The Challenges of Recruiting in the Social Sector
- Competition with other sectors: Lower salaries in the social sector make it difficult to attract highly qualified professionals when other sectors offer more attractive salaries and benefits, so you need to compensate for this disparity in other ways.
- Alignment of values: Finding candidates who share the organisation's mission and ethical values is challenging, as this work requires dedication, empathy, passion and commitment, qualities that are difficult to assess in traditional selection methods.
- Diverse skills: Many projects require specific technical and behavioural skills, making it difficult to find suitable profiles.
- High turnover: The emotional burden of the job can lead to greater wear and tear, which, combined with financial pressures and a lack of recognition, increases turnover.
What to do to recruit the right people
- Clearly define the selection criteria
- Draw up detailed job descriptions, highlighting responsibilities and the technical and emotional competences required.
- Include in the candidate profile alignment with the organisation's values and mission.
- Invest in the organisation's brand
- Create an attractive online presence that reflects the organisation's values and social impact.
- Share impact stories and employee testimonials on social media and the organisation's website.
- Participate in job fairs or community events to increase the organisation's visibility.
- Use specialised recruitment networks
- Advertise vacancies on platforms focussed on the social sector, such as NGO websites or specific professional networks.
- Collaborate with universities and training centres that promote careers in the third sector, to also attract young talent.
- Assessing interpersonal and emotional skills (very important)
- During interviews, explore real-life scenarios to assess empathy, resilience and problem-solving skills.
- Use psychological assessment tools or situational tests to complement the interviews.
- Offer non-financial benefits
- Emphasise benefits such as flexible working hours, ongoing training, opportunities for progression, personal development and a collaborative working environment.
- Promote well-being initiatives, such as psychological support or stress management programmes, to reinforce commitment to employees.
- Reinforce onboarding and integration
- Create a structured welcome programme to familiarise new employees with the mission, objectives and practices.
- Ensure that new team members have access to mentors or experienced colleagues who can support integration.
What to Avoid in the Recruitment Process
- Vague job descriptions
- The clearer the description, the easier it will be to attract the right candidates.
- Focusing only on technical competences
- Ignoring behavioural competences and values can lead to hires who are not aligned with the organizational culture.
- Lengthy selection processes
- A process that is too long and lacks transparency can cause the best candidates to lose interest.
- Neglecting to give feedback to candidates
- Lack of communication with candidates, especially those not selected, can damage the organisation's reputation and make future processes more difficult.
Concrete Solutions for Human Resources in the Social Sector
- Strategic partnerships
- Establish collaborations with other social organisations to share resources and identify common talents.
- Create volunteer programmes or internships that form the basis of future hiring.
- Adopting technology in recruitment (free software is available)
- Use application management software to make it easier to analyse applications, speed up the process and identify the best profiles.
- Explore artificial intelligence platforms for analysing CVs and skills tests.
- Continuous training and talent retention
- Develop personalised training programmes.
- Create career plans that offer progression, reducing the need to hire.
- Foster a culture of recognition
- Reward employees for their performance and dedication, whether through public praise, awards or celebration and recognition events.
Creating a Solid Foundation for the Future
Attracting and retaining the right people for the social sector requires more than good recruitment practices, it requires a unique approach to HR management. Organisations that put people at the centre of their recruitment strategy find the right professionals and create an environment where they feel valued and able to make a difference. With clear strategies and concrete solutions, organisations can overcome HR challenges and ensure more motivated teams aligned with their objectives, and the social sector can continue to grow and meet the challenges.
