TALENT MANAGEMENT IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR

Transcription

1 TALENT MANAGEMENT IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR A discussion paper based on Verity s First Quarter, 2013 Bridge2Success Executive Breakfast Forum By Colleen Fleming, Forum Moderator and Managing Director, Bridge2Success Verity International Limited

2 2 Contents Talent Management in the Nonprofit Sector: An introduction 2 Historical Roots: The Lack of Talent Management Investment 3 Take Away Tips to Adopt 4 Implementation Tips 5 Summary 5 Bridge2Success 6 About Verity 7 TALENT MANAGEMENT IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR An introduction In today s competitive marketplace, nonprofit organizations and their boards look to attract and retain first class talent, and while the sector faces a variety of challenges in managing this talent, it is also seeing many successes. On February 28, 2013, a group of senior nonprofit executives came together to discuss the challenges, opportunities and successes surrounding talent management in the nonprofit sector today. One of the greatest challenges to talent management in the sector, as recognized by the group, lies with the historical barriers towards investing in staff. In many cases they admitted to feeling the pressure to improve the performance of their respective organization, but that they were also caught skirting around the constraints within the sector. Throughout the session the executives sought to identify solutions and tactics that they could adopt in support of their work. This discussion paper is the second in a series we plan to release, which will address issues that are currently keeping executives and influencers of the nonprofit sector up at night. We hope that in reading this paper that you will gain a better understanding of the challenges within the sector and that you become better equipped in managing them.

3 3 Historical roots: The lack of Talent Management investment The first topic of discussion was a reflection on the history of the lack of investment in talent management in the sector. Participants sought to understand the underlying drivers as a first step to managing change and influencing stakeholders in the direction of supporting it. "A strong and commendable historical ethos" of focusing spending on the short term and on the mission of the organization was observed by Ene Underwood. The issue of this ethos is one of the key historical underpinnings of the hesitancy to invest in staff training over direct client services and is a matter to which all participants resoundingly identified with. Compounding this is the fact that the culture has been even further entrenched by tight budgets and the CRA ratios. Bridge2Success Executive Breakfast Forum February 28, 2013 Our Participants Joanne Doyle, Senior Vice President, Community Impact, United Way Toronto Lee Giles, Former Executive Director Sheena s Place, and Altruvest Charitable & Board Match programs Georgina Kossivas, Bursar and CFO University of St. Michael s, University of Toronto Ene Underwood, CEO Habitat for Humanity Toronto Janet Yale, President and CEO The Arthritis Society Hosts Colleen Fleming, Forum Moderator Managing Director, Bridge2Success Verity International Limited Jeff Welton Managing Director, Verity International Limited The public and many nonprofit boards of directors sometimes guide their decision making by financial indicators suggested by CRA and/or emerging organizations that provide comparative criteria particularly in the area of fundraising and administrative activities. The intention of providing parameters is a worthy initiative but some critics claim numeric guidelines are too simplistic to be meaningful in comparing organizations with very different circumstances. Similarly, this approach also leads to short term thinking. Joanne Doyle captured the boards' sensitivity to public backlash by asking "How would it look? She further described the importance of continuing to push for understanding regarding the balance between efficiency and impact. The executives and boards are aware that the general public is time pressed and will frequently revert to the quick ratios to guide their donations and will not take the time to read a fulsome business case for Talent Management. Thus the sensitivity can dominate decision making and needs to be balanced with a narrative about what impact the sector is having. Recent media and public attention to what are viewed as "spending scandals" of publicly funded and charitably funded nonprofits have further heightened the level of caution regarding non-client spending. Janet Yale noted that a public education campaign is also required to overturn the "charity mentality" that dictates wages in the nonprofit sector. Historically nonprofits were staffed by volunteers and funds were raised within the local community. That model is steadily becoming a thing of the past as nonprofits are developing into national or international organizations which compete for professional career orientated staff and donors dollars. Georgina Kossivas observed that there is a wide held belief that because nonprofit enterprises "contribute to the public good" it would be unseemly to offer wages that weren't significantly discounted. The impact of low wages and the lack of talent management investment ultimately leads to high turnover which in turn lowers productivity and increases risk within the sector none of which contribute to the mandate of the nonprofit enterprise. Lee Giles emphasized that the key component of the business case for talent management is the enterprise risk nonprofits face due to untrained staff and high staff turnover.

