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Sep 05

Our 2023 survey reveals many nonprofit employees continue to struggle with challenges

By Feature

As a local nonprofit veteran put it, COVID-19, inflation, and organizational flaws all contribute to an inability to thrive in the sector

(This is the first of a two-part article series based on our recent “How Are You Doing?” survey).

With more than three years passing since the outbreak of COVID-19, Charitable Advisors’ Not-for-profit News decided to revisit the survey question we asked of Central Indiana nonprofit employees in 2020: “How are you doing?”

Of the 366 survey respondents, 38.5 percent said that they are feeling “Upbeat and positive about the future.” However, 14 percent said that “Not good, hard to get through the day” was a more accurate definition of how they’re feeling in 2023. And the majority — 47.5 percent said their mindset is “Acceptable, getting by.”

More significantly, 21.5 percent said that they are “doing worse” than they were two years ago — at the height of the turmoil caused by the pandemic and social justice protests. The remaining respondents were evenly split between the choices “Doing better” (40.4 percent) and “About the same” (38 percent).

Some of these varying sentiments were conveyed by a survey respondent who has been working in the nonprofit sector for nearly 20 years. The past several years have been so challenging, she said, that she is planning to leave her organization.

“The nonprofit world is near and dear to my heart,” the survey respondent said during an interview in which she requested anonymity. “But the last three to four years have been so rough in our agency that I am currently looking to leave.”

The main reason? Leadership, said the survey respondent, who described the need for a leadership team that is positive, genuine, trustworthy, diverse in any area, puts aside pride and sets a good example.

“I believe COVID exposed problem areas,” she said. “When there is denial of the root cause, there cannot be correction to the path.”

However, she also pointed to external factors that have contributed to her dissatisfaction with working in the nonprofit sector.

“Overall, as a sector, it is worse due to staffing shortages and the quantity/higher needs of clients,” she said. “Inflation plays a role as well. For the most part, non-for-profit careers are not high paying.”

With the rising costs of living, brought on by inflation, nonprofit organizations have been struggling with fundraising while, at the same time, facing an increased need for services from people who need assistance, she said.

“It has been a constant drain,” she said.

Another anonymous survey respondent shared similar concerns, particularly from the perspective of expanding job demands, particularly for those who work for community foundations.

“I’ve been in the nonprofit sector for almost a decade, and this has by far been my hardest role,” the survey respondent said. “In the past, I’ve been told the workload ebbed and flowed around grant cycles, but since I’ve been here it’s felt more like climbing a constant mountain and never reaching the peak.”

Much of the increased demands can be attributed to the changing role of community foundations, she said.

“As community foundations move away from being ‘just a funder’ and into more leading/convening spaces surrounding community leadership, it requires much more from the staff than grant/scholarship review and coordination,” she said. “We are now required to have other sets of skills like strategic planning, coalition facilitation, capacity building, collective impact, research, and evaluation. We also will never have enough funding for all the needs in our community, so having the skills and emotional intelligence to navigate those hard conversations and situations as well as the IQ to piece together other opportunities or support from the foundation is crucial and required.

There’s a real feeling of having to be ‘on’ all the time, she said, including knowing the pulse of the community, understanding the needs of every nonprofit, connecting with various sectors in the community, attending evening and weekend events, and being available for emails and phone calls throughout the day.

Overall, the survey revealed that 36 percent of Central Indiana’s nonprofit employees feel “excellent or very good” about finding purpose in their work, while 45 percent rated it as “pretty good.” However, 18.3 percent said that they were no longer connecting to a purpose in their work.

Aug 21

Understanding burnout and its impact on employees

By Sponsor Insight

by Christy Frazier Shepard, managing partner, Planning Plus, LLC

According to a recent survey, burnout is on the rise globally, but particularly in the United States. The Future Forum Pulse survey revealed that burnout among the workforce rose by 8 percent globally and by 16 percent in the United States between May 2022 and August 2022. The rates were higher among middle managers.

With rising rates of employees reporting symptoms of burnout, organization leaders have been grappling with how to address the syndrome in the workplace. One good place to start is by gaining a deeper understanding of burnout.

What is burnout?

Burnout can be difficult to describe. However, it’s not a medical condition. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, burnout is defined as “physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance and negative attitudes towards oneself and others.”

Often, people do not know they’ve reached burnout until they cross the line between “really tired” and “too exhausted to function.” Other people might be the type of personality who likes to stay busy and might not recognize when they are doing too much. Burnout also happens when work-life balance gets too far out of sync. With the rise in remote work and technology in most aspects of our daily lives, this out-of-sync balance has been a common occurrence in the last few years.

