Like their counterparts in the business world, NGOs and international
nonprofits face hiring considerations unique to operating in different
countries, from recruiting in new regions to streamlining communication across
various time zones and locales. What’s more, the last few years have
contributed to massive shifts in the hiring landscape.
Key to advancing your mission is hiring talented, dedicated workers. But
sometimes that requires overcoming hurdles, both internal and external. Let’s
review some hiring challenges in nonprofits and NGOs.
1. Lack of a formal recruitment strategy
Recruiting skilled talent with a passion for furthering the cause is critical
for a nonprofit or NGO to thrive.
And yet, more than 60% of all nonprofits don’t have a formal recruitment strategy.
As a result, they tend to be reactive instead of proactive when it comes to hiring.
They place a few ads, review some resumes, and hope for the best. But that ends
up hamstringing their ability to find, hire and retain top talent.
How to fix this
Before diving into nonprofit hiring practices, organizations must set aside
the time and energy needed to build out a recruitment strategy. The process
and final product will look different for every NGO and nonprofit, consider
taking the following steps:
- Conduct an internal review – When it comes to hiring employees for a nonprofit organization, before you make any changes, you should first see what is or isn’t working by reviewing your recruitment metrics. Armed with this data, you can start to understand your process (or lack thereof), identify problem areas, and set clear goals.
- Flesh out the roles and responsibilities – Knowing exactly what the role will entail can help narrow your search to a group of nonprofit leaders who will bring the skills and qualities that align with the job. All the talent in the world won’t matter if a candidate is in the wrong role.
- Use recruiting tools – Whether it’s an applicant tracking system or some other novel technology, there are dozens of tools you could use to streamline tasks, reach a wider pool of candidates, and improve the overall process.
- Leverage various channels – Instead of limiting your recruiting efforts to your website or a few external nonprofit job posting sites, exhaust all potential avenues for finding top talent. For instance, a comprehensive digital marketing strategy can help boost your visibility and attract potential nonprofit employees. Or your referral network could spotlight an ideal applicant
- Partner with a recruitment services provider – Leveraging the expertise and resources of a global recruitment provider will save you time and effort in the long run. An experienced provider will have an in-depth understanding of local employment customs, benefits and best practices to give you the confidence to your candidate offers are attractive and compliant.
2. No clear employment brand
Your brand is the image you convey to the world about your organization. It’s
your identity—the elements that differentiate you from the countless other
NGOs around the globe. Having a clear brand identity plays a critical role in
attracting top talent, and yet, approximately 70% of nonprofits fail to develop an employment brand.
How to fix this
The first place to start developing and understanding your employment brand is
with your existing staff. They can help you identify the aspects of the
organization and its culture that stand out to them.
From there, ask yourself the following: What is your employee value
proposition?
As Jeff Ballow writes in Philanthropy News Digest: “This can include
everything from salary (which can be a challenge for some nonprofits), mission
(typically not a challenge), employee benefits package, professional
development opportunities, and/or work-life balance.”
Do you offer unique work in a niche field? Do employees get more hands-on
experience than they would elsewhere? Is there greater access to the people in
charge of the NGO?
Whatever it is that makes you stand out, understanding and then communicating
your unique value props is vital if you wish to entice high-quality talent.
3. Job turnover
Turnover is one of the most costly and problematic issues that nonprofits
face. The annual employee turnover rate for nonprofits is 19%, almost double that of the private sector.
When turnover occurs, you don’t just lose capable talent that was contributing
to your mission. There’s also a sudden vacancy that must be filled.
Identifying, enticing and then training a new employee can be time-intensive
and costly. And in the meantime, existing employees have to take on the extra
responsibilities. That can then contribute to higher levels of frustration and
burnout, which could cause even more turnover to occur.
How to fix this:
Although some of the factors may be unavoidable, it’s important that you take
the time to understand the roots of burnout and then take steps to mitigate as
many of those phenomena as possible. This includes:
- Poor salary and benefits
- Lack of upward mobility
- Employees being overworked
- Mental health issues
Few nonprofits will be able to match for-profit organizations’ compensation
packages. What they can offer, however, is their mission—the opportunity to
make a difference—as well as a focus on culture and employee well-being, which
is trending among nonprofits.
