19.Finding the Talent to Run Your Nonprofit

The labor shortage is one of the more pressing challenges facing nonprofits in 2023. Staff vacancies create tremendous stress on your existing staff who are asked to do the work of two or three people.  It is an unsustainable situation.
This episode provides a few tips  to make your agency an attractive possibility for prospective employees and ways to cast an appropriately wide net when looking for next ideal hire.

Find more practicable tips on my website Relish Your Role. com. I have so much respect for the work you do!
Thanks for listening.

Transcript

Episode 19. Finding the Talent to Run Your Nonprofit

Every industry is faced with a labor shortage.

Whether a result of the great resignation triggered by Covid, the tight labor market is affecting every sector in America.

Nonprofits have been deeply affected by the labor shortage as it tends to be a field that lags behind the profit sector with respect to pay and benefits it provides its workers.

So what do you do as an agency ED when you have staff openings you are unable to fill?

You know the need is there and you cannot ask your staff to continue to do the work of two or three people with no end in sight.

Today’s episode will explore some creative ways to find the talent you need to run your agency. You can find the full transcript and listen to the podcast at https://relishyourrole.com/19

If you find it helpful, please subscribe either by downloading the free guide on the Relish Your Role website or through your favorite podcast app.

Impact of the Labor Shortage on Nonprofits

According to the Enterprise World, staff shortages is the biggest problem facing nonprofits in 2023.

If you have been trying to hire in the last six months, you know how hard it is to find qualified people to work at your organization and the strain it places on your daily operations to be short staffed.

I am going to assume that you have done your research, and know what the market salary trends are for the positions you are hiring—and you are offering salaries in line with the market.

In 2023 you can no longer ignore the importance of staff pay by thinking that your ideal recruit is solely mission driven.

The labor market is too tight for you to ignore the basics of offering a competitive salary.

Offering Creating Benefits

Your budget can stretch only so far, but as I discussed in Episode 7, there are things you can provide you staff that does not replace salary, but can help make your agency an attractive place to work.

Make yourself knowledgeable of what those creative benefits would be based on the demographics and expressed interest of your current staff.

Would flexible hours be attractive?  How have you integrated remote work into your agency?  

People looking for work tend to look at how the prospective job would fit with their current obligations --so it may be time to rethink your office attendance polices to be attractive.

Are there perks you can provide with respect to the use of an agency cell phone? Or offering a discount for health and wellness services?  

Do not be limited in your thinking, if you feel stuck, ask your staff what they think would be attractive and do the math, what does offering those creative benefits cost in contrast to the costs of continually having a staff vacancies.  

Think through what non-monetary benefits you can provide which would make your workplace attractive.

Clarify Your Ideal Candidate

Clearly you want folks who are mission aligned.

Depending on the specific position there may be training or experience  which is necessary to perform the required tasks.

That said, you may be setting an impossible bar given the current job market and are being too linear in describing the experiences a prospective employee needs to have.

How recently have you re-assessed the job qualifications?

Think through the most important attributes for the position -be more expansive in how you describe the training and or experience and or education level you are looking for.

Is a four degree really necessary or is experience with the client population or topic area a good substitute for the formal education requirements.

Does the individual have to come with all the levels of training, or can you train them as part of their professional development once they are hired?

Does their experience have to be with the same issue or population?  Are there translatable skills or experience?  The more expansive you can be, the better the chances that you are casting an appropriately wide net.

If you want curious motivated people, they may not have taken a linear path to get there, and you may be screening out an potentially ideal employee with overly rigid qualifications.  

Create Pipelines

How you are you getting the word out about your staff openings?

How have you engaged your current employees in helping recruit new co-workers?

Your staff can be a rich source of potential applicants.  Through their social and professional networks they may know people who would be influenced by having a peer reach out to them about job openings.

Make sure your staff knows what positions you are recruiting for.  Engage them in the process in both identifying and vetting potential employees and you will reap huge benefits with their ownership of the process and investment in making the new hire feel at home and be productive.

Streamline Your Application Process

Lastly, how cumbersome is your process?  If it is taking you more than six weeks from the moment you advertise to hold interviews you are taking too long and your ideal employee may have found something else.

If you request a formal application, make sure it is not overly cumbersome to complete.

Remember you are being vetted by the potential application as a good place to work and if you do not:

1.Ackowleedge receipt of their application.

2.Provide a clear timeframe for the recruitment  process.

3.Hold interviews as planned.

4. Provide feedback on where they are in the process immediately after the first interview

You will most likely lose that person’s interest. 

Make sure you are worked out your process before you advertise the position so there is no lag time.  If you are asking people outside your agency to serve on your interview panel, set the date for those interviews prior to advertising.

Ask for references at the conclusion of the interview even if they have assignments to complete as part of the vetting process.

Plan out all the steps so there is time gaps, and you can move the person through the process in a streamlined way.

Remember it is a competitive market and if you can approach the task of filling your vacancy with creativity and a high degree of organization- you are doing all you can to position your agency favorably to get the staff people you need.

You can do it and I am here to help.

Reach out if you would like to know more about Relish Your Role’s signature system to help you manage up down and across your agency so you can lead with confidence.