Recently Hannah Cavendish-Palmer from Valtas, Quinn Finnigan from ASP, and Becky Todd from CFO Selections teamed up for a webinar titled “Attracting and Retaining Talent and Navigating Leadership Transition.” They shared strategies for attracting great people, keeping top talent, and handing the baton off well when it’s time to go. We have their insights and key takeaways summarized here:
Finding Great Candidates
Nonprofits have stiff hiring competition from for-profit companies because there is often a salary disparity across similar roles. Simply put, for-profit companies tend to pay better, which makes it harder for nonprofits to convince top talent to come over. However, it’s not impossible!
To attract great candidates, you need to sell them on the mission and goals of the organization. Understand that people want to find meaning in their work, and they may be willing to make less if the mission is compelling enough. Be clear and unrelenting on the organization’s dedication to mission, but don’t stop there. Having a wonderful mission is fantastic, but being a great employer is essential. Think about your employees as the whole people that they are and then align your value proposition in a way that addresses that. Build the kind of culture that people want to join.
When it comes to finding accounting and finance professionals, remember that they typically have clear career goals. They will want to understand upfront what their growth potential looks like in terms of salary, title, and responsibilities. Clearly communicate what they can expect in the role so candidates can make informed decisions about applying and moving forward through the interview process.
Finally, get creative with your total rewards package. Nonprofit organizations can offer things like paid time off in the form of shorter work weeks, longer holiday breaks, and milestone sabbaticals to improve the work-life balance calculation. Max out benefits (health/dental/vision insurance, emergency fund assistance, mental health support, student loan assistance, etc.) and dependent coverage where available. If possible, offer a hybrid or remote work option because this can pull double duty in recruiting top nonprofit talent – increasing the attractiveness of your total package and widening the potential pool of candidates.
Retaining Top Talent
Improving retention requires getting out in front of the reasons why people leave. Regularly take the pulse of your organization through surveys, team meetings, performance reviews, and exit interviews, so you can identify your strengths and weaknesses.
One key area that organizations can control is growth and development. Don’t underestimate the importance of helping employees to grow and trusting them with the kinds of responsibilities that will help move them towards where they want their career to go. Partnering with them in their professional growth can form a bond that’s hard to break.
Similarly, supporting people around major life events (the birth of a baby, a serious health condition, caring for aging parents, etc.) can help them stay. Ensure people feel supported in these circumstances by thoughtfully leaning into the resources that you have. The organizations that get this right create meaningful loyalty!
Another crucial strategy for retaining nonprofit staff is benchmarking compensation and benefits against other similarly situated organizations. Employees know the going rate for their role, which means that if you’re paying below market value, you’re likely to experience turnover. Remember, you’re not just competing for talent with other regional and national nonprofit organizations. You’re also competing with for-profit entities, so you need to have benchmarks to understand where you stand.
Succession Planning
The Valtas team will tell you that “succession happens!” Even if you do everything right, people will leave eventually. That’s why it’s so important to make a succession plan before you need it.
Everyone has a timeline in their head, but it’s often considered taboo to talk about it, so it stays secret. Take the stigma out of the conversation by talking about it regularly. The best way to do this is to build it into annual performance review conversations so everyone is on the same page. Sure, it will be awkward at first, but it gets easier with practice.
A leadership transition can be stressful, but it can also present a slew of new opportunities for an organization. During a transition there are often opportunities to elevate the organization’s mission, rethink programming, restructure for greater efficiency, and/or level-up personnel. This is a time to really think through what your organization needs regarding people and processes and set a firm foundation for the future.
Whether it’s hiring during periods of growth or replacing key talent due to turnover, lean on a stable force to guide you through it. When your organization is undergoing a leadership transition, we can help! Reach out to us today for a complimentary confidential consultation.
