Nonprofit Talent Magnet: How to Recruit and Retain Staff

Welcome to our first series of lessons on employee recruitment and retention!

In this first badge, we are going to dive into the details of recruitment and retention, specifically focusing on what recruitment and retention is as a practice, what skills you can use to increase your recruitment and retention effectiveness, and ‘what good looks like’ when it comes to recruitment and retention in nonprofit organizations today.

Our teams are the heartbeat of our organizations. Employee recruitment and retention is all about getting and keeping the right people in the right roles, and helping them focus on the right opportunities to serve where needed in line with your organization’s mission and vision.

By examining best practices for recruitment and retention, we have an opportunity to improve our efficiency and effectiveness in creating successful outcomes for your team and the people that they serve.

Let’s jump in.

*Note that a transcript of all audio is available for download on the lessons to come, as well as an audio-only version of the lessons. You can always turn on closed-captions on the video player settings above.

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what staff recruitment and retention is and what it looks like in your non-profit.

Be sure to download the transcript to begin building your reference library, and also feel free to use the audio-only download below for on-the-go learning.

Now that you have some basics about staff recruitment and retention, let's take a look at why it matters.

Remember, you can download the transcript for this video below, and can also turn closed captions on and off for your convenience.

In this lesson, we'll look at the five skills needed to improve our organizations recruitment and retention capacity. Remember: skills can be learned, practiced, and developed over time, so if you feel that you have a little (or a lot of!) room for improvement, know that you're on the right track!

Be sure to download the transcript to begin building your reference library, and also feel free to use the audio-only download below for on-the-go learning.

In this lesson, we'll bring together our learning on what effective recruitment and retention look like, and how can we measure it.

Be sure to download the transcript to add to your reference library, and also feel free to use the audio-only download below for on-the-go learning.

The measurement of our own and our organization’s recruitment and retention abilities can offer valuable insights. These insights can help us make actionable changes throughout our nonprofit to improve how we build and sustain our teams.

In this lesson, we'll explore a few categories of measurement.

Remember, you can download the audio and transcript for this video below, and can also turn closed captions on and off for your convenience.

Now that we have looked at what recruitment and retention is, the next step is to figure out how to take action. In this series of lessons, we will start by sharing how to activate our recruitment and retention efforts. Then, we will discuss how to lead efforts that improve this capacity. We will then set some goals to improve our practices in this capacity, which can support your professional growth and the improvement of this capacity in your organization.

You will go from being a learner to becoming a leader of recruitment and retention efforts and activities. No matter where you sit in your organization, you can be part of the change by assessing the culture of your work environment and helping to make your nonprofit one where people want to work.

In our series, you’ll add a few new tools to your kit, including a look at four dimensions of employee involvement, the concept of “fit,” and a universal change model that will help you contribute meaningfully to your organization’s retention efforts.

Let’s begin!

*Remember that a transcript of all audio is available for download below on the lessons below, and you can always turn on closed-captions on the video settings above.

Let’s start with activating your staff recruitment and retention efforts and go beyond the focused skill-building we talked about in our bronze lessons. We’ll look at more deeply exploring your motives for improvement, managing innovation, and understanding others.

Be sure to download the transcript to review your learning.

Now that we have a little bit of foundation in your staff recruitment and retention efforts, let's think about how we can apply this to your organization.

Remember, you can download the transcript for this video below, and can also turn closed captions on and off for your convenience.

In this lesson, we'll look at how to put staff recruitment and retention efforts into practice with a look at how to build and enhance it in your nonprofit.

Be sure to download the transcript to review your learning.

In our consideration of how to build up your own capacity in developing and supporting effective staff recruitment and retention at your nonprofit, we’re going to consider the principles behind goal-setting.

Be sure to download the transcript to review your learning.

Setting goals to improve your nonprofit’s overall staff recruitment and retention efforts looks and feels different than setting goals as an individual.

Remember, you can download the transcript for this video below, and can also turn closed captions on and off for your convenience.

Welcome to your final lessons on nonprofit recruitment and retention! We’ve covered a lot of new information on what this capacity is all about and how you can put it into practice in your nonprofit. We’ll now explore how motivation plays a role in finding the “oomph” to make improvements in your current practice.

We’ll also take a moment to review all that we’ve learned on recruitment and retention. And in your last course of the gold badge, you’ll be invited to complete a personal learning plan to help you put your learning into practice.

Let's begin!

*Note that a transcript of all audio is available for download on the lessons to come, as well as an audio-only version of the lessons. You can always turn on closed-captions on the video player settings above.

In this lesson, we'll look at how motivation can be supported in building staff recruitment and retention efforts in your organization.

Be sure to download the transcript to not only review your learning but also to see the research references used in this lesson.

In this lesson, we're going to discuss how we can inspire others to get personally motivated about nonprofit staff recruitment and retention efforts, especially those who may be resistant.

Remember, you can download the transcript for this video below, and can also turn closed captions on and off for your convenience.

In this final teaching lesson on staff recruitment and retention, we're bringing together all our learning into a capstone video on how we can grow from everything we've covered thus far!

Be sure to download the transcript to not only review your learning but also to see the research references used in this lesson.