Everyone I know prefers to be successful and treated fairly. I’ll go out on a limb and bet that holds true of the people you know, too. “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” are principles upon which our country was founded. They are the values that have been taught to us since we were young. So why would anyone think that should change when entering the doors of an office? Those who work in the nonprofit sector tackle some pretty big goals: feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, share the arts, protect the earth — the list is quite endless. Some pretty amazing nonprofit professionals share their tips about workplace expectations, and how leadership and staff can work together better. Clean Up Toxic Cultures Bad bosses can make the staff physically sick. In How a Bad Boss Can Make You Sick, Forbes contributor Amy Rees Anderson cites a study where 77% of employees actually experienced physical symptoms of stress from toxic workplaces. What happens when someone is out sick? More work for the rest of the staff. If that’s not bad enough, ongoing toxic behavior at the office can creep into personal lives and spread like a virus. Please…

It’s no secret that nonprofits are experiencing a very competitive marketplace. Talented candidates have a lot of opportunities coming their way whether they are actively job searching or not. If you have a job opening now or have planned to hire in the first quarter, why wait? To be able to hire great people, nonprofits must always be on the hunt for talent. When found, jump, because there’s no guarantee that another organization isn’t one step ahead of you. Being near year end is not going to sway a good candidate from contemplating new opportunities. Many candidates would prefer to accept—and even start—a new job prior to the holidays. This provides the time to get training and acclimation behind them so they are up to speed when the clock is counting toward deadlines and goals. Investing in the right talent produces the best return. Anything less is a waste of valuable operating resources. Waiting to fill an existing vacancy incurs enormous risk. Vacancies cause lost productively, overwork for other staff, and the potential loss of key stakeholder relationships or new funding. Great candidates are now on the market an average of 10 days.   Why wait until January to hire someone…

Development professionals tend to have tall challenges and short tenure. Why is this? Surprisingly, it goes back to understanding funding sources. Once you understand that, you’ll get why hiring a development specialist or a development generalist is so important to an organization’s bottom line—and retention. Generalists have an overall understanding of all aspects of fundraising while a specialist has a laser-like focus on particular revenue streams.  For example, if most of the organization’s funding is achieved through major gifts, corporate donations, foundation grants, or special events, it’s wise to hire a professional who has direct experience and is a specialist in raising funds through those channels. If the organization has a wider range of funding sources available, a development generalist can cover most, if not all, of the different levels of giving. Accurately identifying the sources of a nonprofit’s current and projected funding is one of the single, most important steps an organization can take prior to hiring development staff. Studies show that it’s also one of the most valuable exercises relative to keeping the new development hire. So what goes wrong? The most common mistakes in hiring someone for a key development role: Not getting buy-in from key stakeholders…

HR pros complain all the time that the top brass in their organizations don’t value the HR function. A panel of three chief executive officers who spoke at The HR Specialist Summit in Las Vegas in September understand that frustration. They all started their careers handling HR. None have much patience for HR practitioners who merely wish they had a seat at the C-suite table. Nicole Mouskondis, Scott Parson and Monica Whalen urged participants in The HR Specialist’s newest conference to grab that seat by demonstrating their strategic value. That means solving business problems. “CEOs only have the same 24 hours in a day that you do,” said Whalen, former CEO of The Employers Council, a Salt Lake City provider of outsourced HR services. “The CEO may not be a people person. They need someone in the C-suite to fill that role. You’re there to provide solutions and give them staffing and performance options.” Mouskondis agreed. The co-CEO of Nicholas and Co., a wholesale food distribution company in Las Vegas, recalled a time early in her career when a new CEO openly declared he didn’t understand why their organization even needed an HR function. As far as he could tell,…