Turnover and Retention among Volunteers in Human Service Agencies

Nonprofit agencies use approximately six million volunteers to deliver services. As public service increasingly relies on their work, the question of how to reduce turnover and increase retention among volunteers merits attention. This article reports an empirical analysis of turnover and retention using Herzberg's two-factor theory. The findings suggest two factors that reduce turnover: both preservice and in-service training and assigning challenging tasks.