Recruiting for Mission Can Help Nonprofits Fill Critical Positions

If finding high-performing professionals with a passion to put their skills to work for good seems unattainable, perhaps you are not using the biggest asset — your organization’s mission — to its greatest advantage.

Recruiting for mission can be a secret weapon for nonprofits — especially for those that are among the three out of four organizations with unfilled positions, whose budgets have been squeezed by higher salaries and benefits or whose lack of staff has had a measurable impact on their revenue and services.

The good news is that the timing for connecting new hires to your organization’s compelling purpose has never been better because today’s workers — younger workers in particular — are placing a premium on joining organizations that align with their values. 

But putting your organization’s mission into context for candidates doesn’t mean just sharing your mission. It requires strategy, ingenuity and creative storytelling to find individuals with the right skills and who want to put their talents to work in a culture that values people.

Devising a Strategy for Success

Start by creating an all-hands-on-deck approach, bringing internal decision-makers, including members of your organization’s board of directors’ search committee, and external recruiting partners together to devise a game plan. 

Here are some considerations: 

• Do you want to recruit locally, regionally or nationally? 
• Are you looking for a fundraiser who is a master at working with individual donors or a leader with deep corporate experience? 
• What is the candidate’s profile — someone with proven success in a similar role at another organization or an emerging leader with the connections and talents to take the nonprofit in an exciting new direction?

Explore Your Options in Expected and Unexpected Places

With a thoughtful plan in place, it’s time to begin the search. This is one of my favorite parts of the process, as it allows you to discover and target candidates in expected and unexpected places.

One strategy is to look for a candidate who may be willing to make a lateral move from one nonprofit to another or an emerging leader who is looking for career advancement. 

When the Arizona Community Foundation was recruiting its first chief people officer,the perfect match ended up being an executive leader at the world’s first community foundation. Not only did she have the experience and expertise to bring this new role to life, but also the compassion to build the organization around its biggest asset — people.

Another fertile area to explore is corporate America. You may be surprised at how many executives would consider putting their wisdom and stellar track record to work for causes they support. The key is identifying leaders whose skills align with the job at hand, understand the inner workings of nonprofits through their involvement on boards of directors and whose passion for making a positive difference is contagious. 

In some cases, it may be best to think about the organization from several vantage points. Before identifying prospects for a chief financial officer at Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, it was important to consider all of the organization’s key selling points, including its religious affiliation, its benefits as a nonprofit and the opportunity for the new hire to serve in a high-profile leadership role. With that information in hand, it was possible to uncover passive candidates in each area who were not actively looking for a new position but were open to considering a career move.

Whatever approach you take, leave no stone unturned by traveling in the circles of your desired candidates.

Connecting the Mission to the Culture

Before adding to your workforce, have you taken the temperature of your organization to learn how existing employees are feeling, what drives them to give back and how they celebrate success?

In my experience working with nonprofits, I am constantly reminded of the rewards that staff at all levels experience by interacting with clients. Connecting culture to the mission not only underscores the redeeming value of your organization’s work, it also can be a draw for those considering joining your team.

Creating ‘the Sizzle’

The most important part of the process is telling your organization’s compelling story. It’s what I call “the sizzle.” This is where your nonprofit can shine by creating a tug-at-the-heartstrings narrative that puts your mission into focus and makes candidates wonder why they would want to work anywhere else.

These steps can take some time, but remember, what you put into the process will reap rewards in the form of top-notch individuals who could be your organization’s next great hires.

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.