The Network for Social Management is honoring Dr. Sally Selden, vice president and dean for academic affairs at University of Lynchburg, for her research that sheds light on turnover in nonprofit organizations.
Dr. Selden co-authored “Voluntary Turnover in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: The Impact of High Performance Work Practices” with Dr. Jessica Sowa, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver. After being published in 2015, the paper was nominated and chosen to receive the Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance Slavin-Patti Award for its outstanding research.
“Voluntary turnover in nonprofits can present a significant cost, reducing the performance of a nonprofit and challenging its sustainability over time,” reads the abstract of the paper. “This study examines voluntary turnover in a sample of human service (HS) nonprofit organizations in eight states, exploring the relationship between the implementation of high performance work practices (HPWP) and voluntary turnover. The findings demonstrate that certain HPWPs, including onboarding, leadership development, compensation, and employee relations, are associated with lower voluntary turnover. The results suggest that human service nonprofits seeking to improve retention should invest more time and resources in developing employees as future leaders and cultivating a positive working environment.”
The award will be presented at the Network for Social Work Management Conference held at Endowment Center in Los Angeles on June 17.
