Tag Archive for 'survey'

Nonprofit? Use Technology? Do This Now!

Joe Brown ▪ November 15, 2010 ▪ 0 Comments

NTEN, the Nonprofit Technology Network, has announced that its 2010 Nonprofit IT Staffing Survey is now open for submissions. Now in its fifth year, the survey collects benchmarking information in areas including how IT is structured and situated within organizations, staffing and responsibilities, budgets, training, salaries, and retention.

I had the opportunity to ask Holly Ross, NTEN’s Executive Director, a few questions about this year’s survey. With information technology evolving so rapidly, I was particularly interested in any changes to the survey in response to changes in the technology landscape. Holly responded: ”The most significant change is in the area of outsourcing. Instead of simply asking if you manage a function in-house or through outsourcing, we also give you the option to choose the cloud. I hope this will allow us to understand how nonprofits are using the cloud in a more meaningful way.”

What about social media? “Obviously, the NTEN crowd loves to talk about social media, but it’s only a small piece of the overall technology puzzle”, says Holly. (This author couldn’t agree more!) ”We’re definitely interested in how folks are staffing social media, and how much time they spend on it versus other technology initiatives. That said, it won’t be a primary focus of this report. We have a Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report that we publish annually for folks that are more interested in that.”

“A great tool to take to management when making the case for IT investments.” The results of the survey are made available at no charge to the entire nonprofit committee. As a consultant to nonprofit organizations, many of whom grapple with the role and management of technology, I have found the results very useful. In particular, last year’s results — reflecting input from over 1,000 respondents — provided me with insight into the factors that organizations consider most important when hiring IT staff, as detailed in my post A Look at Nonprofit IT Staffing. Holly points out that the survey is “a great tool to take to management when making the case for IT investments. Of course, every organization has to make decisions like that in the right context, but it can be helpful to know what others can doing.”

As Holly says, “the report only works when we have good data from across the sector, so please take the survey!” Need added incentive, participants in this year’s survey can also choose to enter to win a $250 Amazon gift card.

So what are you waiting for? Help yourself, help your organization, and help the sector — take the survey now!

Photo credit: Alan_D

Paying Attention to Turnover in the Nonprofit Sector

Joe Brown ▪ June 16, 2010 ▪ 1 Comment

“Where are they going to go?”

“They’re lucky to have a job.”

These are, unfortunately, actual statements I’ve heard in the past year from nonprofit managers, offered as rationales for not taking steps to advance human resources practices within their organizations. While there is no question both the economic downturn and its effect on labor markets have limited employment opportunities for many nonprofit employees, it has by no means brought the market to a halt, and staff turnover and retention continue to be important issues on which nonprofit employers should focus.
Continue reading ‘Paying Attention to Turnover in the Nonprofit Sector’

San Diego Nonprofit Human Resources Management Symposium

Joe Brown ▪ May 27, 2010 ▪ 0 Comments

California, here I come!

I’m excited about participating in the San Diego Nonprofit Human Resources Management Symposium on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010. The event is sponsored by the Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research, part of the University of San Diego‘s School of Leadership and Education Sciences, and will take place on the USD campus.

Nonprofit Employment Trends

I look forward to participating in a panel discussion framed around the results of the recently completed 2010 Nonprofit Employment Trends Survey. This survey, conducted jointly by the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research and Nonprofit HR Solutions, examines the employment practices of over 500 nonprofit organizations nationwide. Our discussion will focus on key findings including staff size and projected growth for 2010-2011, recruitment strategies and budgeting, key staffing challenges, and staffing resource management.

The Path to Pay for Performance

Following the panel discussion, I am conducting a seminar which will guide organizations in preparing for, developing, implementing, and maintaining effective, performance-based salary programs. We will examine the rationales, prerequisites, steps, and tools for a successful program, and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about implementing pay for performance in their own organization.

Update: Click here to view the presentation

Other panelists and presenters at the symposium include:

Lisa Brown Morton, Nonprofit HR Solutions
Laura Gassner Otting, Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group
Emily Davis, EDA Consulting and YNPN San Diego
Christopher Olmsted, Barker, Olmsted, and Barnier
Ann Shankin, Nonprofits’ Insurance Alliance of California
Karen Kramer Horning, NextLevel HR
Sherri Petro, VPI Strategies

Click here for more information and to register for the symposium.

I hope to see you there!

PS: Nonprofit HR Solutions is also the force behind the 2010 Nonprofit Human Resources Conference in Washington, DC this October. I look forward to attending and presenting there as well.

Photo credit: SD Dirk

Nonprofit Blog Carnival: How to Be A Great Nonprofit Employer

Joe Brown ▪ May 2, 2010 ▪ 0 Comments

I’m honored that my recent post “How to Be A Great Nonprofit Employer” was among the seven selected as the best nonprofit posts of the month in the April Nonprofit Blog Carnival, hosted by Jeff Brooks on his Future Fundraising Now blog.

How to Be a Great Nonprofit Employer

Joe Brown ▪ April 22, 2010 ▪ 4 Comments

Much conversation and debate in the nonprofit and philanthropic communities these days revolves around how to determine which organizations are the “best”. Fortunately, there seems to be a consensus away from basing such determinations on measures such as overhead ratio and administrative expenses and towards evaluation of impact — but that’s a topic for another day and post.
Employee opinions offer another perspective on a nonprofit’s quality.

Another perspective on a nonprofit’s quality can be found in the opinions of the organization’s employees. A recent study by the NonProfit Times and Best Companies Group used such opinions as the primary basis for identifying the “50 best nonprofits to work for in 2010″.

In the study, employee’s responses to a written survey accounted for 75% of each organization’s score. The remaining 25% was based on assessment of the organization’s benefit offerings and other practices, using a proprietary methodology.
Continue reading ‘How to Be a Great Nonprofit Employer’