How to hire successfully during the holiday season

The thought of starting the hiring process by posting a job ad in December might just leave you with a shudder. While it’s tempting to hunker down under a pile of blankets and wait until January to even consider getting...

Putting it in writing: Getting started with policies and procedures

The cartoon Calvin and Hobbes occasionally featured a game called Calvinball in which the little boy made up the rules, changing them as it suited him. While it made for humourous reading, playing his game would not make for a...

Performance Matters! (Part 3 of a 4-part series)

The first part of this series introduces you to the concept of performance management — that it incorporates a set of integrated practices that enable an organization to meet defined goals and/or objectives. Part two takes a look at steps...

A conversation worth continuing: Does the nonprofit sector still have a glass ceiling?

Jennifer Nozawa, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah, recalls how about a decade ago an undergraduate professor told her almost exclusively female public relations class, “Look, when you get out into the professional world, deals are...

Investing in talent: How and why foundations are supporting professional development

Anyone who knows anything about the nonprofit sector knows that nonprofits attract passionate, committed, caring people – but that those people must operate on a shoestring budget, where needs perpetually exceed resources. This “nonprofit starvation cycle” is described by the...

Human Resources Q&A: Performance Matters! (Part 2 of a 4-part series)

The first part of this series introduces you to the concept of performance management — that it incorporates a set of integrated practices that enable an organization to meet defined goals and/or objectives, whether those goals are to generate revenue,...

Human Resources Q&A: Performance Matters! (Part 1 of a 4-part series)

Performance management incorporates a set of integrated practices that enable an organization to meet defined goals and/or objectives, whether those goals are to generate revenue, increase customer satisfaction or create a better product. And while a performance management system (the...

Seven tips to help you facilitate an effective meeting

You’re fretting about that upcoming meeting you’re facilitating. You’re scared you’ll lose control, that you’ll go overtime, or that no decisions will be made. Bad meetings are unfortunately very common in the nonprofit and charity sector. This is despite the...

Ageism in the nonprofit sector: Confronting the issue of age discrimination

Currently sixty-three years old, Andrew Czerwinski spent 40 odd years working in the nonprofit sector. Three years ago, the funding allocated for his job at an organization was terminated, and, consequently, so was his position. Although he currently runs a...

Human Resources Q&A: Termination – Plan for it! (Part 3 of 3)

The first part in this series brings attention to three key elements of the termination event, while the second part brings attention to the need to give thoughtful consideration to three preparatory elements. I’m taking this opportunity to again reiterate...