Why Employee Turnover Should be a Key Metric for the Social Sector — Our Collective Canary in the Coal Mine
<p>If you want a heartwarming movie to watch in these final days of summer, I highly recommend “The 33,” which is a real-life account of a mining disaster in Chile in 2010. Stories above and below ground intertwine to make the movie compelling and relatable. Ultimately, all 33 miners were saved after 69 days underground in difficult conditions. They went down miners and came up brothers after sharing this ordeal together.</p>
<p>While rarely as harrowing as the conditions these miners endured, <strong>our work in the social sector is often conducted in less-than-ideal conditions, many of which are outside of our control and can lead to secondary trauma. Yet, people join us because they have a heart for the work and believe that they will strike gold once in a while and make a real difference.</strong> In the early days of coal mining, miners would take canaries into mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases, such as carbon monoxide, were present, the gas would kill the canary, warning the miners to exit the tunnel. This practice gave rise to the saying, “canary in the coal mine.”</p>
<p>Lately, I have noticed that our metaphorical canary is looking rather ill. <strong>We have more people entering the social sector but exiting just as quickly.</strong> Some of this can be attributed to COVID and economic conditions, but we own this challenge and need to resolve it together. Some turnover is healthy. However, based on our combined years in the industry, my good friend, John Troy of <a href="https://workmonger.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">WorkMonger</a>, and I believe that our collective turnover rate as an industry is reaching dangerous levels and wanted to address it. <strong>We are not attracting or </strong><a href="https://socialimpactarchitects.com/employee-retention/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>retaining</strong></a><strong> the talent to deliver on the social change we need to make, which could lead to suffocating results. This deficit is particularly challenging for the social sector where, as we have </strong><a href="https://socialimpactarchitects.com/know-before-you-hire/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>documented</strong></a><strong>, the single biggest driver of success is </strong><a href="https://socialimpactarchitects.com/nonprofit-talent-search/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>talent</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://socialtrendspot.medium.com/why-employee-turnover-should-be-a-key-metric-for-the-social-sector-our-collective-canary-in-the-eb74c5c5ef5d"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>