Why NGO Recruiters Need to Focus on Information Transparency and Talent Specificity

The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) sector has experienced incredible and radical change in the last 24 months. 2022 will prove to be another momentous year. In this article we will highlight key trends facing NGO recruitment in 2022 and what employers will need to focus on in order to engage and connect with the right talent in an ever-changing NGO employment landscape.

There are two main trends that have come to light so far in early 2022. They surround information transparency and talent specificity. According to data from the UN, the NGO sector in 2021 saw an increase in recruitment of approximately 44% year-on-year compared to 2020. This is a little obvious as 2020 saw a great decline in recruiting during the first year of the Coronavirus pandemic. As more NGOs reboot recruitment for 2022, the focus has shifted sharply. Let’s explore the key themes facing NGO recruitment in the next twelve months.

Talent Specificity - Skill-centric rather than “Jack-of-all-trades”

NGO recruiters are becoming a lot more selective about talent. They are examining their organisational processes, defining their employment priorities, and developing value propositions for a new kind of NGO employee. This is a move away from the “generalist” recruitment process that values the ability to handle multiple workloads whilst having mastery of none. This refocusing is called talent specificity.

Talent specificity is about understanding how a new recruit will fit into your team, your organisational culture, and your business. This requires a sense of clarity in terms of understanding key competencies for the role and therein the expectations and benchmarks of successful delivery. Another key element of this new shift is a radical divergence from the hire-and-fire circular model of employment. NGO’s can utilise talent specificity to drive cost-saving benefits whilst finding talent with purpose.

Information Transparency - How Being Open Helps Highlight Your Suitability to New Candidates

NGOs have adopted new technologies in their droves thanks to the effects of the Coronavirus on their business models and fundraising capabilities. Technology provides a useful framework for data collection and interrogation. However, business information metrics can misfire and promote negative sentiment within organisations. This is where information transparency helps promote a new openness to organisational data - and the reason this is trending in NGO recruitment is that employees are moving away from big financial packages and looking instead at other benefits within the organisation.

Information transparency can nurture and develop employee happiness. This matters when planning and executing new talent acquisition processes. As organisational data transparency helps promote openness within the day-to-day business culture which therein provides a real connection between staff and NGO which helps drive success. From the perspective of new NGO recruits, the openness and transparency will be seen by candidates who view online reviews, case studies, or engage with former or current staff to help understand how transparent the organisation behaves - negative public sentiment towards charities who have misbehaved can impact, by developing pathways of transparency NGOs can promote this drive towards transparency and openness in the sector and beyond.

These trends highlight how precarious recruitment is within the NGO sector - if NGOs haven’t invested the time and energy in developing an understanding of their candidate needs and the selection dynamics therein, charities will fail to attract the right talent. Information transparency and talent specificity promote this new way of recruiting long-term NGO talent to help tackle the burning issues of the day.