Nonprofit Risk Management 

Tip of the Month - March 2008

investing in new employees

Hiring a new employee is risky business, but also a substantial investment in your mission. It took you a long time to find the “right” employee. Now, take some time to make sure that your new staff member stays long enough to be a solid “return on investment.” Positive first impressions can give a new employee energy and inspiration. A new job is exciting, but adrenalin can’t fuel a new employee for long. Take these steps to make sure your new employee hits the ground running and has a steady supply of positive energy to go the long haul. You’ll find that by taking these steps for new employees, existing staff stays energized too!

• Be welcoming. If there is a gap between time of hire and the employee’s first day of work, match the new hire with a veteran employee who can give the employee a welcoming call, set up a lunch for the new employee’s first day of work and generally welcome the new employee to the nonprofit.
• Be prepared. Nothing is worse than getting to your desk the first day and not having a pad or pen to write with. Outfit the new employee’s work station with essentials, set up an email account ahead of time so s/he can log in right away, and have new business cards waiting.
• Be mission-focused. Post the mission on a tent card or in a prominent place near the new employee’s work station. Provide her/him with marketing materials, recent annual reports, or anything that the donating public receives so that the new employee can immediately start being an ambassador for the nonprofit’s mission.
• Be organized. Make sure the new hire has received a written job description, a clear explanation of his/her job classification (exempt or non-exempt) and a calendar of upcoming events that are important for the nonprofit, such as the launch of a new program, a site visit from a funder or an upcoming fundraising event. 
• Be fun! Make the first days exciting. A boring first week that only entails review of training manuals, filling out forms, and shadowing another employee is nothing to get excited about. Instead, assign meaningful work and make the first days memorable. Giving new employees a taste of the ‘good works’ your nonprofit does every day confirms that they made the right job choice and gives them all the right reasons to believe in and develop loyalty to your nonprofit.

About the Nonprofit Risk Management Center:  The Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NRMC) was established in 1990 to provide assistance and resources for community-serving nonprofit organizations. As a nonprofit, the Center is uniquely positioned to both understand and respond to questions with practical, affordable suggestions for controlling risks that threaten a nonprofit’s ability to accomplish its mission.

NRMC's mission is to help nonprofits cope with uncertainty. We offer a wide range of services (from technical assistance to software to training and consulting help) on a vast array of risk management topics (from employment practices to insurance purchasing to internal controls and preventing child abuse). We do not sell insurance or endorse organizations that do. Look to the Nonprofit Risk Management Center’s regional meetings, monthly Webinars, and online Risk Management Classroom for additional training at www.nonprofitrisk.org.

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