The difference between burnout and stress?

While often used interchangeably, burnout and stress are not the same thing. Depending on your personality and DISC behavior type, you may react positively to stress. Some team members find that small amounts of stress help them feel more productive and motivated.

According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, stress is defined as “a normal reaction to everyday pressures but can become unhealthy when it upsets your day-to-day functioning. Stress involves changes affecting nearly every system of the body, influencing how people feel and behave.”

While the benefits or detriments of slight stress vary from person to person, burnout is exclusively detrimental. Too much pressure and chronic stress can lead to burnout. These cases occur when someone has been so worn down by stress that you feel — as the name suggests — burned out.

Like stress, burnout manifests differently, depending on the person. Even though we commonly associate burnout with emotional exhaustion, it can impact all areas of your life — including your physical health.

Signs of burnout

Common causes of burnout?

Like the various signs of burnout, there are a variety of burnout causes. In general, each cause leads to a central tipping point: When work-related stress or pressure becomes too much or goes on for too long, it can lead to burnout.

You may be at risk of burnout if there is:

  • Little to no control over your workload.
  • Little to no recognition of a job well done.
  • Unclear job expectations.
  • Unreasonable or overly demanding job expectations.
  • High-pressure work environments.
  • Too much work — specifically when it leads to less time to do the things you enjoy outside of work.

How to prevent burnout on your team

One of the most impactful things you can do as a manager is support your team and recognize burnout before it happens. It’s much easier to prevent burnout than to fix it once it’s already happening — by the time you notice burnout, it’s hard to reverse. Instead, be proactive about your team’s workload.

  • Frequently checking in on their capacity and resource management to get ahead of burnout and ensure team members aren’t overwhelmed.
  • Workload management tools give you a bird’s-eye view of everyone’s tasks in one place. That way, you can get a sense of if anyone is overloaded and redistribute that work if necessary.
  • Create realistic and attainable goals. Figuring out how a task contributes to a bigger initiative can take mental energy.
  • Mapping out a clear set of goals for your team to work towards can reduce confusion or overwork.
  • Schedule weekly or biweekly 1:1 meeting with team members to check in on priorities, capacity, and other questions they might have.

Reverse burnout

There are several strategies you can use to reverse burnout. The one that works best for you depends on your situation and personality. Try implementing these strategies in combination with one another for the best results.

  • Scheduling breaks. Burnout happens because you’ve been too stressed for too long. You likely have a lot of work to get done and may be feeling a lot of pressure to do it. To start pushing back against burnout, schedule breaks throughout the day.
  • Setting boundaries. All the causes of burnout have one thing in common: external pressure. One of the best ways to reverse burnout is to set boundaries for yourself. Choose a time to log off from work every evening.
  • Taking time off (if you can). This might not be an option for you straightaway but taking time off is a great way to relax and recharge. Even if you only take a day or half day away from work, this is a chance to seek work-life balance. When you do take time off, make sure to confirm with your supervisor that you’ll be offline and unavailable.
  • Take care of yourself. Often, burnout happens because we are dedicating too much of ourselves to our work. Take time for self-care. Make sure you are getting enough sleep and spending time with friends or family. Try introducing mindfulness into your day through things like yoga or meditation. This can help you combat stressors and increase wellness.

Build resilience

Burnout can happen to anyone, and just because you beat burnout once doesn’t mean it can’t creep up on you again. Here are some steps to developing resilience.

  • Build your work relationships. Many times, burnout can happen when you are isolated at work while simultaneously being under a lot of pressure. One way to build resilience against future burnout is to build and foster your work relationships. When pressure starts to mount, you have colleagues that can provide support and assistance to address the stress before it becomes burnout. You are not in this alone.
  • Align work with performance goals. Aligning work with goals means you’ll have a clear sense of why your work matters. When you understand how the work you are engaged in is contributing to the bigger picture and strategic plan, it is easier to understand and prioritize projects and tasks, even when the pressure starts to build. If you must change direction or reprioritize, you can effectively prioritize your most important tasks without worrying you won’t hit your goals.
  • Balance your work life with your personal life. In addition to getting enough sleep and connecting with loved ones, make sure you’re dedicating time to your interests outside of work. Do things you enjoy, whether that’s reading a book, seeing friends, being creative, doing a sport, or something else. Think of it like diversifying your investments—but in this case, you’re investing in your interests.

From burnout to balance

Burnout can fly under the radar. Given enough time, these symptoms can build up and impact the well-being of your team members. The best way to ensure your co-workers aren’t burning out is to spot it before it happens. That’s where workload management comes in.

