DRG Memo

M E M O

From: David E. Edell, President

Date: July 2, 2002

Re: "The Best Nonprofit Organizations to Work For - Part 2"

In my last email we looked at Part 1 of a recent article by Ellen Deutsch Quint about the lessons that nonprofits can learn from the companies that are chosen for the "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. In it she asks what if there was a similar competition in the nonprofit sector …THE BEST NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO WORK FOR? What would be the measures for an organization to be selected for the list? What would have to change in your organization? How does a nonprofit organization become the "magnet agency" that attracts and keeps top talent?

Today we are sending Part 2 of the article where the author discusses four more measures of the "100 Best Companies to Work For". They are Standards and Measures (Accountability), Retention Strategies, Opportunities for Growth and finally, Learning and Development.

DON"T ALSO MISS

DRG's newest issue our of webzine "The Difference" (www.e-TheDifference.com) looks at Becoming a Magnet Agency: Lessons on Talent Management from the Corporate World. It features articles and interviews by leaders in the talent management field with suggestions about what nonprofit organizations can learn from their experience. We hope that you will find the information useful as you begin to address these issues in your organization.

I look forward to your comments.

DRG is a national Executive Recruitment Firm working exclusively within the nonprofit Sector. Since 1987, DRG has worked to help organizations recruit for CEOs, CFOs, Chief Development Officers and other senior executives. To learn more about DRG and our search success visit us at www.DRGNYC.com

"Lessons from Inside a Fortune 100 Company to Work For"

By Ellen Deutsch Quint

PART 2

Focus 3: Standards, Accountability, and Metrics

Becoming an "employer of choice" is an intensely serious undertaking that requires a genuine commitment to human resources. It starts with the mission. The mission then becomes a working document in the form of HR standards, which serve as guidelines for what is expected of individuals on all levels, in terms of their relationship to one another, their clients, the community, and their own career self-management.

However, it is not enough to set standards. An organization has to build in mechanisms for holding the agency leaders, the managers, and employees accountable for meeting these standards and then has to measure performance against these standards,

Company X's HR standards include:

"Recruit people with superior character, talent, and the capacity for significant growth."

"Communicate the importance of individual and team roles in achieving our objectives and share information about initiatives, plans, and results."

"Provide timely, candid, and constructive performance feedback and career counseling that enhances personal and professional growth."

These standards form the basis of being an "employer of choice."

These standards are then translated into performance competencies and goals for the annual performance review process. Staff, managers, and senior level professionals are all evaluated and receive feedback on how they are doing in meeting these standards.

In addition, Company X conducts an annual internal HR survey (web based), which asks all employees to rate the company on these standards. The information is collected, and the results are looked at from multiple angles (level of staff, gender, education, location, function, etc) to identify areas of strength and weakness compared to previous years. The company then works with each function to bolster weak areas.

Company X also takes very seriously external measures. It is annually rated by an outside organization on client service and competes to be included on "best employer" lists.

Becoming a Magnet Agency: Measuring up on HR Standards

Does your agency have explicit HR standards that articulate how employees can expect to be treated and what is expected of individuals on all levels in terms of their relationship to one another, their clients, the community, and their own career self-management?

This focuses key stakeholders on developing a shared vision of the people culture within the agency. While it is not a big budget item, it could be a springboard to identify where investments of time and resources need to be made in order to develop a magnet agency culture.

In nonprofits, HR standards could be framed as people standards and address the roles and responsibilities of professionals, staff, volunteers, board members, and even clients. The standards can address how people should expect to be treated, and how they should relate to one another. For many nonprofits these standards now form an unspoken understanding or psychological contract. They are part of the informal rules that one learns in adapting to a culture.

Actually articulating the standards, holding people accountable to them, and measuring how you are doing in achieving them would be very powerful.

In addition to helping the agency focus on areas for improvement, it would make a loud and clear statement about the value this agency places on all of its human resources.

Focus 4: Retention Strategies

By definition, a key characteristic of the "employer of choice" is success in keeping top talent. This focus on retaining high performers places the spotlight on the performance management system that can identify top performers and on the manager who is the key interface with the employee.
When designed and executed well, a performance management process addresses:

strategic clarity (how the agency mission translates into the
individual's job)
accomplishments and goals setting

fair pay and benefits

career development

learning needs and opportunities

the identification of challenging (stretch) work assignments

All of the above have been identified on surveys as leading drivers for retaining talent. (T+D, January 2000, p.34).

What I appreciate about Company X is that, this "best company to work for," doesn't claim to have all of the answers for successfully managing talent, but it is totally committed to finding the best solutions. In terms of retention, the senior managers assessed the situation, collected and reviewed the data, and conducted interviews and focus groups with top performers, including those who had recently left. After pulling the information together, and consulting with outside experts, the senior mangers came up with a series of recommended retention strategies including:

A refocus on the manager's role in the performance management process. Recognizing the key role of the managers, they recommended that there need to be greater clarification of their responsibilities. Further, the managers needed training and support in engaging with their staff on performance. Company X continues to develop appropriate training and build in just-in-time support for the managers as they go through the process.

