A terrific post Dear Executive Director, Please Fire Your Staff on the GiveWell blog begins with this inarguable truth: "It is important that everyone involved in a nonprofit's mission be accountable." The author further states, based on his experience, regarding the most striking difference between the nonprofit organizations and the for-profit sector, that "nonprofits are much worse at doing internal evaluation of personnel, and most of the time it barely happens at all."
Why should this be true?
While there are many exceptions to every rule -- I do know nonprofits that are working hard to effectively manage employee performance and I also know of for-profit businesses that do a crappy job of this -- I believe there is also a kernel of truth here. Performance management, which has at its heart the act of holding people accountable for producing good work results, is something with which many nonprofits struggle. Some feel the process runs at odds with their mission, culture and values, while others balk at the necessity of having to act "like a business". Many nonprofits understand the importance of performance management at the Board and leadership level, but encounter difficulty in implementing and sustaining these practices throughout the organization.
The simple truth is that nonprofits must be accountable for using their resources well and wisely. They owe it to the clients they serve, and they owe it to their funders (whether they be the public at large or private donors) to do so. And this means proactively and assertively managing the performance of what is likely their largest and most costly asset: their employees.
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