3 External Hiring Tips

The first place nonprofit managers do when beginning a hiring process is to see if they can fill their open position from within. This is preferable for many reasons not the least being that the candidate is already familiar with the inner-workings of the organization.

As Kirk Kramer and Preeta Nayak noted in the Bridgespan Group’s book “Plan A: How Successful Nonprofits Develop Their Future Leaders,” the beginning of the external hiring process isn't something that makes nonprofit leaders scared. Citing Bridgespan's Leadership Diagnostic Survey, they noted that 77 percent of managers agree or strongly agree that they “effectively screen external leadership candidates to ensure they are correct for the role and the organization.”

When it comes to the transition phase, however, that confidence is not present. The survey indicated that 38 percent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that their organization has a successful on-boarding plan.

So where to begin? Kramer and Nayak sought to ease hiring manager's fears by detailing three steps for a successful external hiring campaign:

• Step 1: Define requirements for the role. 
• Step 2: Create opportunities for both the organization and the candidate to assess whether the candidate is a good fit. 
• Step 3: Design an on-boarding process that supports the new hire’s capabilities and relationship development.