Not for Profit Job Satisfaction - New Report

A Queensland survey on Not for Profit employee satisfaction and performance points to a lack of recognition and rewards, few learning opportunities and low participation in decision making.

But on the positive side, the survey found what it describes as high levels of job satisfaction (two-thirds) with a majority of NFP employees agreeing they were not overly stressed in terms of completing their jobs and provided significant support for helping their organisations achieve their goals.

The survey found what it describes as ‘low levels of employee intentions to leave’.

The survey was sponsored by NFP specialist recruitment agency, Windsor Recruitment and conducted by Dr Cameron Newton, Emma Pelling, and Michael Hennessy of QUT’s Faculty of Business. It was launched at a breakfast meeting in Brisbane where participants joined discussions around improving Not for Profit employee-employer relations.

A total of 348 employees from 22 Not for Profit organisations responded to the employee survey. In addition, 99 volunteers from eight different Not for Profit organisations took part in the volunteer survey.

Participants were drawn from organisations in a wide range of activities including disability, community services, animal welfare, member associations, and foundations.

The report recommends that organisations address recognition and non-financial rewards along with providing learning opportunities such as supporting training costs and engaging employees in any organisational change.

The survey also set out to produce a benchmark report on volunteer staff satisfaction.

The survey found that 58% of volunteers reported a sense of belonging and attachment to their organisation. Only 41% felt that they received adequate training, support and development opportunities.

The most common reasons for volunteering fell into the categories of values, understanding and enhancement. With regard to job satisfaction, 85 percent of volunteers agreed that they are satisfied with their positions. The vast majority of respondents reported having little or no intention to seek a transfer, resign or apply for another volunteer job in the near future.

Dr Cameron Newton, report author and Senior Lecturer at the School of Management at QUT says the survey results show the need to focus on developing good employee-volunteer relationships

He says poor relationships resulted in worse psychological health, lower levels of helping behaviours, low job satisfaction, and higher turnover for employees in the study.

As well, he says Not for Profit employers should focus on developing recognition and non-financial rewards schemes. Lower levels of recognition were related to poor psychological health, low job satisfaction, and higher turnover for employees in the study.

The survey results will soon be available at the Windsor Recruitment website: www.windsor-recruitment.com