The Nonprofit’s Guide to Human Resources

Your Companion to HR in Nonprofit Organizations

• Differences in Nonprofit and For-Profit HR
• The Long and Short of Employment Law
• How This Book Is Organized

1. Who Will Join Your Team? Recruiting and Hiring Staff

• Who Will Be Doing the Hire?
• Hiring: A Five-Step Process
• Step 1. Defining the Job and the Candidate Profile
• Step 2. Recruiting a Strong Pool of Applicants
• Step 3. Screening and Selection
• Step 4. Making the Job Offer
• Step 5. Bringing the New Hire on Board

2. Salaries and Benefits

• What Is Compensation?
• Laws You’ll Need to Know
• Setting Salary Ranges and Individual Salaries
• Looking at the Big Picture: Overall Compensation Analysis
• Incentive Pay in Nonprofits
• Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)
• Classifying Your Employees: Who Gets Overtime or Benefits?
• Minimum Wages and Exceptions
• Rest Breaks and Travel Time
• Benefits: Compensation Beyond Wages
• Noneconomic Benefits
• Administering Your Benefits Plan

3. Performance Reviews

• Reasons for Performance Reviews
• Special Considerations for Small Organizations
• Types of Performance Reviews
• Defining What’s Expected of Employees
• Keep Track of Employee Performance
• Gathering the Building-Block Information
• The Role of Judgment
• Setting Up Your Review Process
• A Step-by-Step Look at the Review Process

4. Strengthening Performance: Supervision and Team Leadership

• One-on-One Supervision
• Dealing With Poor Performance
• Legal Reminders for Supervisors
• The Important Role of Team Leaders
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Staff Training and Education
• Titles: More Than Just Words
• Leadership Development
• 360-Degree Feedback

5. Terminations and Layoffs

• Trying to Improve Employee Performance and Behavior
• Before Firing—Steps to Take
• Firing At-Will Employees
• Termination for Cause
• Firing “On the Spot”
• Once You’ve Decided to Fire
• Layoffs
• Handling Exit Interviews and Forms
• Avoiding Layoffs Through Furloughs
• Temporary Layoffs
• Postemployment Health Insurance
• What Happens If an Ex-Employee Sues?
• Who’s Eligible for Unemployment Insurance
• Providing References

6. The HR of Volunteers

• Managing Volunteers
• Defining Volunteer Jobs
• Recruiting Volunteers
• Screening Volunteers
• Getting the Right Insurance Coverage for Volunteer Activities
• Preparing for Your Volunteers’ First Day
• Creating Leadership Positions for Volunteers
• Volunteerism Practices and Policies for Volunteer Board Members
• Thanking Volunteers
• Professional Development for Managers of Volunteers

7. Bringing in Outside Help: Independent Contractors

• Employee or Contractor?
• Benefits and Drawbacks to Hiring Independent Contractors
• Criteria for Classification
• Independent Contractor Questionnaire
• Creating an Independent Contractor Agreement
• Managing Independent Contractors
• Paperwork for Independent Contractors

8. The Board’s Role in HR

• The Board’s Oversight of the Executive Director
• The Board’s Oversight of HR
• Guidelines for the Board’s Role in HR

9. Unions and Nonprofits

• What Is a Union?
• Laws Governing Unions
• Who the Union Represents
• How a Union Contract Is Created: Collective Bargaining
• What’s in a Union Contract
• How Union Drives Work
• HR Under a Union Contract
• Employees Who Are Not Part of the Union
• Day-to-Day Union Representation: Business Agents and Shop Stewards

10. Creating a Safe and Productive Workplace Environment

• Protecting Employees’ Health and Safety
• The Workers’ Compensation System
• Ergonomics and Preventing Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• If Jobs Involve Driving
• Employee Use of Cell Phones
• Smoking in (or Near) the Workplace
• Employee Abuse of Drugs or Alcohol
• Preventing Harassment and Bullying
• Workplace Violence
• Shaping Your Organizational Culture
• Policies for Email and Internet Usage
• Workplace Romances
• Dress and Grooming Codes
• Off-Hours Conduct
• Gaining Insights From Employee Climate Surveys

11. Organizing HR Functions

• Staffing the HR Office
• HR Attorneys and Consultants
• Outsourcing HR Functions
• Who Does HR Report To?
• Providing Feedback to HR About HR Functions
• Professional Development for HR Staff
• Personnel Files
• Employee Handbooks
• HR’s Role in Change Management
• HR Audits

Index