A nonprofit employee is a valuable team member. They are people who care, not just about their jobs, but about the mission they’ve invested in, their community, and the role they play in making things better. The most successful nonprofits take care of their people by cultivating employee engagement.

An engaged nonprofit staff can bring positive change to the whole organization by lowering turnover rates and increasing employee involvement in the community. A recent Opportunity Knocks report explains that engaged employees are “typically more satisfied, more productive, and less likely to leave the employer to seek other employment.”

Realizing these benefits requires a plan for engagement. That’s why we’ve outlined seven of the best practices to better engage your nonprofit staff.

1. Conduct a Thorough Staff Onboarding Process

A more engaged onboarding process will help new hires get through the early days of the job as they get more acquainted with the organization.

Mission Box, an organization that focuses on communication and collaboration, breaks the onboarding process into four categories: before the first day, during the first day, the first week, and the first month and beyond. Each category comes with its own set of responsibilities and checkpoints that engage the employee while also moving the process along smoothly. Here are examples from Mission Box:

• Send all paperwork to the employee prior to their start date so that their first time in the office can be dedicated to more engaging, personal work.

• Have their workspace cleaned and ready for them by their first day (assuming, of course, that they will work in-person).

• A working lunch or welcome breakfast on day one helps introduce the new hire to the staff and key leaders. This can even be done virtually.

• At the end of the first week, assign a more seasoned “buddy” on staff that can answer any questions or help guide them along the way.

• By the end of the first month, ensure employees know the staff, their own role, and any training or development programs.

• Check in after three months, once the employee has had enough time to get settled.

Executive directors should monitor and evaluate the onboarding process to make sure it meets its expected goals. Recent additions to the staff and their supervisors can provide feedback on the process, pointing out what has worked and what hasn’t.

2. Create a Staff Recognition Program

Staff recognition is critical for keeping great people within an organization. Employees who don’t feel recognized are twice as likely to look for new jobs, and over a third of employees who feel unrecognized leave their jobs within a year.

Occasional, impromptu recognitions are a great place to start, but they can often slip through the cracks. Organizations find more success when they implement a specific recognition program to keep appreciation a priority.

The program can consist of simple, low-budget practices. No one on the team is expecting a parade thrown in their honor. They just want to know that the organization recognizes their work. Here are some easily implementable ideas:

• Personalized thank you letters from supervisors

• Monthly email shoutouts in an internal newsletter

• A dedicated time in meetings for kudos and recognition

Organizations can also push themselves beyond these simple concepts and really let their creativity shine. LinkedIn recently highlighted a few unique ideas, including a recognition wall where peers could honor one another and video messages from board members.

Red Velvet Events got particularly unique by giving away a red-haired troll doll every month to an outstanding employee. It became a trophy-like piece around the office that team members started aspiring for. Whatever recognition program your nonprofit implements, making it personal and specific to your organization’s staff will help it succeed.

3. Discuss Values Monthly

Many staff members join nonprofits because they care about the values of the organization. As they do their job, they want to see how their work contributes to those values.

Other industries have already caught onto this. For-profit companies found that linking recognition programs with the core values is a great way to recognize effort and build a stronger bond with the organization.

According to one survey, 88% of organizations that tied employee recognition to core values said their programs helped instill and reinforce those values, compared to 57% among organizations that did not have that linkage.

Additionally, 80% of organizations that linked recognition and values said the programs helped maintain a strong employer brand, compared to just 49% without those ties.

Nonprofit organizations can follow the lead of these companies to promote employee engagement. Monthly staff meetings can be a great place to incorporate this. There, the team can easily highlight how others are living out the organization's values.

There are a number of other ways to link recognition programs with core values, too. Some organizations require a person nominating an employee for recognition to cite examples of how the person fulfilled the organization's values. Others might highlight a specific value each month and reward employees whose work especially reflects that value. Some also tie their organization's values into a formal performance review process. Any of these methods will work as long as employees feel the nonprofit recognizes their efforts to live out the core values.

Read our blog article on values if you’d like to learn more about how to create and implement them at your nonprofit.

4. Consistently Strengthen Compensation and Benefits

Getting compensation and benefits correct is one of the most critical elements to staff engagement. Organizations looking to get ahead in this area can regularly evaluate their compensation plans and compare them to other, similar organizations.

Here are resources to find out what compensation ranges may apply to your organization:

• Candid’s 2021 Nonprofit Compensation Report

• Nonprofit Compensation Associate’s’ 2021 Survey

• The National Council of Nonprofits Compensation article

Organizations can also consider how compensation extends beyond salaries. Offering other perks like flexible work hours, access to professional training programs, extended paid time off, and other creative solutions can make employees feel engaged, even if the money is slightly less. None of these will completely replace a competitive salary, but they may help balance areas when certain dollar figures can’t be reached.

5. Deliver a Professional Development Program

Investing in a professional development program will equip your organization’s staff with the necessary resources to grow in their roles and improve their skills. The organization will reap the benefits of more specialized staff members.

Some popular nonprofit professional development opportunities include:

• Free virtual trainings

• Lunch and learns

• Apprenticeship and shadowing opportunities with supervisors

• Formal courses or certificate programs

• Management opportunities with junior staff

The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance provides many other ideas to develop your professional development program.

6. Engage the Staff in Strategic Planning

The Opportunities Knocks report referenced earlier shows that employee participation in decision-making activities positively affects employee engagement. Employees feel encouraged that their input matters to the organization and see themselves as important contributors to success. Since strategic planning is so essential to any organization’s success, strategic planning is a great place to engage your employees.

Involving staff in regular strategic planning initiatives will show employees that their input matters to the organization at a high level, which can in turn make them more connected to the mission.

You can engage your staff in the organizational assessment, at a planning retreat, and in the ongoing execution of the plan. The Opportunity Knocks report references a few additional ways to enhance engagement in the planning process, including:

• Cultivating a culture of creativity and innovation

• Being transparent

• Looking for and addressing areas of disengagement

7. Implement a Real-time Performance Management Process

Performance management plays a crucial role in employee engagement. Receiving feedback, both positive and constructive, lets staff know their efforts are seen, and it gives them insight into how they’re doing on the job.

Traditionally, performance evaluations happen on a scheduled basis, which can create extra work, especially for executive directors who are already overwhelmed. That’s why real-time performance management has recently become a popular trend in nonprofits.

Real-time performance management is all about establishing, monitoring, and evaluating specific success criteria on an ongoing basis. The key is to select specific, measurable metrics that align with the organization's goals.

According to Bloomerang, researchers often use the example of losing weight to illustrate this concept with calorie counts acting as the metric and weight loss as the overall goal. When the dieter decides to go out to eat, having clear, measurable metrics in front of them (the calorie count) will affect their order. Their theoretical weightloss supervisor could then ask about their calorie intake and see whether it aligns with the overall goal of losing weight.

Nonprofit leaders can set and measure these kinds of accessible and reliable metrics. The specific data will help staff identify and set measurable goals, provide clarity, and increase engagement.

Closing Thoughts

Improving employee engagement can lead to other positive changes in your organization. More engaged employees tend to stay with the nonprofit longer, work with greater productivity, and remain loyal to the organization’s mission.

Implementing these seven practices will help you better engage your staff and empower your workers and organization as a whole.