As a nonprofit professional, you know how important it is to have a clear mission and goals. But when is the last time you considered the role that a nonprofit learning plan has in helping you meet your mission? And what happens when your organization starts to grow and change? How do you ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same objectives? And further, how can you ensure that all of your team members are feeling supported in their own professional development goals and want to stay with your nonprofit?
The answer is simple: create a nonprofit learning and development plan. A learning and development plan will help ensure that your employees and volunteers are able to effectively adapt to changes within your organization, develop the skills and competencies necessary to lead and support others, and continue working towards your mission. In this blog post, we'll discuss why your nonprofit needs a learning and development plan, and how to create one.
Why does nonprofit professional development matter?
Nonprofits are always looking for ways to do more with less. Time and money are continually limited resources. Many times, nonprofit professionals feel like there are more pressing, mission-specific work to be done, and end up neglecting their own learning. Yet L&D is an investment in your organization's (and your employee's) success in so many ways.
Nonprofit leadership is a vital part of any organization's success, and investing in learning and professional development (L&D) is a critical step toward developing strong nonprofit leaders. Despite the competing demands for time and money, when nonprofit professionals prioritize their own professional growth, they're better equipped to make an even greater impact in and beyond their organizations. With the right workflow tools in place, organizations can ensure that L&D remains a priority—cutting through the noise and helping nonprofit leaders learn important skills while still being able to focus on mission-critical tasks.
How does professional development fit into nonprofit operations?
A nonprofit learning plan can help your nonprofit attract and retain top talent, develop the skills of your existing workforce, and improve organizational performance. Intentional learning efforts ultimately help your team improve how they do what they do, and this improvement is commonly called "capacity-building."
An effective capacity-building learning and development program supports nonprofit operations by reducing turnover, increasing efficiencies, and enhancing impact. With high-quality training tailored to the specific needs of your staff, you can ensure everyone has the capacity to thrive in their role and contribute to the success of your organization. Said plainly, taking a proactive approach to L&D can provide real results for both your people and your nonprofit as a whole.
Why don't all nonprofits have a learning plan?
It's no secret that nonprofits do a great job making progress towards the causes they believe in. However, without the right L&D plan in place, your nonprofit could be struggling to reach its fullest potential. For one, employee training and development is key to success: it can help staff better understand their roles and responsibilities as well as improve their morale and enhance productivity. Additionally, for many organizations, investing in L&D helps ensure that employees are up to date with changes in technology or skills needed for organizational growth. If your nonprofit isn't already taking advantage of an effective L&D plan, now is definitely the time to make a change before any important goals become harder to achieve.
Benefits of having an L&D plan
Nonprofit learning and development plans bring immense amounts of value to any organization. When well organized, they provide structure that helps guide teams toward improved performance. This means that every team member knows that in addition to their core roles and responsibilities, they also are accountable for improving their own work approaches and expanding their knowledge in order to fulfill their duties even better.
Your nonprofit learning plan also offers the benefit of communicating comprehensively your leadership's commitment to organizational growth. If you've ever worked at a nonprofit that was solely focused on "keeping the lights on" and maintaining the status quo, you likely were at an organization without an L&D plan. This commitment to organizational growth captured within an L&D plan can become a manifesto for growth, and can be remarkably energizing to staff.
An additional benefit to L&D planning is how much the process and the implementation can build stronger relationships internally and beyond the workplace. With a comprehensive L&D plan in place, teams reap tangible benefits not just today but also into the future, and these benefits of a better-trained workforce ripple out across the entire nonprofit sector.
How to create a nonprofit learning & development plan
Creating a nonprofit learning plan for your organization can seem daunting, but starting small with a few core concepts makes it much more achievable (and less stressful!). To create an effective L&D plan, keep the following tips in mind:
Ensuring everyone is included equitably: In creating the plan, give all team members the opportunity to weigh in on their interests, their perceived limitations, their desired outcomes, and what types of learning opportunities they may enjoy. Explore different types of professional development opportunities, including always-available asynchronous platforms like the Merit Nonprofit Professional Development learning experience.
Establish a common language around the learning topics: The terms around learning are varied, and include "professional development," "learning," "capacity-building," and many more. Be sure that everyone has the lingo to understand and contribute to the plan's expectations, approaches, and measures.
Explicitly define the purpose of the plan. Every team member has the opportunity to contribute to the success and growth of your nonprofit. When creating an L&D plan, be certain to express this ultimate goal so as to avoid professional development expectations falling into the "one more thing I've got to do" category.
Going beyond these initial steps will help build a learning environment that is efficient and effective. Consider inquiring about additional aspects of your plan like online guidance platforms, accountability buddies, or mentoring opportunities. With thoughtful planning in place, your L&D plan will become a product of the group's vision for a better-operating nonprofit.
How to implement and sustain your nonprofit learning plan
When it comes to implementing and sustaining your new learning and development plan, there are a few key steps you should take in order to ensure success. First, be sure that progress reviews or check-ins are laid out up front. This will give team members a clear idea of expectations for continued progress. These might happen at regular supervision meetings or at monthly staff meetings, as two examples.
Second, get the whole team involved in activities like group learning opportunities. This can help build trust, create shared understanding and foster collaboration throughout the organization. Ideas that Merit Nonprofit Professional Development teams have enjoyed are lunch and learns around specific learning paths, learning buddies, and staff meeting report outs.
Finally, don't forget to recognize both behavioral outcomes (which may not be directly related to results) as well as results outcomes (such as earning a badge or completing a course) from any training or development initiatives -- it's important to celebrate wins wherever you can find them! With these habits firmly established on your team, you can expect long-term success for your L&D program.
A well-run L&D program can offer many benefits to your nonprofit, including attracting and retaining top talent, developing the skills of your existing workforce, and improving organizational performance. If you don't have a formal L&D plan in place, consider creating one soon!
Ready to launch your own L&D initiative? Merit is the perfect platform to support your efforts. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you develop a custom solution for your nonprofit's entire team.