‘Everything is going up but your wages remain the same’: Nonprofits struggling to hire and retain workers
A new report from Pillar Nonprofit Network and the Elgin Middlesex Oxford Workforce Planning and Development Board (EMOWPDB) found local businesses were slightly improving in their recovery over the last year while nonprofits are struggling.
Data collected from the regional EmployerOne Survey in January of this year showed that nonprofits have found it difficult to hire and retain qualified workers.
“The data shows that local nonprofit organizations are having real difficulty offering stable, well-compensated work,” said Paul Seale, manager of Public Policy, Advocacy, and Impact for Pillar Nonprofit Network. “As a major employer and economic driver in our region and a major social driver, a struggling nonprofit sector will likely slow recovery for the whole region.”
The new report found that 65 per cent of nonprofit employers reported much higher rates of employees quitting and permanent layoffs compared to businesses.
In addition, nonprofits found the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impacts as a factor in retaining workers.
“It's been extremely challenging for recruitment and retention,” said John McVeigh, manager of accommodations with Community Living London, Ont., a nonprofit that assists people with developmental disabilities.
According to McVeigh, the organization lost 30 per cent of its workforce during the pandemic.
“But we’re always looking to grow and expand and there’s a huge wait list of people that needs supports which requires growth in your staff and not just keeping what you have,” he explained.
With less funding coming in, many nonprofit employers are having difficulty offering stable work with a higher salary to new or current employees.
“It's not just our operating costs rising but personal costs. My staff, their rent goes up, their grocery bill goes up, everything is going up,” said Deborah Armstrong, programs director at Nokee Kwe, an indigenous-led employment and education centre. “And yet, our funding remains the same and wages remain the same.”
The executive director for the EMOWPDB hopes this data will show local governments the need for economic recovery in the sector.
“With local unemployment rates at record lows, the region has a very competitive labour market. Any imbalance in organizations’ ability to compete will likely exacerbate current trends,” said Emilian Siman, executive director at EMOWPDB.
“This year’s data suggests that there are organizations in every sector that are challenged to meet their workforce needs, but while more businesses might be reaching that ‘cautious optimism’ stage we associate with pandemic recovery, more nonprofits are reporting real difficulties,” said Siman.
“I think we need to people to understand there needs to be investment in the sector in organizational costs and core costs,” Seale said. “But we’re optimistic.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.