Staffing & Human Resources

Your board meeting or fundraising committee meeting ends with a buzz. Everyone is excited about the direction things are heading at your nonprofit organization. People even agreed to take on tasks. With deadlines. Yet, a month or so later when you meet, you are disappointed—again. Calls weren’t made. Tickets weren’t sold. Doors weren’t opened. Reports weren’t reviewed. You aren’t even sure…

Severance pay should be considered whenever an employee is laid off, is terminated with or without cause, or resigns from employment. Termination can result from a variety of circumstances, some of which may involve contentious people or situations, and difficult issues. Thus, severance pay may be a good risk-management tool for avoiding potential 
litigation, adverse publicity and other claims against a nonprofit employer...

When it comes to fundraising, far too many nonprofit organizations are wedded to “magic bullet” thinking, mistakenly believing that a miracle solution will arrive and answer their prayers. The problem is, that method of thinking falls into the category of distractions, ultimately wasting your time and diverting your focus from what truly matters. And it is costing you...

We register for them. We speak at them. We go to their education sessions and receptions. But, are those industry conferences really worth it?...

Let’s discuss the right way and the wrong way to build a leadership team. A while back I coached a very smart and ambitious young woman who, for the sake of privacy, I’ll call Meg. Meg recently had been promoted to run the communications department of a mid-sized nonprofit. She had never held a senior…

Kevin Spacey said, "If you have done well in whatever business you are in, it is your duty to send the elevator back down and try to help bring up the next generation of undiscovered talent.” I’m not sure when Spacey’s iconic role in "The Usual Suspects" became the go-to for life advice, but I surely agree with the sentiment...

Each candidate must be prepared for a job search and what that entails. A major piece of that process is the dreaded job interview. You would think experienced professionals, over time, would improve in this area, but, sadly, many do not improve because of lack of focus and preparation...

It was a new vice president for development, and expectations were high. I was serving on a campaign steering committee and enjoying a day full of high energy. The new staff leader entered the room quietly, sat in a row of chairs against the wall and proceeded to either text or read emails until he was asked to speak...

Good instructional design and delivery engages people’s brains, eyes, ears and bodies. People pay attention more, they learn something, they retain it better, and there is a better chance of them applying what they learned. There are many creative ways to engage learners during a training—both face-to-face and online. Moving around is better than sitting…

We all have seen agendas that have time amounts allocated for each item, but are never followed. At a certain point, members get tired or uninterested in the meeting or spend too little time on the most important issues. How many of us take meeting agendas for granted? Since meetings are an important part of our business life, we need to better understand this topic...