Do You Have Employment Myopia?

by Laura Huth, President & CEO, do good Consulting
with thanks to Lori Kingery, Special Assistant, do good Consulting

Recently I assisted with a hiring search to replace the executive director of a small nonprofit. The previous director hadn’t been hired per se, but appointed to the new position because the board president thought highly of her. The board voted, and the group had an instant director. They had successfully avoided debate and discussion, hiring or job-posting fees, and even creating a job description.

Four years later the “insta-director” moved on, leaving a wake of unfinished business. The board knew of performance issues, but didn’t want to rock the boat while the director’s friend was board president. When the resignation came, the collective sigh of relief was nearly audible.

“At the time, the process seemed like a good idea – saving us time and money,” said one contrite individual on the board. “In the long run, our shortsightedness cost us more than we saved. No fundraising was done, and we actually lost ground with several programs. Frankly, I’m embarrassed – and not about to make that mistake again.”

They learned their lesson the hard way, but with the position once again open, they sought a cure. do good was hired, and I immediately diagnosed “Employment Myopia” and prescribed a 20/20 Hiring Vision Plan.

Many organizations make this same mistake. Fueled by a lack of funds, expertise, or time, or even connections, ego, or laziness, the following three symptoms of “Employment Myopia” can be deadly, especially to nonprofits. Read and learn how to avoid them!

AVOIDING THE HARD STUFF
One of the most common problems do good’s experts are asked to help with is how to turn a poor performer into a good one.

With an underperformer on staff, many directors and board members walk a balance between ignoring the problem and having it eat away at them. They know it’s not working but don’t know what to do about it. Some of the most unsavory tasks of managing are employment review, disciplining poor performers, “counseling out” (see item #3 in Tip of the Month to the right), and terminating an employee. While the reality of living with the situation longterm is worse, all too often in the shortterm we choose the path of least resistance to avoid confrontation, bad feelings on both sides, or a media firestorm. We call this Avoiding the Hard Stuff.

In reality, ignoring underperformance problems is a disservice to the clients your group serves. Think of it this way: if an underperformer can manage five clients, but an average or overperformer can manage 10 or more, who wins and who loses? Or if an underperformer who can raise $30,000 is replaced with an individual who can raise ten times that, your organization – and its stakeholders – could win big.

See the ideas from do good Consulting in the Tip of the Month section at the right for four ideas to help you manage your underperformer problem.

CRONYISM
A second common hiring problem in the nonprofit world is cronyism – the main symptom the group above suffered. To avoid the complicated process of vetting candidates, paying for ad postings, and saying ‘no’ to otherwise qualified candidates, a group chooses to hire someone because 1) they know them, 2) they happen to be available at the time, or 3) they already work for the group and can “on-board” easily.

do good advocates that all groups use a hiring process to fill all positions. This helps groups find the perfect candidate, avoid favoritism issues, and minimize hiring bias issues (discrimination, etc.) In the end, the decision might still be to hire your friend, but going through the process will legitimize the hiring decision. If your friend turns out not to be your candidate, you’ll be richer for the process, landing a more qualified candidate with the skills to take your organization to the next level.

ALL CREW, NO CAPTAINS
The final hiring problem happens in searching for management-level staff. It’s what I call All Crew, No Captains, and the symptom is hiring program-focused individuals or those with no management training to serve in management level positions just because they know the program-related work of the organization.

This is akin to hiring someone to pilot a ship who knows how to row. When this new captain doesn’t know how to use a compass or guide a crew, they row and row, going nowhere in particular. Another analogy is hiring a stewardess to fly an airplane because she has 13 years of experience in the airlines industry and on an actual airplane. In either scenario, the journey will be a long, rough, and ultimately fruitless one, or worse, end in possible disaster.

When I was hired to lead Habitat for Humanity, a homebuilding organization for people in need, I brought no qualifications to swing a hammer. But Habitat needed someone to build a vision, not a house. Over time, I learned the ins and outs of homebuilding, learning from my staff and working on the build site. These experiences added to my skills in fundraising, marketing, media, and management to make me an even stronger manager. The “nuts and bolts” can be learned on the job, but vision is tough to teach on the fly. Sound management and fundraising skills are indeed learned over time “in the trenches” – but your hope is that your new hire was in someone else’s trenches for this sometimes-painful, and often long, process. You are hiring a leader, not a line manager or a worker bee.

In selecting your leader, pay close attention to the skills you actually want in that leader. Is it important that an arts organization director be an artist, or just have a deep appreciation of the arts, while bringing many years of experience raising money? Should the leader of a women’s shelter come from a background in women’s issues, or be trained in media, marketing, and outreach? Understand the parts of the job that your new leader can and should learn on the job, and those that he or she must have in order to deliver what you really want, in the timeframe that you desire.

The group I mentioned above adopted a proactive, well-planned approach on their next search. Working with do good, they formalized a job description, created a hiring timeline, developed a hiring matrix, paid for the advertising they needed to get a great candidate, took the time to interview three strong candidates, and selected their top candidate.

