Attract Hire Retain June 26 | Bristol Organization

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” As adults, we ask children this question to better understand their creative, young minds and their hopes and dreams for the future. We — and they, even from a young age — inherently understand that our career path often becomes a strong part of our identity.

Yet, how many people do you know who actually feel a deep sense of belonging at their current job? And who feel that their unique identity is welcomed, appreciated and utilized? Unfortunately, only one-third of U.S. employees are engaged in their work. Even more concerning: as of 2025, 67% of nonprofit employees plan to look for a new job, and the workers who haven’t quit yet may simply be waiting for the right moment. Many don’t feel a strong connection with their company or the mission. That’s why it is even more important for the social sector to act now so we can attract and retain the best talent for our cause.

In our recent blog, Nonprofit Turnover Is a Warning Sign. Are You Paying Attention?, we shared our concern that nonprofit leaders need to be mindful of their organization’s turnover rate. However, that is only part of the story. In 2026, a new trend began emerging: “job hugging.” Rather than freely switching roles, some employees in this tighter job market are now holding on to the security of their current positions, even when unhappy or disengaged, rather than taking their chances in an unpredictable job market.

A 2025 Monster survey found that 48% of workers are currently “job hugging,” staying put out of fear rather than fulfillment. This creates a new challenge for nonprofits: while turnover has moderated compared to years past (most organizations now see 14–18% turnover annually, down from 20–25%+ at its peak), the risk hasn’t disappeared, it’s just gone underground. As soon as the job market improves, the risk is that your “job huggers,” who have been staying for security, may leave en masse, which could have a profoundly negative impact on your organizational health and performance.

To help organizations address this issue, John Troy of WorkTogether Talent Consulting and I developed a checklist to spur conversation about talent within your organization, focusing on both recruitment and retention. We encourage your board and management team to compare this list against your personnel practices and address your weakest areas.

Attracting Talent

How do you currently attract talent? Do you post on job boards or your website? Do you hire a recruiter or use in-house resources? Do you network and keep a short list of “rising stars”? We suggest focusing on the recruitment methods that net the best talent. These are likely to vary based on position. We also suggest tracking metrics on your recruitment rates, especially for high-impact positions.
How long does it take from posting the job to filling it? We have found that when organizations start from scratch, i.e., they don’t have a list of “rising stars,” it usually takes about one to two months to fill junior-level jobs, three months to fill mid-level jobs (managers), and six months or longer to fill senior-level positions. We suggest you track these metrics, because the longer it takes, the greater the risk to the organization from those who are “covering” this job.
How often does your first choice accept your offer? We believe they should accept 80 percent of the time. When they don’t accept your offer, ask first-choice candidates why to learn what you can do to improve. Remember that the interview process is not only the candidate’s opportunity to sell you on why they are a great fit for the role, but also your opportunity to sell the candidate on your mission and why they should want to join your team. You need to know why candidates, especially those who are “rising stars,” are not choosing your organization.
Do you have an intern program to attract and try out talent? If not, check to see if your local college or mayor’s office has a program that you can participate in (note: this usually includes an application process).
Do you actively elevate your organization’s brand and know how it is perceived? Every nonprofit has a workplace brand. You need to cultivate that brand by posting your values, showcasing your organization through awards and highlighting staff stories on your recruitment pages. Consider participating in your community’s “Best Places to Work” lists and/or career days at local colleges to raise awareness about your organization.

Hiring Talent That Fits

Do your job descriptions list both responsibilities (e.g., write grants) and key competencies (e.g., writing ability, time management) for each role? Have you delineated must-haves vs. nice-to-haves? Do you have your values embedded into them?
Have you bought or conducted a salary survey to ensure a match between your job description and your starting salary/benefits? Does your organization conduct a salary and benefit review of all positions every three years?
Do you include salary information in your job description? This is increasingly the norm in 2026 — talented jobseekers are beginning to expect it. The more transparent you are, the more you can stand out from the crowd and attract the broadest, highest-quality talent pool.
Pro Tip: Not ready to share the whole salary range? Try sharing at least the bottom end of the range and indicating that the salary increases from there based upon experience. This will still provide a general signal on compensation to the market.
Do you use assessments (e.g., Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, Predictive Index) to help assess fit and personality?
Do you seek samples of past work or have a performance-based interview process?

Bringing out the Best

Do you have a robust onboarding process? Employees now decide in the first 90 days on the job if they are going to stay for 5 years or more.
Do you have an annual performance review process with regular feedback discussions at least once a quarter for both high and low performers? These should result in performance plans, including professional development needs; measurable, time-bound goals; and action steps.
Do you have a regular supervisor training that covers key topics, such as delegating, leading teams and addressing performance problems? If not, or if you have questions on how to approach this, check out the Management Center’s book, Managing to Change the World.
Do you pair employees — especially new employees — with buddies, coaches or mentors? We have found that buddy and mentorship programs result in more honest conversations and open feedback and increase a sense of belonging. (While supervisors should coach their teams as part of their management responsibility, here we are referring to non-supervisors serving as mentors.)
Do you track key metrics on talent, such as turnover rates (desired and undesired), average recruitment time and percentage of first-choice candidates hired? Do you share these with staff and board as part of your organizational dashboard?
Do you conduct annual confidential climate surveys to gauge employee satisfaction, compare them year-over-year and act on the results in a transparent way? Do you create a report card and share results with your staff?
Do you have early warning systems in place for high performers to have candid conversations before they decide to leave? More employers are conducting “stay interviews” with high-potential roles and individuals through their HR departments to allow employees to share any concerns or feedback before they start thinking of leaving. Some HR departments are even tracking PTO to ensure high performers are taking enough time off and not getting burned out on their job.
Are you watching for signs of ‘job hugging’ among your team?” Many employees are staying put not because they’re thriving, but because leaving feels too risky. Warning signs include talented people playing it safe, avoiding stretch projects or angling for stable internal promotions rather than growing by trying something new. Use stay interviews and pulse surveys to distinguish genuine engagement from fear-based retention, and invest in professional development opportunities that give employees a reason to stay, not just a reason not to leave.
Do you have a Culture Committee that monitors and works intentionally to improve culture within the organization? Do they have activities that build both bonding within the group and belonging among individuals?
Do you use your task forces and committees to help employees give back to the organizations, build teamwork and leadership skills, and encourage active participation in improving the organization?

Exiting & Learning

Do you conduct confidential exit interviews of all exiting employees, without their supervisors present, to learn about their individual situations? How often do you really get candid feedback that is actionable?
Do you review exit interviews collectively to find themes to act on?
Do you track and review turnover rates (desired and undesired) over time, look for trends (e.g., certain departments, age range) and develop a proactive plan to reduce undesirable turnover?

Keeping & Growing Talent

Do you have a culture as a learning organization? Do you encourage growth of the individual, of teams and of the organization?
How do you manage failure? Is the organization open to taking risks and learning from them?
Does your organization have both an open and an anonymous process (e.g., whistleblower policy) for sharing positive and negative feedback across teams and between supervisors?

We hope this starts a thoughtful conversation internally about what it takes to build a healthy workforce — we welcome any additions to the checklist.