The needs relevant to employment of university nonfaculty employees and the extent to which the university has met those needs were investigated. In addition, training and development programs designed to meet individual and institutional needs were proposed. Attention was directed to the reasons people join an organization, satisfaction with their jobs, and how job satisfaction and work participation decisions relate to the employee's level and position. Usable questionnaire responses were received from 1,760 staff members at a comprehensive university. For 61 organizational units, 6 job categories were used: service workers, craft/maintenance/operative workers, clerical/secretarial, technical/paraprofessional, professional, and administrative. The results indicate that the reasons individuals work at a college are multidimensional, regardless of level in the organization. The most universal reasons were affiliation, association with coworkers, interaction with people, and development of rewarding relationships. The majority of employees indicated an interest in developing their "people-related" and personal skills. It is concluded that the findings support a human resources approach to managing nonfaculty staff in the university setting. (SW)