How can you effectively recognize employees in nonprofit organizations?
Learn from the community’s knowledge. Experts are adding insights into this AI-powered collaborative article, and you could too.
This is a new type of article that we started with the help of AI, and experts are taking it forward by sharing their thoughts directly into each section.
If you’d like to contribute, request an invite by liking or reacting to this article. Learn more
— The LinkedIn Team
Employee recognition is a vital component of employee engagement, retention, and motivation, especially in nonprofit organizations where staff may face high demands, limited resources, and complex challenges. However, recognizing employees in nonprofits can also be tricky, as you need to balance the needs and preferences of diverse individuals, teams, and stakeholders, while also aligning with your mission, vision, and values. In this article, we will explore some effective ways to recognize employees in nonprofit organizations, and how to avoid some common pitfalls.
The first step to effective recognition is to know your employees as individuals, and what makes them feel appreciated and valued. Recognition is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and different people may prefer different types of recognition, such as public praise, private feedback, tangible rewards, or career opportunities. You can use surveys, interviews, or personality assessments to learn more about your employees' recognition preferences, and tailor your recognition strategies accordingly. For example, some employees may enjoy being recognized in front of their peers, while others may find it embarrassing or uncomfortable.
-
Matt Benford
Chief Financial Officer @ Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County
I'd say a good rule of thumb is whatever verbal recognition you do in public, be sure to do in one on one with employees. This way, employees know the recognition is sincere. Additionally, consider what kind of professional growth opportunities you can use to invest in your team. Trainings, workshops, book stipends, courses, etc can go a long way to showing appreciation for the person and investing in the value they bring to the organization. Finally, consider what kind of wellness programs you can establish to help promote mental and physical wellbeing. We all know nonprofit work can be taxing at times and recognition efforts like this can support healthy rhythms and cadences.
-
Balakrishnan M.
Social Impact leader | Economic Inclusion | Harvard | Fulbright Scholar | Poland, U.S.A and India | Freelance Consultant | Remote roles.
To begin with, we need to acknowledge that recognition in the non-profit world cannot mimic other spheres as drivers of motivation tend to be different. Also, the constraints on non-profit organisations are higher than other sectors in terms of what is realistically possible to offer. A key design principle would be to balance tangible and intangible forms of recognition. In the intangible, the need for affiliation, power and growth is typically high among non-profit employees. In this trifecta, the need for growth is often less thought of. An example is recognising through providing opportunities for growth in - exposure, social capital, professional network, academic credentials etc. The employee needs to feel valued outside the org.
(edited)
Another key aspect of effective recognition is to align it with your nonprofit's mission, vision, and values. Recognition should not only acknowledge the achievements and contributions of your employees, but also reinforce how they are advancing your nonprofit's goals and impact. You can do this by linking recognition to specific outcomes, metrics, or stories that demonstrate how your employees are making a difference in the lives of your beneficiaries, partners, or communities. For example, you can share a testimonial from a client, a success story from a project, or a positive feedback from a donor that highlights the role of your employees.
-
Rebecca Cobb
Project Lead @ Timebanking UK | Strategic Comms | National Stakeholder Engagement | CMI Volunteer Management | Talking about social value, micro-volunteering & communities being best placed to know what they need
Is your team clear on the vision, mission and values? Can they connect the dots between their day to day activities and the shared goals you have? How do they let you know when they feel they’ve accomplished something that directly contributes to mission? Or how do you ensure you hear about these specifics? Find the right system for your organisation and you’re on your way to a team that feels valued and focused on success.
-
Gina Murdoch
President and Chief Executive Officer at Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA)
Effective recognition of staff starts before the recognition is executed. In order to truly recognize someone, you need to spend time getting to know the culture of what constitutes recognition. The second part is getting to know the person individually to know what are their motivators and what will be meaningful for them. There do need to be standards for equity across the organization but personalization and understanding of corporate culture are key parts of making recognition truly impactful.
Recognition should also be timely and specific, meaning that you should recognize your employees as soon as possible after they have done something noteworthy, and provide clear and concrete examples of what they did and why it matters. Timely and specific recognition shows that you are paying attention to your employees' work, and that you appreciate the details and nuances of their efforts. It also helps your employees understand what behaviors and actions are expected and valued in your nonprofit, and how they can improve and grow. For example, you can send a thank-you note, an email, or a message to your employee right after they have completed a task, project, or milestone, and explain what you liked about their work and how it contributed to your nonprofit's mission.
