Employee Engagement: A Nonprofit’s Superpower Against “Quiet Quitting”

Welcome to the latest edition of Moving Forward, a newsletter designed to help nonprofits exchange ideas and learn from one another to unlock the full potential of the sector. For this edition, we caught up with Ariana Christina Baldomero, Senior Director of Talent at COOP, to discuss a phenomenon that has rocked both the nonprofit and corporate sectors in recent months: “quiet quitting.”

“Quiet quitting” is an increasingly popular phrase being used to describe workers who are mentally “checked out,” do the bare minimum, and are otherwise unmotivated at work. What are some ways you recommend nonprofits work to engage employees and prevent “quiet quitting?”

The past 18 months have been difficult for employees and employers alike, with plenty of personal and financial challenges. This has left employees burned out and organizations responsible for fostering a positive work environment that rewards good work and prioritizes employees' well-being. 

All organizations, nonprofits included, need to hold themselves accountable by re-engaging their employees and instilling a sense of purpose and worth through professional recognition and appreciation, inclusive spaces, and work-life balance.

Engaged workers are happy, productive workers. But engaging employees looks a lot different than it did just a few years ago. What changes has your organization made over the past two years to ensure workers stay motivated and engaged?

As with every organization, the pandemic quickly shifted our team’s day-to-day interactions to all-virtual spaces. To continue to build community, we ensured all of our team meetings included time for human connection through warm-ups, and celebrated team/individual wins in our meetings and a celebration Slack channel. 

We also started a Culture Committee that leads monthly virtual events based around cultural moments like Latinx Heritage Month, Trans Visibility Day, etc., to ensure we learn about and celebrate different identities.

Engaging employees requires intentional, ongoing effort. For organizations with limited resources to devote to boosting worker engagement, where do you recommend they focus their energy and why?

As a nonprofit organization, we strive to pay competitive wages and benefits, but it can be challenging to provide the lucrative monetary incentives of the private sector. We make up for that by being resourceful, encouraging purposeful work, and giving employees the opportunity to voice and be creative about their projects. 

With a nonprofit, there's plenty of room to be creative and innovative without all the hierarchy of a larger institution. We give our employees who want to devote their time and energy to certain aspects of our mission the space to do so, allowing them to feel a real connection with their day-to-day activities.

Working in the nonprofit sector can be exhilarating, exhausting, and extremely fulfilling. How does your organization help employees celebrate both their own and each other’s accomplishments?

At COOP, everything is about mobilizing, building, and celebrating our alumni community. This fully extends to our staff, two-thirds of whom are alumni of our program. This makes the growth of our organization a chance to grow our alumni and offer new opportunities for the community to engage in our mission. 

While we do a ton of things to celebrate our individual and collective success, the fact that so many of our employees see succeeding in their roles as benefiting a community that helped them achieve their goals is a massive differentiator for COOP.

Do you have any advice for an organization that is just starting to develop or reimagine its employee engagement strategy?

"Quiet quitting" is a human issue, so it's up to organizations to redevelop their strategies by focussing on empathy and asking their most important asset: their people. 

Affinity groups, for example, or even employee surveys, are great resources to gauge employee opinion on their current work experiences. They also provide an opportunity to ask employees directly how they want their respective work environments to evolve in the coming months.

Do you think “quiet quitting” is an issue facing the nonprofit sector — and, if so, what can be done about it? Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts in the comment section.

Michelle Flores Vryn, CFRE, Chief Development Officer at OneStar, discusses why overworking is ultimately detrimental to nonprofit work. 

Dr. Danielle R. Moss Cox, Chief Executive Officer at Oliver Scholars, opens up about the ways organizational politics can affect career advancement in the nonprofit sector and shares her tips to help fellow Black women navigate them. 

John Shertzer, Executive Director of the Medal of Honor Foundation, shares a lesson in nonprofit leadership inspired by a scene from Ted Lasso. 

• Why U.S. Nonprofit Professionals Need to Act Fast on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Waiver: The deadline to take advantage of the U.S. government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program waiver is fast approaching, but there’s still time to apply. Find all the information you need to get started in our recent newsletter. 
• 13 Ways Nonprofit Leaders Can Actively Support Their Staff's Mental Health: Employee well-being is closely tied to engagement and retention. These tips from the Forbes Nonprofit Council can help you prioritize it. 
• What Are LinkedIn Events and How Can You Use Them to Promote Your Nonprofit’s Events?: Whether you’re looking to promote an in-person event or host a virtual one, learn how to leverage LinkedIn Events to spread the word and drive registration.  

We want to hear from you! Click here to refer a nonprofit professional you admire and whose insights you'd love to read. And if there's a particular topic that's top of mind for your organization right now, let us know and we may highlight it in a future edition.