The value of human resources in non profit organizations. The Italian situation

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyze the situation of the human resources in the non profit organizations in Italy. The human resources of a non profit organization are composed by workers and volunteers. Volunteers are workers who voluntarily choose to provide services to a non profit, without any expectation of compensation.

The non profit sector is an often overlooked and important economic driver with its employees and a large number of volunteers. Non profit organizations provide important opportunities for people to combine their energy, talents and values for community improvement and enrichment. A large number of non profit organizations are formed to produce goods or services while abiding by certain moral, intellectual, aesthetic or religious principles. Several authors have suggested that, under such conditions, the organizational goals of non profits are often best achieved by intrinsically motivated employees and by employees who identify very closely with the goals of the organization. Keeping employees motivated and engaged is the key to every organization’s success especially in the non profit sector. When people work at a non profit, they are surrounded by people driven by a sense of mission. It goes beyond job satisfaction and is not simply motivation. Engagement is something the employee has to offer as it cannot be required as part of the employment contract.

The work in the first part is theoretical. In the second part predominantly employs the quantitative methods; authors present an empirical analysis based on observed and measured phenomena and derives knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief. It describes and synthesizes, with the use of statistical data, the dynamics and the evolution of the human resources in the Italian non profit organizations.