7 Ways To Value Employees

"Value your employees."

That's the answer most nonprofit managers get when they ask how to get their employees to do a better job. This sounds simple enough in practice; when people think their work is actually being appreciated, they tend to work harder. Many mangers would agree this is the right thing to do, but they don't always know how to best put their good intentions into practice.

In his essay “Walking the Talk with Talent,” which appears in the book Capturing the People Advantage, Edward E. Lawler III argued that, if an employer is truly going to treat all of its workers as valuable assets, all aspects of the organization must be involved: That means the board, human resources (HR), and information systems:

• The board should have at least one member with a sophisticated understanding of the research related to human resources management, organizational effectiveness, succession planning and learning and development.
• Board members should receive regular information about the condition of an organization’s talent and the way it develops and deploys that talent.
• The board should spend at least as much time on human-capital issues as it does on the allocation of financial and physical capital.
• HR should contain some of the top talent in the organization, along with the best information technology resources.
• HR should be seen as an important stepping-stone for anyone aspiring to senior management.
• HR leaders should be involved in business strategy discussions.
• Organizations should adhere to the saying that what gets measure gets attended. HR measures must be as relevant, rigorous and comprehensive as measures for financial and physical capit

6 Lessons About Change In The Workplace

The nonprofit workplace is a constantly changing environment. Change can be a good thing, but many employees don't necessarily see it that way. Those workers who are not doing a good job need to change their act quickly if they are to convince change agents that they are a necessary component of the organization. Employees who are pulling their own weight are too busy working to prove their worth.

During the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) 49th International Conference on Fundraising, Mary C. McQueen, executive director of development at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, shared the experiences she had when her office went through re-evaluation and restructuring in the face of shrinking funds and increased demands.

The results of these changes were a net positive for Del Mar College. None of the nine full-time employees in her department lost their jobs, money was saved, and fundraising improved. Just because the results were good doesn't mean there wasn't any resistance, however. McQueen outlined the challenges her organization faced and the lessons learned:

• A massive learning curve for new staff.
• Moving cheese makes the natives nervous. The challenge is keeping the team focused on tasks and goals.
• It’s important to share concepts, not details, of the reorganization.
• Focus on opportunities for professional growth, not deletion of positions.
• Build bridges, not walls. Allies come from unexpected corners.
• At each step, search for options and guidance from trusted sources. Be open and listen. Then choose what works.

A Checklist For Nonprofit Managers

The first day at a new job is one of the most nervous moments for any person. That anxiety is usually associated with the new employee, but the manager has equal reasons to be nervous.

Nonprofit managers have a lot on their plate on the first day of a new hire. They have to make sure everything is in order so that the day goes as smoothly as possible. The last thing an already nervous employee wants to deal with is more anxiety and disorganization from the employer, so it's important to get rid of those butterflies.

One of the best ways to do this is to go back to the basics and create a checklist to ensure that you are prepared. In "The Big Book of HR," Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem laid out the following nine items to go over before the new employee arrives. If all of these questions are answered in the affirmative, then you will be ready to make sure your employee's first day of work is successful:

• Does security know the new hire is starting?
• Does the employee know when and where to report on Day One?
• Is the work area ready with computer, phone, supplies, and welcoming items?
• Do your staff members know when the new hire is arriving?
• Do you have a plan for the first day and beyond?
• Does your schedule include time for the new hire?
• Does the new hire have a copy of the person’s job description?
• Does the new hire have a copy of the organization’s strategic plan and mission statement?
• Does the new hire know what to do in case of an emergency in the workplace?

One more thing: Make sure you are available on the first. If there's an emergency that requires you to be out of the office, select someone to help the new employee out in your stead.

You can get more hiring tips like these in our upcoming jobs eNewsletter, which will be out Wednesday.

Managing Nonprofit Diversity Conflict

Diversity has become the goal at every level of American life. Efforts to promote it have been rightfully applauded. Here's the real question: Are organizations correctly handling these efforts?

One reason people flock toward nonprofit jobs is the diversity in culture and the working backgrounds they support. There is a bigger lesson organizations missed if they are only promoting diversity for diversity's sake. In his book "The End of Diversity as We Know It," Martin R. Davidson argues that a better aim is to embrace and build upon differences among employees.

