11y
We’re sorry to hear that this employee was so dissatisfied by their experience at Room to Read. As Room to Read values transparency and prides itself on being a learning organization, we take feedback like this seriously and we therefore would like to provide some corrected facts and more current insight.
Through the recruiting process, Room to Read strives to identify candidates who have both the necessary skills to be successful and also room to stretch and grow. In order to support individual development we have a rigorous goal-setting and review process that takes place between managers and employees annually. Given our focus on education, we see ourselves as a group of life-long learners at Room to Read. Employees are encouraged to set annual goals that go above and beyond their day-to-day responsibilities, so that they have the opportunity for professional development and a chance to demonstrate and advance their skills. We support professional development through on-site and virtual trainings, as well as through hands-on work experience. We are proud to share that our internal promotion rate for 2014 was 14%, which is more than double the median non-profit promotion rate of 5.9%, as reported in the U.S. Human Capital Effectiveness Report provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.
While we recognize that a few years ago we had higher turnover (although never at 60%!), Room to Read has worked very hard recently to improve in this area. Our management team has taken this concern both personally and seriously and in fact tracks this rate quarterly. We have drastically shifted our culture to encourage more flexible work environments which contribute to a better work-life balance for staff—including our founders. Additionally, we survey staff annually to check in on their job satisfaction. We do this to learn about how our improved work culture contributes to overall satisfaction, and also to gain greater insight into how we can continue to improve. According to the aforementioned report, the median non-profit turnover rate is 12%, and our turnover rate last year within External Relations (which we are assuming to mean our Development Department) was 7%. We are certainly proud to fall below the median. We attribute this low turnover number to highly empowered staff focused on clear roles and responsibilities aligned around our five year strategic plan, along with highly competitive compensation and benefits packages which we also benchmark annually across every market we operate.
We are excited to soon publish our next five year strategic plan (2015-2019), which addresses our efforts to diversify and strengthen our funding streams, including the Annual Fund, which was referenced in this review. We have already demonstrated strong annual fund growth (“under $1K” category donations have increased by 33% in the last four years, for example) and we have plans to increase our annual fund revenue by 20% over the next five years. Thirty seven percent of our revenue comes from 25K+ individual donors who we value greatly, but who also see the value in diversifying our base to build a more sustainable organization.
Finally, we agree with the comment that we have a lot of fun at work! Room to Read values cultural sensitivity and collaboration which fosters an environment where individuals are able to bring their whole selves to work, and contribute both professionally and personally to a workplace that is dedicated to changing the world through literacy and gender equality in education.
