NPL 473 Nonprofit Leadership

Finding the Ones You Want, Keeping the Ones You Find

I. Why Put People First?

a. Human resources is a system, not a set of tasks

b. If you build it, they will come (and stay)

i. Fit & embeddedness: Staff are attracted to organizations with which they perceive an alignment between the goals of the organization and their own values

1. Fit is not a synonym for homogeneity

2. Embeddedness is extent to which staff & family are engaged in the organization and its community

a. Links to other people

b. Fit between job, community, and other aspects of life

c. “Sacrifice” if one were to leave

II. First Things First: Make It Legal

a. Title VII: Civil Rights Act of 1964

i. All organizations with 15 or more employees must adhere to nondiscriminatory practices in employment

ii. Disparate treatment vs. adverse impact: be sure you can demonstrate job-relatedness of any human resource criterion

iii. Prima facie case: 4/5 rule

iv. Sexual harassment: quid pro quo or hostile work environment

b. Legislation Protecting other groups

i. Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967

ii. Pregnancy Discrimination Act

iii. American with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA)—requires “reasonable accommodation”: does not cause undue financial or logistical hardship

c. Role of EEOC in Discrimination Cases

i. Charges must be filed with EEOC within 180 days of the incident (up to 300 days in most States)

d. Additional Legislation

i. Fair Labor Standards Act 1938

ii. Equal Pay Act of 1963

iii. Executive Order 11246

iv. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

v. Homeland Security Act of 2002

vi. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

vii. Occupational Safety and Health act of 1970 (OSHA)

viii. USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

ix. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

III. Putting It All Together: The Processes of Human Resources

a. Human Resources Audit—Every hiring and retention decision is made in the context of an overall plan for where the organization is headed

b. Staffing Plan

i. What are the continuing activities that need to be performed to help the organization meet its mission?

ii. Designate staffing positions as belonging to central administration, general operations, or program staff.

iii. Especially important for organizations transitioning to professional staffed entities, and for succession planning

c. Recruitment

i. Identify job characteristics (KSA—knowledge, skills, abilities: should know, needs to do, has capacity to accomplish)

ii. Write job descriptions (helps those who will select, advertises to potential staff, and legal defense against discrimination charges)

d. Searching

i. External (newspaper & online ads, professional publications, college recruiting, government placement agencies, professional search firms)

ii. Internal (employee referral, internal posting, client & volunteer recruitment)

iii. Internal hires as much as 24% more likely to stay

iv. Candidates not hired must be left with a good impression

e. Choosing a Candidate (nonprofits often need flexibility, so structured approaches are often not desirable)

i. Determine which candidates have required qualifications

ii. Assess which candidates are best for position

1. 5 stable personality characteristics: openness to experience, conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, extroversion

2. General cognitive ability is best predictor of job performance for complex jobs across US

3. Honesty tests

4. work sample tests

5. Personal interview (but has low predictive ability)

a. Structured interview format

b. Stick with behaviors

c. Keep it legal

d. Consider a team interview

iii. Verify candidate qualifications and match

iv. Make selection decision and tender the offer

1. Keep all top candidates in pool until final offer accepted

2. Make offer on phone, follow up with details in writing

IV. Retention Through Motivation—in nonprofits, human resources are not so much aligned with the organization as the are the organization

V. Discharge, Layoffs, and Voluntary Turnover

a. Job embeddedness is better predictor of staying than is job satisfaction

b. Downsizing: Personal touch is important

i. Careful performance-based identification of those to be eliminated

ii. Sufficient advanced warning

iii. Adequate explanationof rationale

iv. Assistance with outplacement

VI. Make or Buy: Outsourcing

a. Critical roles should not be outsourced

b. Collaboration for health care and retirement benefits may make sense

i. Follow up with thorough management of outsourced contracts

ii. Measure staff satisfaction with outsourced services

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