By: Reid Ricciardi, Executive Director of Talent Management at NC State
Oftentimes fundraisers, especially those in smaller shops, wear many hats including general HR and talent management responsibilities. It can be a lot to juggle. Fortunately, there are proven strategies, tactics, and best practices that can be applied in several settings to make things a little better. Let’s be real, there’s no such thing as perfection in the day-to-day, we must be comfortable with some degree of ambiguity. In that spirit, here are a few talent tips and reminders that have been effective in my experience, and I hope could be helpful in yours too.
Searching and hiring…
- An easy way to separate your organization is simply by treating all candidates like you would want to be treated. That starts with clear, timely communications, providing transparency about the process and timeline, and being open to addressing questions.
- Thanking candidates for taking (investing) time to apply and for their interest in the role may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how often that message isn’t conveyed. Or for that matter, how little communication some candidates receive at all when they apply. Don’t be “that organization,” figure out a way to have thoughtful, intentional correspondence with all candidates.
- Remember that even the weakest candidates have a network. You want them to share that their search experience with your organization was positive, even if they didn’t progress.
- Leverage technology. Use virtual folders, team-based platforms, and AI to stay organized and to create templates – for questions, search committee guidance, candidate coms, interview agendas, question sets, etc. When you have a lot going on, there’s no time to reinvent the wheel with each new search. Establish docs that work for your org, utilize them, and refresh them as needed.
- Last reminder here, keep in touch with those candidates you saw potential in – the ones you liked – but who didn’t get hired. Keep in touch, utilize LinkedIn or a simple spreadsheet to keep track of them, and send the occasional email to say hello and check in; you never know when some minimal effort to maintain a connection or build a relationship can pay off down the road.
Managing staff…
- Coaching is a continuous process, not a once-a-year during the evaluation cycle deal. Use your conversations with staff to coach, mentor, provide feedback, and SEEK feedback. Be candid, be constructive. Think of these conversations as valuable investments of your time.
- Where appropriate, express gratitude for big things and small wins. Sincere gratitude is a powerful expression and translates to employees having increased self-confidence, a sense of contribution, and feeling better about the place they work (and the people they work for – YOU ;-).
- Sometimes oversharing with direct reports about work-related decisions, projects, and/or politics can be empowering. It strengthens trust, models behavior, and can help train up-and-coming talent. Making the cookie dough, as we all know, can be messy. There are times when a better appreciation of that process and all that goes into it can unify a team, not to mention the potential of generating additional ideas for the greater good if you open the possibility to contribute to the decision-making process. This can come with some risk, so be mindful of when and where it makes the most sense to pull back the curtains. Do not use these conversations as a way for you to point fingers or throw others under the bus. That wouldn’t be great role modeling…
Strengthening culture…
- We all want to find fulfillment and to a degree, enjoyment, at our workplace. That starts with relationships and by extension, community and belonging. This can take many forms and, depending on resources, can be very involved. But there are little things you can do as a leader or manager to help foster that sense of community among teams, regardless of the team size.
- Build casual networking time before or after team meetings.
- Get to know your team as people and help them get to know each other.
- Recognize and celebrate accomplishments together. Have fun creating an office culture around this, one that is respectful of how each person prefers this kind of recognition.
- Encourage informal employee resource groups and group gatherings, from coffee meetups to book clubs to pickleball court time. This is especially important for early career professionals who put a lot of value in finding their community at work. It’s up to all of us to help with that, even if it means getting outside our comfort zones.
- Where possible, enable autonomy and flexibility. In the post-pandemic era, there’s an expectation for a different work-life balance. Instead of resisting this, lean in, listen to your staff, and use opportunities for increased autonomy and/or flexibility as a demonstration of trust.
There are so many other tactics and strategies out there for leading, managing, and creating positive work cultures. Please join us at future Triangle AFP events and share tips on the trade that you have picked up and utilized in your professional journey.