Jun 26

Mental health is today’s workplace priority

By Feature, Mental Health

by Shari Finnell, editor/writer, Not-for-profit News

The impact of mental health challenges in the workplace is becoming increasingly clear.

According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, 59 percent of all employees surveyed reported experiencing negative impacts of work-related stress in the previous month. Another international report calculated the financial toll of depression, anxiety, and stress on the global economy at $1 trillion.

Other studies point to similar patterns related to mental health:

  • 92 percent of employees said they experienced mental health challenges that impacted their work. — 2022 Workplace Survey
  • 76 percent of U.S. employees reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition. — Mind Share Partners
  • 84 percent of employees said that their workplace conditions contributed to a least one mental health condition — Mind Share Partners

These trends prompted our team at Not-for-profit News to dedicate two months of our weekly features to the topic of mental health. As the U.S. Surgeon General recently indicated in a new report, we believe employers will increasingly be at the forefront of addressing the mental health needs of Americans.

We have compiled a list of resources and articles published in May and June to support your work toward supporting the health and well-being of you and your employees. You can regularly visit Focus on Mental Health as a reference.

Some of the leading articles in this two-month series included the following:

Is your nonprofit suffering the effects of secondary trauma?
9 steps toward staff ‘self-care’ policies
New certification program encourages Indiana employers to develop more robust mental health initiatives
Mental health: The new leadership imperative
How fundraisers can get off the road to exhaustion and burnout
Nonprofit ramps up efforts to address Indiana’s mental health crisis

Here is a summary of some initiatives your nonprofit can consider when developing a mental health strategy for the workplace:

  • Create a culture of mental health awareness and support. Educate employees about mental health, provide resources and support, and create a safe and supportive environment where employees feel comfortable talking about mental health.
  • Offer mental health benefits. Ensure employees have access to mental health care, such as counseling and therapy. Consider providing paid time off for mental health days as a benefit.
  • Promote healthy work-life balance. If you haven’t already done so, introduce flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting and flextime, if possible. Also, encourage employees to take their designated breaks and vacation time.
  • Address workplace stress. Take the time to identify sources of workplace stress, such as long hours, unrealistic expectations, and lack of support.
  • Support employees with mental health conditions. Provide accommodations and support for employees who are struggling with mental health conditions. Different options can include providing a quiet place to work, allowing for flexible work hours, and providing access to mental health care.
Jun 19

Anti-racism: The unspoken word every organization should be talking about

By Sponsor Insight

By Tashi Copeland, marketing and communications manager, CICF

While diversity, equity, and inclusion have become commonplace in companies’ town halls and “About Us” sections, there’s still a word that many are shying away from — anti-racism.

According to The Center for Study of Social Policy and Racial Equity Tools, anti-racism is the active process of identifying and challenging racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies, practices, and attitudes to redistribute power equitably. By omitting anti-racism from the conversation, organizations find themselves in patterns of passive awareness of equity issues without honestly confronting the reality of systemic racism, acknowledging how they contribute to it and changing their behavior to actively create an equitable society.

So maybe you’re thinking to yourself—wow, that sounds extremely challenging. And honestly, it is. Because our racist systems were built on more than 400 years of oppression, understandably, it will take time to dismantle them. However, The Indianapolis Foundation has created a tool to move you and your organization into the space of anti-racism work. It’s called the Movement of 10,000 (MVMT10K).

What is MVMT10K?
MVMT10K is a digital tool designed as both a website and a mobile app with the goal of educating individuals in Central Indiana and beyond about the history of racism, its present implications, and methods to make constructive change against systemic racism. It is a continuous, adaptive curriculum that invites our community to continue learning.

Kayla Knox, researcher and sociologist, serves as the platform’s project manager and an equitable initiatives officer for The Indianapolis Foundation. Along with her efforts, many of the tools The Indianapolis Foundation and its collaborative partners have used to contribute to a more equitable and anti-racist institution support the MVMT10K.

Learning objective #1: Recognize that anti-racism work benefits EVERYONE
Everyone is negatively impacted by systemic racism. Deeply racialized systems are costly and depress outcomes for all populations. Challenging and changing these systems benefits us all. The Curb-Cut Effect has shown us that changes initially designed for a specific group of people spread out to help the vast majority. A commitment to an anti-racist community allows for more authentic relationships, space for innovation, abundance, joy and economic development. The Movement of 10,000 can be your entry point to that commitment.

