Recruiting and Retaining the Best and Brightest

Concepts such as “job sculpting” and “building a career-resilient workforce” show organizations how to empower employees and manage their careers, as well as provide unconditional support — whether or not a fundraising pro stays with the organization long term.

A career-resilient workforce, for example, is composed of employees who are dedicated to the idea of continuous learning; stand ready to reinvent themselves to keep pace with change; are comfortable switching back and forth from traditional roles on special projects; take responsibility for their own career management; and are committed to the organization’s success.

Convey commitment from the top
Recruiting and retaining the best and brightest employees requires commitment from the top — from the CEO as well as the board — and must be a strong institutional value. Keeping high-performing, satisfied and engaged employees also requires leaders who “get it,” who ensure frequent and effective communication, regularly give credit where it’s due, immediately fix problems and ensure complete resolution, make career growth a priority, and lastly, provide competitive wages and benefits.

And by the way, in case you forgot, remember that a leader leads — always.

Betty Ann Copley Harris, FAHP, is president of Copley Harris Co., a full-service nonprofit consultancy and executive-recruiting firm. You can reach her via e-mail at bach@copleyharris.com.