-
Terry McElfresh
CEO @ YPurchasing Group | Business Solutions
Recognizing and appreciating employees in nonprofit organizations is essential for boosting morale, motivation, and productivity. Here are some strategies to consider: Encourage a culture of peer recognition, where employees can nominate their colleagues for recognition and even have a small committee to select winners. Organize social events, team-building activities, or appreciation gatherings to create a positive and inclusive work environment. Remember that effective recognition should be meaningful, timely, and aligned with the organization's mission. It's essential to create a culture where employees feel valued and motivated to contribute to the nonprofit's goals.
-
Joanna Sopyło-Firrisa, Chartered MCIPD
Passionate about and experienced in enabling people to be their best at work and in life, and building great work environment for all.
Kudos and shout outs are great way to recognise people in real time. They also help with peer-to-peer and across the organisation recognition. Recognition is a type of feedback - don't wait months to recognise someone for what they did ages ago.
In addition to recognizing individual employees, you should also recognize teams and collaborations that foster a culture of cooperation, learning, and innovation in your nonprofit. Team and collaborative recognition can help build trust, morale, and cohesion among your employees, and encourage them to share ideas, feedback, and best practices. It can also help break down silos and promote cross-functional communication and coordination. You can recognize teams and collaborations by celebrating collective achievements, highlighting synergies and complementarities, and facilitating peer-to-peer recognition. For example, you can organize a team lunch, a virtual celebration, or a recognition wall to showcase the work and achievements of your teams and collaborations.
-
David Peterson, PCC
In most non-profit settings, there are always people who have come together to help the organization achieve its purpose for those it supports or to maximize the value of the monetary contribution from donors. When you recognize the individual and supporting team members or collaborators who made a difference, tie it back to purpose, value and stewardship. This demonstrates that you’ve given their contribution thought on its impact at a deeper level than a surface-level acknowledgement. Recognizing your employees in this manner can ensure alignment with intrinsic motivation to the organizational vision and purpose.
-
Sherie Holding
Director of People & Culture
It is important to acknowledge the teams or individuals who without their support in the background that success could not have happened. Those that played a part indirectly by giving up their space or putting others's needs ahead of their own, by sacrificing their own goals to help others, that through them doing an excellent job in delivering what they needed to or keeping the systems running etc, the environment to achieve was possible.
Finally, you should be aware of some common pitfalls that can undermine the effectiveness and credibility of your recognition efforts. For instance, recognizing everyone equally, regardless of performance or contribution, can dilute the value and meaning of recognition, and demotivate high-performing and high-potential employees. Alternatively, recognizing only a few employees based on favoritism or bias can create resentment and distrust among your employees. Additionally, recognizing only certain types of achievements can neglect the importance and impact of other types of work. To avoid these issues, strive to make your recognition consistent, transparent, and diverse, reflecting your nonprofit's mission, vision, and values.
-
Steve Allman
Charity Coach 🎯 Helping charity folk cut through crap & maximise impact 🚀 Coaching, facilitation & workshops 💥 For nonprofit inspo, follow or tap 🔔 Warning: may contain humour 🤣
One of the BIGGEST pitfalls in recognising the value of nonprofit folk, both staff and volunteers, is to only do it once a year at the ‘awards do’ or celebration event in full view of others. It’s much better to recognise their contribution all year round through ongoing contact and regular support and development.
-
Jennifer Pohlhaus
Experienced Technology Director | Higher Education Enthusiast | Advocate for Innovative Instructional Technologies | Strategic Planner & Implementer | Board Chair at Open Connections
While a "pizza party" can be a fun break, it's important that it’s not the sole or primary method of recognition for exceptional work. Employee appreciation should be thoughtful, personalized, and appropriate to the achievements being recognized.
-
Hildy Gottlieb
Systems Change & Social Movements Geek. Author, TEDx speaker. Change the Questions, Change the World
Pay wages & benefits that allow them to live without worry. Don't perpetuate low wages by relying on wage surveys within the nonprofit sector. Don't cop to the commonly labeled "living wage" which is still fairly low. Pay them what is needed to live without worry. In the U.S. that is estimated to be approximately $80k/year. Budgeting & fundraising for that sends a clear message that employees are valued. We can do everything else to recognize employees, but without this, we are perpetuating the very conditions many organizations are seeking to change. And in the end, we are not creating conditions for our employees to be their most creative, collaborative, brilliant selves - because living in fear limits all of that.
-
Mark M.
Brand strategist ⚡ Author of Culture Built My Brand ⚡ Nonprofit Change Agent ⚡ Producer Future Nonprofit Podcast | Solving problems through design.
In the book ImprovLeadership they discuss the idea of the "Praise Matrix." Praising or recognizing someone in private = encouragement. Praising or recognizing someone in public = celebrates them. Praising or recognizing them among the team when they aren't present = anticipation for them. These are helpful to know especially when you overlay them with Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs. If you know where someone might be struggling you can support them using different types of praise.