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The world of nonprofit work has always attracted people who are passionate about a common cause. On Long Island, many nonprofit organizations exist to support needy or underserved populations and address a variety of social issues.
But passion alone can’t pay the bills, and nonprofits often find themselves with high employee turnover, making it difficult to prevent valuable employees from leaving for more lucrative jobs. Some local nonprofits have responded to this problem by honing their staff recruitment and retention strategies.
To fulfill professional responsibilities in a nonprofit organization, recruiters look for highly qualified candidates who are ideologically aligned with the organization. “It is critical to find employees who align with the nonprofit’s vision, mission and core values,” said Kiera Cohen, director of human resources at North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center in Roslyn Heights. “Most nonprofits are focused on serving communities and people in need; candidates will serve as ambassadors for the organization, so they must always express empathy and compassion.”
Of course, it’s not as simple as finding candidates who care. “Sometimes, finding qualified talent in specific areas can be a challenge due to project requirements,” said Lucy Das-Mohan, chief human resources officer for Garden City Homes and Children. “Demands for certain skills often prevent our teams from finding qualified candidates, and limited project budgets limit how competitive we can be in the salaries we offer.”
Das-Mohan addresses these challenges by emphasizing communication. “Our team analyzes our recruiting metrics and continually listens to feedback from recruiting managers and candidates to continue to strengthen our recruiting efforts and build a talented, diverse workforce,” she said.
Competitive labor markets and high regional employment also complicate employee retention at nonprofits. As of the end of last year, the unemployment rate in Nassau and Suffolk counties was only 3.6%.
“Due to changes in the workforce, candidates are often asking for higher wages than nonprofits can offer,” explains Dynaah Letellier-Fanfan, a recruiter at EAC Network in Garden City. “An employee may accept a job but continue to look to the outside job market. If this happens across multiple departments or projects, it can greatly impact those who stay and have to handle the expanded workload. Below The combination of average wages and increased workloads has led to low morale and increased turnover.”
Letellier-Fanfan emphasized the importance of recognizing employees for their hard work and dedication. “When the vast majority of funding comes from grants or government contracts, nonprofit HR teams often have to work within a limited budget,” she said. “However, our culture and how we treat our employees is something we can and should control.” She lists employee recognition programs, mentoring programs and the implementation of a healthy work environment as important components of EAC’s employee retention strategy.
While salaries offered by nonprofits may appear small in comparison, attractive benefits packages are often tailored to ensure employees’ needs are met. “Benefits that nonprofits may seek include generous paid time off policies, flexible work hours, pet insurance, opportunities to work remotely, child care assistance, and tuition discounts or reimbursements,” Letelier-Fanfan said.
Cohen’s approach to employee management is rooted in the philosophy of the organizations she represents. “The mission of our Guidance Center is to restore and strengthen the emotional health of children and families throughout our community. Of course, many of our employees have families of their own, so we do everything we can to foster and support a healthy work-life balance for our employees and achieve Great results,” said Cohen, citing hybrid work-from-home policies as one example.
Given the array of difficulties nonprofits face, some on Long Island are choosing a different approach. Walter Stockton is President and CEO of Kinexion Network, leading an organization dedicated to providing business solutions to nonprofit organizations. As a managed services organization (MSO), Kinexion provides operational support to a network of seven human services agencies on Long Island.
“The MSO model provides back-end functions such as finance, IT, human resources, corporate compliance, procurement, maintenance and logistics, significantly reducing operating costs for all seven affiliates and freeing up internal resources to focus on change Life’s thing mission,” Stockton explained. “All seven nonprofits share resources and benefit from a centralized administrative system rather than competing for employees.”
Stockton said human service nonprofits often experience difficulty retaining staff due to high demand for direct support professionals (DSPs). “DSPs are responsible for providing important daily living supports, including medication administration, meal preparation or transportation, as well as meeting comprehensive social, emotional and psychological needs,” he said.
However, direct support professionals frequently change jobs, often due to budget shortfalls at nonprofits and Medicaid funding that only provides minimum wage. “As a result, nonprofits have experienced high employee turnover over the past 10 years, causing the state’s nonprofits to lose $100.5 million annually,” Stockton said.
While some financing measures have been taken to address this issue, Stockton
Determined to help DSPs raise wages. “My team at Kinexion Network has been actively advocating for New York state legislators to address this funding gap and is currently introducing a proposal in Albany to directly support wage increases,” he said.
For any nonprofit, finding a balance between organizational goals and employee needs is key. “So much of a nonprofit’s work is about ensuring sustainability, from planning to funding, and staff is no exception,” Cohen said. “Nonprofits must operate as a business model, balancing finances and results in the healthiest way possible.”
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