What to expect
Once you sign up for the platform, you’ll agree to the rules of engagement. These guidelines are a commitment to own the space and responsibility for collective engagement that’s both respectful and insightful — allowing for reflection, learning and unlearning.

Guidelines include:

  • Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
  • Respect and listen to others’ lived experiences and respect different levels of awareness.
  • Speak from your own experience instead of generalizing (“I” instead of “they, “we” and “you.”)
  • Take risks, make mistakes and keep going and growing with the movement.

After setting up your profile, you’ll take a self-assessment. There are no right or wrong answers. The assessment allows you to recognize where you are on your learning journey, and you can retake it along your way to gauge where your understanding has shifted and how you feel about your role in building a more equitable community for all. You’ll then be able to dive into the initial learning pathway.

The pathway gives users — or Movers — a solid foundation for the road ahead, resources to protect their mental well-being and a shared vocabulary to make courageous conversations a little easier.

Tools to start the conversation
Whether you’re leading your organization’s equity work or an individual who wants to see some change in your organization, the thought of having a conversation around race might seem daunting. That’s why The Indianapolis Foundation team, in partnership with trained facilitators, experienced educators and current students, created the Movement of 10,000 facilitation guide. The guide is for anyone interested in facilitating group conversations using the resources uplifted by MVMT10K to inspire reflective learning about themes relating to anti-racism. It’s meant to direct your conversations and empower you and others to bring members of your staff or community together. We recognize that this is just a starting point.

Anti-racism isn’t just a moment
Even after you joined the Movement of 10,000 and went through the learning pathways, recognize that the work is not done. Awareness should eventually evolve into action—or Works of Equity. If you and your organization are genuinely going to have anti-racism implanted into your DNA, you must continue on the learning journey—the app is just an entry point.

Continuously evaluate your organization’s policies. Recognize your privilege. Assess where you’re at on your equity journey and where you still need to go further. As Pamela Ross, vice president of community leadership and equitable initiatives for The Indianapolis Foundation, says, “anti-racism cannot be just a moment. It must become a state of being.”

So, what are you waiting for? Join the movement today.

Apr 03

Self-advocacy: A critical step in the fight for gender equity in the workplace

By Feature

Local leadership expert Jessica Gendron advises attendees of Indy Chamber women’s event to be proactive

by Shari Finnell, editor/writer, Not-for-profit News

Gender equity in the workplace — whether in for-profit or nonprofit sectors — is still far from a reality, based on the latest reports from various sources.

For example, while women in the nonprofit sector historically have fared better than those working in the for-profit sector, discrepancies still exist based on gender, according to a Nonprofit Quarterly report. For instance, women make up 73 percent of the nonprofit workforce in the United States. Yet, they only represent 20 percent of the CEOs of nonprofits with annual budgets of $50 million and 45 percent of all nonprofit executives.

Another report, “Negotiation and Executive Gender Pay Gaps in Nonprofit Organizations,”
found that executive compensation at nonprofits was 8.9 percent less for women than men when the executives had the option of negotiating their salaries.

Those were the types of gender equity challenges Jessica Gendron of The Center for Leadership Excellence recently discussed during Indy Chambers’ 2023 Women in Business Retreat.

Gendron, one of numerous speakers during the two-day retreat at The Alexander Hotel in Indianapolis, outlined seven female leadership competencies that she compiled after interviewing women executives throughout the nation.

When she asked them what was integral to their success as a female leader, the competencies of self-advocacy, self-awareness, resilience, courage, intuition, communication, and relationships emerged as commonalities. However, she said, self-advocacy ranked at the top of the list.

“Self-advocacy emerged as the most important competency,” she said. “As women, we are taught to be nice, collaborative, and helpful. We will go to war for our friends. But we will not do it for ourselves because it’s considered as being selfish. That’s a behavior that we’ve been conditioned to avoid. There are all these negative connotations about the idea of advocating for yourself.”

Gendron also said this type of work must begin with positions within the workplace, even in situations where it is clear that male leaders far outnumber female leaders. While some women may be tempted to avoid those types of work environments, Gendron pointed out, that is where an impact can be made,

“In order for us to have influence, power, and impact with the decision-making process, we have to be inside those organizations,” she said. “We must be in relationships with those people. It’s an inside job. We have so much influence when we are inside talking to the people who are already making the decisions.”

Women supporting women leads to progress

Gendron’s stance is supported by research that reveals a clear link between women representation on governing boards to the increased likelihood of a nonprofit organization hiring female executives.

In her report, “Scarce as hen’s teeth: Women CEOs in large nonprofits,” author Young-Joo Lee, School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, found that there was a correlation between the number of women represented on governing boards and the hiring of female CEOs.

