The size and complexity of the sector – and constituents’ expectations of it – have grown exponentially in recent years. Organizations need robust systems to provide effective constituent engagement, compete for fundraising dollars, deliver multi-channel communications, and execute programs. Constituents expect their experience to be on par with Amazon.com and Netflix – but nonprofit operating budgets are a small fraction of what is needed to meet those expectations.
At some point, organizations need to look outside their walls and consider other options to close the gap between expectations and operational reality. In this post, we will provide a few examples of when we believe an outside resource makes sense. It’s our goal to set the stage for options, not to make a hard-pitch for our services.
Growth Outpaces Professional Development
An ideal setting for operations is one of measured growth. Every year the organization grows a bit, adding staff incrementally. High rates of staff retention ensure that staff have time to expand skills and advance their career as growth provides new opportunities. Successful projects open new opportunities to revise business processes and embrace new technologies.
The reality of growth is much different. Growth can be messy. A new funder has provided a somewhat different vision than the incremental improvements and requires programs expand into new areas. New partnerships require embracing new technology, such as when a technology provider offers a platform or service as part of their philanthropic involvement with the board. Or, current events suddenly spike fundraising as can happen with a shift of the political winds or when your organization catches lightning-in-a-bottle with a viral campaign.
When growth happens at an aggressive, albeit messy, pace such as this it might be time to look outside the organization for supporting resources. Temporary resources can back-stop growth while the internal team has a chance to hire, develop or otherwise work towards internalizing the change. An opportunity involving a new platform may require quickly on-boarding expertise through an outside party while the team builds skills or recruits headcount.
Challenges Finding or Retaining Talent
In 2018, the economy favors our employees. With low unemployment and increasing wages, our staff will be presented with new job opportunities at a dizzying pace. Finding and retaining talent can be exceptionally challenging. And, no sooner does someone on-board than they might be confronted with a new opportunity.
External partners confront these same challenges, but should be built to weather these challenges. While a partner may also face retention challenges, their bench of analysts, architects, and developers provide back-up resources to navigate this challenge for you. If an analyst leaves a partner, someone will be ready to step-up. But, at your organization an analyst leaving often requires a job description sent to HR and a months-long search commences, while others try to pick up the workload (further straining resources!).
Deep, Occasional Needs
Most organizations only have need for highly specialized skills some of the time. Whether it’s a developer writing custom code, an architect weighing in on a major systems change, or an advanced admin creating an elegant upgrade to existing functionality, certain needs do not require an FTE. The cost of hiring an advanced resource is prohibitive for what is basically a part-time job or to fill an occasional (though critical) role.
If you have a critical need for an advanced skillset only some of the time, it is worth considering the value an outside party can provide. A good partner can keep an architect busy by working with a portfolio of organizations (e.g. 5 part-time roles, allows all five organizations to benefit without any single org bearing the full burden). As a shared resource, the architect holds cross-organization knowledge that further underscores their value.
Summary + Conclusions
No less is expected of nonprofit organizations despite the headwinds you might face. Constituents expect a commercial-equivalent experience to service their needs. The urgency of your missions do not recede just because the economy is strong and talent is hard to find. In today’s economy, there are real benefits in having a strong partner that can help navigate the challenges of growth, finding and identifying talent, and fulfilling those deep – but occasional – critical needs that help you maintain systems.
Please consider reaching out to CTG’s Managed Services Team if this post resonates with your organization’s needs. We might just be the partner that helps you thrive in an otherwise difficult time.