The Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) is funding a King County Nonprofit Employee Engagement Survey and a Wage and Benefits Survey, administered by our partner 501 Commons, to help build stronger nonprofits in King County. The surveys will help nonprofit organizations better understand the array of influences – including wages – which contribute to successful employee recruitment, retention and satisfaction in the nonprofit sector.
501 Commons authored the below blog to share about real obstacles nonprofits in King County are facing and how the King County Nonprofit Employee Engagement and Wage and Benefits Surveys can help.
Participate now in the Employee Engagement survey and Wage and Benefits survey. Both surveys close on July 9, 2021.
Record levels of turnover expected in nonprofits
King County is just recovering from the pandemic and another challenge is overtaking nonprofits – the ‘Turnover Tsunami.’ A Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) website article predicts historic levels of job change. They cite a report that half of North American employees plan to look for a new job in 2021. Other research found that 25% of workers plan to quit their current job once the pandemic resolves.
These numbers are for all sectors, but the bad news is turnover in the nonprofit sector is much higher than in the overall economy. Turnover erodes program results, disrupts operations, causes remaining employees to burn out…and is very expensive.
What can you do?
Ensure your organization has responded to the 501 Commons Wage and Benefits Survey and encourage all nonprofit employees working in organizations serving King County to participate in the Employee Engagement Survey. When the survey results are available in the fall, nonprofits will have access to information that could help set a fair salary based on comparative information from other nonprofits in King County. The Employee Engagement Survey will share factors that can contribute to staff dissatisfaction, such as pay and benefits, how an organization handled COVID-19 or supervisor relationships. These and many more issues related to staff turnover and satisfaction are asked in the Employee Engagement survey.
The data from both surveys will be free and accessible on the 501 Commons website this fall. If more than 5 employees from an organization participate in the Employee Engagement survey, a special report for the organization will be provided. Sign up now to receive the data when it is available.
Hurry, the surveys are closing!
The Wage and Benefits Survey and the Employee Engagement Survey close at midnight on Friday, July 9.
Participate now in the Employee Engagement survey and Wage and Benefits survey.
Why invest your time?
Research reports that half of the 45% of nonprofit employees planning to leave their jobs in the next five years do not plan to look for a job in the nonprofit sector. The nonprofit sector will benefit from attracting and holding onto talented employees. To do that, nonprofits need to understand how their pay and benefits fit within the rest of the nonprofit sector and need to understand the experiences of their employees. The surveys can help do just that – but only if nonprofits of all types and sizes across King County participate.
For more information visit King County Nonprofit Employment Surveys or contact Jenny@501commons.org with questions.
