I’ve worked with many boards as they are considering hiring their first employee. This transition from a working board (aka “doing it all themselves”) to hiring their first employee* is understandably a big decision but also a really exciting one as it means the organization is ready to enter the next stage of growth.
Is it time to hire?
Recognizing that the organization has grown beyond the board and volunteer capacity can sometimes be difficult to determine as issues may appear to have other root causes. Do any of these issues sound familiar?
- Multiple board members and/or volunteers are on all the committees
- Committee work doesn’t seem to be getting done.
- Board members and/or volunteers aren’t showing up to committee meetings.
- Board members and/or volunteers are leaving the organization.
- Board meetings are all about the daily work that needs to be done rather than strategic planning or vision work.
- Board members and/or volunteers express frustration about the amount of time they spend volunteering with the organization.
While some of these issues could appear to be rooted in other causes, it would be helpful to consider if your board members and volunteers are burned out and may not even recognize it themselves. Talk to current board members and volunteers about their time commitment and tasks. Are there adjustments to be made? Is there capacity to switch tasks to other volunteers or board members? If possible, check in with board members and volunteers who have left to also understand why they left. It might turn out that the organization can redistribute tasks, bring on more or other volunteers, etc and not hire but either way, it’s really valuable information.
Who to hire?
If, after this review, the board determines that a hire is in the best interests of the organization because:
- It’s not feasible to bring on more or different volunteers
- Tasks can’t be redistributed meaningfully among current board and volunteers
- The organization wants to grow programming or services and just doesn’t have the bandwidth with current board and volunteers.
Then the next question is who to hire. Many boards automatically assume that a full-time Executive Director is the first hire for any organization and it’s an understandable assumption. The ED is the most visible and well-known role in a nonprofit so for organizations looking for staffing, it’s the first one to come to mind but in my experience, a part-time admin is a more effective first hire and here’s why:
Money
ED’s are highly qualified individuals who therefore deserve commensurate compensation and the organization may or may not be able to afford the ED as the first hire. Even at a part-time rate, compensation is an issue especially as the ED will generally need to be hired as an employee and may require benefits as part of their employment.
Alternatively, while no less qualified or skilled, administrators can more easily be hired as part-time staff either as 1099 contractors or employees at either a retainer or hourly fee model.
Employment Status
As noted above, EDs are most often employees rather than contractors due to their responsibilities so there’s tax filings, state and federal paperwork, and payroll to manage which can be burdensome for small organizations. It’s not a dealbreaker but it is a consideration. Administrators have more flexibility in their hiring model. Organizations should work with a qualified nonprofit accountant and consult with a nonprofit attorney to ensure they are complying with all federal and state employment requirements.
Responsibilities
The Executive Director role is a high-level leadership role and the person hired for this position should have responsibilities that fall in line with this leadership position. They are the ones who should be the face of the nonprofit, making connections with local partner organizations, directing fundraising and programming efforts, and other high-level work that advances the nonprofit. By necessity, this means they do not have the time, nor should they be, answering emails, creating newsletters, updating the website, and other daily administrative tasks.
Conversely, these types of administrative tasks are likely exactly what the organization needs to move off board member and volunteer plates. An experienced nonprofit admin can jump in with little training at even five hours a week and relieve the pressure from other members of the organization. Then, as the organization grows the admin role can be expanded and at some point the board will identify that an ED is needed to not only oversee staff and volunteers but to use their expertise to take the organization to the next level.
Learning how to work with staff
I’ve seen organizations struggle when their first hire was an ED and the root cause was inexperience working with staff. Those organizations didn’t truly understand the role of an ED and rather than working side-by-side with them in a leadership capacity, the ED was essentially an administrator responsible for email responses, arranging meetings, and similar tasks rather than the high-level work of an Executive Director. In every situation, the organization didn’t actually need an ED; they needed an admin, so a lot of time and money was wasted, and frustration was rampant for both the organization and the employee when it could have been avoided by a wiser hire.
Hiring administrative staff first allows the essential, daily work of the organization to be done while helping the board learn how to work with a staff member. Often board members do not have experience managing staff so a part-time role is a great way to develop relationships and skills in this area.
Conclusion
Is it wrong to hire an ED first? Certainly not, as long as the organization is completely clear who an ED is and what they do. They are NOT the ones to answer emails, they are the people you entrust to meet with a potential corporate sponsor. If the organization has board members or volunteers to do the daily admin work and can afford to pay an ED what they’re worth then it might absolutely be the right hire but it has to be a deliberate and considered decision.
*I’ll use the term “employee” throughout for clarity but it could be an 1099 contractor or a W2 employee.