4 HR Issues Facing Nonprofits in 2018

4 HR Issues Facing Nonprofits in 2018

The field of human resources is ever changing. Perhaps no industry knows that as well as the nonprofit industry.

Nonprofit organizations face unique challenges from other corporations. These challenges can make it difficult to fill the schedule with top talent and dedicated volunteers, while still operating like a business. Sound familiar? Here are the top four issues facing nonprofits in 2018 and ways to ease these challenges as you move through the remainder of the year.

1. Limited Funding

Limited funding is not a new problem for nonprofits but it continues to be a challenge that makes it difficult to pay employees competitive salaries. This can make recruitment and retention of talent more difficult. One way to overcome limited funding when it comes to recruitment and the retaining of top employees is to offer other benefits, such as more flexible working schedules and development opportunities.

2. Compliance With Changing State and Federal Laws

Nonprofits are not immune to employment laws. In the United States, major changes have been made that could impact how you operate.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not relatively new but still, there is a lot of confusion over what it entails. As changes continue to be made to this law, it’s up to nonprofits to understand what it is and how it works in order to remain compliant.

The same is true of the recently passed Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) laws, which has changed the federal minimum wage and stipulates that certain employees who work over 40 hours must earn overtime.

Keeping a steady pulse on changing legislation is a must. Not doing so could put your nonprofit at risk of unintentionally breaking an employment law.

3. The Use of Volunteers

We’re living in an age where more people are donating their time and resources to push a social issue – and the future for volunteerism looks bright. Forty-six percent of Millennials volunteer for a cause affiliated with an issue they care about each month, according to CauseVox.

Now, as more volunteers are coming into organizations and more people are getting invested in issues, it’s up to nonprofits to manage those volunteers and balance schedules so you’re getting the best use of this extra help. This goal requires that you manage volunteers in the same way you would your employees. You should have a schedule for them to sign up and commit to a shift. You should have guidelines when they show up to serve. In some cases, you might even need to have a screening process. Not doing so could cause more harm than good in the long run.

4. Getting Buy-In for Your Organization’s Mission

You’d think it’d be easy to get buy-in for your organization’s mission. After all, people don’t apply to work for a nonprofit unless they have a deep rooted emotional connection to the cause, right? Right. And while everyone’s working toward a common goal of curing cancer, delivering clean water around the world, or whatever your mission is, individual goals tend to vary, making it hard to get the entire organization moving in a collective direction.

In your nonprofit, it’s critical that you remind the employees who were initially drawn to your nonprofit to “make a difference,” why they’re there and how they can provide the most help. Doing this will keep everyone aligned and bought into your overall mission better than assuming that everyone’s working toward your common goal effectively.

What Issues Are You Up Against in Your Nonprofit?

Running a nonprofit is not for the faint of heart, but it’s important work that needs to be done. What issues have you run into while staffing your nonprofit with talent and volunteers?

Author Profile Jon Forknell is the Vice President and General Manager of Atlas Business Solutions, Inc., a software marketing company specializing in employee scheduling software, including ScheduleBase employee scheduling software, and other business software solutions. In the past, Jon has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Atlas Business Solutions was named as one of Software Magazine’s Top 500 Software Companies in 2004 through 2007 and again in 2010, 2013 and 2014.