HR Workforce Solutions
By Nonprofits, For Nonprofits
The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.7% in February, down from 4.9 percent a year earlier and the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons was little changed at 5.7 million.Both the labor force participation rate (63%) and the employment-population ratio (60%) also showed little change for the month. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.8 million in February and accounted for 23.8 percent of the unemployed. Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed was down by 358,000.
Job gains occurred in construction (+58,000), professional and business services (+37,000), private educational services (+29,000), manufacturing (+28,000), health care (+27,000), and mining (+8,000) while retail trade employment edged down in February (-26,000), following a gain of 40,000 in the month prior. Employment in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government, showed little to no change over the month.
In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 6 cents to $26.09, following a 5-cent increase in January. After years of stagnant wage growth, average hourly earnings have risen by 71 cents over the year.
With the unemployment rate at levels the Federal Reserve considers to be full employment and the blockbuster report on job gains, the path is clear for the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rates next week when they meet again.
For nonprofits, employees’ collaborative efforts are often the key element to mission advancement. But clashing personalities working toward the same goal can lead to resentment and impatience in the work place.
Learning to recognize and understand others’ personality strengths and weaknesses can help you appreciate the diverse environment you work in. Specifically, nonprofits can take advantage of their diversity when it comes to improving their employment procedures and ensuring ongoing structural soundness.
Basic working styles can often be separated into 4 general categories:
Whichever working style team members possess doesn’t really matter by itself. What most affects a nonprofit’s success is the compilation of strengths your team brings to the table and your team’s ability to successfully work together as a cohesive unit. As long as you understand and utilize everyone’s unique abilities, pertinent to your team’s progress, your nonprofit will continue to flourish.
Podcast Description: This podcast discusses how nonprofit organizations might be missing a crucial opportunity for growth and relevance by underutilizing their boards. Jeff De Cagna is an author, speaker and advisor for associations and non-profit organizations across North America and around the world with decades of experience under his belt.
Foresight First LLC is a governing orientation that provides actionable insights on plausible futures by challenging association and non-profit boards to deal productively with the past so they can focus their attention on the future and pursue the generative work of transformation. To learn more about Foresight First LLC, visit their website at www.foresightfirst.io.
To stay up-to-date on the latest best practice tips and cost-saving ideas just for nonprofits, sign up for UST’s monthly eNews: https://www.chooseust.org/
Do all your employees want to be on the safety team? Are you turning people away from your slips, trips, and falls training? Yea, we didn’t think so.
Workplace safety is important and ongoing, yet it’s tough to get employees excited and to stay on top of safety plans, regardless of the industry you’re in. Presented by ThinkHR’s workplace trends expert Don Phin, this on-demand webinar provides insight on the many ways to revamp or create a new safety plan.
In this webinar, Don discusses:
Watch the webinar recording today: http://links.thinkhr.com/A20b09KT10W9fSn00R0C0oW
This webinar offers 1 HRCI and 1 SHRM-approved credit. Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.
Answer: Although employers may see the “always on” employee as highly productive, the constant state of being readily available can leave employees feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. To combat this struggle, employers may:
Note: The application of any new or existing workplace policy must be applied consistently and without discrimination throughout the workforce.
Q&A provided by ThinkHR, powering the UST HR Workplace for nonprofit HR teams. Have HR questions? Sign your nonprofit up for a free 30-day trial here.
1. Give them room to grow. Employees need to know their duties and their responsibilities are recognized, and that there is a clear path to growth. Recognizing those employees that are eager to take on more can help you craft an upward moving path for them. And remember it’s okay to ask! What do they see themselves doing? What can they offer? Letting them feel involved in their own future gives them confidence in themselves and their leaders.
2. Have mentors. The next leaders are already in our midst. Giving them the tools they need – direct from the experts – is pertinent to maintaining a strong nonprofit sector. Who’s better than leaders within your own organization to provide this? Sometimes assigning a formal mentor to an employee is necessary to build this type of relationship. Consulting with your executives and even executives at other organizations as to who they can stand by and provide career direction, might just open some doors to some true talent development.
3. Ensure a fair workplace. Limited HR staff often means nonprofits are “winging it” when it comes to applying workplace rules. But are the rules fair, and more importantly, do they follow the law? You might think closing the office for a week during Christmas is okay if you require employees to work Saturdays leading up to the holiday (this is a true story), but that would be classified as overtime and not paying them appropriately could cause a damaging lawsuit for your organization. Wrongful terminations are another big source of costly legal exposure.
4. Train your managers to be the best. Employee satisfaction often starts with having the right guidance. Training your managers to be great managers helps provide the framework for the entire organization. People often leave managers, not companies… and because good leaders aren’t born (they’re created), providing leadership education and management-skill training is vital to helping build the leadership an organization needs to retain employees. UST offers 200+ free online training courses for managers and employees when you join the UST Program, which is exclusive to nonprofit organizations.
5. Acknowledge they have lives outside of work. As an employer you might think your role starts and stops during the 9-5 job. But recognizing that life-work balance is important, and giving employees options like flexible hours, working from home occasionally, discounted gym memberships or sponsorship of activities like registration in a race or creating a softball team, can help foster more happiness and productivity at work. With many for-profit companies making these types of moves, it’s important to recognize how the nonprofit sector can provide equally satisfactory jobs for workers. There are all kinds of ways nonprofits make a difference for their employees. Tell us some of your ways on facebook!
Employers added 227,000 jobs in January, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the 76th consecutive month of job growth. This extends the record streak of job creation in the US and could reflect an economy that is approaching full employment.