Out of 340 human services organizations listed in GuideStar’s database with budgets of $10 million or more, those with a governing board with 30 percent to 50 percent females were more likely to have a female CEO than nonprofit organizations in which women were considerably outnumbered on the governing board.

Gender differences at the root of self-advocacy

During her presentation, Gendron also noted that societal norms and upbringing are also at the root of inequities based on gender.

“Men are conditioned to advocate for themselves from a very young age,” she said. “They will apply for jobs that they are not qualified for because ‘Why not?’”

She went on to stress that people don’t get things that they don’t ask for. “So many times, we think our bosses, partners, and friends are paying attention to what we’re doing and what we need. We think they are reading the signals but they’re not. Guess what? Your boss is trying to get their own pay raise or promotion. Your partner has their own stuff they’re worried about.”

Gendron suggested that women get in the habit of documenting their successes in the workplace to support their requests for a pay raise, promotion, or better working conditions.

Most workplaces, which are frequently led by men, value logic — like facts, reports, and statistics, she noted. “So we’ve got to show the data. Track your successes so that you can successfully advocate for a raise, a promotion, a title change — whatever it is that you’re trying to achieve,” Gendron said.

“If we are not getting the things that we need to have in our careers and our relationships, we have to be willing to speak up and ask for them,” she added. “That is the most crucial competency every single female leader I talked to referenced.”

Feb 20

Practice leadership more intentionally

By Sponsor Insight

by Jeffery Kaufman Ph.D., associate professor of leadership and research, The Klipsch Educators College at Marian University

Leadership is hard work. Every day, all day, how we show up as professional leaders is either building engagement and energy or draining it. The good news is that there are specific patterns of thought and action that can help leaders show up more wholly, and in turn, liberate organizations to unleash their full potential.

Marian University’s Leadership Academy helps individuals in authority roles practice leadership more intentionally. Our practitioner-focused programs emphasize the Adaptive Leadership framework, developed at Harvard University. This foundation provides a leadership focus that recognizes organizations as social systems, differentiates between technical problems and adaptive challenges, and expressly accounts for the nuance and power of authority and group dynamics.

To meet your individual leadership goals and growth, Marian University provides individual leadership courses, executive certificates, a Master of Arts in leadership practice, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership. Learn more about these various options at the university’s website.

Why?

There is more to organizational leadership than simply meeting technical goals and objectives. Organizations rarely struggle with technical problems given the availability of experts to solve problems that have known solutions.

Where organizations have the most difficulty is in addressing adaptive challenges where people have conflicting values, beliefs, and loyalties. As the stakes rise and the challenges become increasingly complex, perspectives diverge, and stress begins to bubble — first beneath and then above the surface.

Stakeholders may not be sure how to express their passion/fear/outrage in a constructive manner. This program works to develop your capacity and skill set to be more effective in understanding and navigating those most difficult challenges — exercising leadership from any position, mobilizing others to make progress on your organization’s most difficult issues.

What?

We will explore life-giving leadership tools and practices that help create a purpose-driven culture including motivation and engagement, understanding self and others, gaining awareness of authority and group dynamics, and using emotion for wisdom and energy. In short, building capacity to be present to your community as an intentional and centered leader when it matters most.

Nov 14

More than a pay raise: Retaining Indiana’s nonprofit employees requires a comprehensive wellness approach

By Feature

Indiana Youth Services Association launches pilot project to address nonprofit youth workers’ challenges

Disengaged, burned out, overwhelmed. Those are the adjectives often used to describe nonprofit employees in today’s work environment.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the voluntary nonprofit employer turnover rate is at a historic high — outpacing the turnover rate in the overall labor market. In 2022, the nonprofit industry had a turnover rate of 19 percent, compared to 12 percent for the overall labor market.

The challenge of retaining and recruiting nonprofit employees in a highly competitive labor market also comes at a time when nonprofit organizations are dealing with increased demands for services, changes in fundraising, and higher costs driven by inflation.

However, the well-being of nonprofit employees must take a priority, according to David Westenberger, CEO, Indiana Youth Services Association (IYSA), a statewide association of 30 Youth Service Bureaus in about 70 counties.

“Within our field, we haven’t done a very good job of taking care of our own people doing the work,” said Westenberger, who has been raising awareness about the need for nonprofit employers to support their employees beyond pay raises and title changes.  “In the field of youth work and social services, people in the field over a long period of time eventually mirror the population they serve more than retain the overall wellness and health that they had early on.”

