Nonprofit Organizational Culture Assessment Findings

We are honored to share this story of a citizens group concerned about the number of people in need of help and a gathering place to share. We have kept this organization anonymous to maintain the privacy of its members and beneficiaries. Yet, for more than 50 years of seeking to make a difference in their community, resources, ideas, and volunteer hours  were pooled to build and operate a thriving program that has served its community to this day.

Assessing Workplace Culture in a Non-profit Setting

The usefulness of organizational culture as a construct for research and an assessment tool for organizations has been well established over the past decades.¹ While research and practice involving organizational culture are, to a large extent, associated with for-profit organizations, crucial work in the usefulness of understanding organizational culture for nonprofit organizations and its actual impact and practicality can be found in broad sectors of society.

Research exists on culture in nonprofits and its relationship with outcomes such as fundraising success and employee attitudes, but more can be made known about the different ways in which paid staff members and volunteers experience organizational culture.²

We had an opportunity to consult for a nonprofit organization in our community that is undergoing major changes, including mergers with other community organizations, a vast increase in the number of employees, and an expansion of programs and services it offers to the community. 

After a tour of the site and conversations with the organization's board of directors, it was clear that an assessment of organizational culture would provide important information to understand the issues that the organization is facing, and how the experienced culture may differ between paid staff and volunteers.

A Perspective on Work by Employees & Volunteers

The Organizational Culture Inventory^® (OCI^® ) was administered to the managers, employees, and volunteers of a nonprofit organization.³ Our findings highlighted that the culture experienced by volunteers could be very different from that experienced by employees - even when these individuals work side by side. In our study, volunteers reportedly experienced a much more Constructive culture than did employees, and more generally, the culture profile for volunteers (compared to that of employees) more closely resembled what is historically considered to be ideal for the organization. (See Figure 1)

While employees reportedly experienced stronger Passive/Defensive and Aggressive/Defensive styles than did volunteers, these findings can likely be attributed to the type of work that goes on in this organization, which in turn affects the systems and structures, and the perceived cultural differences between these two groups

Figure 1, Click to enlarge image.

Our impressions during the interview with the Board of Directors asserted that there is a turnover issue (or a low commitment issue) with paid employees, while on the other hand, volunteers have been committed and demonstrated low turnover over the years - which is evidently reflected in the results of the OCI assessment. 

It should be noted that for nonprofit organizations, two different sets of effective management practices and policies are required to reach the same output for both paid and volunteer workers, as research has suggested two distinct sets of factors impacting their respective outlooks with the organization.^{4, 5}

Transactional & Relational Factors-Same Output, Different Outlook

While it is intuitive that a certain level of commitment and personal ethics is required to volunteer with a nonprofit organization (i.e., a match in values between volunteers and the organization's mission), there are organizational factors that can also impact the level of volunteers' intention to stay with the organization - and they can be drastically different from factors influencing paid employees' intention to stay.^{6, 7} 

For example, while paid employees' commitment to the organization is largely impacted through transactional, relational, and normative factors, volunteers tend to evaluate their intention to stay with the NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) based primarily on relational factors, as well as the alignment of personal values and motivations with those of the organization.^{8, 9}

• Examples of relational factors include being socially integrated as "part of the team" within the organization and being involved through effective communication across organizational levels, and these are important to both paid and unpaid workers in an organization.¹⁰

• While some transactional factors play a role in retaining volunteers' commitment, the impact is minor.

By definition, volunteers and organizations do not have a transactional relationship in a traditional monetary sense; however, commitment and intention to stay are often dictated by management practices, including proper training and support as well as adequate access to resources and integration within the organization.¹¹

When Differences Collide-Expectations & Perceptions of Organizational Culture

Generally, in nonprofit organizations and especially in organizations undergoing major change, non-profit employees may feel a greater sense of stress, uncertainty, and job insecurity. These factors may then contribute to stronger levels of Defensive cultural styles as greater expectations to protect one's own status and security emerge.¹²

Volunteers of nonprofit organizations likely do not experience such expectations within their work roles, or at least to the same extent, and more generally may be treated differently, with behavioral expectations more positive and Constructive in nature. Most nonprofit organizations rely heavily on volunteers to handle their daily operations and to keep the organization going; naturally, volunteers may be treated differently in terms of appreciation and respect for altruistically committing and serving the organization's mission.^{13, 14}

