New Benefits to Meet HR Needs

While I believe I was one of the first to really write about it nearly 18 months ago, we're all experiencing the employment crunch. Too many open jobs and not enough employees. And beyond that, many of our BEST employees are being plucked by other organizations.

I had a client recently who had three employees indicate, all without knowledge of the others, being recruited heavily by a similar nonprofit organization in town. The essence was is that they could be paid 30% more for generally the same job. They really didn't want to leave their current employer, but couldn't justify not at least considering it for a raise in compensation by a third. In the end, the organization for which they worked would not meet even partial demands and all three left. Our nonprofit organizations are being pressured with financial concerns that are limiting our ability to attract and retain our best employees. Far beyond salary.

That's why I was so intrigued by an article recently in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity. Faced with these same employment challenges, the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, instead of just cutting, did something radical. They added a new benefit for their employees. And directly in line with their mission.

Based on a gift from Mackenzie Scott, the organization decided to invest its $9 million contribution in providing payment assistance and closing costs for housing for its own employees. The organization found that when they stabilized one of the largest expenditures within their employees’ personal lives, they were more effective, efficient, and loyal to the organization. While structured as a “forgivable loan” over a five-year period, it allowed multiple people within the organization to not be as concerned about their housing. In particular, based on the mission of Habitat for Humanity, leveraging home ownership in the moderate income family level with it's OWN EMPLOYEES is a mechanism for creating stability. Exactly what the mission drives.

If we're going to keep and attract the very best talent in the nonprofit world, salary is not going to be the driving force. It will always be our missions. But there's also a reckoning in understanding that people want to be able to afford their basic lives. Kudos to the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity. We all could be more creative in finding ways of providing for our most valuable asset: our employees.