 hiring
the best talent you can find
By
Dana Levy
Director of Executive Search, Koya Consulting
It is no
secret that talent is the new buzzword, with magazines from The
Economist to The New York Times focusing on the increasing competition
for top talent in the corporate sector. Social enterprises are no
different. The tremendous growth of the nonprofit sector, social
enterprise’s need for a blended skill set, and subsequent need for more
senior management staff members as the Baby Boomers retire, are all
leading to a hiring crunch. It is vital that boards and senior leaders
make recruiting excellent talent a priority if they want their
organizations to flourish.
The best way to find the quality talent you seek largely depends on the
growth stage of your enterprise. Below are a few suggestions for
securing top talent in a competitive market. All of these options
require an investment of time and thought on the part of the
organization, and some require a financial commitment. But in the search
for talent, smart, thoughtful investments pay immeasurable dividends.
Starting an Organization
When a new organization is hiring its first senior staff members, the
board and founder might have different ideas as to what is needed, and
it can be hard to establish agreement on the profile of a winning
candidate. In this case, it often helps to hire an
organizational consultant
before beginning the search. The consultant can facilitate the
conversation between the board and the founder, and by offering an
objective perspective, the consultant can help an organization get
through some difficult discussions. Once the consultant has clarified
the job profile, there is often no need for him or her to stay involved
in the search. With a good road map, the organization should be able to
run a successful search on its own.
Expanding Program Capacity
Growth of your community wealth venture can be both a blessing and a
curse. The excitement of having increased revenue and impact is tempered
by the realization that numerous staff members must be hired quickly.
Some positions are difficult to recruit for, particularly in industries
with acute shortages such as health care or highly specialized areas
such as accounting. In this situation, an organization may want to
consider using a contingency
recruiting firm. A contingency firm’s main role is to identify as
many potential candidates as possible. The firm does not get paid unless
the people it puts forward are hired. Many contingency firms have
industry-specific databases that can help nonprofits find those
professionals quickly.
Transitioning Senior Leadership
Leadership transitions can result in tremendous uncertainty and unease.
In the case of a retiring founder, senior staff members may feel as if
they are heir apparent to the executive director role, whereas the board
may have a different vision. When leadership capacity is added to the
organizations, such as in the case of hiring a chief operating officer
that reports to the executive director, staff members may resent that
they no longer have access to the executive director but instead have to
navigate through someone new. To complicate matters, major funders often
hold back during these transition times, unsure of the future of the
organization. A retained search firm
can design an inclusive process that allows all stakeholders to have a
voice and alleviate concern from boards, funders, and staff members.
Regardless of what scenario your organization finds itself in, you need
to invest in talent to make your nonprofit thrive. The investment might
be with a search firm or an organizational consultant, or by taking the
extra time to conduct the search internally. Managed wisely, investing
in talent can be the most important dollars you spend toward fulfilling
your mission.
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