Without adequate insights about the challenges nonprofit employees face and a comprehensive approach to address them, nonprofit organizations could be undermining their ability to achieve their mission, Westenberger said.

A comprehensive approach to employee wellness

Earlier this year, Westenberger and the IYSA team, launched a pilot project that addresses the overall wellness of nonprofit youth workers. The framework for the project includes the Eight Dimensions of Wellness outlined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and insights from ACEs (adverse child experiences) training.

During each year of the three-year initiative, representatives from four Youth Service Bureau organizations undergo monthly training that addresses one of SAMHSA’s eight dimensions of wellness — emotional, occupational, social, financial, environmental, physical, spiritual, and intellectual. Each month, participants hear from experts in each of the eight fields reflected in the dimensions of well-being. The also collaborate on supportive strategies and ideas that are later integrated in their workplace employee programs.

IYSA provides the participating organizations with stipends to support the initiatives that help their staff members grow in each dimension.

“For emotional well-being, one of the organizations contracted with a local agency to offer mental health counseling services for their staff,” Westenberger said. Other proposals included providing employees with gym memberships, implementing walking meetings, giving time for employees to be active during the day, and serving nutritious food during meetings.  

The participants, who regularly report on their progress in implementing employee programs around the eight dimensions, will serve as mentors to the other eight organizations that will undergo training in 2023 and 2024.

Addressing a cycle of trauma

The IYSA pilot project follows extensive research that revealed numerous challenges for nonprofit workers in the field of youth services.

The association, which also supports numerous youth-focused initiatives, including increasing awareness about human trafficking, ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), medical amnesty related to underage drinking, launched surveys to gain insights about the challenges faced by youth workers on a day-to-day basis.

A financial analysis revealed that 78 percent of survey respondents experience moderate to significant financial stress, 67 percent are in debt, and 46 percent hadn’t save enough to cover an emergency. It also revealed that employees spend an average of 1.1 hours dealing with their personal finances while at work.

A 2022 IYSA survey related to the eight dimensions of health revealed the following:

  • 40 percent of survey respondents rated their emotional wellness as fair, poor, or very poor.
  • 36 percent rated the quality of emotional wellness support from their organization as poor or fair.
  • 43 percent rated their physical wellness as fair, poor, or very poor.
  • 29 percent rated the physical wellness support programs from their organization as fair or poor.
  • 64 percent rated their financial wellness as fair, poor, or very poor.

Survey respondents who rated their organizations as supportive with emotional wellness provided these comments about their employers:

  • “I am always taken care of and am constantly being checked up on to see if I am okay.”
  • “My employer is understanding and willing to listen and support and encourages us to take care of our minds as well as our bodies.”
  • “The employer does check-ins on staff to see how well we are doing or if we have any questions about programming or suggestions.”
  • “We can take a quick break if we are overwhelmed.”

Some suggestions provided by the survey respondents included providing employees with a quiet place so that they can relax for a minute, being supportive and listening to concerns, counseling, mental health check-ins, and an easily accessible platform for scheduling counseling and therapy.

Westenberger said that the surveys revealed the need to engage in a more comprehensive wellness strategy.

“In the field of youth work and social services, we have employees who, emotionally and financially, mirror the population they’re serving,” he said. “About 60 percent of the people working in the youth services field have their own trauma because they entered the field because of their childhood experiences. They have a passion to make things better for young people — to change the system and circumstances for children.”

A history of childhood trauma coupled with the demands of working with a traumatized population during pandemic is detrimental for many youth workers, Westenberger said.

“Like most other things, the pandemic brought to the forefront how much secondary trauma there is,” Westenberger said. “So, you’ve got people with high ACE scores where it is part of their intrinsic drive to do the work. And they’re working with populations who are experiencing high levels of abuse and neglect.

“We are asking, ‘What are some of the things in your workplace culture that could change to support employees and how can you provide resources to support them?’,” he added.

Oct 03

All leaders must adapt to the new world of work

By Sponsor Insight

Establishing an employee-centric work environment is a good business strategy

by Sara Johnson, director, executive education, clinical associate professor

The world of work is changing — and so are workers’ expectations. The call to leaders is clear: Adapt now or risk the organization’s future.

Adaptability is one of the keys to effective leadership. Those who adapt well know how to adjust their style when the situation calls for it. Another key is continual learning — being willing to find new ways to do things that will help you lead others and your organization while also improving worker satisfaction and organizational outcomes.

These elements of effective leadership are especially necessary in our current work environment. As employees around the world return to offices and worksites, leaders must recognize and act upon the reality of our new world of work. Not doing so means potentially losing good workers and watching organizations fail as a result. The price of this turnover can have a ripple effect on our communities and society, including economic impacts, hiring challenges, and an increased competition for quality workers.

