3 Questions to Determine Whether Your Nonprofit Needs Interim Staff, Permanent Staff or a Consultant

You, the social good leader, are pondering a problem and thinking, “Do I need a consultant?” 

There are three steps in deciding how to solve your sticky wicket: 

1. Define the real problem.
2. Define the path to the solution.
3. Execute the solution.

Most people skip step No. 1, which is critical for making the right decision. Let’s expand on these three steps.

1. What Is the Problem, Really? 

When a nonprofit first thinks that it may need a consultant, the organization’s leadership is really saying, “We have a problem we don’t know how to fix.” That means that they don’t understand the true nature of the problem. Think about it: If you fully understood the issue, wouldn’t you already have a clear path to solve it?

A resource-conserving consulting firm might withhold this discovery process until you’ve signed a contract. A different, and I believe better, approach is to uncover what’s really wrong, sometimes even before a contract is signed. 

“What is the problem, really?” may be answered in-house, with the pre-contract help of a consultancy, or in a paid phase of a contract with a consultancy. 

Assume you have gotten close to the pin on the true problem before you hired a consultant. Pro tip: To avoid looking silly, never say you fully understand the problem because there is a closet of skeletons, unmarked landmines, and the occasional treasure chest yet to be found which will impact the work. 

For example, imagine a nonprofit struggling with declining donor retention. Is the real issue a lack of donor engagement strategy, or is it outdated technology hindering communication? Only by digging deeper can you identify the true obstacle.

Now, you can have more confidence in defining the path to a solution, deciding if what you need is a consultant, interim staff (contractor) or a permanent staff. 

2. What Is the Path to the Solution? 

Once you’ve clarified the problem, it’s time to chart a path forward. Here’s where we start defining some terms:

• Permanent staff person or employee. A W2 worker who your organization manages, delivering on a pre-determined set of job requirements.
• Interim staff person or contractor. A 1099 worker who your organization also manages, meeting specific job requirements for a temporary period.
• Consultant. A 1099 worker your consultancy manages, tasked with evaluating and recommending solutions for a particular issue.

Picture this scenario: Your nonprofit is overwhelmed because your fundraising events aren’t yielding results. 

You have teased apart your problem to at least some degree. In some cases, it becomes clear that the barrier to solving the problem is the lack of a particular skill set to apply along with the bandwidth to do so. In that case, an interim or permanent staff person makes sense to deal with the problem. 

If it isn’t immediately clear to you that skill set and bandwidth are the barriers to solving your problem, then you need a consultant. If you fully, truly, deeply understand the problem, you can probably hire interim or permanent staff to address the problem. If you don’t understand the problem, you need a consultant. 

In my experience, only about 50% of what look like consulting opportunities actually are consulting opportunities. About 50% of the time, once the problem is defined, it’s a staffing issue. Further, I’ve found that installing an interim may relieve some pain points to let you see other problems or opportunities, which start the “what’s the problem?” ball rolling again.

3. What Is the Solution? 

Finally, you’ve reached Step No. 3: Choosing the right solution. Here are two simple equations to guide you:

• Skills plus bandwidth equals permanent or interim staffer.
• More investigation needed equals consultant.

Now you can hire.

But before signing on the dotted line, take a moment to work through an example everyone can relate to. Say my computer is wigging out — if I understood the true nature of the problem, I could find a path to fix it. I don’t know what the problem really is, so I curse loudly enough so my husband can hear me and come diagnose the problem. He questions me on the problem. (Do not extrapolate to think I’m the little woman who needs saving. If the HVAC is out, I am the one to climb in the attic and find the condensate line to clear.) 

That’s a three-step process: 

1. What is the problem, really? Katrina's colorful and creative language indicates the computer won’t do its thing. That’s the problem (her computer, not her language). 
2. What is the path to the solution? Coworkers collaborate and they learn enough to know whether they can fix the problem or if they’ll need outside help. 
3. What is the solution? The solution is selected. They call for outside help — a consultant. 

This simplistic (and real) example shows that whether you need a consultant is unclear until step No. 2 is complete. By the end of Step No. 1, most people have signed a contract committing them to a consultant. Nonprofits often sign contracts too early, only to realize later that a contractor or permanent hire would have been a better fit.

The outcomes for step No. 3 could have been different: 

• Is it that Katrina doesn’t understand the function of the computer? The user needs training for known problems, therefore needs to hire an interim staff. 
• Is it that Katrina doesn’t have time to learn or make use of the computer due to other more critical tasks? The organization needs to hire permanent staff to support Katrina.
• Is it that the computer or program isn’t doing what it should? Equipment needs repair or replacement requires a consultant who will make recommendations and potentially implement the fix. 

Avoiding going to a solution too quickly positions both the consultancy and the organization for success. Hesitate. Discern. Decide. 

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.

This is part of a two-part series. Next month, Katrina will explore how to get the most out of your consultancy.