Stop Hiring Job Titles. Start Hiring Expertise.
A fractional approach to capacity building puts the right knowledge and experience on your team.
When a nonprofit realizes it needs more people power, the instinct is to follow a traditional path. First, a Google search for job titles and descriptions.
And therein lies the first human resources trap: Leaning on standard job titles and descriptions might seem like a “best practices” approach, but in reality, giving too much weight to what other nonprofits are doing is akin to letting the market dictate your organization’s structure. Your mission deserves better.
Next, a draft job description is shared with members of the staff and board, inviting input. After a few rounds, the position has morphed into “unicorn” territory, as responsibilities ranging from high-level grant strategy, database management, event planning and “other duties as assigned” are added.
Enter trap #2: Setting up impossible expectations for the new hire. Even if you manage to find this magical being, the weight that is placed on their role will likely burn them out - quickly.
But what if you turned that process around? What if you started with an analysis of the capabilities that your nonprofit needs to execute its plan, and then used that list as a roadmap for bringing in the people power most aligned to the challenge?
How to Adopt a Fractional Team Building Approach
Most nonprofit leaders emphasize culture (fit) when hiring. That’s perfectly understandable – there is nothing to be gained by destabilizing a functioning team. After that, however, the hiring framework tends to swing between a wildly imaginative everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to capabilities and a too-rigid concept of staffing arrangements as either part-time or full-time.
Fractional team building offers an entirely fresh framework for building your organization’s human resources structure and as such, it requires a complete upending of everything you thought you knew about staffing an organization. Instead of beginning with a presumed job title and job descriptions, you will lead with a critical look at the expertise and time commitment required to execute your plan.
Deconstruct Your Goals
Look at the specific goals in your plan. For example, one goal might be to Increase major donor revenue by $100,000. Before you jump to any conclusions, ditch the title “development officer” in favor of listing the actions that will be needed to cultivate, secure and steward major gifts.
What does major gift fundraising look like when you break it down into specific activities? Here are just a few of the tasks that will be required:
Running reports in the CRM to identify prospects.
Updating donor contact information.
Research to develop prospect profiles.
Developing individual cultivation and solicitation plans for each major gift prospect.
Putting the solicitation plans into action through meetings and events.
Crafting a case for support as well as personalized pitches and proposals.
Facilitating solicitations, which may include engaging and preparing volunteers.
Refining and executing donor recognition and stewardship strategies, which may include public announcements, receptions, and more.
Tracking the relationship through entries in the CRM.
Assign Capability and Capacity – And Be Honest!
First, estimate how much time you believe will need to be devoted to each activity. For example, running reports in the CRM might require two hours per month; prospect research and updating donor contact info might need four. Developing and executing individual cultivation plans may demand up to 20 hours monthly. Crafting a case for support might be a one-time project totaling eight hours, but each personalized pitch or proposal will demand an additional hour or two.
Next, ask yourself: Do all of these tasks need to be completed by a highly experienced development officer, or would some be better assigned to a skilled administrative assistant or a fractional writer with development expertise?
The likely answer is that you don’t need – or want – to invest in a full-time development director who will, by virtue of the “job description” you started with, be spending extensive hours at a desk managing data, conducting research, writing proposals and scheduling lunches. Hire one person to do all of this and you will end up overpaying for administrative work (paying a director salary to clean a database) or under-resourcing the activity (hiring a junior person who doesn’t have the expertise to close a major gift).
Build a Team Around Your Plan Using a Fractional Approach
Maybe you will estimate needing 10 hours a month of excellent administrative support and 20 hours a month of high-level development expertise, plus a flat rate for written materials.
A fractional staffing strategy makes it possible to deconstruct these needs, and to address them with precision. You can hire a fractional administrator to handle logistics and data, ensuring that the back office runs smoothly. Then, you can engage a fractional development director to handle the high value tasks. A development writer can step in as needed.
This isn't about piecing together a collection of temps. It’s about building a dream team at a price point that will make it possible for your nonprofit to – finally! – scale up. By mapping your talent directly to your plan, you will ensure that every dollar you spend on staffing is driving a specific outcome. And as your operation grows, your fractional team can adjust, quickly and seamlessly.
Stop searching for unicorns, and don’t settle for filling seats. Look at your plan, break it down, and build the team you need.