Davidson, who was a chief development officer at the University of Virginia, also acknowledges that diversity initiatives can cause resistance and even conflict among employees. This can manifest itself in what Davidson calls "identity abrasions," feelings of resentment or defensiveness that come up when people are criticized for being insensitive or ignorant. He wrote that to make these teachable moments positive experiences for all parties involved, he recommends human resources officers implement five "principles of behavior." They are:

• Pausing: There is a natural tendency to react, but taking time to identify feelings and consider options helps in responding effectively to criticism.
• Connecting to larger goals: Meaningful goals make it easier to remember why it is worth engaging with another.
• Questioning yourself: This will help you come to a realistic and accurate understanding of what is happening in the exchange.
• Seeking out balanced support: Rather than just complaining to your friends who will have your back, seek out the counsel of trusted colleagues.
• Shifting mindset towards opportunity: It takes persistent willingness to be introspective.

Management Tip: 7 Essentials to Attracting Great Employees

Cross-posted from The NonProfit Times blog...

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Wondering why your organization has trouble attracting good employees?

Well, that article in The New York Times reporting your CEO has been found certifiably insane sure didn’t help, but in fact when it comes to hiring and retention, the times they are a changing.

In their book “Brand For Talent,” Mark Schumann and Libby Sartain offer information meant to show that getting and keeping top employees means awareness that present-day employees are not the same as those who grew up during the Depression, even if they are dealing with the Great Recession.

Schumann and Sartain offer seven essentials that can help deal with a new situation.

• Wake up. Today’s job-seekers see themselves, not you, as the consumers. With a world of information at their fingertips, and the savvy to maneuver it, they are looking for something that satisfies them.

• Look ahead. You might have to market yourself as a good place to work. Think sensibilities, challenges, lessons, opportunities, the future.

• Create. A company must creatively market its employer brand to each segment of worker it hopes to secure.

• Segment. As with marketing, segmenting means adapting the talent brand message for each segment based on insight into audience needs and preferences.

• Implement. Be recognized, believed, personalized, and remembered.

• Sustain. There must be alignment of the culture, corporate identity and the consumer and employer brands.

• Survive. Be aware of and utilize social media to your benefit.

Nonprofit Managers Must Build Trust

Cross posted from the NPTimes Blog...

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Our distrust is very expensive." When it comes to nonprofit managers and CEOs, this couldn't be more true. Let's face it, for a nonprofit to be successful, its employees have to trust the head of the organization. Without this, performance can suffer and, as a result, so will the organization's mission.

John Hamm (not that one, in case you are wondering), talks about how important trust is for company leaders in his new book, Unusually Excellent: The Necessary Nine Skills Required for the Practice of Great Leadership. As the title of the book implies, it gives leaders nine tips on how to get employees to trust them. Here are some of these tips that Hamm mentions in his book:

• Hamm stresses that you don't have to act like a "boy scout" to gain the trust of your employees. In fact, he writes that the best leaders are those who don't try to act like anybody other than themselves. In fact, it's very easy to see how a manager or other leader who acts too kind might seem suspicious to employees.

• Along the same lines, Hamm wrote that it's important for a leader to look for chances to show that they are human by proving that they have authentic fears, imperfections, and emotions. He gives the example of a CEO named "Carl" who grew up in humble surroundings. Carl always told stories of his hard upbringing while leading his employees, as he knew this would make them feel more comfortable around him; it made him more accessible and, in turn, more trustworthy. To me, this was the most surprising tip Hamm gave; it's something I never thought of before, as we are often taught to hide our emotions from those we work with.

• Another interesting point was Hamm's mention of the so-called "adulterer's guarantee." Essentially, this is when a leader tells an employee that they lied to someone else, but that they would never lie to you. Some think doing this would show an employee that their boss is behind them, but it really just exposes the leader as a dishonest person. If this leader would lie to someone else, why should an employee believe they are not lying to them? And is usually the case with these situations, the story of this incident will spread, hurting morale.

• Finally, Hamm wrote that a leader should never punish "good failures." These are failures that occur despite an organization doing everything right, and are usually associated with taking a calculated risk for a project. By punishing employees for these "failures," employees will be more averse to taking risks in their work. And since risk-taking is the key for any organization's success, this is most definitely a bad thing. Instead, leaders should strive to create a culture where innovation is promoted, so that all these good failures can eventually lead to something successful.

If you are interested in learning more about Unusually Excellent, visit the book's website.