Hiring these days can be an overwhelming experience. The variance and amount of work that needs to be done within a business, whether for-profit or an NPO, can make it difficult to identify exactly who you need and what you most need done. With that in mind, I thought today we’d talk about four skills that are extremely important for NPOs these days. Looking for these specific assets in a candidate might help you effectively narrow your search a little.
Photography & Videography
We live in a visual world these days, as is evident through the popularity of Pinterest and Instagram. While it’s true that technically anyone these days can capture images just by holding up their smart phone, if you want to differentiate your organization you need to make sure that your images and videos are of a professional quality. Often these days you can find a person with photography/videography skills who also has web development talents or graphic design capabilities. You want to make sure that when you post content to an online platform or to your website, your organization is portrayed in the best way possible. Even if people can’t put their finger on why your images don’t stick with them, they will know that something is amiss with what you are sharing.
Marketing
You’ll notice I’m not specifying “social media” or “community manager.” What NPOs need today is someone who can understand the entire range of marketing needs, from potential print advertising to an engaging Facebook page. A person with a marketing background will bring knowledge about how to target specific demographics, how to nourish existing relationships, and how to entice new demographics to become donors and/or supporters.
Storytelling
This may sound fluffy, but what I really mean is not someone who can simply tell any story. What I mean is that your organization needs an evangelist, if you will. Whether you want to refer to this person as a public relations professional or as an officer of your organization, you need someone who can explain, in front of any crowd, what your organization is all about, who you are helping, how you are helping those people, and why you need support/donations.
HR
This is a bit of a catch-22, but an NPO can truly benefit from someone who knows exactly what the organization needs, how to make sure someone will fit with the organization’s culture, and what mixture of capabilities will most benefit the organization as a whole. Finding the right HR person can take a long time because you need to find someone who not only understands your business but who also can garner an understanding of your culture. However, once you have such a person in place the rest of your hires should proceed without a hitch. You will also find that a good HR person will have the interests of all employees in mind, from healthcare choices to how payroll is handled.
Of course the specific skills you should look for depend most upon what type of organization you are and what exactly you are hoping to accomplish in the next few years. These four skills are highly likely to be useful to NPOs in general given the current business and marketing environment.
What are you looking for these days and how do you go about searching for people with those talents? We’d love to hear from you!