Like many of the executives we work with, we have reached a stage in our careers where we want to apply our wisdom and knowledge to organizations whose mission includes serving the greater good.
In 2007, Diane Shea decided to immerse herself in the nonprofit sector and joined an executive search firm dedicated exclusively to the recruitment of institutional advancement leaders. During this time, Diane completed over a dozen assignments for clients in higher education, medical research, academic medicine, advocacy and faith-based institutions.
Diane returned to Cross Hill Partners in 2009 energized by her experience and convinced there is a great opportunity in the nonprofit sector to apply the best practices and urgencies we utilize in the acquisition of talent in the for-profit sector.
More specifically, she made the following observations:
- The management disciplines of the for-profit world can (and should) be applied, to the nonprofit sector to drive innovation, productivity and the pursuit of excellence. As in the private sector, resources will flow to the organizations that generate the greatest value to their investors. No one is immune to competition.
- There is a scarcity of truly exceptional talent. Micro-targeted outreach is needed in the face of inboxes full of inquiries and requests. Active sourcing of passive candidates, versus “selection” of applicants responding to postings or advertisements, is fundamental to our development of a diverse and highly relevant talent pool.
- Recruiting human capital from for-profit career paths into the nonprofit sector is a viable strategy to address the shortage of exceptional candidates. Sourcing talent from the for-profit world can imbue the organization with innovative ideas and fresh approaches. Functional areas where for-profit expertise can be applied to help drive transformative change in the nonprofit sector include: information technology, finance/investments and advancement. These functions impact all areas of the organization and can shape thinking and strategic initiatives in every department.
- The nonprofit arena has unique organizational complexities that call for nuance in process and assessment. Given the need for collaboration in this sector, defining “organizational DNA” and conducting both metrics-based and behavioral-based interviews and references on candidates are vital to a successful search effort.
- A donor-centric approach to both sourcing and referencing yields far more valuable insight to best people and programs. Seasoned search professionals, not junior associates, conduct every phase of your search and can provide valuable market feedback to calibrate the search and can best advocate on behalf of client institutions.
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