Four Ways Hiring Managers Attract and Retain Top Talent

Nonprofits can offer employees meaningful and fulfilling employment–they often focus on a shared mission and work to effect positive change. However, statistics show that meaningful employment alone isn’t enough to keep employees in their jobs; according to Forbes.com, more than 45% of nonprofit employees say they’ll leave their current positions in the next few years, and most say they won’t seek a nonprofit position again. 

This means a lot of empty desks for many nonprofit organizations, but it can be avoided if a few changes are made. Keep reading to learn four ways to attract and retain the nonprofit talent your company is looking for.

How to Stabilize Your Organization

There are ways to protect your nonprofit against rapid employee turnover and the stress of having to rehire year after year. The best ways to stabilize your organization are to attract top talent and then work to keep those employees in their jobs. You can do this by:

  1. Raising salary
  2. Committing to diversity, equity, and inclusion
  3. Having a strong mission
  4. Offering job security

Raise Salary 

Effective hiring managers know that offering a competitive salary helps to attract and retain top talent. It’s important to have a competitive package outlined before you start the process. You should also have some wiggle room to negotiate if you find an applicant who is especially suited for the position. Salary negotiations can also include information about bonuses, pay increases and benefits. 

Commit to DEI 

Your organization’s commitment to DEI is very important. Let your applicants know the ways in which your nonprofit encourages diversity and practices equity and inclusion— and how your organization accepts employee feedback and works to implement those suggestions. While a shared mission and a competitive salary is important, celebrating and valuing employees as individuals will go a long way toward keeping them happily contributing in their positions. 

Value Your Mission

Take a closer look at how you present your company’s shared mission. If this is one of the most important factors that binds a nonprofit together, it should be clear to all involved. Your mission statement should be concise. All employees should understand the shared mission, and your organization should publicly celebrate all substantial accomplishments toward that mission. 

Talk About Job Security

Finally, nonprofits should offer job security, especially in the current tumultuous job market. Hiring managers should talk about job security in the interview to highlight the perks of working for an organization that values and wants to hold onto its employees. Talk about your company’s low rate of layoffs. You can also tout your company’s resiliency against economic downturns or other changes that might lead to job loss. Compare your organization’s low layoff rate to other industries or even other nonprofits, depending on what the statistics are. Most people don’t want to change jobs often—prove to them that in your organization, they have a place to grow and develop for years to come.

Contact Careers In Nonprofits Today

Careers In Nonprofits helps nonprofit organizations find and retain elite talent who have the skills for the job and the heart for the mission. Contact us today for a free consultation with one of our nonprofit staffing professionals. 

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