The Great Opportunity Continues
Last year, our CEO, Sally Bryant, wrote a three-part series on the Great Opportunity (the positive side of “The Great Resignation.”) Some additional thoughts as we continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the current job market.
Many business sectors across the globe are experiencing this time as a “job seekers market” and the nonprofit arena is no different. Yet senior executives are leaving their positions in industry to join nonprofits where they can enjoy the intrinsic rewards of contributing to the greater good of society. Vice President John Toolan shares insights to help your organization thrive in this shifting landscape.
There are currently more quality opportunities available in the nonprofit arena than there are qualified people to fill them, which allows candidates to be more selective. To help your organization stand out, focus on those characteristics that make your organization impactful to its constituents and unique in its culture and values. Tell stories of your effect on your community and those your organization touches. These real-life stories make your organization come alive to a candidate, transforming this opportunity from a job description on a page to a living, breathing, dynamic role that changes people’s lives.
Keeping the mission at the forefront of each advertisement, recruiting conversation and interview to ensure that there is mission alignment between the candidate and your organization will create a more enjoyable and productive interviewing process for both parties. Studies have repeatedly shown that employees seek a sense of value in their work. Helping them understand how their contributions impact the world around them is a powerful recruitment tool. As an additional bonus, it can encourage the candidate to turn down offers from other organizations while they consider joining yours.
Once on board, when team members feel that they are contributing to something larger than themselves, and larger than their organization, they have a sense of fulfillment that aids in their retention.
People on the job market may actually feel “overwhelmed with opportunity,” finding it difficult to narrow their search or know where to focus. As an employer with open positions, this is where using a proactive search firm can help because these firms market your opportunity to people who are likely to align with your mission and values – even if those potential candidates are not actively on the job market. This can lead to a broader and more diverse pool, and it often reduces the last-minute urgency for your organization to extend an offer before a competitor because those candidates may not be considering any other opportunities but yours.
All of these elements may lead to considering ideal candidates from places where you would least expect. For example, the public has a common misconception that nonprofits don’t need to generate profits. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that nonprofits funnel their funds back into the impact areas of the organization rather than compensate shareholders. The more income a nonprofit generates, the greater its reach and effect on those it serves. Passionate leaders skilled at evaluating operations and creating efficiencies—from finance, sales, or other parts of the for-profit world—can propel the growth of nonprofits quickly and sustainably.
We find that many senior executives reach a point in their career when they have climbed the mountains they wish to conquer and now want to contribute to the greater good of society. As an example, I recently conducted a search where a leading candidate left his law practice because he was “tired of making billionaires wealthier.” He brought his superior negotiating skills to the higher education sector, where he renegotiated contracts and leases, resulting in significant cost savings.
In win-win cases such as this, the executives enjoy bringing their expertise to bear to improve their local or national community or to contribute to causes that they hold dear. This brings more diverse thought into the organization and can lead to other forms of diversity. Often the infusion of an executive from outside of the nonprofit area aids in identifying roles that allow for transferable skills. This opens the door for others from “Corporate America” to join the nonprofit world, experience its benefits and diversify its workforce.
If you are challenged in this recruiting environment, I encourage you to broaden your search to potential candidates outside of the nonprofit arena, leaning into the mission and values of your organization, and using stories to connect candidates to you.
