When we look back on 2021 we’ll probably remember a few themes. One of them will be that nearly every employer was grappling with staff turnover and vacancies. This trend was already in place before the pandemic, and it’s only deepened since then. This year it hit primetime.

Will the staffing crisis continue? A changing economy may ease this burden for some positions, but may not affect others. The labour market is ultimately about supply and demand. As long there are more positions than available workers, vacancies will be common. Short of decreasing the scope of your organization’s work or finding ways to increase collective productivity (topics I wrote about recently), nonprofits will have to compete for workers in the marketplace.

Therein lies the problem. With little budget flexibility, many nonprofits won’t be in a position to pump up salaries a whole lot. But this doesn’t mean there’s nothing nonprofit leaders can do about retention. Here are five ways you can improve staff retention without increasing expenses:

1. Share credit, often and publicly

What do employees want from a job? Money is on the list, but various studies have shown it’s often not at the top. Workers also want recognition and many value being part of something larger than themselves. This is where nonprofits can play to their strengths.

Recognition is free. If it’s sincere and reflective of staff members’ contributions, recognition is a source of pride and team cohesion. Every opportunity to share credit—with board members, funders, clients and co-workers—is an opportunity to strengthen retention. Well-appreciated employees are much less likely to be actively job hunting.

2. Create project leadership and autonomy opportunities

Employees also value respect and appreciate growth opportunities. They need to know they are making important contributions. Saying this out loud is step one. Demonstrating this by assigning deeper responsibilities is another. Managers can do this by identifying projects for staff members at varying levels to lead. Projects may range from organizational development tasks to operational improvements, team building efforts or research. These focused responsibilities should fit employees’ skill sets and allow them to cultivate new ones.

Giving staff members new opportunities along with trust that they can succeed is a morale-booster, which makes this another retention tool.

3. Require time at the front lines

Many employees work on the direct service front lines. Everyone else—managers, fundraisers, back office staff—does not. These two groups tend to work in their own mini-universes, with limited understanding of what goes on in the other world. I’m suggesting that you intentionally bring the worlds together.

Imagine that we create opportunities for the “everyone else” group members to spend time with direct service staff on the job, and make this mandatory. Examples (from my own experience) include office staff riding with food distribution drivers, loading boxes alongside warehouse staff, accompanying educators with students, and touring housing sites with developers and clients. Obviously some direct services require confidentiality or privacy, so creativity is needed to shape some interactions. The key is to mix the two groups; making it mandatory helps ensure that the blending of work universes is universal.

This can help build office staff morale. They’ll better understand the organization’s work and gain pride in its outcomes. They’ll also deepen their understanding of how their own work impacts the world. Direct service staffers, for their part, tend to feel more appreciated and part of a broader team when their coworkers appreciate what they do. Better yet, bridging these two groups can enhance the social fabric of the organization, softening inevitable rivalries that may exist between departments. This makes for a more congenial workplace culture. And it doesn’t cost a dime.

4. Offer graduated vacation time increases

An old-fashioned way to increase the tenure of staff is to reward longevity. Increasing vacation leave earnings as years of service rise is a simple way to do this. With the exception of workers who must be replaced while on leave, this doesn’t increase net staffing expenses.

Most nonprofits elevate vacation time earnings at different levels of tenure, but often at few and distant mileposts. Increasing earnings annually, for example after each of the first seven years of service followed by another increase at ten years, can get to the same place while allowing employees to regularly see and feel the impacts.

5. Establish a sabbatical benefit

I worked in an organization that offered all employees a paid sabbatical after their seventh anniversary. Although (sadly) I didn’t quite make it to seven years, I was aware of the benefit from day one. It was a tangible reward for years of service and a statement that the organization wanted to keep the team together. This specific benefit wasn’t earthshaking in itself, but what it delivered was: an opportunity to recharge without worrying about missed mortgage payments.

An example of a modest sabbatical benefit is 8-10 weeks off at 60% salary with full benefits, at a time that is mutually agreeable to the employee and management. This can be limited to slow seasons or times when substitutions are feasible. Since many employees will not need to be replaced during the leave, the organization can actually save money, which can then be invested in temporary replacements for other roles, where needed.

While the promise of an extended paid leave can be a great incentive for staff members to stay until they can take advantage, it also has a downside: employees may be more likely to leave in the year after they use the benefit. For my money, this is a good tradeoff. Some turnover can be healthy, and seven years or more is a good run for most positions. A sabbatical benefit can be a net retention booster for many nonprofits.

Bonus way: cucumber water

Why stop at five?

This idea came to me from a client CEO who works in a field that’s long had retention challenges. She polled her staff on what they liked and wanted in their workplace, and found that little amenities—fresh cucumbers in the cooler was high on the list—added perceived value to the work environment.

Cucumber water really is refreshing. And cucumbers are pretty affordable, even in this age of inflation. Best of all, this fit right into the organization’s office supplies budget line. “I’ll cut the damn cucumbers myself if it makes them happy,” she said. It did.

What low-cost methods have you tried to boost staff retention. Let me know, and I’ll share them.