When I started my current job at the Orthodox Union, one of the senior board members told me that if my eventual successor will be hired from outside the organization, I will have failed in my role. Although I have no plans to leave my position, I think about my potential successor all the time — and not just mine, but everyone’s. This thought process fuels my passion for the importance of building a pipeline for employees and leaders, ensuring that there are nonprofit professionals and Jewish leaders for both today and tomorrow at the OU and everywhere else. Without a passionate and committed workforce, nonprofits cannot reach their full potential in providing the support and programs crucial to the Jewish future.

While the high turnover rate and shortage of professionals in this sector — from teachers to administrators to clergy — is often talked about, not enough is said about the long-term effects of these challenges. The assumption is that these challenges would naturally resolve if only salaries went up and finally drew adequate numbers of people to the field and ensured that they stayed. But this might be the wrong way to look at it. Challenges with the nonprofit workforce will not naturally resolve — they are in need of dedicated attention. And this situation isn’t just about salaries. 

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Salaries alone will not fill jobs

There are numerous vacancies for well-paying jobs throughout the nonprofit sector. Take, for example, the high rates of turnover and frequent vacancies in day school leadership positions. This is a job that can pay more than $300,000 a year. 

Throughout the OU, there are a number of jobs open at all levels offering competitive salaries. The fact that vacancies stretch across levels shows the lack of a pipeline or clear career trajectory in the nonprofit space. 

While employees in all fields aspire to earn more money, 50% of nonprofit employees surveyed by the National Council of Nonprofits cited stress and burnout as primary reasons for leaving their jobs. This is another symptom of the failure of nonprofit organizations to nurture a pipeline of talent. Organizations need processes that encourage employees to join, stay and grow along the way. If that pipeline works well, the supply, too, will inevitably grow. This model has proven itself in the corporate world over the last half-century. The nonprofit world should consider pursuing a similar, but tailored, approach.

Building this pipeline is an investment, and it should be prioritized and viewed as such rather than as a cost, an idea recently explored by Joshua D. Margolis and Gali Cooks in eJewishPhilanthropy (“A talent investment mindset: The next frontier for Jewish communal innovation,” March 7). That article wisely suggested several approaches to seeing talent as an investment, including establishing a healthy culture, offering training and professional development. I would like to build on that, and explore how organizations can take such practical suggestions to the next level by thinking about the pipeline itself.

A true pipeline begins with value-added recruiting

Building a pipeline starts with an approach to recruitment that goes beyond simply filling jobs. The OU has invested in fellowships as well as training and professional development for early career professionals and volunteers — efforts that foster personal growth along with practical skills. Fellowships create a potential workforce and source of leadership not just for an individual organization but for the non-profit sector as a whole. For example, some of those who completed our fellowship program, similar to one Yeshiva University ran a decade ago, now work at the OU; some work at other nonprofits; and some have pursued other career paths but are still equipped with the skills and sense of responsibility necessary for lay leadership of communal organizations. 

Offering training to volunteers, who are an underutilized resource at nonprofits, can turn them into employees. Partnering with an academic institution to offer credits or certificates for such training can also help fulfill participants’ academic or professional aspirations and reflect to skeptical parents the seriousness and legitimacy of a career in the nonprofit sector. 

Parental skepticism trickles down seamlessly to the next generation. In a recent conversation with a talented college-aged volunteer advisor for one of our programs, I asked what he was planning to do when he graduates. “No more camp for me,” he smiled. “I’m going to get a real job now.” Spoken genuinely and innocently, these words reflect an underlying sense within our community that dedicating your time to important causes might be nice but isn’t a career many parents imagine for their children. 

It starts with culture

The best-laid plans and strategies to ameliorate this situation must also confront cultural norms both external and internal to the organizational playing field. As Peter Drucker is often quoted, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Thus, it is even more valuable for organizations to develop a culture that promotes a positive environment that supports both organizational strategic growth and individual professional and personal development. At the OU, we speak about the three C’s — communication, coordination and collaboration — as an alliterative model reminding us of our aspirational culture in our daily work. To some extent, it has helped create the environment necessary for employee retention and growth.

Prioritize communication

People at nonprofits need to see and talk to others in the field, get to know them and hear what they do. This helps create social and emotional support, which is important when it comes to job retention rates. It allows professionals to be aware of the multiple pathways that may be open to them with some training, coaching and professional development. Practical ways we have worked to increase communication include holding regular town halls where professionals from across the globe and in a diverse array of jobs can share what they do and how they do it; launching a podcast featuring employees as guests; and hosting employee networking events for early career professionals, giving them a voice and letting them know their views and experiences are appreciated. This makes employees feel valued and gives them room to grow. 

Improve coordination 

Within departments and across organizations, it should be clear what everyone on a team is doing. More steps should be taken to encourage employees to work together or in parallel. This is not just a top-down approach of supervisors gaining more insight; it should also provide a way for newer or lower-level employees to look vertically and laterally. While this objective can be accomplished partly through professional development programs across different departments, it should also be built into the daily workflow. For example, a shared calendar of events and key milestones invites questions about program opportunities, shared services and even procurement savings. Working together on teams for specific issues that arise can provide opportunities for unlikely or under-appreciated talented individuals to reveal their capabilities — even to themselves. 

Coordinated activity is not just a catalyst for greater efficiency; it leads to more productive work, as well as more awareness of the impact and meaning of that work — which is often why people entered the nonprofit sector! Seeing the impact is another important driver of retention and job satisfaction. 

Seek out collaboration

Going beyond coordination, organizations should encourage active collaboration among employees and across departments. This opens the door to launching new and exciting projects and initiatives. Partnership and collaboration need not be limited to inside the organization. Projects in tandem with other organizations and talented professionals should be encouraged. This provides opportunities for leaders to emerge and take their organizations to the next level. It allows people to focus on the future of their organization and to want to be a part of it. 

Much more can and should be written about talent development as a core strategy to improve retention as well as to grow individual professionals, and we have worked to develop a playbook along these lines. Focus on the future — and the talent pipeline — needs to start now. Amid rising antisemitism, struggles with Jewish identity and other challenges for Am Yisrael, it is critical that nonprofits attract and retain the people who are essential to the future.

Josh Joseph is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Orthodox Union.