Strategy & Advisory HR Outsourcing Total Rewards Equity,Diversity,Inclusion & Justice Retained Search & Recruitment Outsourcing

EAST COAST

202.785.2060

WEST COAST

650.331.3252
  • About
  • Blog
  • Our Clients
  • Services
  • Sector Insights
  • Events
  • Contact

Home

Trusted Since 2000

Social Impact Organizations

Full Lifecycle Talent…

Results-Oriented, Values-Led

Creating Just Workplaces

Feature News Story:

Feature News Story:

WTOP: 5 ways nonprofits can…

Read more

Partnering With the Social Sector Since 2000

Nonprofit HR is the country’s leading and oldest firm focused exclusively on the talent management needs of the social sector, including nonprofits, associations, social enterprises and other mission-driven organizations.

Blog

TRAUMA SHOWING UP…

CHOOSING AN HR…

A GUIDE TO…

BEYOND LINKEDIN AND…

SHIFTING CULTURE AND…

FEATURE INSIGHT

FEATURE INSIGHT

Why Your Organization’s…

By Dr. Rachael Forester and…

Read more

Our Client

equity-in-your-organizations-total-rewards-program

client-feature-an-interview-with-storycorps

sita-client-feature-an-interview-with-redf

Client Feature Stories

At Nonprofit HR, we listen intently to our clients and our thought partnership, expertise and approach equips them to create workplaces that attract, develop, engage and retain high performing talent. From education to healthcare, advocacy, environmental and community development, our clients are addressing some of the biggest challenges in society.

Services

Strategy & Advisory

HR Outsourcing

Total Rewards

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion…

Search

Feature Insight

Feature Insight

Case Study of Client Solution:

See how we partnered…

Read more

Delivering Stellar Results with Every Engagement

We listen, advise and help your organization advance mission impact through your people

Looking for a thought partner? Schedule a mini-consult with our solutions experts!

Sector Insights

Sector-Specific Data

For Client Solutions

Customized Trainings

Webinar Recordings

Sector Influencers

Knowledge & Research at Your Fingertips

From culture management to harassment prevention to diversity, equity and inclusion, Nonprofit HR provides the needed knowledge and insights for your organization to best support your people.

Featured Insight: 2023 DEIJ Survey Results! Access data now.

Events

Upcoming Event

Upcoming Event

Read more

Engage with Us Virtually & In-Person

Nonprofit HR hosts dynamic educational, networking and collaboration events designed to explore the critical talent and culture issues facing the nonprofit sector.

Learn from our Strategy & Advisory consultants during Three Things Your Organization’s HR Assessment Should Reveal. See more information and how to register for this webinar.

See other future events!

Contact

Washington DC Office

1441 L Street NR, Suite 620 Washington, D.C. 20005

info@nonprofithr.com
202.785.2060

West Coast Office

201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105

info@nonprofithr.com
650.331.3252

Need a Thought Partner for your People Management Needs?

Secure the talent management support your organization needs to achieve its goals with our HR experts. Our consultants are backed by more than 20 years of social sector expertise and understand the unique needs of associations, foundations and other social impact organizations.

Get started now!
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Meet The Nonprofit HR Team
    • What We Do
    • Official Diversity Statement
  • Newsroom
  • Blog
  • Missions We Serve
  • Services
    • Strategy & Advisory Services
    • HR Outsourcing
    • Total Rewards
    • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Justice
    • Retained Search & Recruitment Outsourcing
  • Sector Insights
  • Events
  • Career Center
  • Contact

2017 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey

Interactive Data Portal

The Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey has been the leading source of data on nonprofit employment, talent and culture since 2007 and is trusted by human resources professionals and nonprofit leaders alike.

This Interactive Data Portal is intended to provide a snapshot of key findings on current employment practices and the economic implications of employment in the nonprofit sector in 2017.

Click “EXPLORE” or simply start scrolling to begin viewing 2017’s key takeaways.

Helpful tips for interacting with the data:

  1. Click the “Next” button at the end of each section to jump between sections
  2. The Interactive Data Portal is best viewed from a desktop computer using Google Chrome.
  3. If you wish to save a graph, select download > image (rather than PDF) for the best experience.
  4. Hover or click over each bar or datapoint to see more details. You can also sort many of the graphs in different ways by clicking the axis and choosing one of the available sort icons.
Explore

Nonprofit hiring remains healthy this year.

