The Elephant in the HR Room

Commentary by Bill VanGorder

When the federal government’s Human Resources Council for the Voluntary/Non-Profit Sector presented a draft of the new “HR Standards for the Sector” to a meeting of senior executives of not-for-profit organizations, HR professionals who work for some larger NFPs and HR consultants to charities and associations last week, I was disappointed but not surprised to see that three key issues were not being addressed. They had missed the elephant in the HR room.

1. Associations and charities should always assess candidates to determine whether or not the prospective employee will have the critical aspects of FIT – fit with the job, fit with the manager, fit with the team and fit with the organization. It is not enough to rely on skills, education and previous work experience. These are not accurate predictors of performance. Good “fit” is much more than cultural fit and diversity.

2. Increasingly, supervisors are being expected to coach their team members; however there must be a standard to assure that supervisors are supplied with good tools and adequate training for as coaches. It is not a skill automatically processed by most managers.

3. Finally, not-for-profits must have a hiring system that helps them learn from the process and provides insight into what aspects contributed to successful hires (and which did the opposite) so that changes can be made to improve the process for future hires.

Charities, associations and other not-for-profits are being severely challenged to improve their workforce planning in theses turbulent times. Demands for their services are growing and finances are tighter than they have been for decades.

Wouldn’t it make sense to apply all the tools available to make sure the right people are in the right jobs to provide the level of service and results that is being demanded?