Evidence of a workforce shift already is mounting. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 11.5 million workers quit their jobs between April and June of 2021. People are rethinking what is important to them and … well … it’s no longer “business as usual.”

According to Shahar Erez, CEO of the freelance talent platform Stoke, “The Great Resignation is propelled by three forces: the changing generation, the economic crisis, and the realization among employees that they can have a different social contract — spending more time with family when they work remote and skip the commute.”

In addition to those factors, workers say personal safety also is a consideration during the ongoing pandemic. As new strains of COVID-19 spread, working in a collective environment doesn’t feel safe to some.

Navigating a changing landscape

So, how does a leader adapt to navigate these new realities? Learning fast is necessary as is recognizing that what was once important to their workforce is no longer a priority. In the 2000s, many companies focused on fun — creating workspaces with recreational activities so that their employees could play and decompress at work. Fast forward to today and fun has fallen by the wayside.

In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, “Future-Proofing Your Organization,” the authors note that what matters to employees now is having their work connect to a meaningful purpose. They also value inclusiveness and autonomy. Workers want to be trusted to do their jobs — on their terms, and leaders need to understand how to balance their employees’ personal needs with the company’s ongoing business strategy.

For years, we have said that a good business strategy includes a focus on customers. Customer-centric business practices have been put in place to achieve this strategic goal. It is now time to use employee-centric business practices that will meet the needs and demands of your workforce; a
workforce that will now choose where to work based on how autonomously and meaningfully they can work.

Leaders, my advice to you is this: Quickly make the shift to being more employee centric. While it may force you into uncharted waters, adapting will help the future success of your organization, those you serve, and your employees as we navigate this new world of work.

Aug 08

Nonprofit leaders must take a hard look at employee engagement in today’s job market

By Sponsor Insight

by Christine Shepherd, managing partner, PlanningPlus

When I was entering the workforce in my late teens, a solid, well-written resume and interview skills were everything. As a job seeker, long tenure and job stability were key factors in the job hunting and interviewing process. If you were looking for positions in management and leadership, a stable and consistent work history was considered a major plus.

Now, more than 25 years later, the job market is in a different place. Various job experiences paired with shorter tenure have slowly become the new normal. Career paths are not always linear. And the massive number of job vacancies and an unprecedented employee turnover rate have led to a significant paradigm shift in employment power.

According to the article Rewriting Employee Engagement, published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) on Feb. 3, 2022, “19 million (people) resigned between March 2021 and July 2021.” Talking heads and critics tried explaining this labor movement as a blip in time — a response to an influx of COVID relief funding. As time went on and more jobs continued to sit open, it has become evident that employers no longer hold the power.

In the article, the author Eva Andres goes on to say, “It’s a desire for change fed by pandemic-era introspection … What we’re seeing now is shift of power from employer to employee, a humanistic labor evolution in which people are revisiting their values and what they want to do with their lives. That is forcing employers to adapt to employees’ needs instead of the other way around.”

Yes, that’s right. The hiring organization is now in the hot seat.

So how do we assess how we are doing with employee engagement and what can we do better? As defined by SHRM, employee engagement “is the extent to which people enjoy and believe in what they do for work and have the perception that their employer values what they bring to the table.”

The Great Resignation, as it has been called, requires employers to pause and evaluate if and how they are engaging with current and prospective staff. Research has shown that there are six main drivers for employee engagement that an employer should consider: work, people, total rewards, opportunities, company practices, and quality of life.

Of these six drivers, employers often consider two or three out of the six, most often total reward (compensation and benefits) and opportunities (career pathing and job advancement).

It is critical for employers to understand that employees are motivated and driven by different values, goals, and outcomes. For nonprofit organizations that often have limited resources and flat organization charts, it is imperative that leaders seek to understand what is meaningful to employees, what they value, and why they chose to work for their organization. It’s also important to understand how to add value in the lives of employees and how to make a difference to them — and for them.

Making organizational changes, even good ones, takes time, and it must start at the beginning for it to be lasting change. Start with current policies and procedures, job descriptions, performance plans and employee handbooks. Evaluate and assess the message, tone, and clarity of communications with staff members. Beginning with current recruitment and retention strategies will help identify the areas in which the nonprofit is currently doing well with employee engagement as well as opportunities to do better.

It’s important to involve employees in the process and ensure you are working with honest and candid feedback about current retention and recruitment practices.

