M E M O
From: David E. Edell, President
Date: June 10, 2002
Re: "The Best Nonprofit Organizations to Work For"
Every sector has organizations that are considered to be the premier ones to work for. Being able to say that you have worked in a premiere company is a recognized and valued credential. People often make personal and professional sacrifices to be a part of these systems. Can you name the premier organizations in your area of service?
Each year for-profit companies compete to be listed in Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies To Work For." The rankings are based on a survey instrument (Great Place to Work Trust Index) measuring the quality of workplace culture and on Fortune's evaluation of company responses to an organization Culture Audit. Just why do all these corporations strive to make the list? Primarily because it helps to make their organization a "magnet agency" that attracts their industry's top talent. Being a best company to work for is really about talent recruitment and retention.
In a recent article Ellen Deutsch Quint writes 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?
In "Becoming A Magnet Agency: Lessons from Inside a Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For," Ellen discusses six important areas that are part of the selection process: Organization Mission and Culture; Internal Communication; Standards, Accountability, and Metrics; Retention Strategies; Opportunities for Growth; and, Learning and Development.
For each area, she clearly outlines the company's methods and suggests related strategies for nonprofits to consider. The reputation and reality about the quality of work life in an organization directly affects its ability to recruit and keep top talent. That reputation helps to overcome many recruitment obstacles such as relocation challenges and compensation constraints. Here is an article that suggests concrete steps for organizations to consider if they want to be a "magnet agency" and become a BEST NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION TO WORK FOR.
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
Introduction
Fortune magazine publishes its list of "Best Companies to Work For," on an annual basis. Companies apply for consideration. To qualify for candidacy the company has to have been in business for at least 7 years with more than 500 employees. For this year, 279 companies applied. Two-thirds of the score is based on a survey instrument (Great Place to Work Trust Index) measuring the quality of workplace culture that is sent to randomly selected employees. The additional one-third of the score is based on Fortune's evaluation of company responses to the Institute's Culture Audit. A disclaimer: Being a "best company to work for" does not mean being a perfect place. In any sizable company there are those who have negative experiences. In addition, these companies do what is good for business. What they have learned is that what's good for employee's has a positive impact on client/customer service and on the bottom line. Finally, the competitiveness and marketability gained by being on the Fortune list of "Best Companies to Work For" grew out of an incredibly tight labor market where the "war for talent" meant companies invested in continued improvement. The current economic environment may have an impact on the competitiveness of the labor market that generated the "best company" lists.
Imagine that The Chronicle of Philanthropy has just published for the first time: The Chronicle 100 "Best Agencies to Work For."You quickly scan the list looking for your agency. Have you made the list? Are you working for a magnet agency? Why should you care?
You should care because being on the list will guarantee a positive impact on your agency's ability to recruit and retain top talent, to attract board leaders, and to draw donors.
That's one lesson from the for-profit world, where companies compete to be included among the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. (Side bar on Fortune 100 list)
Lest you think this is just a recognition that comes with a certificate that goes on your wall: According to recruitment specialists, "Ranking high on the list guarantees you an increased flow of top quality candidates-in some cases double the flow prior to recognition." (Dr. John Sullivan,"What's the Best Place to Work? And the Winner Is", www.erexchange.com, Feb. 4). This translates into big savings in terms of recruitment, retention, and productivity gains. As a result, the effort to get on the list, move up the rankings, and stay on the list is taken very seriously. Being on the list means that you are an employer of choice, a hard won title built on a number of talent management strategies.
It's these talent management strategies that, when translated for the nonprofit sector, can turn your agency into a magnet agency.
In this article, I identify key talent management strategies that I experienced working in a Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For (which I call Company X) and discuss how you can apply them in a nonprofit environment. Specifically, I focus on:
1. The organization's mission and culture
2. Internal communications
3. HR Standards, accountability and metrics
4. Retention strategies
5. Opportunities for career growth
6. Support for learning and developmentBecoming a magnet agency is hard work. It requires the commitment of human and financial resources. And, it takes the driving will of leaders who truly believe in the value of their people (employees and volunteers).
Focus 1: The organization's mission and cultureWhat's in a mission? Nothing, if it is not a living, breathing, part of the organizations culture. Company X's mission is: To help our clients and our people excel. A simple, but powerful mission statement that attests to a culture that promotes people.
