Are Your Hiring

Practices Working?Identifying and Securing the Talent

You Need for Today and Tomorrow

April 24, 2012

Dennis M. Sawyers, SPHR

Nonprofit HR Solutions

Senior HR Consultant & Talent Management

Practice Leader

About Our Presenter

Dennis M. Sawyers, SPHR - Senior HR Consultant and

Talent Management Practice Leader, brings more

than 20 years of human resources experience to

the Nonprofit HR Solutions (NPHRS). Before joining

the firm, he held the position of senior human

resources manager at Booz Allen Hamilton,

providing leadership on the full scope of human

resources functions for the entire infrastructure of

the firm. Dennis brings significant strength in the

broad range of talent management, including

recruitment and retention strategy development,

performance management and employee

development.

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About NPHRS

Nonprofit HR Solutions (NPHRS) is the nation's only full-service consulting firm

dedicated exclusively to meeting the human resources needs of nonprofit

organizations. Since 2000, NPHRS has worked exclusively with the nonprofit sector,

generating results for organizations supporting advocacy, health and human services,

arts and culture, education, the environment, faith-based missions and more.

NPHRS has three divisions that include human resources consulting, staffing services

and executive search. NPHRS contributes to the sector through original programs such

as the Nonprofit Employment Trends Survey, the Nonprofit Human Resources

Conference, and the NPHRS Scholarship Fund.

Our team has more than 100 years of combined experience working with nonprofits.

Demonstrated expertise makes us uniquely suited to help the sector face challenges

long endemic to nonprofit human resources--limited budgets, stretched resources

and overworked staff. This experience also gives us the knowledge to develop

innovative responses to workplace issues such as managing performance,

organizational growth and leadership sustainability.

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The Cost of Ineffective Hiring

� According to the U.S. Department of

Labor, the cost of replacing an

employee can be as great as 1/3 of the

annual salary for the employee’s

position.

� Example: Average salary $50,000 x 33.3%

= $16,650 (for a poor hiring decision)

The Cost of Ineffective Hiring

� Costs that add up to that $16,650 (for a

poor hiring decision):

� % of your salary/benefits (or recruiter’s, hiring

manager, etc.)

� Re-advertising costs or possible placement fees

� Training costs

� Employee morale

� Unemployment costs

� Hassle for you!

Agenda

� Review Nonprofit Sector Stats

� Consider the Broad Scope of Work

� Discuss Current Needs

� Locate the Talent

� Who’s Likely to Respond?

� Secure Talent for Today

� Retain Talent for Tomorrow

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Review Nonprofit Sector Stats

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Current State of Nonprofit Sector

� Recent data from Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Employment Bulletin indicates the sector is the 3rd largest workforce in the US

�10.7 million employees in the nonprofit sector

�More than 10% of the total US workforce

�Only smaller than retail and manufacturing; larger than construction, finance, trade, transportation and agriculture

� Within the sector, 57% are employed in health (hospitals, ambulatory care, nursing homes), 15% in education and 13% in social service

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Current State of Nonprofit Sector (con’t)

� From 2000-2010, the nonprofit sector had average growth of 2.1% annually while the

for-profit sector had an average 0.6% shrinkage annually

� The 2012 NPHRS ETS indicates 43% of nonprofits surveyed realized growth in staff size in 2011 and 43% anticipate staff size growth in 2012

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Consider the Broad Scope of Work

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Growth is Timely Because Impact is Crucial

� In his 2012 State of the Union Address, President Obama asserted that, “this nation

is great because we get each other’s backs.” The nonprofit sector is a prime mover

in the nation’s mechanisms for people taking care of one other…(Rick Cohen, April

2012 Nonprofit Quarterly)

� The sector is actively engaged in strategies that are integral to the growth and

sustainability of our nation:

� Andrew Wolk wrote, “We need to make the most of the nearly $1 trillion of annual

government and philanthropy funding going to the millions of nonprofit and

government programs that address social issues today.” (Stanford Social Innovation

