Nonprofit Career Trends: Implications for 2013 and Beyond

Nonprofit Career Trends:Implications for 2013 & Beyond

Tara Kirkland & Tara Levy

2012 TEXAS NONPROFIT SUMMIT SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

All contents © Greenlights for Nonprofit Success

G R E E N L I G H T S . O R G

GREENLIGHTS.ORG TEXAS NONPROFIT SUMMIT - 2012 2

GREENLIGHTS.ORG TEXAS NONPROFIT SUMMIT - 2012

SESSION AGENDA

▸ Data Overview

▸ Generational Transitions at Work

▸ Top 5 Trends in the Evolving Nonprofit Workplace

▸ Recommendations and Responses

▸ Action-Planning

Data Wonk



RESEARCH: WHERE DOES THE DATA COME FROM?

▸ Greenlights surveys▸ Young Nonprofit Professionals Network▸ Nonprofit HR Solutions

▸ …and a lot of extra reading!


WHET YOUR DATA APPETITE▸ Job creation:

43% increased their staff size in 2011 (34% in 2010) 43% plan to create new positions in 2012

▸ Job transitions: Most nonprofiteers under 55 have been in their

current position for 2 years or less 25% estimate will stay in current position 1 year or

less; 40% say 2-4 years

▸ Career commitment: 63% committed to career in the sector Generally not interested in traditional professional

leadership roles (ex: only 22% interested in ED role)

Generations:Gaps & Gripes



Ask me about generational differences!


TRADITIONALISTS

▸ Born before 1946

▸ Now, 66 and older By 2020, youngest will be

75, some still in workforce!

▸ Shaped by WWII

▸ Loyalty, dependability, sacrifice

▸ Respect for authority (Photo: George C. Marshall Foundation)


BABY BOOMERS

▸ Born 1946 – 1964

▸ Demographic “bulge”

▸ Shaped by Cold War, TV (home) & “the computer” (work)

▸ Nonprofit Founders

▸ Competitive, work long hours


GENERATION X

▸ Born (1965 – 1979)

▸ “Latchkey kids” self-reliant

▸ Shaped by: MTV, AIDS, Fall of Berlin Wall, the cell phone

▸ “Baby Busters” who openly questionauthority (“cynical”)

▸ Free agents


MILLENNIALS (GEN Y)

▸ Born 1980 – 2000

▸ Shaped by: Google, Facebook, instant access to info Major event: 9/11

▸ Value “immediacy,” community, tolerance

▸ “Work as part of life”

▸ 46% workforce by 2020!


GENERATION 2020

▸ First members enter Workforce post-college in 2020

▸ “a generation unplugged”

▸ Life lived online


GENERATIONS AT WORK

What have YOU experienced?

#1 Compensation: More Important NOW than EVER



PROFESSIONALIZING THE SECTOR▸ Nonprofit jobs are now a career path.

More than 1/2 have advanced degrees

▸ Compensation is the biggest gap. 1/3 of our respondents are “unsatisfied” with

their salary more than any other aspect of their position and career

34% of organizations cited “inability to pay competitively” as biggest challenge to staff retention

66% of new nonprofiteers have student loan debt (30% have $50,000+)

▸ “Compensation should be aspirational.”


KEY QUESTIONS▸ How can organizations find and plan

resources to make this significant additional investment in their staff?

▸ What kinds of compensation are valued by nonprofiteers, in addition to base salary?

▸ How can nonprofits promote and leverage the professionalization of the sector?

#2 COMPETING FOR TALENT: the Going

Gets Tougher



GROW, CHURN REPEAT

▸ Sector growing again:43% of nonprofits are adding staff

▸ Retirement & resignations increasing sector wide across US Central Texas EDs – almost 50% leaving post in

4 yrs or less

▸ Churn continues in Central Texas: Most under 55 have been in current post 2

years or less 80% of Millennials say will stay in current job

no more than 4 years


GOT TALENT?

▸ Staff retention? What’s that?!? 75% of nonprofits nationally have no plan in place

▸ Whither the “Career Ladder?” 50% of non-EDs surveyed

were unsatisfied with“opportunity for advancement”

▸ Key question: How can we retain and develop an increasingly mobile talent pool, even without competitive salaries and clear promotion opportunities?


GOT TALENT?

“Personnel is a sucking bog… I spend a lot of time working

with this person or this department or this team, and

now it’s good, and then then get a new job. They’re like, “thanks

for the training, bye!”

Executive Director respondent,Daring to Lead 2011 Survey

#3 Power to the People: More Democracy,

Less Hierarchy



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, PART DEUX

▸ “Flatter organizations incentivize collaboration, help leaders push each other to improve, and give new leaders a better chance to succeed in their new roles.” (YNPN) Working in teams cited as the top motivator for

millennials

▸ Increased focus on results, not titles 78% do not want the ED job 67% want to be a leader


KEY QUESTIONS▸ How can nonprofits evolve our leadership

to be more team-driven and inclusive?