This mission comes alive from day one, when it is articulated clearly at orientation by the
Definition of an employer of choice: 1. Any employer of any size that attracts, optimizes, and holds top talent for long tenure because the employees choose to be there. 2. A phrase which has fallen into common usage to describe such an employer, usually used as a self-description for the purposes of differentiation to recruit workers. How to Become an Employer of Choice, Roger E. Herman and Joyce L. Gioia, Oakhill Press, 2000, p xi.) senior leaders, who participate in welcoming new employees (all levels and functions-professionals and support staff). The mission is reiterated in a wide range of communications. While employees know that clients come first, they feel recognized, valued, and appreciated. This is deliberately accomplished through consistent and "loud and clear" actions: including using every opportunity and form of communication (broadcast voice mail, e-mail, intranet, internal TVs, newsletters, etc) to recognize individual, team, and company successes and to thank individuals for their hard work in accomplishing the mission.
The employees' sense of value is further enhanced by the external marketing campaign which stresses that the answers to clients' problems are found in the people at Company X. Advertisements are illustrated with photos of Company X leaders, so when employees open business magazines, they see the familiar faces of their colleagues promoting the Company.
The message is built from the inside out-and the external messages support and reinforce the internal communications.
Becoming a Magnet Agency: Measuring up on Mission
Look at your agency's mission. It most likely focuses on the agency's wonderful and worthy cause, on its services and on how it helps individuals (clients), groups and communities in specific ways and for laudable purposes.
Does it say anything about the staff? Does it include those who are providing the services? Does it include volunteers?
What would change if, in fact, "helping its professionals (and volunteers) to excel" were part of the mission and taken seriously in the agency's policies and strategies?
For nonprofits, the focus is generally on service to clients, constituent organizations and community. While attention is given to the recruitment, development, reward and recognition of volunteer (lay) leaders, employees (professional and administrative on all levels) often receive only reflected recognition (the lay person on center stage, the professional in the background managing all the details).
What if you, as a leader of a nonprofit, took a serious look at all of your human capital? If "helping your professional staff excel" were indeed part of the agency's mission, you could then design strategies to recognize, show appreciation of, and develop staff and volunteers, respecting roles and responsibilities.
Revisiting your agency's mission is a good first step towards transforming your agency into a magnet agency.
Focus 2: Internal CommunicationsAt Company X, I was truly impressed by the level of information communicated and the impact that it has on making people feel engaged and committed. As an employee, you share management's burdens, as well as its drive to find solutions.
Almost every day, sometimes more than once a day, employees receive a broadcast voice mail sharing information about a new company "win" with congratulations to the employees involved. If there is an external event that impacts on the business, employees immediately hear (on voice mail) from the from leaders on the company's perspective, how the company is going to respond to this and what actions are required on the part of staff.
In Company X, most communications are democratically broadcast to all employees. An internal communications staff formulates these messages, whether they are by voice mail, e-mail, or intranet.
In addition, there are messages that are communicated through the manager as they are specific to a function, team, or individual. This, in fact, is a performance competency that managers are evaluated on in their annual performance review, and in the 360-degree evaluations that are part of the assessment process.
You will also see in the next section that communicating and sharing information is one of the ten HR standards that Company X holds all managers and employees to.
Becoming a Magnet Agency: Measuring up on Internal Communications
In my former role as a consultant in nonprofits, I had the opportunity to conduct organization audits to identify obstacles to maximum performance. One challenge that was consistently identified was poor internal communications. Staff told us that they would often hear what was happening inside their agency from their lay leaders or read it in the local press. As a result, they sometimes felt unimportant, marginalized, and even embarrassed. They were on the front line with donors and clients representing the agency, yet they weren't in the information loop. This interfered with their credibility and effectiveness.
Communicating about the agency's mission, its initiatives, changes, successes, problems, etc, and what it means for the employee is huge in terms of engaging staff-a foundational building block to becoming a magnet agency.
If you don't believe me, ask your staff. Listen to them tell you what they feel is important for them to know and how they want to get that information.
While Company X, with over 20,000 employees, has to rely on experts to formulate messages, it actually uses the same communication vehicles that are now available to most nonprofits-voice mail, e-mail, and intranet. The most important communication vehicle, however, is the manager. The manager serves as the interface between the agency and the staff. The manager is the gatekeeper for the information flow both ways.
The impact the manager can have in transforming your agency will come up again and again in each of the "best company" talent management strategies. The clarity of expectations of the manager, and the training and the support given to helping him/her succeed deserves the full attention of leaders interested in transforming a good agency into a magnet agency.
Join us next week for the second part of this issue.
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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
