Nonprofit HR’s Blog

The keys to a successful organization are having a compelling mission, a clear strategy that cascades into clear and realistic employee expectations, and an engaged workforce to make it all happen.

Since our recession many organizations have been in panic mode and take employees for granted. They assume employees won’t leave because they have no place to go. Research is showing this is not the case especially for our most engaged and productive employees. They are willing to take the risk and look for employment elsewhere. Their new employers are benefiting.

How are they benefiting?

The 2008-2009 National Workforce Engagement Benchmark Study surveyed 2,368 full and part time workers at least 18 years old, working for public, private and not for profit organizations. Here are some of their findings:

• 96% of fully engaged employees go the extra mile for customers vs. 56% of unengaged employees
• 97% of fully engaged employees will stay for the next 2 years vs. 29% of unengaged employees
• 98% of fully engaged employees are highly motivated to work hard vs. 34% of unengaged
• 92% of fully engaged employees will stay for less money vs. 9% of unengaged employees

How can organizations retain top talent? One way is to focus on organizational engagement from  a Human Capital perspective including key areas such as:  

1. Workforce selection
2. Organizational orientation
3. Training and development
4. Rewards and recognition
5. Performance management
6. Daily satisfaction
7. Work life balance
8. Corporate ethics
9. Diversity
10. Safety

Come join me on October 8th at 10:15 a.m. for the Engage ‘em to Retain ‘em session to reflect on how your organization is engaging employees by completing a survey examining some of the Human Capital areas above and strategize on how you can engage your top talent so you will continue to reap the benefit of their employment.