Press Release Headlines

STUDY: Nonprofits Project Growth in 2015 That Could Outpace the Corporate Sector

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Nonprofit HR today announced the results of its eighth annual Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey, which this year indicates the nonprofit sector is projecting a growth rate that is on target to outpace the corporate sector. According to the survey, 49 percent of nonprofit organizations increased their staff in 2014, and 50 percent of nonprofits plan to create new positions in 2015. However, despite this growth and optimism around staffing, few nonprofits have formalized recruitment and retention strategies or the budgets to attract new top talent.

Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150303/179261-INFO

To view the infographic related to this survey, please visit this link: http://www.nonprofithr.com/2015-employment-practices-survey-download/

Key Findings from the 2015 survey include:

Nonprofit Projected Growth

  • Nonprofits are projecting job growth in 2015 that could outpace the corporate sector.
    • 50 percent of nonprofits anticipate hiring at least one new employee in 2015.
    • In comparison, based on a study from CareerBuilder, only 36 percent of corporate employers anticipate hiring in 2015.

Nonprofit Employment Expansion

  • The nonprofit sector is a great place to find employment and grow a career.
    • The nonprofit sector is the third largest sector in the U.S. in terms of number of people employed
    • Nonprofits employ 10.7 million people
    • 2014 revenues generated by the nonprofit sector totaled more than $1.9 trillion

Recruitment Challenges

  • Despite the sector's massive economic impact as an employer and its projected growth, 52 percent of nonprofits do not have a formal recruitment strategy
  • Additionally, 67 percent do not have a formal recruitment budget

Retention Challenges and Increased Competition for Talent

  • As the nonprofit sector continues to rebound from the recession, talent retention challenges are being exacerbated
  • An increase in the overall turnover rate (from 16 percent in 2013 to 19 percent in 2015, 14 percent of which are voluntary turnover) tells us employees have become increasingly more confident in the job market over the last year
  • 27 percent of nonprofits cite an inability to pay competitively as their greatest retention challenge, followed by inability to promote (20 percent)

"There is a lot to be optimistic about based on the results of this year's study," said Lisa Brown Morton, CEO of Nonprofit HR. "Nonprofits are hiring in record numbers, and opportunities within the sector are vast. However, leaders in the sector have to recognize that with this growth comes increased competition for talent and an imperative to get more strategic about investing real dollars in recruitment, retention and culture. Forward thinking nonprofits should recognize that the time to put an emphasis on smart talent is now."

For more information and full survey results, please visit http://www.nonprofithr.com/2015-employment-practices-survey-download/

ABOUT NONPROFIT EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES SURVEY
The national Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey has been conducted by Nonprofit HR on an annual basis since 2007. The 2015 report surveys 362 nonprofits nationwide in order to provide a snapshot of current employment practices, economic trends and their implications on the nonprofit sector. Research addresses nonprofit staffing, recruitment and retention practices, including information on staff size, projected growth, recruitment strategies, budgeting and staffing challenges.

ABOUT NONPROFIT HR
Nonprofit HR is the country's only human resources firm that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations. The company provides human resources consulting , executive search and talent acquisition services, and also produces an annual study on nonprofit employment trends. Nonprofit HR has offices in Washington D.C. and Chicago.

MEDIA CONTACT
Katie Nuckolls
Email
312-955-0925

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