The magic ingredient for nonprofit employee productivity

Here's a cool study from the Inside Influence Report that shows how you can improve the effectiveness of your staff: A Great Recipe for Employee Productivity...in Five Easy Minutes.

The study went like this:

1. The first group read about the personal benefits of the jobs -- financial rewards and development of skills
2. The second group read stories from the beneficiaries of the organization, describing the positive impact on their lives.
3. A control group didn't read anything.

Here's what happened:

What they found was amazing. Employees in [groups #1 and #3] looked almost exactly the same after the intervention as before it in terms of amount of donation money raised and the number of pledges earned. Yet, those in [group #2] earned more than twice the number of weekly pledges (from an average of 9 to an average of 23) and more than twice the amount of weekly donation money (from an average of $1,288 to an average of $3,130).

How many other ways can you think of where giving someone information transforms their behavior for the better? It's like magic, huh? And if you're a nonprofit you have this magic right at your fingertips.

Never forget the power of constantly reminding nonprofit employees up and down the line -- especially those in fundraising, who tend to be away from the frontlines -- about the difference they're making happen in the world.

Comments

[Alexandra Peters]

It isn't surprising that real stories are far more motivational. We all love real stories - that's why we watch movies and read books, and why we all stop and listen when someone says, "I want to tell you a story."

Here's what works beautifully for finding those stories: a methodology called Appreciative Inquiry. It's a process that will generate story telling in a positive way from within the organization - from everyone.

I just wrote about Appreciative Inquiry in a 4 part series on: www.grantstation.com
(Okay, self serving reference, but it's there...)

Alexandra Peters