The need to "re-recruit" top performers. During the recruiting process, hiring managers discuss with their top candidates their interests, needs, frustrations, professional development, wants, and career aspirations. The recommendation was that this be done on a 6-month basis by the supervising managers with all of their top performers-with a clear message that we value you and want you to stay with us. In certain functions, senior managers' goals include retaining an agreed upon percentage of top performers. These senior managers are held accountable for achieving this goal and their own performance assessments were impacted by their success in this area.

A focused look at the work itself. In looking at the exit interview data, Company X learned that a significant percentage of junior staff left because of frustration with the work itself and a disconnect between the work assignments and their career aspirations. The leaders of Company X committed to developing stronger communications between the staff and the assignment director so that the staff's career interests would be better recognized in the assignment process. There was also a commitment to look into job enhancements, job rotations, and building cross-function assignments in order to address the frustrations with the work itself.

Company X, as an "employer of choice" views retention with the same seriousness and energy it puts toward recruitment. As a bottom-line company it crunches the numbers and recognizes the high cost of losing top talent.

Becoming a Magnet Agency: Measuring up on Retention

For an organization that is committed to becoming a magnet agency, the leaders need to view the performance management process less as an annual paperwork ritual and more as a retention strategy tool.

What is your agency's performance management process? Is it serving retention strategy purposes by identifying top performers and providing timely and relevant information for all? Is it identifying development areas and supporting staff needs in these areas? Are supervisors trained to provide performance feedback?

If developed and utilized well, the performance management process will allow the agency to identify its top performers. It will also provide a great opportunity to engage staff in discussions about improving performance and developing career interests (a re-recruiting opportunity).

Another retention driver discussed above is "challenging, meaningful work." Here is a talent management strategy where nonprofits have an opportunity to outshine the for-profits-the work itself-work that is meaningful, challenging, and of value. Those of us who have worked in the trenches in philanthropy know that a large percentage of fund-raising, for example, can be frustratingly trivial (e.g. checking name spellings on invitations, working through the politics of who gets to sit on a dais). This presents a challenge and an opportunity to connect and engage the details of the work itself with the drama of the mission. It's a mistake to make the assumption that staff (particularly entry level) understand that the grunt work is just part of the deal. The agency's mission can be the ultimate motivator if individuals are helped to make the connection.

Nonprofits can also utilize job enhancement techniques such as job rotation, job enlargement, and cross-function assignments to continue to challenge top performers.

Supervision, the manager's role, is a key in both for-profit and nonprofit work environments. The lesson here is the importance of reframing the role of the supervisor to include the responsibility for retaining staff and providing training and support for supervisors to fulfill this mission. The supervisors can connect staff to the larger mission and make it real for them. Supervisors, however, need training and support to play their essential roles.

Focus 5: Opportunities for Career Growth

Becoming an "employer of choice," requires being tuned into the needs and aspirations of potential recruits and current employees. These populations are seeking career growth and learning opportunities that will increase their ultimate marketability-their employability now and for the future.

In terms of career development, Company X recognizes that the individual is ultimately responsible for his/her own career management. However, the company supports individuals by providing clearly outlined career paths within each function, defined competencies for each level, a web-based career planning workbook, and a culture that supports and encourages mentorships.

Further the company, through its managers, works with the individual and the organization to identify potential assignments, including international assignments and secondments to broaden the individual's experiences, capabilities, and contributions. Opportunities include: a Management Development Program, a Global Development Program, an E-Development Program, and a Women's Initiative, all aimed at providing high potentials with broader work and learning experiences for career growth.

In addition, individuals are assigned a peer advisor when they are hired and have a "counselor" (a manager responsible for their assessment and development). While there is not a formal assignment of mentors, everyone is encouraged to find and develop a mentor or multiple mentor relationships.

Company X responded to the interests of high potential senior managers by providing them with staff and resources to develop a Career Insights program to help them better understand and negotiate their way through the partner process.

In addition, Company X also recently developed a coaching program for new partners to help them through the first transitional year.

All of these initiatives support the "employer of choice" strategy.

Becoming a Magnet Agency: Measuring Up on Career Development

Potential recruits and current employees from the nonprofit world have the same concerns: Where is the career growth potential? Is this agency going to support my professional development? While career planning is a self-initiated responsibility, the lesson from the "employers of choice" is that the employer has an active role to play in communicating career paths and opportunities, and supporting the employees aspirations with individual, group, and virtual strategies.

Specifically, nonprofit agencies can focus on:

Creating a career development climate-making development of individual career plans part of the performance management process (done separately from the assessment section-the chance to re-recruit)

Communicating about career paths and internal opportunities-promoting from within, or at least giving internal candidates a first shot.

Creating job enhancement, job rotation, and cross-function opportunities to broaden competencies.

Offering broader work experiences through development programs. While it may be beyond individual agencies, national umbrella organizations are in a position to develop broader management development, international assignments, and overall career development planning processes and opportunities.

Creating an environment that encourages mentorship or building formal programs. There are many variations, including outside mentors (for smaller agencies); co-mentors for more senior staff (bringing together senior staff across agencies and even using board members); and reverse mentoring-particularly useful for introducing more experienced staff and volunteers to new, cutting edge technologies and ways of thinking. Again, this is a strategy that a national umbrella group could initiate.

