A Retention Strategy is More Important Than Ever
The people in the nonprofit industry truly make the difference. Effective nonprofit staff possess skills and experience that new hires cannot simply learn overnight. Losing a key staff member can set an organization back considerably or even permanently hurt it if it lacks a plan for succession. Building a proper retention strategy remains an essential feature of any nonprofit strategy. That said, many nonprofits are small and have enough woes concerning finances and programming that developing additional strategies seems daunting. It may be a challenge, but a retention strategy is a long-term investment that can pay off massively as it forms the difference between losing critical staff in difficult times or continuing your work.
Why does a retention strategy matter?
Many nonprofits will lose great talent. Unfortunately, the nonprofit industry experiences significant turnover rates, but it doesn’t have to be that way. So many talented nonprofit professionals leave their starting place to enter larger organizations or even pursue for-profit alternatives. The nonprofit industry is one that generally cannot greatly compensate its staff but nevertheless, asks them to go above and beyond for the mission. A retention strategy is key to avoid pushing staff without any way to keep them on board. Not only are these losses damaging to the talent reservoir of an organization, but it also burdens it with considerable costs. Replacing an employee is far more expensive than retaining one, and additionally, it contributes to internal delays and adjustments. The costs here are many and to name a few, severance, background investigations, interviews, job training, loss of productivity, and even intangible losses such as lost expertise of the former employee. Additionally, it strains your team that remains as they scramble to pick up the missed productivity and work without an important skillset in the office.
How to start building your retention strategy now?
Start with your team
Wondering how you start building your retention strategy? Starting is easy. The people you want to retain are right there as a resource. Ask your team why they are driven to work at the nonprofit and what they hope to achieve. Engage with staff through surveys to provide opportunities or anonymous and authentic responses. Also, offer face-to-face group sessions in order to show your engagement and recognize the feelings of your staff in the first person. Regardless of how you gather information, look for themes across staff responses in order to start considering what they want out in order to be retained.
Use that feedback
The feedback you get from your team on what drives them to work for your organization is a wonderful springboard for building motivation-based strategies, particularly in the nonprofit industry. So many staff members are in the industry because they are excited and committed to your vision. A motivation-based retention strategy can take the form of recognition programs, formal support from their surrounding team/leaders, and detailed positive feedback on their impact on the mission and vision of your organization.
Think value
Greater compensation is always a strong motivator for retention, but as said above, many nonprofits lack the resources to provide this. If you are already running on a shoestring budget, what should you do? Give your staff opportunities to gain valuable and marketable skills by providing training and development resources. Many employees choose to move on and pursue other opportunities because they feel that there is no room for growth in their current role. Many people begin a job with the hope that they can learn and further their abilities. A successful retention strategy provides that opportunity to staff members. So many employees want to build their capacity, and if a position does not offer that opportunity, many choose to move on. Provide your staff with training and education opportunities to support building their skills and a more skilled team. Providing these opportunities will increase job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and elevate employees’ own view of themselves and their growth.
The final note on value is to provide concrete forms of rewards when possible because after all, people are critical to the nonprofit industry. Devoting resources to your staff is an important investment. Days off, raises, bonuses, or rewards for your team are all welcome additions to any retention strategy.
For help with getting through what is undoubtedly a difficult time, NMBL Strategies can help in a variety of ways. Whether it’s building a succession plan, supplying interim leadership, oraiding with development along the way, NMBL is here with experts and resources to help. Reach out to NMBL Strategies today to find out more.