▸ What other elements of nonprofit structures can be adapted to distribute authority and promote participation?

▸ How can we incorporate staff strategically into idea generation and decision-making throughout the year?

#4 Blurring Personal/ Professional

Boundaries



BLURRING BOUNDARIES

1. The digital workplace blurs boundaries.

Individuals generate “content” & expect access to platforms used personally• “the hyperconnected”

Organizations are responsible for managing privacy concerns

KEY QUESTION: How does a nonprofit make it easy for employees who expect connectivity while protecting brand, securing accuracy & appropriateness at the same time?


BLURRING BOUNDARIES

2. “Weisure” time – work and leisure are viewed as one and the same…

Millennials “networked by nature”

48% say friends at work = very important

Workplace should address life issues? Younger workers want continuous skill development,

for work to build better “life skills”


BLURRING BOUNDARIES

3. Flexible worktime – desired, yet delicate

Flextime & Flexplace “Third Places”

Survey says: increasingly desirable “The third rail” of benefits?

KEY QUESTION: How can nonprofits increase flexibility, but maintain fairness and make sure work gets done?

#5 First, do no harm. First, do good.



ABOVE ALL THINGS, BE GOOD.▸ Across generations, there is a commitment

to making a difference “Although many young nonprofit professionals seem

sector agnostic, they are just as mission-focused as ever.” (YNPN)

97% of full-time nonprofit leaders 55+ want to make a contribution to society even after leaving current position

▸ Doing good is top professional goal 85% want to make an impact 83% want to be involved in something important 80% want to feel good about their work 79% want to improve their community


KEY QUESTIONS▸ Can you connect all of your

organization’s jobs to your organization’s mission?

▸ How can you cultivate your staff’s commitment to the success of your mission and cause, and to the success of the community as a whole?

Recommendations



INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP▸

Who will chart the

course?


ORGANIZATIONS INDIVIDUALS


COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Organizations▸ Budget for COLA and

merit raises, as well as bonus rewards

▸ Implement creative, mission-driven incentives

▸ Recognize that compensation goes beyond salary

▸ Tuition reimbursement

Individuals▸ Make the case early▸ Ask before budget

cycle process begins▸ Add value—and keep

track of it!

36


TALENT MANAGEMENT

Organizations▸ Regularly evaluate

performance; ensure “stars” are rewarded meaningfully Open to innovative proposals like “side hustles”

▸ Prioritize leadership development (needs now, next 3 – 5 years)

▸ Creative ways to add “rungs” to career ladder?

▸ Be prepared: succession planning for inevitable departures

Individuals▸ Set 1, 3, 5 year career

goals & chart a course to get there

▸ Find mentors (in & outside your org)

▸ Seek out professional development (current job & next rung up!)

▸ Prove you can handle a promotion through “above & beyond” performance

37


MORE DEMOCRATIC AND FLAT

Organizations▸ Regular, clear

communication▸ Build a culture that

supports staff development and team building

▸ “Treat staff as a key stakeholder.” (YNPN)

▸ Revise org chart and consider alternative models

Individuals▸ Regular, clear

communication▸ Champion new ideas

and practices▸ “It’s up to you as the

employee to create the job you want, to identify what the company is missing, and what the company needs, and be that.” (Forbes)

38


BOUNDARY BLURRING

Organizations▸ Clear social media

guidelines to clarify expectations

▸ Can org culture, policies allow for more connectedness, flexibility?

▸ Effective flextime programs must be fair, performance-based

▸ Can your org become a resource for “life” issues?

Individuals▸ Over-communicate to

make sure you understand workplace expectations

▸ Champion new ideas and practices that create community

▸ Model accountability, “mission first” attitude Track performance

39


MISSION-DRIVEN GOODNESS

Organizations▸ Connect job

descriptions and evaluations to impact

▸ Support and promote employee involvement in the community as whole

Individuals▸ Again, consistent,

clear communication to demonstrate accountability and expectations

▸ Find clarity about what gives you satisfaction and meaning

▸ Ask good questions during interview process

40

Action Planning



QUESTIONS? DISCUSSION?


KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING!

▸ Go to http://501community.org/TXNS

▸ Find this session and subscribe

▸ Ask us questions, comment on the session, and share your own ideas on career trends

http://501community.org/TXNS

Thank You!


Nonprofit Career Trends: Implications for 2013 and Beyond

Career

Transcript of Nonprofit Career Trends: Implications for 2013 and Beyond