Why Your People Are Leaving Your Team
Quote of the Day —
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
— Antoine de Saint Exupéry, 1900-1944
One of the largest issues I see in any nonprofit is high turnover. High turnover of volunteers, employees, and board members.
What do they all have in common?
Poor workplace culture.
Mission-driven impact is hard to navigate in today’s dysfunctional political times. Even harder if you’re looking to drive change in conservation or climate. It’s easy to become disheartened when people in positions of power either 1) don’t give a damn and/or 2) actively try and sabotage your work. Eventually, it leads to complacency and a lack of interest in why you originally joined in the first place.
People retention is a top priority for HR leaders. A recent study by Gallagher reveals that 45% of organizations put retaining talent as a top priority for 2025. Moreover, they found 1 in 2 organizations (50%!!!) experienced a turnover rate of 15%. With their participating organizations spanning two dozen industries, it can be said that this is an issue everyone is facing.
Well, what about nonprofits?
AmeriCorps conducted a longitudinal study on volunteerism and found that numbers of volunteers for nonprofit and community-based organizations have declined recently from 30% of the population in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 23% in 2021 (post-pandemic). This is the largest drop in volunteerism since AmeriCorps and the US Census began collecting this data in 2002. It’s the same for donations. When COVID hit, people stopped practicing acts of service to society. After lockdowns were lifted, these numbers just have not resumed to their caliber pre-pandemic.
I believe in “people” retention. That is, putting your "employees" as people first, employees second. Failure in following this process is the foundation of many strategy issues — whether development, implementation, or maintenance. This is because human capital is the most valuable asset any organization has; and without this excited, collaborative asset, problem-solving becomes a circular conversation about the same, inefficient solutions.
As a first-generation student, I’ve witnessed this circular conversation in many rooms I’ve entered. Many offered solutions that begin and end with “create an oversight group to figure out how we can do xyz” where xyz is the end goal. Why do so many of these solutions create more problems? This is one example of how failure to implement unique perspectives will limit mission-driven impact. Developing a diverse, people-first culture is key to nurturing a supportive workplace community to maximize productivity in the long term.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to understand this philosophy before you can strategize any type of retention at your organization.
I’m not going to talk about people retention pre-pandemic. The world is a different place now, and organizations need new strategies to combat the string of consequences COVID-19 has inflicted on us all.
Developing a diverse, people-first culture is key to nurturing a supportive workplace community to maximize productivity in the long term.
So what strategies have nonprofits employed to keep their people post-pandemic? According to the Nonprofit Workforce Survey by the National Council of Nonprofits:
66% of nonprofits raised salaries and 57.7% implemented a remote work policy in their organization
40.9% of nonprofits provided more benefits to their employees, 39.3% awarded one-time bonuses, and 39.2% implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings and strategies
other notable strategies include expanding mental health benefits, notifying their eligibility in the Public Service Loan forgiveness program, and offering more career advancement opportunities
The consequences when viable strategies aren’t implemented are severe. When nonprofits can’t hire enough people and retain them, the public suffers. data from this survey highlights how increased demands for services without enough people tending to them results in longer waiting lists, reduced services, and all-together elimination of services. Many communities, especially those already underserved with limited resources, lose access to food, shelter, mental health care, and other vital services people depend on.
One survey respondent (budget: $5.1 - $10 million, employee count: 26 - 75) provides insight: “We try to stay competitive in our pay practices within the non-profit sector, but in order to compete against for profit companies, we focus on non-compensation strategies. We have generous PTO, increased trainings and professional development, flexibility, and compassion. Because of COVID, we’ve been struggling to make these benefits more visible and available.”
Having a people-first mindset when hiring, managing, and ultimately retaining your team will be your golden goose. Since COVID, everyone is mentally fatigued. We’re tired of being being tired. And many of us want to just be treated as a human being, not a productivity machine.
Ready to say #NoMoreBottlenecks? Check out my free resources for nonprofit organizations at luneaera.com.