Nonprofits Seek Greater Diversity in Hiring, Study Says

Title: “2017 Nonprofit Talent Management Priorities”

Organization: Nonprofit HR

Summary: Assembling a more diverse work force is the most commonly cited hiring priority for nonprofits this year, according to a study of nearly 300 leaders and human-resources professionals in the field. Forty-three percent of them said diversifying staff was at the top of their to-do lists.

Overall, organizations surveyed by consulting company Nonprofit HR identified funding as the main obstacle to achieving their recruitment and retention goals. Large nonprofits — those with budgets of $20.1 million or more — were more likely than smaller groups to cite difficulty in standardizing how their managers recruit and evaluate workers as a problem.

Among other findings:

• Four out of 10 respondents said their top priority with regard to managing employees’ performance is to revamp their current system for evaluating workers.
• Twelve percent said they intend to implement a formal performance-management system this year — implying that they currently don’t have one.
• Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they will be developing a strategy or program in their organizations aimed at professional development. Recent surveys have shown that millennials working at nonprofits prize opportunities to improve or gain skills.