Lead the Modern Nonprofit Workforce By Example

It’s no surprise that the best nonprofit employees are the ones who are thoroughly engaged with their organization. But here’s a question: What does it mean to be engaged—or not engaged or disengaged? According to Gallup, engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection. Not engaged employees are checked out and put neither energy or drive into their work. Disengaged employees undermine the efforts of others. In fact, organizations with a high-employee engagement see up to 65% less turnover than those organizations with low engagement scores, according to Gallup.

The risk of disengaged employees is that their lack of motivation and complacency affects your mission. For example, when a donor or board member interact with a disengaged employee, they can spread a feeling of doubt about your nonprofit’s mission and effectiveness. Further, these employees can also affect your co-workers’ mentality about the organization as well.

Obviously you want to avoid employees who are not engaged or disengaged. In a recent NonProfit PRO webinar, Nina Love, manager of technology solutions of After School Matters, said, “Engaged employees are the ones most likely to drive innovation and growth that their organizations desperately need. Engaged employees are the best colleagues; these people are committed to your work and your mission. They know the scope of their job and, ultimately, the mission. They are 100% psychologically committed to their work.”

Finding ways to improve overall engagement will help drive better organizational outcomes for your nonprofit. Nonprofits with highly engaged employees will experience 21% greater productivity. These employees are your organization’s biggest asset, because they commit to being hard-working employees, making as much impact in their organization as they possibly can. More often than not, engaged employees will work beyond what is expected of them in terms of time and effort. These employees are the top performers at your nonprofit. This is why it’s so critical for your staff members to be engaged; they serve as prime examples, showing others how they can carry out the mission with as much passion and enthusiasm as possible.

You can watch the full webinar, “Reinforcing Mission and Purpose Through Technology,” here.