A People Lens: How your organization can adopt a people-first philosophy

By Colleen Kelly
December 2006

The difficulty that organizations are facing today in recruiting the volunteers they need as well as in obtaining board members means that organizations have to look at creating an intentional philosophy which says people come first. This is what Kelly refers to as a “People Lens.”

CEO/EDs need to be deliberate in determining which people, both paid and unpaid employees, have the skill sets and talents an organization requires to deliver its mission. Critical is the ability of paid staff to work effectively with volunteers.

This means shifting the primary focus from money to people. If an organization can recognize the specialized skills its unpaid employees have then it can be more strategic in who it hires and this may also allow organizations to pay more appropriate salaries.

Another competitive advantage to involving people is that word-of-mouth from a positive experience attracts other volunteers and keeps existing volunteers engaged.

A people lens also recognizes the changing pool of available talent: Baby Boomers and Generation-X both provide large pools from which to select. But they also provide diverse interests and needs and engaging them means very different tactics and different volunteer opportunities.

Developing a people lens means examining all that is available to an organization. CEO/EDs play a critical role in this change and for some it will mean a change in the way they approach their organization.

To read the full report check out: http://www.weinspireandbuildleadership.ca/files/A_People_Lens.pdf.
 

Last updated: July 2, 2008