Both the number of unemployed persons, at 7.6 million, and the unemployment rate, at 4.8 percent, were little changed from the prior month. The labor-force participation rate – Americans who had a job or were looking for one – ticked up to 62.9 percent from 62.7 percent in December, but it is still near its lowest level since the late 1970s.
The underemployment rate – people that are unemployed plus those who work part-time – rose 0.2 percent in January. Though the rate has fallen considerably in recent years, this is its highest level since October and nearly twice the level of the official jobless rate. Long-term unemployment – Americans out of work longer than six months – remains elevated at 24.4 percent.
America added 46,000 jobs in retail trade while construction rose by 36,000 and financial activities gained 32,000 jobs. Employment in health care also continued to trend up in January with an additional 18,000 positions being filled. Employment in other major industries, including mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and information and government, showed little to no change over the month.
In January, average hourly earnings rose by 3-cents, following a 6-cent increase in December. Over the year, average hourly wages have risen by 2.5 percent, a sign of continued momentum from last year.
While this is the first jobs report to be released under the Trump administration, the survey was conducted weeks before the Presidential Inauguration so no doubt all of America will be watching closely to see how the state of unemployment starts to unfold.
Through the Noise interviewed Kiki L’Italien, CEO & Founder of Amplified Growth , to provide nonprofit employers the latest digital marketing tips they need to reach and engage current and potential members. Listen below or check out the full library of podcasts .
Podcast Description: This podcast discusses why it’s important to understand and utilize SEO and SEM—search engine optimization and search engine marketing—when looking to amplify your nonprofit’s voice. Kiki L’Italien explains how to get to know who you are trying to reach, where they spend their time, and how to meet them where they are.
Amplified Growth is a DC-based digital marketing consultancy specializing in SEO, social media, and content strategy for associations and commercial clients. To learn more about Amplified Growth, visit their website at http://www.amplifiedgrowth.net.
To stay up-to-date on the latest best practice tips and cost-saving ideas just for nonprofits, sign up for UST’s monthly eNews: https://www.chooseust.org/enews
Transitioning into a new job with a new boss in an entirely new environment can be one of the biggest transitions we experience as an adult. It is often an exciting time but also comes with a blend of emotions reminiscent of the first day of school.
First-time impressions are everything from both the perspective of the employer as well as the new employee. Training is a key component when welcoming new staff and can go a long way if done right. Some ways to help a new employee adjust:
1. All Inclusive Tour. The standard company tour is an essential part of a new hires first day on the job but including the unexpected such as a stroll to local hotspots – the best coffee house or favorite lunch spot – will help ease new employees’ nerves by allowing them to unwind a bit and will help in making them feel more welcome.
2. Make Connections. Meeting a dozen people in one day can be overwhelming so break down introductions over the first week and by departments. Include a cheat sheet that includes some background information on each person with names, titles and any known tidbits – favorite baseball team, hobbies, etc. This will also help to kick-start the process of building relationships.
3. Wine and Dine. Make sure new employees have lunch plans the first few days on the job. Once with you and then with other members of the team they’ll be working closely with or even with other members in the office that you think they should meet. Again this will make them feel welcome and at ease rather than sitting alone and feeling awkward.
4. Provide Resources. Have a Welcome Guide with checklists, sample documents, FAQs and a list of go-to-resources that will help new hires get acclimated before they’re off and running. Things like annual reports, marketing plans, the company newsletter and internal contact numbers for tech support and human resources among others. Easy-to-digest information that isn’t over-whelming helps to ease the stress associated with the transition.
5. Make Yourself Available. When faced with a steep learning curve anyone can get frustrated so make yourself available. Starting a new position is stressful enough, so making time to check in can make all the difference in the world. A no-fail way to make an employee feel like a part of the team is by making them feel comfortable in their new environment.
There’s no debate over the nerves associated with starting a new job so the more time you devote in the beginning, the faster you’ll have an at ease team member who feels welcome and wants to stay.
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UST maintains a secure site. This means that information we obtain from you in the process of enrolling is protected and cannot be viewed by others. Information about your agency is provided to our various service providers once you enroll in UST for the purpose of providing you with the best possible service. Your information will never be sold or rented to other entities that are not affiliated with UST. Agencies that are actively enrolled in UST are listed for review by other agencies, UST’s sponsors and potential participants, but no information specific to your agency can be reviewed by anyone not affiliated with UST and not otherwise engaged in providing services to you except as required by law or valid legal process.
Your use of this site and the provision of basic information constitute your consent for UST to use the information supplied.
UST may collect generic information about overall website traffic, and use other analytical information and tools to help us improve our website and provide the best possible information and service. As you browse UST’s website, cookies may also be placed on your computer so that we can better understand what information our visitors are most interested in, and to help direct you to other relevant information. These cookies do not collect personal information such as your name, email, postal address or phone number. To opt out of some of these cookies, click here. If you are a Twitter user, and prefer not to have Twitter ad content tailored to you, learn more here.
Further, our website may contain links to other sites. Anytime you connect to another website, their respective privacy policy will apply and UST is not responsible for the privacy practices of others.
This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for our site is subject to change.
It’s a competitive world for hiring managers and no one wants to get chopped or leave out a key ingredient.
Presented by ThinkHR, this on-demand webinar cooks up ideas and best practices for:
Watch the webinar recording today: http://links.thinkhr.com/o01iW00al00fSK09oWT9nR0
This webinar offers 1 HRCI and 1 SHRM-approved credit. Want access to more HR-certified webinar opportunities and a live HR hotline? Visit www.chooseust.org/thinkhr/ to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of the UST HR Workplace, powered by ThinkHR.