We are all living through an unprecedented time of economic and workforce disruption.
Our column on “help wanted” chronicles the challenges of staffing shortages. These challenges are further illustrated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that more than 4.5 million people quit their jobs this past November (a nearly 9% increase over last October).
Author Tiffany Chelsvig wrote last week that her interpretation of the Great Resignation should, instead, be the Great Re-Evaluation. According to the author’s research:
“We learned that people are looking for more flexibility, whether it’s how they work or where they work. While better pay was still the most popular reason for leaving a job, the possibility of remote work, less stress and better work-life balance were also important motivating factors…
If today’s talent is in the midst of redefining their values, then employers need to follow suit. Now is the time for employers to take a look at their values and ask whether they align with what people need.”
While nonprofit organizations cannot always compete with private sector pay, the nonprofit sector is uniquely positioned to align on values and to create meaning in the work lives of its employees.
“Less stress” and “better work/life balance” were the next reasons after “better pay” cited in the research. There are, certainly, a multitude of reasons why employees are stressed at work or struggle with work-life balance, but some of the issues can be alleviated with the benefit structure.
The following are some of the ideas that we have implemented with our team at Mollard Consulting:
- Continued remote work and flexible work hours to allow employees to best manage their needs and time.
- Paying for professional development that aligns with personal and professional goals.
- Allowing up to four hours per month of paid time for employees to engage in volunteer activities that matter to them.
- Closing on the Fridays prior to Memorial Day and Labor Day to create four-day holiday weekends.
- Adding a day off before or after July 4, depending on how it falls on the calendar, to create a longer holiday break.
- Closing the office between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day so that employees do not have to use PTO during the December holidays.
- Offering insurance benefits for health, dental, vision, and disability, as well as retirement savings, to support wellbeing.
- Providing reimbursements for personal cell phone use and mileage to meetings.
- Subscriptions to professional associations and magazines to support continued learning.
What benefits do your company or organization offer and how has it helped attract and retain talent?
