Time to Turn Over

I  remember as a young woman in St. Louis, MO when springtime was finally showing its colors and the sun was warming the frozen tundra to a balmy 50 degrees. We girls would put on our bathing suits and hit the backyards, greased up with the latest tanning products and every 20 minutes or so, someone would yell, “turnover!!” Those days seem like 100 years ago, and the word “turnover” certainly has a different meaning to me today.

Now I think about turnover rates in the nonprofit sector – probably because I hear about it all the time. Studies are quick to tell us that there is a very serious problem with turnover rates in nonprofits, specifically in development. I agree to some extent, but we should look at two things: first, the days of an employee working at the same company for thirty years, who gets a pension, gold watch and good retirement benefits before he/she leaves, are days gone by. We live in a gig economy and everyone is feeling the ramifications of that evolution. Even nonprofits.

Second, millennials are more prominent in the workforce today than any other generational population. They are accustomed to a speed of life that many Boomers/Gen Xers aren’t. “OK Boomer” has become a mantra coined by Millennials and it speaks to lots of things – including impatience with the speed of Millennials, in every way. That level of impatience is not impertinent – it is because Millennials aren’t satisfied with the status quo – they want more, and they want it sooner. 

I always found success in my fundraising career by thinking like the donor. What would the donor want? How will they react to that campaign? That translates to employees too – what are their needs? How can I give them something special in their experience that might motivate them to stay longer? If you are in your twenties and you are in a job that has no room for growth either in learning or skillset, and no path to internal promotion, what would you do? When I was in my twenties, it would take three to five years to make that decision and that time to find the next opportunity. There was no internet, no LinkedIn, no access to so many opportunities and so much daily temptation.

I am a big fan of Richard Branson’s mentality on taking care of your employees. “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to,” says Branson.

It’s true – take care of your staff – be sure to provide opportunity for growth in every imaginable way – encourage them to advance their skills through seminars and workshops, support their membership in organizations like Association of Fundraising Professionals, Development Executive RoundTable and CASE. Be inclusive when having strategy meetings, and when setting organizational strategy. Treat them like you would want to be treated - with respect and enthusiasm for their potential. 

Lee Caraher writes in her 2017 book The Boomerang Principle, “Applying the Boomerang Principle to your organization helps you turn former employees into an advantage and a footprint enhancer or extender when they become your biggest fans and allies.” She goes on to say that it is “strategically imperative” to the future of the organization.

Will they leave? Sure. But if you take good care of them, they will go out into the world remembering what you taught them and help advance the profession overall, and maybe they’ll come back to you when they are older and wiser and help you bring the nonprofit to a place you never imagined. There is nothing more critical than training future nonprofit leaders who are equipped and motivated to do the same. Let’s perpetuate a culture of pride and excitement about the profession.

 So remember – teach and treat your employees well and feel confident that it’s ok when your employees tell you it’s time to “turnover.” Hand them the sunscreen, wish them well and make sure you stay in touch!