5 Great Tips for Finding Superstar Employees

While large corporations are lucky enough to have an entire human resources team dedicated to acquiring superstar employees, many charities and non-profit organizations are left to rely on the collective (and sometimes untrained) knowledge of the current board members.

Fortunately there are a number of great resources, both on the internet and at your local library, that assist organizations in launching a great hiring campaign - including Charity Executive! If you find yourself on the search for your next shining star, here are 5 great tips to ensure your best results:

1. Write a great (and accurate) job description
As executives ourselves, we see hundreds of job descriptions and postings that look like they were thrown together in a matter of minutes. While it's true that vague job postings ultimately mean more applications, it also means more wasted time spent weeding out the unsuitable candidates. Pay close attention to the details of the job description and related duties, especially if recycling a job posting that was used a few years prior. Don't be afraid to review the job description with the employee that is leaving, and ask for their insight on how the position might have changed.

2. Get that posting up!
This point is especially important if the position you are filling is a replacement for another employee. Regardless of the reason for the vacancy (extended vacation, maternity leave or just moving on to a better opportunity), executives should aim for at least 1 week of overlap between the current employee, and the one who will be taking their place. The sooner management begins reviewing applications, the sooner a suitable candidate can be chosen (and new hires will appreciate the overlap more than you'll know).

3. Use various media outlets to spread the word
In our social media driven world, it would be silly to just place your job posting ads in the newspaper. With so many ways to connect with potential employees, we encourage executives to reach out using many different media outlets. Twitter & Facebook are great ways to share upcoming job opportunities with an audience that already knows what you are all about. LinkedIn emails prospective candidates to let them know of jobs they may be interested in, and Craigslist & Kijiji are great free ways to list your open positions.

4. Consider hiring a co-op student, intern or recent university graduate
If your looking for a shining star employee for a relatively entry level position, consider contacting your location university or private post secondary institution for  any student recommendations they may have. Individuals that excel within their academic career are often just as dedicated to their post-academic career as well, and will most likely 'hit the ground running' for your organization. You may need to spend a bit more time training on them on certain industry specifics, but their dedication to good work is worth it.

5. Discuss corporate culture during the interview process
We hear countless tales of executives who hired the "perfect" candidate, only to find out months later that they couldn't have been further from the truth. While skills, knowledge and previous experience are crucial to hiring the right employee, so is the mesh between their personality and your corporate culture. If you work within an industry that requires a specific religious belief (such as Christian or Judaism), particular lifestyle choice (such as being vegan because of animal cruelty issues) or health & wellness solutions (such as Chiropractic treatment instead of vaccinations), you must clearly communicate this during the hiring process. Remember, the hiring process is a time for both the employer and the potential employee to determine if they would be a good fit for each other; by taking time to explain your corporate culture and workplace expectations, it allows applicants the opportunity to decide if your workplace is the place for them!

Dan Pallota's TED Talk

Dan Pallota's TED Talk has received a lot of attention lately. The talk, like his books challenge the lens through which we see charity - for the better. He demands we destroy the separate 'rule book' we've given to the sector responsible for solving the worlds biggest problems and commit to the morality of outcomes over a morality of our methods. Overhead ratios, advertising, investment models and risk are recurring themes here, and while he's not without his critics, the video is causing those in the industry and those who care about it to challenge assumptions and hopefully re-think some of the ways the ways the sector operates.

Rethinking is good, doing is better. How we move from ideals to implementation is likely where most will freeze. There's a chasm between the ideals Mr. Pallota is suggesting and the cruel reality that is the day to day experience of those operating non-profits. Penalized by the public paralyzed by their boards, and crippled by a lack of funds, I suspect many non-profit leaders are watching the video, sighing and saying "sure…but I'm barely making payroll, let alone able to invest $50 000 into a venture project that may or may not yield results." Or, there are those trying innovative approaches to substantial change but run up against the same critiques, roadblocks or don't have the cash reserves deep enough to see their ideas through. 

And as viscerally appealing as it sounds, the solution isn't just to "dream big" or "take risks." These may be a part of it, but the reality is, we can't dream our way into a new playbook. Mass social change requires long term, incremental steps towards a seemingly undefined end. It may seem like playing darts in the dark, but if we're willing to make small steps we can hopefully turn on at least a dim light.

I'd suggest that before we can expect the public or government to change perceptions about what we do, the change needs to start with you and the executive leadership at your non profit. I've listed five small commitments I think you can make with your executive leadership team and I think if you took a half hour too you could think of your own set of five ways to challenge the current model, and implement a mode of operating that slowly shifts the conversation. If we do this, we can shift from "wishing" you could operate with the playbook Dan talks about, to picking it up, and starting to turn the pages.

