Staff Retention Factors in the Not-for-profit Sector: An Examination of a Western Australian Community Organisation

In Australia today Not-for-profit organisations, like most other entities, are trying to respond effectively to challenges associated with the recruitment and retention of competent, experienced and committed staff. Unlike government and commercial entities, however, the poor resourcing of Not-for-profit organisations makes it necessary to approach the issue of recruitment and retention with more creativity than perhaps is required of organisations in the other two sectors of the Australian economy. This is particularly the case for Not-for-profit organisations operating in Western Australia where the economic conditions based on resource exploitation make recruitment and retention, even in the context of the recently reduced economic activity in the state, extremely difficult. In this article, the authors seek to communicate the results of a study focused upon the retention factors that staff considered to be important in a Not-for-profit organisation based in the northern periphery of Perth, Western Australia.