As nonprofit organizations continue to face staffing shortages nationwide, attracting talented employees is more important than ever. With over 1.5 million nonprofits serving millions of people across the nation, attracting talented individuals to the nonprofit sector is crucial to ensuring the well-being of our communities. With nonprofits reporting more vacancies now than before the pandemic, understaffing is becoming standard operating procedure. To help reverse these trends, recruitment strategies must include a renewed focus on culture and branding. Investing in your nonprofit’s culture and brand today can set it apart and yield significant dividends in the future.
It Starts With Culture
An organization’s culture is the most important factor in determining its operational success. Culture is the shared behaviors and beliefs of why, when and how you do what you do. It’s not only what you say you do, but what you actually do. Culture is how the phone is answered, how programs are delivered, and how employees are onboarded, promoted, or fired. Strong cultures are aligned in their beliefs –values, vision and mission – and their behaviors – what they do or how they act. They walk the talk.
Nonprofit organizations must be as intentional towards culture as they are with strategy.
When a group of people get together and interact on a regular basis, a culture will arise. Some organizations may just let culture happen on its own. However, like in public relations, if leadership does not define the narrative, then it will be defined for you. If your organization’s culture is left alone and unmanaged, then like any garden or home, it will wither. Nonprofit organizations must be as intentional towards culture as they are with strategy.
A strong culture is necessary to effectively serve the mission. Nonprofits are keenly focused on confronting incessant societal challenges and improving people’s lives. The mission should be front and center. However, an organization’s mission should not sacrifice a healthy workplace culture. Unfortunately, the default nonprofit culture is defined by high turnover, low pay, long hours and burnout. Dedication to a cause is important, but not at the excessive cost of personal time, money and boundaries. Some organizations are standouts, but more needs to be done to shift nonprofits toward attracting talent with more than the mission.
Tips on Nonprofit Culture
- Culture audit. Conduct a survey or interviews to gather some baseline data on the current culture – what’s working, what’s not working and find opportunities for improvement. Do people like working there? Would they recommend the workplace to others?
- Document beliefs. Write down your core values, vision and mission and share them liberally. Creating this document should be a collaborative process with all stakeholders involved. Describe the organization you want to be. These principles are your north star and should guide you forward.
- Manifest beliefs. Keep these principles top of mind when reviewing policies, systems and processes. Integrate the principles into recruiting, promotions, meetings and all internal and external communications. Hold people accountable and celebrate those who live in the culture.
- Staff first. When we’re with a child on an airplane and the oxygen masks drop down from overhead, we’re told to put the mask on ourselves first and then our child. The same is true for nonprofit staff who must be set up for success before helping others. This can include onboarding, training, time off, insurance and compensation.
- Iterate. Iterate. Create space for feedback and a process of evaluation to gauge how the culture is being lived. Check on new staff. How is turnover? Has capacity increased? Seek to measure any changes in the overall brand of the workplace.
Culture Manifests Brand
The manifestation of a nonprofit’s culture can be seen in its brand or reputation. A nonprofit’s culture fuels its behaviors. Its brand is how others feel about those behaviors. A brand is the emotional result after a touchpoint, an impression, or an interaction with an organization. It’s the feeling about an organization that lives in the hearts and minds of the audience.
Like culture, every organization has a brand. The question is whether that brand is actively managed or not. Some organizations may be able to manufacture positive feelings about their workplace culture through marketing or brand management. However, if a new hire comes into an organization where the brand does not match the culture, then culture will win and the new hire will be disillusioned. Conversely, if there’s a negative story circulating about your organization that damages the brand but isn’t accurate, culture will win. For good or bad, culture will win.
A nonprofit’s culture fuels its behaviors. Its brand is how others feel about those behaviors.
Employer Branding
A strong culture with effective brand management can greatly benefit nonprofit organizations looking to attract top talent. Employment branding can differentiate organizations during recruitment by highlighting culture, career paths and individual stories. In addition, employees are more likely to stay and serve as brand ambassadors when they are clear on their impact and purpose and feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.
Now more than ever, job seekers are looking for information on organizations and their cultures before applying. Organizations should seek to answer questions before they arise. Give job seekers a look behind the curtain. Small, medium and large nonprofits should take control of their employer brand story and not leave it up to others. Tell your brand story through images, videos, and Q&As that showcase the best of your people and culture. Investing today in a strong employer brand will pay dividends in your social impact and on your bottom line.
In Conclusion
Nonprofit organizations exist to bring about change in individuals and society. While fulfilling many social services that governments are unable or unwilling to provide, nonprofit organizations are crucial in addressing societal challenges and improving our communities. The success of these organizations plays a significant role in the well-being of our society and we must do better in attracting and retaining talented nonprofit staff.