50% of nonprofits report they anticipate increasing staff size in 2017. This is the third straight year during which a majority of nonprofits reported plans to increase their staff size.

Next

Nonprofits have been hiring more aggressively than for-profits and will continue to do so in 2017. However, the gap is narrowing.

The percentage of nonprofits that plan to hire shrunk 7 percentage points between 2016 and 2017. Meanwhile, the corporate hiring outlook is the best it has been in a decade and grew 4 percentage points between 2016 and 2017. This shift is due at least in part to the growth of social enterprise and purpose-driven business.

Next

Yet nonprofits are not improving their talent and culture practices in order to keep up with the competition and advance their missions. For example, consider current practices related to recruitment strategy.

64% of nonprofits have no formal recruitment strategy. Without such a strategy, competing for top talent is more difficult today than ever.

Next

Unfortunately, this trend is moving in the wrong direction.

Fewer nonprofits reported that they had a formal recruitment strategy in 2017 than in 2016 or 2015.

Next

Most organizations (81%) also lack a formal retention strategy.

That’s equally problematic, because as corporate hiring continues to heat up and social enterprises and purpose-driven businesses continue to grow, mission-driven talent has more options than ever before. If nonprofit employers don’t put in a concerted effort to retain their top performers, those employees are likely to look elsewhere.

Next

Many nonprofits fare only slightly better when it comes to strategies and programs for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Despite the fact that nonprofit leaders ranked diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as their top talent management priority in the beginning of 2017,* 52% of respondents to this survey reported they do not have a DEI strategy. Our country’s current political climate has made it more necessary than ever for employers to advance their DEI practices and take a firm stance on building inclusive work environments. Nonprofits must take the lead.

*Based on data from Nonprofit HR’s 2017 Nonprofit Talent Management Priorities Survey, January 2017

Next

Without recruitment, retention, DEI and other talent and culture strategies in place, nonprofits continue to face familiar talent challenges.

Hiring qualified staff, maintaining salary budgets against market pressures and finding qualified staff all ranked in the top three greatest talent challenges for the last several years during which this survey was conducted.

Next

So what can your organization do?

If you hope to continue to advance your nonprofit’s mission in the face of growing competition from the for-profit sector, changes in government support, shifts in funding and other challenges, it’s time to take action. Consider these steps.

[fusion_counters_box columns=”3″ color=”#245302″ title_size=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_top=”” body_color=”” body_size=”” border_color=”” animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””][fusion_counter_box value=”1″ delimiter=”” unit=”” unit_pos=”suffix” icon=”” direction=”up”]Develop talent acquisition, retention and DEI strategies.[/fusion_counter_box][fusion_counter_box value=”2″ delimiter=”” unit=”” unit_pos=”suffix” icon=”” direction=”up”]Align your talent strategies with your organization’s strategic plan.[/fusion_counter_box][fusion_counter_box value=”3″ delimiter=”” unit=”” unit_pos=”suffix” icon=”” direction=”up”]Advocate for an increased investment in nonprofit talent.[/fusion_counter_box][/fusion_counters_box]

If your nonprofit hopes to keep up with increasing competition for talent, you must make the appropriate financial resources available to support your people. Less than 1% of nonprofit funding has historically gone toward supporting nonprofit talent and only 0.03% ($450M) of the sector’s $1.5 trillion annual spending has been allocated to leadership development. Show your leadership, board and funders these data and discuss what you can do together to begin to drive change.

[fusion_counters_box columns=”1″ color=”#245302″ title_size=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_top=”” body_color=”” body_size=”” border_color=”” animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””][fusion_counter_box value=”4″ delimiter=”” unit=”” unit_pos=”suffix” icon=”” direction=”up”]Understand where your organization stands on talent and culture in comparison to other nonprofits and choose 1-2 areas in which you can work to improve over the next year.[/fusion_counter_box][/fusion_counters_box]

Read on for more data that can help.

Next

Health was the sub-sector most likely to report the presence of a recruitment strategy in 2017, likely because many organizations in that sub-sector have high-volume staffing needs.

Do a large percentage of organizations in your sub-sector have a recruitment strategy in place? Talk to your peers to learn what’s working well for them before developing your strategy.

Next

As in past years, direct services was the most challenged with retention of all functional areas.

