Nonprofits frequently have highly relational cultures. Caring for your team can extend to supporting their lives as both employees and as members of the larger community. Put your culture of care in practice by supporting flexible work hours, hybrid workplaces, generous PTO with flexible structures, support for those caring for loved ones, and enhanced mental health and wellness benefits.
Growth and learning opportunities abound in the nonprofit world. Often, employees organically take on more responsibility or learn something new to help the organization. This increased workload and enhanced skills do not, however, commonly come with a promotion, raise or budget for formal training or instruction – all of which can lead to resentment, burn-out or employees wearing a ton of hats and not feeling skilled to handle them all. That is when you lose your best people. Avoid this problem: budget for training and conduct a role and compensation review every two years. Anyone who has taken on more responsibility is adding more value to the organization and should be compensated appropriately. Their job description should be updated to reflect the role they fill. You don’t have to bloat or complicate your organizational structure to with layers of titles but you do need to acknowledge and fairly compensate your team members. While you can’t promise a promotion every year you can promise great growth and influence on the organization.
Both the mission-driven and relationship-centric facets of nonprofits organizations are cornerstones of wonderful workplace cultures. However, when taken for granted those cultures can become as toxic or unmotivating as in any other company. Nurture a culture that compels people to join your team and gives them a reason to stay.
Nonprofits also have some low hanging fruit when it comes to restructuring compensation. The sector has long been behind in paying competitive wages. This is the time to take a hard look at your compensation structure and start to invest in your employees and their compensation as well as live into your commitment to equitable pay. It is far more cost effective to invest in and keep great talent than to pay the high costs of turnover or live with mediocrity.
Nonprofits are in an advantageous position to restructure the workplace, provide flexibility and work-life balance; you have a competitive edge in the talent market if you choose to leverage it. Reset your organizational mindset to focus on how you ensure your employees can lead the lives they want so they can best impact the lives of those you serve. When you focus on serving your team so they can serve your community you will be in the position to ride out this great resignation and build a sustainable, competitive organization.