Employment Trends and Strategies for Improving Employee Retention Within the Nonprofit Sector

Each month, the Wyoming Nonprofit Network highlights a specific topic impacting the nonprofit sector in its What We Are Learning email series. In May 2025, WNN is focusing on employment trends within the sector and factors that impact employee retention. 

Start Thinking About Employee Retention

Employee retention ensures that an organization can retain skilled employees and reduce the costs associated with turnover. Consider the pre-learning questions below related to your organization’s approach to employee retention:  

1. In the last five years, has the organization experienced any notable changes in its employee retention efforts?
2. Does organizational leadership understand the primary reasons employees choose to leave their roles at the organization?
3. How frequently does the organization evaluate salary and benefits, including non-monetary incentives? Within the organization, who is responsible for this evaluation, and what actions are taken with the collected information? 

2024 - 2025 Wyoming Nonprofit Compensation and Benefit Report

Utilizing responses from 138 nonprofit organizations, the 2024-2025 Wyoming Nonprofit Compensation and Benefits Report is a comprehensive resource that offers valuable insights to support nonprofit compensation and benefits planning. Key data highlights include pay, benefits, and organizational practices across the sector, along with benchmarks to guide salary ranges and benefit design.

The report is provided free of charge to organizations that completed the initial survey and is available for purchase to all other organizations for $75 for WNN members and $150 for non-members. Members must be logged in to the WNN website to access the member pricing. 

Resources

• Launched in 2024, the Social Impact Staff Retention project collects data on nonprofit worker engagement. Respondents are asked whether they are seeking new jobs, whether they are not, and the reasons for their decision. Additionally, respondents are asked about their tenure, scope of work, and whether job seekers plan to stay in the nonprofit sector or look to other fields. Review the findings and insights from the 2025 report online.

• According to research conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), five significant contributors to job satisfaction include respectful treatment of all employees, compensation, trust between employees and management, job security, and opportunities to use their skills at work. Read “Improving Employee Retention and Reducing Turnover” to understand the drivers of employee retention and determine which retention strategies may be most effective at your organization.

• Would you know how to gauge your employees’ satisfaction in the workplace? Reference “45 Sample Questions for Employee Satisfaction Surveys” from HR Morning to inspire your next staff survey or one-on-one conversation.

• Employee turnover can not only impact mission fulfillment, but also come with a cost. Research conducted by SHRM concluded “that on average it costs a company 6 to 9 months of an employee’s salary to replace him or her when all costs — recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, reduced productivity, et cetera, were considered.” Read “Employee Retention: What Employee Turnover Really Costs Your Company” from MGR Workforce to learn more.  

What You Want to Learn Matters

Email Director of Learning and Development Tess Mittelstadt at tmittelstadt@wynonprofit.org with your feedback on the What We Are Learning email and suggestions on future topics.

The Wyoming Nonprofit Network amplifies, cultivates, and advocates for Wyoming's nonprofits.

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