Expectations for paid employees and volunteers may differ in several ways. Most volunteers do not undergo the same or similar procedures as their paid counterparts.¹⁵ For example, volunteers are often not screened during the application process and are often retained in their roles even if they are not a great fit for the position which likely would not be the case for paid employees.¹⁶ 

Furthermore, volunteers have different expectations within their roles and responsibilities, as volunteers' responsibilities are often focused on tackling tasks that are directly related to the mission of the organization without having to go through the administrative procedures employees do.¹⁷ As such, the experienced culture may be more positive or Constructive for volunteers because of the nature of their roles within the organization since their roles are less likely to involve pressures or expectations that are associated with Defensive styles (i.e., threats to status and security).

Our Findings

Organizational culture isn't a concern only for large corporations or young startups. Rather, it is important for all organizations as it sets the context for everything organizations do, and this includes nonprofits that serve their communities with pride and purpose.

In our case study, findings suggest that it cannot be assumed employees and volunteers experience non-profit culture in the same way within an organization, even when they work side by side, and that the OCI should be administered to both groups when assessing organizational culture in nonprofit organizations.

Editor's Note: For other real-life nonprofit organizational culture examples  consider these cases: The Girl Scouts of the USA and Catholic publishing company, The Word Among Us.

References:

¹ Ashkanasy, N. M., Wilderom, C. P. M., & Peterson, M. F. (2011). The handbook of organizational culture and climate, 2 nd ed. Los Angeles, CA, US: Sage.

² Rousseau, D. M. (1990). Normative beliefs in fund-raising organizations: Linking culture to organizational performance and individual responses. Group & Organization Studies, 15, 448-460. Retrieved from http://gom.sagepub.com/content/15/4/448.abstract

³ Cooke, R. A. & Lafferty, J. C. (1987). Organizational Culture Inventory ®. Plymouth, MI: Human Synergistics.

⁴ Carvalho, A., & Sampaio, M. (2017). Volunteer management beyond prescribed best practice: a case study of Portuguese non-profits. Personnel Review, 46(2), 410-428. doi: 10.1108/pr-04-2014-0081

⁵ Romaioli, D., Nencini, A., & Meneghini, A. (2016). How to foster commitment among volunteers: A social constructionist study in Italian nonprofit organizations. Journal of Social Service Research, 42(5), 718-728. doi: 10.1080/01488376.2016.1202880; Fitzpatrick, T., Remmer, J., & Leimanis, M. (2014). A study exploring risk management issues among volunteers in an oncology support program. Journal of Social Service Research, 41(1), 25-38. doi: 10.1080/01488376.2014.930945

⁶ Rothschild, J., & Milofsky, C. (2006). The centrality of values, passions, and ethics in the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 17(2), 137-143. doi: 10.1002/nml.139

⁷ Romaioli, Nencini, & Meneghini, 2016

⁸ Meyer, J., & Allen, N. (1997). Commitment in the workplace. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publication.

⁹ (Stirling, Kilpatrick, & Orpin, 2011)

¹⁰ (Romaioli, Nencini, & Mengehini, 2016; Fitzpatrick, Remmer, & Leimanis, 2015)

¹¹ Romaioli, Nencini, & Mengehini, 2016; Fitzpatrick, Remmer, & Leimanis, 2015)

¹² Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI): Interpretation and development guide . Plymouth, MI, US: Human Synergistics.

¹³ Boezeman, E., & Ellemers, N. (2014). Volunteer leadership: The role of pride and respect in organizational identification and leadership satisfaction. Leadership, 10(2), 160-173. doi: 10.1177/1742715012467687

¹⁴ Ramaioli, Nencini, & Mengehini, 2016

¹⁵ Stirling, C., Kilpatrick, S., & Orpin, P. (2011). A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability. Human Resource Development International, 14(3), 321-336. doi: 10.1080/13678868.2011.585066

¹⁶ Carvalho & Sampaio, 2016

¹⁷ Stirling, Kilpatrick, & Oprin, 2011