Review – Winter 2012)11

Health Education Associations

Science Arts Foundations

Social Services Environment Trade Organizations

Current Needs

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Real Talent Needs

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What We Need

Today

Administrative Business Partners

Collaborative Subject Matter

Experts focusing broader than

their expertise

Flexible and Adaptable Teams

Strategic, Flexible and Creative

Resource Developers

Mission-Minded / Business Savvy

Workforce

Traditional

Perspective

Administrative Professionals

Functional Experts

Program Staff

Fundraisers

Mission-minded workforce

Profile of the Ideal CandidateRelevant education and experience is given

� Alignment with organizational values

� Ability to lead, drive, and/or navigate change

� Ability to enable teams

� Collaborative style; openness to diverse

perspectives

� Engagement with a relevant network/learning

community

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Profile of the Ideal Candidate (Con’t)

Relevant education and experience is given

� Commitment to creativity and innovation

� Ability to deliver sustainable results

� Commitment to effective communications

� Understanding of financial implications

� Understanding of the individual role in the broader

context

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Must haves for every position at every career level; even junior staff must

demonstrate capacity to deliver in these areas

Locate the Talent

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The Best Places To Find the Talent You Need

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OUTLET PERCENT USING SOME OR EVERYTIME

Informal networks of colleagues/friends 81%

Formal networks of colleagues/nonprofits 80%

Newspaper (local online edition) 59%

Newspaper (local print edition) 52%

Craigslist 52%

LinkedIn * 40%

Idealist.org 39%

Monster.com 38%

CareerBuilder.com 33%

Facebook.com 30%

TOP 10 MOST FREQUENTLY USED RECRUITMENT RESOURCES

* Resources reflect that ASAE’s CareerHQ.org site is on par with LinkedIn

Incorporating Social Media Into Your

Recruitment Strategy

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Q&A Break

Who’s Likely to Respond?

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Who Is Likely to Respond?Internal Prospects

� Those looking for career mobility and advancement

� Those looking for a change of any kind/facing burn-out

� Those looking for an “escape”:

�From what they perceive to be bad management

�From their own past professional mistakes

�From work that is no longer interesting or rewarding

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Who Is Likely to Respond?External Prospects

Generation Baby Boomers(born 1946-1964)

May be transitioning out

Generation X(born 1965-1980)

In the height of their career

Generation Y(born 1980-2000)

Values Loyalty, financial security,

stability, and positive work

ethics

Stability, flexible work

arrangements, creative

benefits (i.e., child and

elder care), respect for

work/life balance

Individual recognition,

meaningful work,

advancement, titles

Expectations Respect for their years of

experience, impact, and

deep knowledge; looking

to be leveraged as mentors

Market-competitive/

market-leading

compensation, benefits,

and incentives

Meaningful and productive

work, leading-edge,

innovative technology,

continuing education,

opportunity to be heard,

workplace flexibility

(schedule, attire, and work

arrangements), career

growth opportunities; not

seeking longevity

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Who Is Likely to Respond?External Prospects

� With all of these differences to consider, the

recruiting effort is a challenging one.

� Pay and benefits—although basic recruiting tools—

are not the only resources that will attract and retain

employees.

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Securing Talent for Today

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Efficiency and Consistency are Key

in Securing Stellar Talent

� Recruiting Strategy Development and Implementation —establish your organization’s “way”

� Review current internal practices and processes

� Review current resources

� Do what’s necessary to establish appropriate Rigor and Efficiency (RAE) within your process

� Assist in the change management process

� Value each engagement with each candidate

� Demonstrate the standards that you expect employees to demonstrate when they are hired – practice what you preach

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RAE = Practices and processes that bring needs, resources, accountabilities, and results into full

alignment, while ensuring appropriate synchronization with related practices, processes,

and functions

Common Interviewing Mistakes

What Not To Do

� Talking more than listening � Not defining needs and

requirements up front

� Not allowing the candidate to

answer questions

� Not involving others in the

process

� Failing to gather real examples � Not being fully “present” for

candidate during interview

� Relying on gut reaction or

likeability

� Treating candidates

inconsistently (more/less time,

different questions,

attention/interest)

Tried and True Strategies

Plan The Work & Work The Plan� What is the cost of the position

being vacant?� Review current job description and

revise as necessary

� Is there a viable internal candidate to fill it?