Number One: Evaluate every idea based on the individual merits and strength of that idea and not on the weight of precedent or perceptions. If you don't understand the idea, spend the time necessary to understand its complexities without prejudice. Unpack it and let it stand for itself. 

Number Two: Commit to specialization and education in your sector. The non-profit industry in Canada is 110 Billion dollars. That's larger than automotive, tech, manufacturing and more. And yet, who are the experts? If you work in fundraising - you work in finance. Learn the financial models and tools the rest of the finance world uses (yes, even in the for profit world). Understand risk capital, the banking system and capital markets in and out. Segment by expertise, not by industry.

Number Three: Be honest about the success or lack of success your organization has or has not experienced. Know the metrics you are evaluating your programs on and accept when they just aren't working. This doesn't mean you abandon ship or immediately change course but without an honest inventory of how well you are doing and whether you're meeting the expectations you have for your cause how can you be expected to change it?

Number Four: Blue Sky It. While you can't dream your way into a new playbook, be committed to recently look at the problems your charity is working to solve, set the ideals as if access to capital and resources wasn't an issue and then work back from there. 

Number Five: Know your story. Rigorously investigate the origins of your organization, the failures and successes and the legacy of decisions that have brought you to this point. If we don't understand the past, breaking free from it and setting a new course will be impossible. 

Now it's your turn. Go.

Guest Post By: Jeff Golby
Jeff has expressed his passion for creative problem solving his interest in leadership development and his desire to re-think old problems through new frameworks in his professional, volunteer and personal life. The intersection of business and charity and leveraging the strengths of both to create substantive change are what interests him most at the moment and he gets to express this as the Operations Director of the Charitable Impact Foundation (Chimp.net). He loves a good story, an opportunity to see others take their ideas and knock them out of the park, and the moment the stars align to brew the perfect cup of coffee. He can be (happily) reached @ jeff@chimp.net

Leveraging Philanthropy

It’s the second half of "_ a-thon" Season. The time when Movember, Run for the Cure and others are gearing up for what will be a very successful period of raising a large amount of money.

Following up on the last post, I want to start exploring how we can be ‘better givers’ and ‘better askers.’ Donors have a unique opportunity to give with their head and with their heart – and the "__ a thon" season really highlights this unique challenge.

So to start, I thought it’d be wise to suggest two really simply guidelines to consider when entering, raising money for, or giving to one of these event based fundraisers. I’ll use CIBC’s Run for the Cure as a lead example here. Not because I think it’s good or bad (that’s for you to decide) but because it’ll be coming up real soon….

Know who the money is going to:
Q: Who does CIBC’s Run for the Cure support? A: Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. What does the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation do? That’s when it gets interesting. Registered as a Charitable Org and not a Foundation (https://chimp.net/charities/canadian-breast-cancer-foundation) the CBCF seems to act kind of like a Charitable Org (in that 17% of its budget goes towards programs) but also like a Foundation (in that it granted out 34% of its income). I’ve yet to get an answer, so am at a loss to know which is which. The issue isn’t a technical one, a Foundation and a Charitable Org have very different mandates (great ones, just different). Knowing the end charity is important before you represent them in a race. You’d never promote a product you didn’t use, why would you promote a Cause you didn’t know?

Know how they spend their money & what they have to show for it:
I’m not trying to enter a debate about what ‘funding ratios’ (i.e. the amount spent on fundraising to the amount earned) is “good” or “bad” – that’s a red herring here. What’s important (I would say) is what impact they are having with their dollar – whether it’s spent on programs or granted to organizations who run programs. Knowing where the money goes is the first step, knowing what they do with it is second. Again, CBCF – spends 17% on programs, 36% on fundraising, 12% on management and 34% “granting out” to other non profits. Nothing ‘bad’ or ‘good’ in these figures alone. They are what they are. Looking at who they grant money out to – you see some universities (makes sense), some YWCA’s (ok I get it), some Elementary School (a little bit of a stretch), Dragon Boat teams (seems odd but, advertising perhaps). Again nothing inherently wrong with this – if you are OK with the impact made.

Charities are caught. Ending the starvation cycle begins with information and freeing Charity from the tyranny of branding and ‘keeping up’. It begins with donors not giving just on image or sexy fundraiser alone, or even on giving to the ‘idea’ that finding a cure for Breast Cancer is a ‘good idea’, but giving to what organization will be most effective in doing what it says it does. If that’s CBCF – awesome, if it’s not – then, if you’re truly passionate about making a dent, rally your friends and help a cause that doesn’t have the money to throw a massive event. Your money is worth way too much to be thrown at something you don’t believe in. The information is out there and it’s super easy to pick your own standard of efficacy (i.e. how well the organization fulfills its mission) and give to who earns it the most when we do this (give on merit not on ask) we’ll start restocking the pond now.

Guest Post by Jeff Golby @jgolby