Introduction
Even though human resource management is a generally crucial practice that has to be maintained by all organizations, nonprofit establishments have to pay much closer attention to such internal operations. This happens because there is always an underlying good cause that has to be supported by all means to maintain an excessively positive reputation for all volunteers and organizational staff (DeCenzo et al., 2016). Thus, HR practices across nonprofit organizations do not revolve around business strategies as much as their for-profit counterparts. The mission gets driven by grants and donations, so it can be rather hard to retain and motivate employees. This is why HR management in the nonprofit sector represents a problematic scenario that has to elicit dedication and additional resources from the department (Johansen & Sowa, 2019). On a long-term scale, policies and protocols established when pursuing nonprofit objectives are just as much aimed at continued growth as any other for-profit alternative. The current paper is going to investigate the topic of HR practices in the nonprofit sector and take Dunrovin Retreat Center as an example.
Talent Management and Organizational Culture as the Fundamentals of Nonprofit HR Management
Despite being a rather broad category of employee supervision and engagement, talent management remains one of the core strategies intended to help the team manage performance, retain workforce members, and run development programs. As it is noted by Bastida et al. (2018), nonprofit HR management necessitates talent management to handle some of the organizational obstacles. This is also important to ensure that the administration is going to have enough room to benefit from in-house staff and rarely resort to outsourcing human resources. Mixed solutions are necessary because they reinforce the importance of talent management and recognition of consulting and software options (Laurett & Ferreira, 2018). In other words, talent management is a source of definite guidance that can be utilized to complete dedicated tasks and unlock more winning combinations of resolutions that can bring value and sustainability to the table. Modern specifics of talent management provide nonprofit organizations with additional opportunities to learn more about potential workforce members. Continuous HR consultations could be helpful in terms of developing talent management and maintaining a closer connection between the administration and employees.
Organizational culture is also important for nonprofit organizations because it aids the administration in terms of prioritizing collaboration and openness among volunteers and executives. Employer attractiveness often depends on the ability of the managers to provide helpers and employees with enough benefits and major roles in the development of internal culture as a whole (Park et al., 2018). HR management represents one of the shortcuts to employee satisfaction and engagement because it outlines the many reasons why unpaid workers have to be motivated. With many nonprofit organizations being mission-driven, it makes perfect sense for the members of the administration to promote teamwork-centric cultures and focus on the mission instead of any kind of profits (Roumpi et al., 2020). HR management guidance is crucial because it affects organizational culture and reinforces the need for more procedures that could alleviate the process of building a strong, unifying culture. This is why many nonprofit organizations become successful only upon realizing their long-term strategies and paying more attention to organizational culture and talent management.
Dunrovin Retreat Center
Dunrovin Retreat Center can be located in St. Croix, MN, in the National Scenic Riverway national park. There are numerous facilities for people of all ages that represent quiet spaces for conferences, retreats, youth camps, meetings, and teambuilding events (“Dunrovin Retreat Center,” 2021). Almost all the individual and group needs can be met by the management of Dunrovin Retreat Center, from fun outdoor activities to informal means of communication. There are different sporting facilities available, in addition to a wooded trail that skirts the property and makes Dunrovin Retreat Center even more comfortable. This nonprofit organization tends to invest in its talents to ensure that visitors always have access to relevant resources and continue supporting the cause by donating and investing in the given retreat center (“Dunrovin Retreat Center,” 2021). This is not a high-risk initiative because many individuals tend to overlook the importance of nonprofit organizations and perceive Dunrovin Retreat Center as an inconsistent solution. Nevertheless, Dunrovin Retreat Center is a culturally sensitive organization that delivers services carefully and guarantees to be better than any other similar organization.
One common theme that helps Dunrovin Retreat Center to remain on top is its approach to recruiting and retaining volunteers. With the right talent, this nonprofit organization gains an opportunity to realize its vision and adhere to strategies without being too fixated on any kind of profit. As stated by Word and Sowa (2017), all new hires across nonprofit organizations have to be checked multiple times before making a certain decision because many staff positions call for extreme dedication from volunteers. The majority of processes at the organization are directed by retaining and recruiting strategies that also go hand in hand with the staffing needs and a proper understanding of what kind of competencies have to be trained to achieve success (“Dunrovin Retreat Center,” 2021). A thorough demonstration of experience and professional competencies was achieved across Dunrovin Retreat Center by attaining a strong mission and cultural fit. The organization is transparent, and all volunteers have the chance to receive competitive compensation if the management is compliant in all areas of retention and recruitment.