PlanningPlus has helped dozens of for-profit and nonprofit organizations assess and enhance their employee engagement strategies. We understand that with a candid assessment, a critical eye, and a true desire for change, you can truly be a value-add in the lives of all your employees.

Jul 18

Is it time to take a break?

By Feature

Lilly Endowment renewal programs highlight benefits of rest

by Shari Finnell, editor/writer, Not-for-profit News

(As nonprofits seek ways to encourage employee retention, enhance recruitment and minimize burn out, Not-for-profit News explores the benefits of Lilly Endowment’s renewal grant programs in this first part of a two-part series.)

As a long-time dedicated nonprofit employee, Angie Hoskins understands first-hand the symptoms of employee burnout. In 2019, her stress levels hit a peak as she took on additional responsibilities at Easter Seals Crossroads during a critical transition in roles.

“I was juggling two different positions with no end in sight,” said Hoskins, who is a benefits specialist technical assistant for the nonprofit organization. “I was being pulled in several different directions and working a lot of extra hours during a transition.”

Her concerned supervisors urged her to apply for a grant through United Way of Central Indiana’s (UWCI) Human Services Professional Renewal Program, Hoskins recalled. Under the program, which is now in its 20th year of being fully funded by Lilly Endowment, offers up to $10,000 each to up to 25 human service professionals each year to pause from their day-to-day responsibilities to explore their passions and new ideas. Lilly Endowment funds similar programs for teachers, clergy, artists and art administrators.

Hoskins’ grant request to explore her genealogy by touring Ireland was approved. However, COVID-19 travel restrictions related to international travel in 2020 forced her to make a change in plans. This year, she traveled to Alaska with her husband, Shane Hoskins, for a cruise and land tour. 

After returning to Indianapolis, Hoskins said, she experienced a renewed sense of purpose. “This trip was much needed. I came back not expecting how revived I would feel. I was excited to do my job again,” she said. “It also gave me the opportunity to step back and recognize how many people I’ve been able to help.”

Going beyond recognition

Julie Koegel, program coordinator for UWCI’s Human Services Professional Renewal Program, said that the benefits of the program extend beyond acknowledging an employee’s dedication to their nonprofit work. They can prove to be a motivating factor for retention and innovation among employees in the field, she said.

Nonprofit work can be demanding for many employees, Koegel pointed out. “They’re often working long hours. Some of them are on call 24/7. Some are missing their own kids’ activities because they’re going to the activities of the children they serve,” she said. “People get burned out. During COVID, in particular, it’s been really hard because these individuals have been first responders; among the first ones being called for assistance.”

“We wanted to make sure people who have been working in this field for 20, 30 or 40 years are able to experience renewal,” Koegel added. “We also want to recognize those who are younger, who haven’t been working in the field as long. We want to keep them in the field.”

Recognizing nonprofit employees at all levels

According to Sara VanSlambrook, chief impact officer for UWCI, the grant renewal program is an important way to recognize nonprofit employees who often don’t qualify for other recognitions. 

“Too often, frontline managers and staff are overlooked,” VanSlambrook said. “Awards and recognition are often targeted to executive directors. This program is for anyone at any level within an organization. About 45 percent of the grantees over the years have been frontline staff.”

Renewal grant recipients have included employees ranging from executive directors, vice presidents and managers to receptionists, cafeteria workers and correctional officers, she said. 

VanSlambrook also said that these types of benefits in the workplace can be critical for retention.

“It communicates to human service professionals that they are essential workers, and that we value them,” she said. “It reduces stress levels for those who receive it. It brings new energy and creativity to the work upon returning from an investment like this. They usually come back with new ideas and new knowledge that will enhance their work.”

Applicants of the UWCI Human Services Professional Renewal Grant program must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be an employee of a UWCI agency, UWCI, or an invited human services organization that is actively engaged in a UWCI collaborative activity
  • Must have been employed eight or more consecutive years by a human services nonprofit agency as of the application deadline
  • Must have been employed by their current organization five or more consecutive years as of the application deadline
  • Must serve clients in the UWCI areas of service: Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion and Morgan counties
  • Must intend to remain in human services work for at least two years after the renewal experience

Over the years of administering the program, Koegel said, she has seen it accomplish its mission among the participants. “They come back to their jobs renewed, with new perspectives,” she said. 

She also said an evaluation revealed that numerous participants said they probably would have left their jobs if they had not experienced the period of renewal offered under the grant.

“They had reached that point where they were so burned out that they were looking at other opportunities,” Koegel said. “This gave them a chance to take a step back, to have permission not to answer their voicemails, not to look at their emails, and to really disconnect for a period of time and really focus on themselves.”