Movement of Non-Profit Professionals

Coming out of the pandemic, there’s no question that talent is in need---by so many organizations, and specifically by non-profits. This last week, a friend and a longtime client/colleague let me know that he was leaving one really good job for another one.  While I don’t think that this is novel or unique, I did note when he told me that he never even really applied for this new position. In fact, he wasn’t looking for anything new. He was approached, very appropriately, to consider a new position that was being created.

My friend is very talented. He is loyal, and he is very good at what he does. This is an incredibly important story because as we move out of COVID, this will become more of the norm. Talent and performance are beginning to be more and more critical in the nonprofit profession. If you performed by doing good work, you will be rewarded.  

But there is the other side of the equation, and it may have more impact industry-wide. In the same week, I have another client who has some personnel who are trying to figure out what’s next for them. And they’re concerned that they won’t be taken care of by their own organization. To leverage the situation, there is a strong likelihood they may have to change jobs and employers. And they really don’t want to…. they just want to be paid and recognized appropriately.

The potential employment decisions for non-profit professionals will be hard for many people. Many will have the opportunity to make a change if they so desire. It will be interesting over the next 12 months to watch this across the industry.