Key Trends in Nonprofit HR Management
Employee Education
The majority of for-profit and nonprofit practices require employees to have a clear understanding of the organization’s mission and vision. This is why workforce education is one of the core factors providing nonprofit groups with additional reimbursements revolving around better insight into the market and the team’s opportunities (Word & Sowa, 2017). With the benefits available to employees becoming more complex than before, it can be safe to say that the growing number of nonprofit organizations reinforces the idea that corporate responsibility has to be preserved at all times, together with employee education. According to Bastida et al. (2018), education is also closely linked to improved communication between units and individual volunteers and managers. While moving past conventional group meetings and question and answer sessions, nonprofit organization administrators could aid employee education as well. In a sense, employee education keeps afloat nonprofit organizations such as Dunrovin Retreat Center and increases the chances to link with major investors and supporters.
The implementation of employee education in nonprofit organizations can be deemed valuable due to the possibility of considering every unique perspective. Even if workforce members are going to gain insight into generic information at least, they will have a bigger chance of serving the purpose of the organization and creating positive change (Roumpi et al., 2020). Employee education is also necessary because it drives workers to make suitable decisions and creates a stronger environment for colleagues and consumers. Additional knowledge is going to serve as a motivating factor for workers, also causing them to spend more time learning about their functions and how they could improve the existing state of affairs. Consistent with Park et al. (2018), employee education is a crucial strategy for employers looking to build engagement and increase performance without investing in technology and other types of innovation. Thus, employee education in the nonprofit sector is an advantage that many organizations ignore due to being focused on completely different objectives.
Employee Wellbeing
The biggest trend that HR managers currently follow across the nonprofit industry is the fixation on employee well-being. According to Laurent and Ferreira (2018), it is a crucial incentive because wellness drives loyalty and improved performance in the majority of workers, irrespective of their age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Prolonged worker participation in group activities is going to help HR managers in nonprofit organizations see how obstacles related to supervising employees could be resolved with more attention being paid to a variety of gaps. The primary reason why employee well-being is at the top of the list of essential motivators for nonprofit organizations is the need to build a connection between employers and workers (Johansen & Sowa, 2019). Being financially secure and healthy, volunteers are going to be much more willing to remain loyal to their purpose within the organization. The notion of responsibility cannot be overlooked either because returns on investment cannot be expected to occur immediately, especially with nonprofit organizations where financial objectives are never in the first place.
Occupational Health and Safety
In the field of HR management, the concept of occupational health and safety goes hand in hand with responsibility. HR managers have to become champions of safety to protect the workplace and ensure that their efforts preserve workers’ well-being (Carnevale & Hatak, 2020). Human resources are crucial for the organization, so proper selection and training cannot be overlooked in the process of establishing a safer approach to the workplace. The mission and the vision of any given nonprofit and for-profit organization depend on how the individual efforts of HR managers impact occupational health and safety. Successful initiatives have to be proactive by nature to have all employees prepared for incidents and injuries (Nielsen & Taris, 2019). In light of contemporary health issues, training and development sessions have to be deployed to build up workers’ confidence and have them respond to emergency scenarios reasonably and swiftly. The management at Dunrovin Retreat Center takes care of its occupational health and safety initiatives to ensure proper knowledge application and long-term workplace security.
Employee Technology Training
More and more HR management initiatives require nonprofit organizations to evolve in technological terms and help volunteers keep up with the given pace. There are numerous benefits to such behaviors because the advent of the pandemic altered human lives, causing them to spend more time in digital spaces (Roumpi et al., 2020). Employees and employers are yet to find common ground in terms of how the benefits of new technologies could be applied to the nonprofit sector without putting a strain on organizational budgets. The issue of access to all sorts of information has to be resolved to give the chance to managers to hire the right personnel and comply with data requirements at the same time (Johansen & Sowa, 2019). The price of researching and deploying new technologies could increase considerably in the nearest future, so more employees have to gain insight into various apps, artificial intelligence solutions, and educational sessions. The pandemic has also caused Dunrovin Retreat Center to seek additional funding and attain technology credits from the top prospects in the area.
Conclusion
To conclude, HR management across nonprofit organizations can be a rather expansive area of knowledge that managers have to process and learn to operate all available resources properly. Without strong HR management initiatives, nonprofit organizations are going to remain partially successful or even completely idle due to the lack of short- and long-term prioritization. Enduring strategies require nonprofit administrations to deploy actionable policies that can bring viable change to the table. High-level organizational cultures and mission-driven teams are much more prone to success because of more complex employee engagement. Retaining workers is also important because sustainability would not be achieved otherwise, especially with HR processes evolving under the influence of up-and-coming business strategies and solutions. In the light of short-term solutions, HR management across nonprofit organizations should be aiming to achieve stronger compliance and remain in line with local, state, and federal protocols. Nonprofit employers hardly differ from their for-profit counterparts, which means that smooth operations require people-centeredness and amenability.
The team should always look into new HR management strategies to handle potential risks and ensure that all trends are covered, and no unexpected scenarios are going to unfold, causing the organization to crumble.
References
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