4 4 Some voluntary board members perpetuate the charity mentality because they are not paid for their contribution to the enterprise. Of course volunteering on the board is not a source of income nor is it a full time activity. The participants were not advocating for equity to private sector wages but were advocating for talent management investment for staff who were identified as integral to the long term success of the enterprise. Participants want to recognize the trailblazers who have already adopted a more progressive attitude with regards to investing in their people as a means to achieve the business plans and lower risk and liability. The take-away tips to adopt Participants confirmed that due to resource limitations, nonprofit enterprises typically do not employ fulltime human resources executives as part of their staff compliment. However, the participants questioned who better to help support the business case for talent management. As an outcome of the candid discussion, one of the participants plans to include senior level human resources skills as part of the skills matrix for the board on a go-forward basis. The participants also looked forward to ensuring that their boards are fully cognizant of the risks an undeveloped staff can create when working with a sophisticated donor community which wants assurance that their money is well spent. The rapidly changing regulatory environment and a sophisticated public demanding transparency are also key reasons to invest in talent as it will lower the enterprise risk. By this point in the discussion the B2S Breakfast Forum group had much to ponder and proceeded to turn their attention to the business processes required to articulate an aligned Talent Management Strategy. It was agreed that ideally a visionary strategic plan would be approved by the board and out of this fundamental document the staff would produce a business plan. The development of a three year strategic human resource plan would align the people strategy to the strategic and business plans. One participant shared that their strategic human resources plan graphs the talent of the organization on two axis current performance and potential performance. Jeff Welton helped the group delve into this idea further by outlining a people plan he was familiar with and which was based upon the 3C's; capacity, capability and culture. Furthermore, another participant s organization had adapted the Executive Talent Management Framework developed by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat with great success. Take-away #1 HR Skills need to be added to the nonprofit sector. Take-away #2 A three year human resources plan is required in order to adequately communicate with stakeholders including the board, and to measure progress. It will require resolve to make this happen as research shows that even in the private sector only 1/3 of companies focus on the development of leadership skills within their organizations. Take-away #3 Nonprofit professionals must take accountability for their own careers. Many nonprofits have a scale issue and this forces them to go outside for talent. In addition to the scale issue, in some settings there is a culture of fighting against what is perceived as outsider skills and people (e.g. marketing and private sector candidates) entering the nonprofit sector and ushering in disruption. Regardless, the participants agreed that new talent could serve as stimulus for personal growth and help to renew and grow the current workforce. The group also wanted to adopt the self-empowering notion that each individual in the sector is also accountable for their own career. Nonprofit employees need to be aware of the personal benefit of networking and building their CV.

5 5 Summary "A two hour investment with my peers at the Bridge2Success Executive Breakfast Forum is a worthwhile investment. It provides a safe avenue to candidly discuss issues within the nonprofit sector and get honest and helpful feedback. Georgina Kossivas Verity s Bridge2Success Breakfast Forum on Talent Management in the nonprofit sector was a success due to the knowledge and experience of our participants, and the practices of their respective organizations. While there is no single solution on how best to help facilitate change within their organizations the ideas they shared are applicable and scalable for all nonprofit organizations large or small. Colleen Fleming, Forum Moderator Managing Director, Bridge2Success Verity International Limited Implementation tips As the breakfast forum neared conclusion several excellent implementation tactics were identified. Due to the constrained budgets, executives sought to form partnerships with sponsors that would support the development of talent. Networking and mentoring, especially outside the employees' enterprise, were also seen as a cost effective means for developing skills. One enterprise was hosting an annual educational symposium. It was also identified that the member organizations that serve nonprofits such as Imagine Canada and AFP could play a key role in upgrading talent. The colleges and universities are also addressing the talent shortage and offering a wide array of learning options. The group is aware that historically the nonprofit sector was staffed by volunteers and over the course of time volunteers evolved into paid staff. An interest in the cause and being a local resident were key criterion for staff because funds were raised locally and often spent locally. Now that nonprofits may compete for funds globally and the industry is mature new competencies are required in the staff. The introduction of the new skill set provide new internal expectations for employee performance within nonprofit enterprise. A key component of the Talent Management strategy is the clear identification and articulation of the competencies the enterprise requires for success. The point was also made that executives need to fairly terminate employees when they are not ready or able to meet the new expectations. The budgets and the cause are not well served with waste in the system and many nonprofits are unraveling federated models which originated because of the historical grassroots. It was agreed that real change means making some hard choices. Janet commented that nonprofits need to work at pruning activities so that dollars and resources can be more productively spent. She advocates undertaking a budget exercise which matches the dollars spent with the impact achieved. The group sought nonprofit benchmarks for financial investment in talent management. The benchmarks the group was aware of ranged from two weeks a year for senior executives in the private sector; ten days in large nonprofits or broader public sector enterprise; to a couple of days in small enterprises; and with the dollar spend being roughly $500 per person annually or an investment matching the cost of living. Joanne noted that the nonprofit culture of "fair= same" creates a hurdle for the budgeting of productive talent management dollars. The practice of not differentiating the investment in key employees leads to incremental improvement and protracts the time lines to close skill gaps. The implementation tip is to ensure that performance management is a critical component of the Talent Management Strategy. In conclusion, introducing Talent Management into the culture and budgets of nonprofits is a necessary step in the evolution of the sector if the sector is to continue to serve Canada. The executives are astute enough that they will pace the change but they will indeed lead the change.