� Determine knowledge, skills and

competencies needed/level of job

� Why is the position open? Any issues to fix?

� Identify behaviors necessary for

success

� What is the purpose of the position? Is it necessary? At what level?

� Create job posting

� With whom does the incumbent

interact?

� Determine where to advertise

� Conduct outreach � Identify interview team – don’t go it

alone!

Screening Resumes

� Review candidate’s materials (resume, cover letter, etc.)

� Note written communications, form, consistency, grammar,

punctuation, etc. (requesting a writing sample is a best

practice)

� Determine if there is any specific information to address

� Information that appears to match a needed competency

� Gaps in employment

� Jobs/experience you are unclear about

� Perceived “job hopping”

Effective Interview Questions

� Identify:

�Competencies – does the candidate have the knowledge, technical skills, and capacity to do the job?

�Behaviors – can the candidate perform in the job, and how will they perform?

�Motivation - will the candidate perform the job?

� Should be used consistently for all candidates

� Interview guides help to ensure consistency and provide opportunity to effectively evaluate candidates

Behavioral Based Interviews

� Recognize that past performance is a good indicator of future performance

� Focus on job-related factors vs. likeability

� Allow interviewers make good decisions based on facts

� Eliminate misunderstanding about a candidate’s capabilities

� Limit the possibility of candidates “faking it” with vague generalizations

� Require a minimum of 45 minutes

Sample Behavioral-Based

Interview Questions

Strategic Area Sample QuestionsStrategic Thinking/Job

Knowledge

� How are you currently keeping up with your

profession? Give me an example of how you have

contributed to your profession?

Developing

Others/Management Skills

� Give me an example of a time when you delegated

projects or activities to an employee based on

their developmental needs.

� Tell me about a specific instance where you

provided feedback to an employee whose

performance was below par.

Leadership � Provide me an example of a time when you

needed to sell a group on a new vision. How did

you create the vision? How did you get buy-in

from the staff? What were the results?

Avoiding Risk in the Interview Process

� Any information not routinely requested of all

candidates, and in particular in the following topics

areas:

Age Marital Status Pregnancy

Race Drug/Alcohol Use Dates of Education

Gender Emergency Contacts (can relate to race or national origin)

Type of Military

Discharge

National Origin Number of Children Health Status

Citizenship Childcare Criminal Record

Religion Residence Sexual Orientation

Avoiding Risk in the Interview Process

� What if a candidate brings up something that falls

into a protected area?

� Interesting but irrelevant

� Gracefully move conversation back to safe

water – “I would really like to review your job

at XYZ organization, and the work you did on

the abc project.”

Retaining Talent for Tomorrow

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Delivering on Your Value Proposition

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Attracting Engaging Motivating Developing Rewarding Retaining

Employer brand Communications

through multiple

media

Performance

management

Shadowing Celebrations Policies

Value proposition Social gatherings Feedback Orientation, peer

coaching

Certain benefits Visible

dedication to

talent

Testimonials Exposure to

leadership

Positive

reinforcement

Formal coaching Casual days Transparent

decision-making

What’s important

to the candidates

Informal

conversations

Flexibility Stretch

assignments

Flexibility Communications

Flexibility Stretch

assignments

Clear directions /

expectations

Internal SMEs

develop others

Positive

reinforcement

Flexibility

Clear paths of

progression

Performance

management

Work / life

balance

Compensation

Celebration of

successes

Q&A Break

Contact Info

Dennis M. Sawyers, SPHR

Nonprofit HR Solutions

(202) 785-2060

dsawyers@nonprofithr.com

www.nonprofithr.com

Thank you!