Best practices for hiring technical talent

When building IT infrastructure at your nonprofit organization, finding the right talent is critical. Nonprofits require a versatile technologist who understands various IT business functions and is committed to the nonprofit’s mission. Here’s a comprehensive guide to approaching the hiring process for technical roles at a nonprofit:

1. Identify and assess the right technical skills

The foundation of a successful hiring process begins with a clear understanding of the technical skills and expertise your nonprofit needs. This requires more than just listing desired qualifications – it involves a strategic assessment of how technology supports your organization’s mission, and how the right candidate can enhance that support.

• Assess Organizational Needs: Start by evaluating your current IT landscape. What technologies are already in place, and where are the gaps? Consider the specific challenges your nonprofit faces, such as scaling operations, improving donor management, or enhancing digital communication. Understanding these needs will help you prioritize the skills and experience required in your next hire.
• Identify Core Technologies: Pinpoint the core technologies and systems that your nonprofit relies on. This includes both legacy systems that may require ongoing support and new technologies that you plan to implement. For instance, managing IT services effectively might involve expertise in IT service management (ITSM) platforms. IT service management is the way that IT teams manage the end-to-end delivery of IT services to customers. Similarly, maintaining infrastructure could require knowledge of both physical servers and cloud solutions like Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• Consider the Role of Integration: In the nonprofit sector, many organizations use a variety of specialized tools, such as CRM systems for donor management, volunteer management platforms, and collaboration tools. The right candidate should have experience not only with these individual tools but also with integrating them into a cohesive system. This ensures that data flows seamlessly across platforms, improving efficiency and enabling better decision-making.
• Emphasize Strategic Thinking: Beyond technical know-how, your ideal candidate should bring a strategic mindset to the table. They should understand how technology decisions impact the broader goals of the organization. This includes assessing the total cost of ownership (TCO) for different technologies, understanding the return on investment (ROI) for IT initiatives, and making recommendations that align with the nonprofit’s mission and budget constraints.
• Highlight Nonprofit-Specific Tools and Discounts: Nonprofits often have access to special tools and discounts, such as Google for Nonprofits, Microsoft’s Tech for Social Impact, or other discounts from TechSoup. A strong candidate will not only be familiar with these programs but also know how to leverage them to maximize your organization’s resources. They should be able to navigate licensing agreements, identify cost-saving opportunities, and ensure that your nonprofit is taking full advantage of the benefits available to it.
• Incorporate Flexibility and Adaptability: The nonprofit sector is dynamic, with rapidly changing needs and limited resources. The right candidate should be adaptable, capable of learning new technologies as needed, and comfortable working in an environment where they may need to wear multiple hats. Look for someone who has demonstrated the ability to pivot and adjust in previous roles, especially in situations where resources were constrained or when scaling up technology was necessary.
• Leverage Data-Driven Decision-Making: Finally, the candidate should have a strong understanding of how to use data to drive decisions. This includes familiarity with analytics tools, experience in generating actionable insights from data, and the ability to implement data-driven strategies that support your nonprofit’s goals. Whether it’s improving donor engagement, optimizing outreach campaigns, or streamlining operations, data should play a central role in their approach.

2. Evaluate cultural fit and commitment to the nonprofit sector

Technical expertise is essential, but so is finding a candidate who is committed to the mission of the nonprofit sector. Look for candidates who understand the unique challenges nonprofits face and are motivated by the impact of their work. During interviews, assess their alignment with your organization’s values and their enthusiasm for contributing to the nonprofit mission.

3. Offer competitive compensation and highlight nonprofit benefits

While nonprofits may not always match the salaries of for-profit companies, offering competitive compensation, a comprehensive benefits package, and opportunities for professional development can attract top talent. Additionally, emphasize the meaningful impact of the work, which can be a strong motivator for candidates passionate about making a difference.

4. Be mindful of hiring pitfalls and traps

Knowing who to hire is very important, but equally important is knowing what to avoid or what could go wrong. Despite the challenge of matching for-profit compensation, with its strong social impact, the nonprofit sector does attract technical talent. The state of technological disrepair found in many nonprofits (due largely to systemic underfunding and general technology poverty) could be alarming to some. It is important that candidates have realistic expectations and be prepared to be part of the solution. It is common for people to accept roles and quickly flee as they are expected to be a “jack of all trades” and perform tasks that are not in their job description – “other duties as required” can become the de facto essence of the job. People coming from large, structured IT departments may be very specialized in their skills/experience and not have the flexibility required to be at their most effective in a small nonprofit or small IT group. They may also require more hands-on management from a technical leader. The ideal candidate will be a strong communicator, a good negotiator, a team player, technically curious, and a lifelong learner.

To reduce risk in hiring, you could consider bringing in someone on a contract-to-hire basis. Contract-to-hire positions are shorter-term, allowing both parties to test the waters before committing to full-time employment.

Handyman vs. journeyman

There are many factors that will determine the ideal set of skills to keep your technical environment running for maximum impact: complexity, evolution, and expectations. Complexity and evolution refer to attributes (like the number of servers, applications, integrations, etc.) and technical environment growth (recent or planned changes to design, new implementations, etc.)  Multiple skills will be required, and if you are only hiring one person, it may be best to hire a “handyman” rather than a “journeyman.” An IT generalist, with a solid understanding of networking, who is tech-savvy, loves the challenges of repairing and updating computer systems, and is not afraid to take on many roles on a daily basis. Prioritize the skills and see what’s available in your current team.

Recruiters

It can be difficult to make a proper assessment of technical skills if there are no technical people on the leadership team or in HR. Using a recruiter can be a strategic move to ensure you attract the right talent for your organization. A good recruiter will have: 

1. A passion for your mission and the ability to articulate your core values to potential candidates 
2. Technical skills and the ability to translate bidirectionally – your business needs to the candidate and their technical capabilities to nontechnical leaders 
3. A strong network of technical resources, particularly those who may not be directly searching for a job but would be a good fit 
4. Ability to assess cultural fit 
5. Experience with nonprofits