6 6 Bridge2Success (B2S) is Verity s distinctive practice area dedicated to unique needs of the nonprofit sector. From coaching executive-level Bridgers (leaders moving from the public or private sectors to the nonprofit sector), to consulting to the boards that hire them - our unique services make the relationship work and the organizations stronger. Bridge2Success is the link seamlessly bridging the skills between private and public sectors and the nonprofit sector, benefiting the individual, the organization and the overall Unique Needs Distinctive Services Bridge2Success offers a specialized array of services that are a direct response to these needs. Board-level Consulting From how to work with a new CEO/ED from the corporate environment, and to set him/her up for success, to how to get a board to operate together effectively. Executive Coaching Coaching for the new CEO/ED, with a focus on how to transition corporate, For-Profit skill sets to the nonprofit world, including building skills to support productive board relations. Selection Consulting Working with the board to establish and manage/oversee the process of selecting a new CEO/ED and/or members of the board. Specialized People Our advisors are carefully selected to bring a unique skill set to our customers and individual clients knowledge, experience, as well as business and consulting acumen. They are all experienced leaders and board directors, with a keen understanding of the unique challenges Nonprofits face. And most importantly, they have the passion to make a difference. The nonprofit sector is growing. At the same time, its organizations are facing increased scrutiny and transparency over processes and efficiency and fierce competition over funding dollars and donations. Its own best practice research has identified that the combination of private and nonprofit sector experience the Blended Skill Set is critical to support sustainability. Aligning the work and the sensitive relationship of the board and the CEO/ED, as well as managing the performance of a CEO or Executive Director (ED); and Meeting the expectations of stakeholders for rigorous processes for selecting a new CEO/ED and managing the renewal of the board, e.g. Slate Selection process.

7 7 ABOUT VERITY Unlocking the potential in people Products can be copied. Customer service levels can be matched. Information technology quickly becomes obsolete. It s your people who drive competitive advantage and sustained performance. Verity unlocks the potential in your people. Consulting solutions for the people side of business Verity International Limited is a boutique Canadian human resources consulting firm that focuses on the people side of business. We have decades of experience working as a trusted advisor with a wide-range of organizations, individuals and executives. Our mission is to help leaders align their people to build sustainably successful organizations known for excellence in performance, innovation and employee engagement. We clearly understand the balancing act of managing the complexities of human performance, while meeting the demands of all stakeholders. Our consulting and coaching solutions are unique and tailored to the specific situation. We believe in developing solutions that are specialized and results oriented solutions that unlock the human potential that drives organizational performance and individual dreams. This is our core skill, our passion and the heart of our approach. In operation for over 25 years, we have four distinct practice areas: Bridge2Success Talent & Organizational Consulting Executive Advisory Services Career Management & Transition We operate in all major cities across Canada through our national Verity Filion partnership and in over 40 countries globally as a founding member of BPI group. For more information please visit us at

8 200 King Street West, Suite 1301 Toronto, ON M5H 3T4 Tel: Fax: