As pure as the intentions of nonprofits are, they’re as vulnerable to decline as any private enterprise is. Truth be told, they could be much more vulnerable. Unlike traditional businesses, nonprofits do not have access to huge amounts of cash.
Worse, they work towards the betterment of humanity in general, a noble cause that usually centers around the needs of the poor, hobos, and the oppressed. Far too often, these marginalized sections of society depend on free services without anything financial to give in return.
It’s no surprise then that when the virus wreaked havoc, nonprofits were the first to fold. A third of these organizations in America were expected to fold for good during the pandemic.
Thus, it goes without saying, that if you plan to hire as a nonprofit in these times, you need to be as thorough as possible. Any off-the-cuff hiring decision could be disastrous. As critical as it is for your noble organization to survive, zeroing in on the right candidate is a must.
The good news is expert guidance should be spot-on for your lean budgets. While you may fall short on the financial side, you certainly don’t have to do away with the best candidates. Listed below are 3 tips to get you right on track.
Identify Your Organization’s Weak Points
Hiring someone means you have work that needs to be done but can’t be catered to by any of your current staff. What that means is you will have to spend money yearly on someone. That can easily add up to your limited budget. It’s important therefore that you first think long and hard before you start sending hiring ads to top job search websites.
Hiring is a protracted process by nature. But that long-and-winding road has become even a bigger job to tackle during the pandemic. For instance, even when U.S. employers posted over 5 9,000 jobs in May this year, the number of unemployed applying to fill these vacancies is still at a crawl.
So first up, consider if you really need a new hire. Sometimes, better processes in your company can supplant the need to get a new employee in. Additionally, if the project is not a steady one, timely short-term aid may be the way to go and not a permanent hire. In this regard, evaluate your staff’s workload. Perhaps, if they were more efficient, the need to hire a new worker may not be as pronounced.
Decide Which Role is Needed the Most
It’s important you zero in on a role that your organization needs most should you go on with the hiring process. This means you need to be aware what are the growth needs of your organization. Every nonprofit has its own growing pains.
So it’s best you ask yourself what kind of work is needed to make your nonprofit grow? Is it someone to handle the finances or someone to ensure fundraising endeavors are taken care of? Are you in need of an IT personnel or a marketing guy?
Sometimes, you could be running around in circles not knowing what to do. It’s easy to forget the essentials in the hiring process. And that can be detrimental to your end as you could be wasting your time, not to mention resources.
Know, however, that even when there’s a different growth need for each organization, there’s a similar takeaway that each should consider. And that’s what role when brought to the organization would bring about the biggest ROI for your nonprofit. Considering that will help you simplify the hiring process.
You need to do your due diligence and put the effort into tackling the question. Remember that nonprofit is basically a fundraising community. What particular role when hired would boost your fundraising nature the most?
Also this is where using job market analytic tools can bring about greater success for you. By showing you data-driven insights on the nature of the labor market today, you can come up with a more incisive hiring strategy that’s bound to bring top talent to your door.
Decide if You Need to Hire Full Time
Again, you have to remember to make the most of your financial resources. So it’s imperative you determine whether it is logical to hire someone as a full-time employee or someone to act in a temporary position. Additionally, you can also get someone on a part-time basis.
Another route to help you is to network. Check with your donors and benefactors if they have someone to recommend who can work at a given budget. Moreover, you may find a lot more people are willing to volunteer these days. With the virus still pounding in America, a lot of people have the time to spare.
In addition, you can also explore hiring freelancers. Not only do they cost less but also you can hire them for just a limited period. When you are thorough about your hiring process, you should come up with a new hire that gives you the best value for your money.