Providing coaching and peer advisor programs.

Engaging in executives on loan programs-again this requires creating new partnerships with other nonprofits, public and even private, for-profit companies. There could be tremendous learning on all sides.

Again the supervisor plays a key role in engaging staff about their career aspirations and development interests. The supervisor not only has to be willing and open to listening, he/she has to be tuned into the agency's needs and the available opportunities. The supervisor has to be sharing these with the staff and also communicating back to the executive team the needs and interests of the staff.

Are your supervisors prepared, trained and supported to play this key role? Are their supervisors modeling this behavior?

Focus 6: Learning and Development

Learning and development provides an opportunity for a company to build a distinctive competitive advantage in striving to become an "employer of choice."

Company X dedicates a huge amount of resources to the learning and development arena. The learning function focuses on mapping technical and nontechnical learning to the competencies for sequential job progressions. The manager refers to these during the development discussion in the performance management process. Company X focuses on providing learning opportunities to advance people in their internal careers and to increase their employability.

Senior staff continue to be engaged in learning through action learning projects and leadership learning events. Action learning, for example, is a tool to engage senior staff in learning while accomplishing a real life business goal. One project involved two teams of senior partners charged with innovating new services or products that would bring in $15 million over the next three years. The senior leaders learned by doing, reflecting and then stretching through facilitated discussions. The results were real life business plans that will impact the future of Company X and for those involved, significant learning on innovation, ideation, decision making, and business plan development.

Company X is not on the forefront of e-learning. However, it uses technology, including its intranet, Placeware (which is a combination of conference call and web interface), and video conferencing to engage participants in pre-work, the actual learning, and follow-up.

The events of September 11 had a major impact in escalating the company's plunge into e-delivery of courses. Post 9/11, the focus became limiting travel and expenses, and therefore many live courses and programs have been re-purposed for virtual delivery. In a company that places great value on people-to-people interactions, this has been a difficult transition. The learning has been in recognizing that sometimes the best learning comes in a package of blended solutions (using e-delivery and other virtual strategies, combined with real person-to-person interactions).

On another note in the learning and development arena, Company X has been exploring the concept of a "Corporate University." This learning model has proven incredibly successful for GE (Crotonville), Motorolla, and Xerox, among others. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) estimates that there are now more than 1,600 Corporate Universities compared to 400 in 1998. One advantage of such an approach is that the Corporate University can support learning through a company's entire value chain, including suppliers, employees, customers, and key stakeholders. The Corporate University has provided these companies with a great asset for building their business and their employer brand.

Becoming a Magnet Agency: Measuring Up on Learning

Learning can be a very powerful tool for recruitment, retention, and for expanding organizational capability. It can provide the competitive edge in becoming a magnet agency.

The lessons from the "employers of choice" are that learning should allow for individual differences and interests and should support not just training for a current job but should contribute to the person's employability.

Learning is not just for junior staff. While there may be resistance on the part of more senior staff, and it may require a more sophisticated approach, learning for senior staff can be a key to expanding individual capability while contributing to the agency's success. Action learning can be a great tool for engaging senior staff and lay leaders.

Learning should be mapped to competencies and be part of the performance management development discussion, Again, the supervisor is key.

Think outside the classroom. Look toward creative, accessible, and just-in-time learning opportunities.

As for the Corporate University model, it has to some extent already been adapted by some of the larger nonprofit umbrella organizations. However, re-engineering the concept for nonprofits, in light of the blended solutions approach, would provide a boost to becoming a magnet agency. This Corporate University could create a learning program that is targeted not only to employees, but also to board members, volunteers, clients, community, and referral partners. It would be an opportunity to partner with other agencies and with academic institutions.

Finally, I would urge those involved in the learning function to be actively involved in professional organizations and to aggressively keep up with new methodologies and best practices in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.

__________________

Conclusion

We return to where we began-you are scanning the Chronicle's first publishing of the Chronicle 100 Best Agencies to Work For. Yes!! Your agency is on the list! There you are, #37. Congratulations! Your agency has become a magnet agency.

All that hard work, getting everyone on board with the mission, creating the ten standards of excellence that are your people standards and then the really hard part, creating accountabilities and measures, the newly implemented supervisory training program, etc.

Was it worth it-all of this just to get on a list?

That's when it hits you-making the list is just the icing on the cake-it's the public recognition. While you don't minimize the benefits that it will bring in terms of marketing your agency for recruitment and fundraising, you realize where the real value is. You have made a significant difference in your agency's ability to serve clients and the community.

That's the really good news. Now the not-so-good news. This is just a beginning. The discipline of magnet agencies is that they never rest on their accomplishments. They always strive to be better.

So you say to yourself: Next year #1.

# # #

Ellen Deutsch Quint, after working 18 years in non profits, joined a Big Five accounting/consulting firm as a Senior Learning Manager. Ellen has a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management from Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations and Baruch School of Management, in addition to a Masters in Social Work from Yeshiva University. Email equint@rcn.com