As I See It: Investing in Your Staff: The Unexpected Benefits
My inbox is inundated daily with depressing news articles and commentary from experts chronicling “the great recession of talent” and speculation on “the great resignation of baby boomers” serving the nonprofit sector. While this Tsunami of reality is unfortunate, why not reimagine strategies that deliver promise for the future?
Take employee training seriously and if you do not have a budget, think creatively.
Instead of handing out annual goals, consider inspiring staff to build their own far-reaching goals and give them ownership of the results. Watch them soar.
Strategically pair high performers who often deliver more productivity in teams with others to create momentum, expand each member’s knowledge, and build teamwork. Watch them grow.
Demand cross training in your department and throughout the nonprofit agency. When you peg an employee into one role – you are losing an opportunity. Fundraisers excel in their role when they have a deeper understanding of the organization – from finance to programs, immerse staff in new experiences. Remove barriers to learning.
Consider partnering with another nonprofit you admire encouraging shared knowledge, ideas introducing new processes, and ideas. The power of sharing will bring untold rewards for both employee engagement and increased possibilities of collaboration for your future. Ignite engagement.
Prioritize employee training in your budget, accelerate innovation.
Select employee training programs that encourage staff to take risks and stretch their mindset. Fundraising methodology and evidence-based practice are great frameworks but require innovation and custom approaches. Expand opportunity.
Go beyond in finding out what your staff are looking for from professional and personal learning and deliver it. Cultivate vision for growth.
Fund staff professional development through in-person experiences. Online education is a nice supplement to practice, but placing professionals in a learning cohort increases retention and application of knowledge. Hold participants accountable, transfer learning to team members, and deploy learnings for implementation.
The ROI (Relationships for Organizational Impact) measures your means to engage employees and evaluate their performance, but it may backfire if you do not consider the cost of replacing talent. Invest now for future impact.
Finally, attracting and retaining talent is top of mind for all nonprofits. Let us make investing in staff our priority, it will increase employee engagement, boost mission-driven outcomes, and position you and the sector for success.
Chief Operating Officer, Barbara Shelton, has been with M. Gale since 2018. Barbara is a veteran fundraiser and former nonprofit executive. She has almost 40 years of professional experience and has worked with a wide variety of nonprofit organizations as well as consulting.