Program management and fundraising came in second and third, respectively, as the hardest functional areas for organizations to retain in 2017.

Next

Arts, Culture and Humanities organizations were most likely to have a DEI strategy or program in place in 2017, while education and research organizations were least likely.

DEI is an area no organization can afford to overlook in 2017. According to research from McKinsey, gender-diverse organizations are 15% more likely to outperform their peers than non-diverse organizations and ethnically-diverse organizations are 35% more likely to do the same.

Next

When asked about their greatest diversity challenge, a majority of nonprofits chose balancing ethnic/cultural diversity.

Retaining younger staff (those under 30) fell close behind. What is your organization doing to address that challenge?

Next

Of course, recruitment, retention and DEI strategies are not the only elements of a strong approach to talent and culture. Your organization should also consider current social sector benchmarks for things like onboarding, turnover, talent budgets, succession and more in order to find new areas in which you can improve. Let’s turn to onboarding.

In 2017, 63% of nonprofits reported they have a formal onboarding/orientation process and 31% reported they have an informal process. This is one area where the sector is quite strong, and it is important because onboarding sets the tone for an employee’s experience at your organization.

Next

Fortunately, only 11% of organizations said they expected their turnover rate to increase in 2017.

However, a majority (59%) expected turnover rates to hold steady. Working to decrease turnover is an important goal for nonprofit human resources departments as well as any nonprofit leader who is concerned with long-term sustainability.

Next

A plurality (18%) of organizations allocate 30-39% of their total operating budget to salaries.

Salary budgets are growing slowly, but many nonprofits still struggle to offer competitive compensation. When planning your salary budget, remember: people are not overhead.

Next

Salaries are not the only piece of the talent and culture puzzle that should have their own formal budget.

Recruitment, retention, learning & development, diversity and other areas should all have defined budgets as well. However, 71% of nonprofits reported they have no formal recruitment budget.

Next

Does your organization have an employment brand or employment branding process? A majority of nonprofits do not, despite the important role brand plays in attracting top talent.

Consider how you can leverage your social brand and mission to attract the people your organization needs to achieve its goals.

Next

33% of nonprofits reported they use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or CRM in 2017.

An ATS or CRM can make talent acquisition far more efficient and improve the candidate experience. Can you make upgrading your organization’s technology a priority in the year ahead?

Next

40% of nonprofits indicated they had a succession plan in place to replace senior leadership in 2017.

With baby boomers aging out of the workforce, succession planning is more critical than ever. Is your organization prepared for the future?

Next

Survey Respondent Details

About the Survey

About the Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey

The 2017 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey is intended to provide a snapshot of current employment practices and discuss the economic trends and implications of employment practices in the nonprofit sector. This report, which has been produced annually by Nonprofit HR since 2007, includes responses from 420 nonprofits in the U.S. and Canada that serve as a representative sample of the makeup of the sector. In this year’s survey, as in years past, researchers collected information on nonprofit staffing, recruitment, and retention practices. The survey included a mix of multiple choice, rating scale, and short-answer questions to gain context on the current practices of nonprofit organizations and the employment trends they see in the nonprofit sector. The 2017 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey was produced with support from GuideStar and The Improve Group.

About Nonprofit HR

Nonprofit HR is the nation’s leading human resources firm that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Since 2000, the firm has provided human resources consulting, executive search and talent acquisition services for organizations supporting advocacy, health and human services, arts and culture, education, the environment, the faith community and more. Nonprofit HR has offices in Washington D.C. and Chicago. Download the Infographic Additional instructions for downloading infographic PDF: First, click download above. The infographic PDF will then appear in your browser. Click the right arrow in the top of your browser and then choose “save as” to save it locally to your computer. This process varies browser to browser. For the best experience, please use Google Chrome. See instructions for other browsers here.

Nonprofit HR is the leading human resources firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector.

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Clients we serve
  • Newsroom

Services

  • Strategy & Advisory
  • HR Outsourcing
  • Total Rewards
  • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice
  • Search

Sector Insights

  • Events
  • Career Center
  • Contact Us
  • The Switch Podcast
  • Nonprofit HR’s Official Diversity Statement

EAST COAST

202.785.2060

WEST COAST

650.331.3252

Copyright Nonprofit HR Solutions, LLC 2023. All rights reserved