Employee Retention Issues in Non-profit Organizations Non-profit organizations face many of the same employee retention concerns as profit-driven enterprises. With profitability no longer a factor in measuring the success or effectiveness of the organization, the non-profit does use different employee management strategies and techniques. Human resources management strategies used in nonprofit firms often do mirror those used in their for-profit counterparts. For example, motivation, employee engagement, training and professional development are all major issues for human resources managers no matter what their sector. The literature on human resources management in non-profit organizations is extensive in general, but few studies have applied qualitative methods to assess the actual HRM practices used in nonprofits. Similarly, few studies have used qualitative methods to determine HRM and employee perceptions of employee training and development programs. Existing studies on employee retention, development, and training in non-profit organizations focus mainly on mission statements, and less on the specific tools and strategies used by human resources managers.

Mission Critical

There is even some tension in the literature regarding the efficacy of mission statement in employee retention strategies, driving HRM research more towards an investigation of the actual training and development tools used to empower and retain top talent. For example, Brown & Yoshioka (2003) found that even when employees remained motivated...

5). In other words, HRM strategies do need to recognize the importance of extrinsic motivation, providing employees with rewards, bonuses, salaries, and opportunities for advancement. Using a similar regression analysis design as in the Brown & Yoshioka (2003) study, Kim & Lee (2007) found that “pay and career advancement...…an employee has been with the organization, will be collected in the interests of finding a possible link between demographic factors and the types of human resources strategies used, and the researcher will also take into account the mission statement of the organization. Coding methods will be used during data analysis for the focus groups.
Differing substantially from prior research, this qualitative study will illuminate the actual practices of human resources managers in the nonprofit sector. The research will show not what managers believe they are doing to retain and develop employees, but what types of training and development opportunities actually exist, how accessible they are to employees, and how employees perceive those opportunities. Focus groups will also allow for the collection of perceptions and impressions that will invariably aid human resources managers and future researchers in improving the overall effectiveness of nonprofit organizations.

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