Taking The Pulse of Nonprofit Executive Search

In a recent all hands meeting our Nonprofit Executive Search Team came together with our consultants serving in interim nonprofit leadership roles to answer one (very big) question: “What is going on in nonprofit recruiting right now?” 

An EKG pulse line read out on graph paper

Everyone contributed insights into what the current nonprofit search landscape was looking like right now. The goal was to share what we are hearing and seeing to keep our team at the forefront of today’s rapidly shifting nonprofit employment trends. 

When everyone had had a chance to weigh in, we realized we had a great nonprofit hiring resource in the making. So today we are sharing these industry insights with you to help inform your organization’s recruiting efforts.

We hope you find this helpful and welcome any additional feedback you have to contribute based on your experiences! 

Increased Turnover

• Turnover at nonprofits is higher than in recent years due to a desire for a greater work-life balance amid ongoing feelings of burnout (or as some have dubbed it “Quiet Quitting”).
• Retirement is on the rise! Boomers are hitting retirement age and leaving the workforce while some younger professionals are choosing to give up Social Security to retire early. The result is a power shift from organizations to professionals who now have more leverage in the hiring process.

The Search Process

• Generally speaking, openings are getting fewer applicants these days, but they tend to be better quality applicants.
• More candidates are withdrawing from the running after going through some steps of the hiring process (applying, interviewing, and perhaps even being extended an offer) to accept another offer. For some organizations this is prolonging the hiring process because these kinds of setbacks require backtracking. For other organizations this is speeding up the hiring process because they are making offers more quickly to scoop up top talent once they find someone they are excited about. How this trend affects an organization’s hiring timeline will depend on how they choose to respond.   
• When using a nonprofit executive recruiter, organizations can expect to be presented with 5-8 quality candidates to evaluate these days instead of the 10-12 candidates they may have been presented with in years past.
• Expect to use technology extensively during the search process while screening resumes, checking references, and interviewing candidates. In keeping with the remote work trend, collaborating on the search and evaluating candidates will likely be done virtually over team chat and video call.

​Compensation Trends

• Employers are finding that they need to offer higher salaries, increase their benefits packages, and make more concessions to recruit candidates to fill their needs.
• Pressure for compensation transparency is increasing both from applicants themselves as well as state regulations as a way to achieve equality. In fact, some states are now requiring that organizations make their compensation numbers public.
• Some candidates want to see that organizations are working to reduce the delta (the spread) between the highest paid leadership positions and lower level staff roles to achieve greater equity as well. In these cases, applicants will be interested not only in information related to their own pay band but the organization at large.
• Overall, there is more pressure for pay equity, which is a long overdue change!
• Pay transparency and pay equity speak to DEI and anti-racism issues so organizations that are not willing to make their pay bands known and work to achieve parity within bands may signal to applicants that they are not willing to stand behind what they say they believe.

Candidate Priorities

• Candidates are expressing less interest in relocating because there is a strong preference for remote or hybrid work across the board. (This is especially true when the hiring organization is located in an area with a high cost of living because rising prices are being felt even more keenly by prospective employees.) This is not expected to change in the future – now that employees have gone remote, there is no going back!   
• While candidates certainly still want to know the details of the role they are applying for, there is far more emphasis being placed on the broader framework of the company and the team than ever before. People want to know who they will be working with, what the organizational culture is like, and where the organization is on their DEI and anti-racism journey. Often times, the staff will be more progressive than the board and further along on their DEI journey, which is why candidates prioritize understanding what the nonprofit looks like at every level of the organization. Candidates are getting more selective all the time, which means that they may very well turn down a role they are well-equipped for if the other pieces of the puzzle are not a good fit.
• Professionals these days are interested in being “change makers” – that is helping an organization grow, overcome a challenge, or achieve an ideal. Helping a candidate understand how their role can achieve this kind of positive effect requires more intentional and direct conversations during the hiring process. (Organizations that are not looking for a “change the world” type of candidate to come in and retool things should be very clear about that throughout the process to ensure that they find the best fit for their strategic needs.)

The New Face of Leadership

• A generational shift is occurring as more nonprofit organizations have Gen Xers and older Millennials are moving into leadership roles due to the increase in retirement rates among older professionals.
• During the pandemic many organizations had the time that they needed to evaluate their pain points so now they are more apt to know what they want and understand how to prioritize their needs, which means that their leadership should be set up for greater success.
• These days coaching (either from a predecessor or external consulting company) during the onboarding process may be included in the offer as well to ensure that freshly hired leaders will be able to lead well. This is especially common for candidates who are new to nonprofit executive leadership and may be requested from the board as a condition of hiring.

These changes are something that hiring managers and nonprofit leadership need to be aware of so that they can tailor their search process accordingly. Working with an experienced nonprofit recruiter is a shrewd way to overcome today’s nonprofit hiring challenges to find the perfect candidate for your organization. Contact us today to find out more!
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