M E M O
From: David E. Edell, President
Date: November 6, 2002
Re: Recruiting and Keeping the Best Talent
DRG is a national Executive Recruitment Firm working exclusively within the Nonprofit sector. Learn about DRG's services, resources, recruitment strategies and current search assignments at our website www.DRGNYC.com
The "Career Tips" section of our website contains valuable information for organizations and job seekers on recruitment, compensation, relocation, resume preparation and interviewing.
An Emerging Crisis
by David E. Edell
Presentated at Blackbaud's International Conference on Philanthropy in Charleston, South Carolina
Look in the job listings in newspapers, newsletters and websites and you will see that organizations continue to invest in their development departments. Like most businesses, nonprofits try to strengthen their "income side" in order to meet increasing demands for services.
The development field has grown in many ways. Clearly it has grown in shear numbers. It has also grown in prestige, with professionals and volunteers alike, understanding and appreciating the role that development plays in the organization's success. It has also grown more complex with more specialties, each with a unique body of knowledge and skills required to succeed.
The investment that organizations have made in their development operations has also been financial. They compete to recruit and keep top talent with compensation that is in a range with executives in other sectors. Development is a profession that can offer a lifetime of career options and unique opportunities to be part of groups that make a difference to communities, families and individuals' lives.
WHAT IS THE CRISIS?
Simply put, organizations are having trouble finding and attracting the numbers and quality of development professionals to meet their growth needs. We hear about serious pressures to fill entry- or junior-level positions, managers and supervisors who will develop strategies and teach and mentor new professionals, and finally those people who can work directly with current and prospective donors. As a result of these pressures and the competition for talent, development professionals often leave positions for new opportunities too soon. They seek or are wooed to new challenges before they have mastered skills or developed a record of achievement in a prior position. Development executives continue to complain about rapid turnover, limited staying power, and a growing group of mid-managers who in their last three positions have not really developed a body of skill and experience to prepare them for the growth positions that they are assuming.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
As we review our job descriptions for development executives we can identify a few clear trends. First is a personal quality, not a skill. As fundraisers are expected to spend more time with donors, the ability to engage interpersonally with people from a broad range of professions and interests is one of the most important traits that hiring executives look for. They seek professionals who are polished, articulate, and intelligent, educated and have broad interests. Then they look at skills and here the focus is in three areas; creativity in developing strategies and programs, understanding of fundraising methods and giving vehicles, and attention to detail and follow through. Obviously technology plays an increasing role in the profession. Finally, there is a factor of enthusiasm and "passion" for the cause and the work.
You can't teach energy, passion and interpersonal skills. We are however growing as a profession in developing the training programs to teach the skills. Continuing education programs, AFP conferences, and now certificate and degree programs attract growing numbers to learn the technical skills of the profession. However the best methods for cultivating an individual's talent such as good supervision, in house mentoring, time and funds from employers for professional development, all provided by employers, are still as underdeveloped for fundraising departments as they are in other fields.
Five tips on recruiting that are quite basic, obvious and underused.
1. Most of the entry hiring is from local and regional pools. Join with other professionals to develop these local and regional pools. Market the profession, its benefits and opportunities at job fairs, college placement centers, graduate schools, with career counselors and outplacement centers. Teach fundraising in career programs and continuing education programs. Build visibility for the profession to build the local and regional talent pools.
2. Second, be clear about the expectations of each position that you hire for and the skills and requirements needed to succeed. Too many hiring executives approach searches with the mindset of hiring someone who was simply different from the last person or take the "I will know it when I see it" approach. Both do not work.
3. Be flexible and creative. Hire talent and be prepared to teach or mentor them toward the skills that will make them successful in your organization. Think broadly about where you may find that talent, especially in today's volatile employment market. Be prepared to be creative and flexible in making hiring arrangements for the best available talent. Job sharing, flextime and other models work and are valuable if they can help you attract the best talent available.
4. Recruit, interview and"On Board" carefully. How you present and introduce yourself and your organization and department to prospective candidates has much to do with their decision to join you. If you are organized, prepared, and gracious, you say something about yourself. Don't forget you are competing for talent, and candidates are interviewing you as well.
5. Invest in talent. Nurture your best performers. Let them know that you have identified them as such. Offer them education and professional growth opportunities. Make it hard for them to leave.
The "magnet agency concept" is the perfect segue to the discussion about retaining staff. A "magnet agency" is an organization that through the steps discussed above, has created a culture and work environment that is professional, supportive and inviting. It is a place where people choose to stay and one in which people seek to work. The basic elements of good recruitment and retention are the same and support each other. People want to join an organization whose culture supports them. The same element of a supportive organization culture keeps them.
Five tips on retention.
1. Align the organization's stated values with daily operations. Decide and discuss the values that you'd like your organization to reflect. Be sure to walk the walk. Be sure that you treat your staff with the same values that you hope to treat your "customers." Be sure that all elements, from communications, compensation, benefits, supervision all reflect your stated values.
2. Provide the support and resources that professionals require to succeed. Give people the tools and the room to succeed in their work. .
3. "Be a learning organization" is a mantra of the private sector. "Best" organizations value training, good supervision and meaningful performance evaluation. They approach these with a consistent, sustained and predictable program. In these organizations, staff support programs are not considered a low priority at the budget or busy season. Be a learning organization.
4. Offer professional challenges and growth. Move assignments so people don't get stale. Put talented professionals in new settings where they must stretch to learn and accomplish. Put talent in positions that make a difference to the program or organization. Make sure each professional is able to see how their work contributes and makes a difference.5. Recognize and reward. Most people feel free to leave jobs because some of the variables described above are not in place. You may be interested to know that in retention studies conducted with exiting employees, compensation is not among the top three issues listed for their reasons for leaving. Compensation and benefits are important but not the only answer.
There may be an emerging crisis in finding the number and quality of development professionals to fill positions. We need to think creatively about how we identify talent for the field and attract it to our profession. Then, each of us needs to spend more time teaching, coaching, and mentoring colleagues in the skills required for success. Finally we need to create organizations that support, recognize and reward in staff development programs that are sustained, consistent and predictable. With those efforts, we can build the professional resources that the sector requires for the short and long term.
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