Nonprofits and NGOs must be purposeful in fostering an environment in which
employees can envision a long-term future. That means creating more
opportunities for employees to move up. According to NonProfit Pro:
“One benefit of hiring internally is that employees will see more career
possibilities within your organization. Upward mobility is a strong motivator
in the workplace. It also means employees filling new positions will already
have vast background knowledge on the organization and on job function.”
If you are experiencing high turnover, it might be time to consider leveraging
a recruitment partner who can quickly source and vet candidates that fit your
exact job specifications. People that work in a role suited to their skillsets
often stay in those positions for much longer periods of time.
4. A digital-first shift
Increasingly, global nonprofits are transitioning to a digital-first model. Salesforce projects that over the next half-decade,
most nonprofits will conduct most of their work online, whether that’s day-to-
day operations or fundraising.
This can also be reflected with the rise of working remotely. As technology
enables people to perform their tasks from home, nonprofit organizations are
no longer limited to a local talent pool. With talent shortages across the
world, global recruitment efforts may be the best solution.
While this will have major impacts across every facet of the industry, it will
be especially felt when it comes to global hiring for NGOs.
How to fix this:
Nonprofits must embrace the change by re-evaluating previous strategies and
processes. The roles themselves may shift as technology assumes many of the
tasks that once were handled by people. Similarly, NGOs and nonprofits may
need to champion cultural initiatives that make up for the fact that much of
the team is operating remotely.
Planning and then enacting a digital-first strategy will likely look different
for every organization. But it starts with an acceptance that digitalism is
the future of the nonprofit sector.
5. International hiring
International hiring and employment compliance are tricky because of the
complexity of labor laws around the world.
You must navigate things like contracts, employee classification (and
avoiding misclassification), pay and benefits. Failure to do so could
result in significant issues down the road, including fines, operational
shutdowns and reputational harm.
How to fix this:
It all starts with the recruiting process. Every country has unique social
norms when it comes to hiring practices. In India, for example, candidates
expect to be offered transportation or education benefits when they join.
Although not required by law, this could help your NGO acquire top tier talent
that will help you expand your programs.
Partnering with a global employment solutions provider can help you navigate
employment requirements and compliance risk by offering local HR resources and
expertise. For example, an employer of record solution can hire foreign workers on
your behalf, while you manage them, and ensure all contracts comply with local
requirements regarding:
- Tax laws
- Payroll
- Benefits
Related: Global employment guide for NGOs
6. A skills gap
As nonprofits and NGOs shift toward a hybrid model, the demand for certain
types of employees has grown. The number of open positions is larger than the
available talent pool, especially in technology-based roles. This can lead to
a skills gap between your current workforce’s skills and the level of
performance you need to achieve your objectives.
This can make recruitment particularly difficult. The longer it takes to fill
your open positions, the harder it will be to sustain your growth initiatives.
Recruitment providers often have systems and processes in place to navigate
these shortages and find talent quickly.
How to fix this:
The first task is to identify and enlist the services of passionate people who
value the mission. Although you may not be able to offer comparable pay to the
for-profit sector, there are other intangible benefits that could make up the
difference.
In the beginning, this may require hiring applicants who are toward the end of
their work-life and seek to transition to the nonprofit sector. From there, a
key part of their role should be training others within the organization to
learn these vital skills.
Such a training program not only benefits the organization, but it also
fosters internal talent, providing them with the skills they need for upward
mobility.
How nonprofits and NGOs can overcoming hiring challenges
It might seem insurmountable to overcome all the international hiring
challenges that nonprofits and NGOs face, but depending on your organization’s
unique needs, even tackling the most pressing might be enough to make a
difference.
Recruiting and hiring shouldn’t be an obstacle for your nonprofit. In fact, it
should be an opportunity for you to find the best candidates to drive the
passion and the impact of your organization forward. We can help you reach
your recruiting and hiring goals to make this world a better place.
Our global solutions advisors work with NGOs and nonprofits every day to solve
even their most complex recruiting and hiring needs, and we can provide
guidance to help you solve yours, too.
Schedule a call today to learn more about how we can help you find and
hire the right people to advance your mission anywhere in the world.
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