The Five Core Elements of Nonprofit Organizational Wellness: Part 2

"Process" challenges facing nonprofits today and how to solve them

by Rebecca Wiggins

Our five-part series takes a closer look at Five to Flow’s five core elements through a nonprofit lens to help you improve your organization’s sustainability and impact. In Part 1, we focused on people and the ways that leaders can foster a healthy work environment for employees, and meaningfully engage donors and volunteers to support the growth of your nonprofit organization.

Process

As important as developing employees is to any company, implementing efficient processes is just as crucial for accomplishing organizational goals. That’s why we are focusing on the impact that having well-defined, efficient, and consistent systems and structures can have on the nonprofit workplace in Part 2. Nothing is more frustrating to talented, committed employees than inefficiency and inconsistency. This leads to overwork, burnout, and potential turnover.

Nonprofits are often reacting to crises or lack the necessary resources and time to properly analyze, develop, and implement business-critical procedures for key activities. For nonprofits, that might include things like project management, procurement practices, donor communication and appreciation, partnership development, and marketing your mission and impact.

Operational aspects of any type of company are also important for nonprofits; things like internal procedures for audit and financial controls, legal risks or regulatory issues, as well as data and information security.

These tend to be overlooked or underfunded areas of a nonprofit, which can leave the organization exposed to exceptional risk. In our recent blog about the unique trends facing nonprofits, we discussed the potentially catastrophic damage to a nonprofit of a cybersecurity breach, for example.

One of the most unique aspects of nonprofit organizations is the role of its Board of Directors. The Board should support the chief executive, provide oversight and ensure adequate financial resources for the organization’s goals, protect legal and ethical integrity, and enhance the public standing of the organization. Board committees can play an important role in building additional capacity and industry expertise for the Staff. A thriving partnership between the Board and Staff is essential to the success of the organization. Without clear processes and procedures, Boards and Committees can be ineffective and impede growth.

Nonprofits that take the time to develop consistent and efficient processes improve service to their stakeholders, increase productivity, reduce expenses, and experience tremendous growth towards their mission and vision. Here are a few steps to take to propel your nonprofit to new levels of success and impact:

Board of Directors:

Establish clear policies and procedures for Board operations, including Board agendas, meeting minutes, and the duties of officers and members.
Develop a board training and orientation program along with board evaluations for continual reflection, accountability, and improvement.
Outline the roles and responsibilities of committees to support the Staff in achieving the organization’s goals and objectives.
Develop inclusive recruiting strategies to ensure proper representation that reflects the people and communities that the organization serves and incorporates the perspectives and needs of multiple stakeholders.
Work collaboratively with the staff and stakeholders to create a compelling strategic direction that everyone can envision, describe, and communicate effectively.

Staff:

Develop cascading roadmaps for the next 1, 3, and 5 years to reach the strategic vision and define goals for every department and individual, accordingly.
Define the various stakeholder segments so that you can develop tailored messaging, programs, and services to meet their preferences and needs.
Create a user journey for each stakeholder to experience your organization from their unique perspectives. You will uncover missing aspects to your programs and services, areas that need to be better communicated or marketed, and ways to anticipate your stakeholders’ needs to keep them engaged and supported.
Evaluate technology solutions that would enable your organization to improve collaboration, organization, accountability, and creativity. Additionally, explore program management software that allows the team to track workflows and measure progress towards goals so that meetings are spent solving challenges and discussing strategy instead of reporting out on tasks.
Review your procurement practices to demonstrate to Funders, members, and supporters that you are using funds appropriately. Additionally, ensure proper resource allocation for risk management, as well as legal and audit compliance and support for the organization overall.

At Five to Flow, our passion is to partner with you to design meaningful solutions that lead to organizational flow. Explore our Wellness Wave™ diagnostic to measure how well your nonprofit is doing across all core elements, including processes and procedures. Based on your results, you will get tailored suggestions to get you started. Please contact us for more information about how we can work with your nonprofit to improve business health and alignment for the sustainable growth of your mission and impact. Part 3 of our five-part series will be coming soon!