Management

“It’s Not You, It’s Me”  Watching a great employee walk out the door on to another job is hard. Employee turnover rates seem a consistent trend among both nonprofit and business sectors as technology and culture rapidly evolve. What to do? Keep that spark alive between your nonprofit and its employees. When Dan Schwabel of Forbes.com shared The Top 10 Workplace Trends for 2014, “continuous job search” was on the list. Schwabel reports that “73% of workers don’t have a problem looking for new employment before leaving their current employer and 48% of millennials say they conduct job search activities at [...]

You curled your hair and put on your patent leather shoes. You even put on lipstick without your mom’s permission. You are ready for your first junior high dance. Will you ask Bobby to slow dance or stand near the wall with friends? Will you go near the chip bowl, or do you not want to run into Mr. Smead, the algebra teacher/chaperone? This dance was supposed to be fun, but it is turning into one awkward night. Do you notice any similarities to a networking event? Have you ever hoped to become a better networker than when you were in [...]

Mentorship is the sharing of your expertise, experiences and advice with someone who does not have them. They are key to business success. Seventy-five percent of corporate managers believe mentorship was crucial to their own success. Mentorship is less common in the nonprofit world, but there are ways to change that. For example, two advice-oriented groups — the Center for Nonprofit Development and the SCORE Mentors Group on LinkedIn — can link seasoned business and nonprofit professionals with those looking for mentoring. Being a mentor can be good for your own career in addition to those of the people you mentor. [...]

I was recently blown away by a TED Talk titled, Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen! As a young Italian aid worker in Africa back in the 70's, Ernesto learned how we often get helping so wrong. The talk is so good that I not only encourage you to watch the entire 17 minutes video yourself, but also took the time to write extensive notes for those of you who prefer to read or scan text. For me, the video has not only inspired my thoughts on entrepreneurship and aid, but also is triggering ideas for how these principles [...]

Today, some nonprofit employees seem like rolling stones. They come in, work for a few years or less, and leave to other opportunities. Why are employees--particularly fundraisers--“gathering no moss”? Can organizations effectively quell the revolving door trend? The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports in Half of Fundraisers in the Top Job Would Like to Quit, that fifty percent of chief fundraisers plan to leave their jobs within two years. Forty percent are thinking about leaving fundraising entirely. “Too many organizations lack a culture of philanthropy, which means that development directors don’t have the conditions they need to succeed,” Marla Cornelius says. “It’s a [...]

  What are your nonprofit career goals? Are you considering making a career change within the sector? Or do you see yourself advancing in your organization over the next few years? Either way, it is important to set goals.   Bridgespan and former Bridgespan partnerWayne Luke discuss the steps to building your career in the nonprofit sector with Building a Nonprofit Career Path.   1. Focus on your current job. Do your best at your current position. If you are thinking about trying to advance within your organization or are thinking about a career change, doing your best now will pay off [...]

How can an organization create a compensation plan that will allow it to attract, retain, and motivate the talent necessary to carry out its mission?  Employee compensation is a significant portion of any business’s operating expense, but an effectively constructed compensation strategy can do just that. Many organizations may not realize the value of a good compensation plan or the impact it can have on performance. It’s not uncommon to think of compensation simply as a line-item expense and not as a strategic opportunity. With unemployment hovering around 4%, not-for-profit organizations need to think creatively about developing a compensation strategy that [...]

Startups Nonprofit-Style Many of my friends have recently left the comfort of government and corporate jobs to take a chance with a startup company. In fact, last year, I did the same thing. It’s the type of risk that our parents shudder to think about and it’s something that a lot of people further in their career wouldn’t dream of doing. But startups can be incredibly exciting, liberating and lucrative if you get in with the right idea at the right time. There are so many for-profit startups that have completely exploded over the last five years – particularly in the [...]

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you made a job offer, the candidate accepted, and then quit, before the first day of employment rolled around?  If so, you aren’t alone. The 2018 Nonprofit Salaries & Staffing Trends Report from PNP Staffing Group shares that a remarkable 36% of nonprofits surveyed found themselves in this predicament last year. As if it couldn’t get worse, 33% of the survey respondents said they had a candidate accept, start on the job, but then resign within the first three months of employment.   So what’s causing the problem? As the economy has [...]