Trends from 2019

Leading Edge continued to track significant differences in responses between those who wanted to leave their organization in the next year and those who were committed to staying for five or more years.

Employees’ decisions to stay or leave were predicated on:

• How much they felt enabled and motivated to do their best work
• How they experienced leadership
• Whether there were opportunities for learning and advancement
• Whether they felt a sense of well-being

Our sector has much to be proud of:

• The vast majority of employees at Jewish nonprofits express tremendous pride in their work and know how their work directly contributes to their organizational mission.
• Employees have confidence in their immediate managers, and feel cared for and respected by them.

Our sector also has growing edges or areas to improve:

• Managers can do more to support their teams to do their best work—fundamental management practices are weak in Jewish organizations.
• When it comes to how employees feel about their organization’s top leaders, open and honest two-way communication is critical, and yet it is almost always a pain point for organizations, especially larger ones.

Trends from returning organizations

• As a group, organizations that have taken the survey more than once (i.e., “returning organizations”) are scoring better in almost every category.
• The more times an organization takes the survey, the better its results.
• Of the 95 organizations taking the survey either for the second, third, or fourth time in 2019, 43 improved significantly (5% increase or more) on the items that directly measure employee engagement.

What is a Leading Place to Work?

Since 2014, Leading Edge has been conducting a broad literature and field review across industries, disciplines, and sectors to identify the core factors of great workplace culture. These include:

• Trusted Leaders
• Common Purpose
• Respected Employees
• Talent Development
• Clear Salary and Benefits
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice

See page 10 in the report for discussions of each factor.