I ran into the board member who chaired the search committee not long ago at the farmer’s market. “What a difference it’s made!” she gleamed. “We actually know where we are going now – we have a plan, and for the first time, we have money to help implement some of our programs. Everything is back on track!”

Now that’s a group with 20/20 vision!

Q&A: The Case of The Mailing Mishap

Dear do good:

I've been a donor to a wonderful local nonprofit organization that works with developmentally disabled youth. Recently, I got an appeal letter from them and realized when I opened the envelope that the enclosed letter was meant for another donor. It included prior giving amounts and their names.

I’m at a loss as to what to do. I still want to donate, but wonder if I should contact the group about this error. On the one hand, if it were me, I would like to know so I could fix it. On the other hand, it seems like a difficult, embarrassing problem to have to confront.

I want to support this group, as they do great and very important work. What’s your advice?
- At a Loss in Glencoe

Dear Glencoe:
Thanks for your thoughtful inquiry. It’s clear you care about this group deeply, and I appreciate your concern for how to handle this obviously delicate situation.

From my days doing fundraising for nonprofits, here’s what I think might have happened. It’s possible that the organization used their database system to generate custom letters, including a customizable field for last year’s giving amount. Programs like this can then print off the custom letters and matching custom labels or envelopes. It’s likely that a team of volunteers helped prepare the mailing, and somewhere in the “assembly line”, an envelope and a letter got out of sync.

If this is the case, you letter is likely not an anomaly. If I had to guess, the organization has already heard from other donors who have experienced the same issue. Some may be confused, others angry, others concerned.

Whether it’s a one-time case, or a mailing-wide problem, my advice – especially since you care so deeply for this group – is to call their director or fundraising staff to gently let them know about the issue.

They will likely be apologetic and embarrassed. Be gentle – just let them know and let them know you’ll still be donating. They have probably heard from other not-so-happy donors, and may feel very flustered and frustrated. This doesn’t diminish the work they do for youth, so help them keep their spirits high. In the end, even if this was a one-time case, I’m sure they’ll be grateful for the gentle nudge to review their mailing and database systems.

- Laura Huth, President & CEO, do good Consulting

Have a question for do good Consulting? Contact our experts at 217-778-1687 or dogood@dogoodconsulting.org.

Group Profile: Cabrini Green Legal Aid

Angela was living in a domestic violence shelter temporarily to escape an abusive relationship. She didn’t receive all of her mail on time and missed the deadline to renew her Section 8 housing voucher. As a low-income, working mother, Angela relied on this assistance to help provide housing for her family. Thankfully, the volunteer attorneys at Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) worked with Angela to reinstate her voucher and helped her find a new apartment for her family.

Angela’s story is one of many. In its 37 year history, Cabrini Green Legal Aid has helped thousands of low-income men and women throughout Chicago. Originally launched to serve the residents of Chicago’s Cabrini Green housing project, the organization began serving residents across the city when Cabrini Green was demolished in 1996.

Today, volunteer attorneys from many Chicago firms help transform their clients lives by providing a variety of legal services free of charge. They help stop unwarranted evictions and assist clients like Angela though their Housing Law division. Attorneys working on Family Law issues help secure family safety and stability. Clients at CGLA may be able to have old criminal records sealed or expunged providing them with a fresh start and removing barriers to employments. As the one of the area’s only options for free criminal defense services, CGLA works with clients to defend their cases and develop relationships that will greatly reduce their risk of being rearrested.

CGLA’s staff and volunteers do more than just help clients navigate the legal system. They integrate legal services and social work support to help their clients transform their lives.

Learn more about Cabrini Green Legal Aid, their clients, and their services at www.cgla.net.

Want to see you favorite nonprofit organization highlighted in the next issue of Doing Good? Contact do good Consulting at dogood@dogoodconsulting.org or 217-778-1687.

Thank You Ice Cream Anniversary Sponsors!

The skies threatened on Wednesday, July 15, but sunny skies prevaled for the 3rd anniversary party of do good Consulting. Nearly 200 people came by to enjoy free ice cream from the Sidney Dairy Barn and sno cones made by the kids in the Mahomet Area Youth Club.

do good thanks the businesses who helped make the afternoon a success by donating items to eat and to give away in our raffle: Common Ground Food Co-op, Corkscrew Wine Emporium, Café Luna , Great Impasta, Flesor’s Candy Kitchen, Silvercreek, Courier Café , Milo’s, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Shaklee, Clean By Nature , Fleurish, and International Galleries. A huge thanks also to Dennis and Chris at the Sidney Dairy Barn, the wonderful kids from the Mahomet Area Youth Club, and to Susan Roughton for her wonderful mini back massages (and thanks to the Mettler Center for giving her off to allow her to be with us that day!)

The “do good” temporary tattoos were a smash, sported by both the young and the not-so-young. Missed yours? Stop by do good's office at 201 W. Green in downtown Urbana to get yours, or bring some home for the kids, the grandkids, or the neighbor kids. Thanks again everyone for helping to make do good's 3rd anniversay party such a smashing success!

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