By Melanie Eisenberg, Managing Director

As a Managing Director at Tandym, I’ve spent years partnering with organizations across the public and private sectors to address critical talent needs and fill key roles. Attending this year’s NYN Media Nonprofit BoardCon reinforced an important reality—hiring, retention, and technology are increasingly pressing challenges for nonprofits. While these areas present opportunities for growth and innovation, they can also become major obstacles if not managed strategically.

Traditionally, nonprofit boards focus on governance, financial oversight, and compliance. While these areas remain crucial, discussions at BoardCon emphasized that hiring and retention are now as strategically important as the budget. After all, without the right team, even the best mission can’t progress!

The challenge: budgets are tighter, funding is uncertain, and hiring can be tough. So, how are nonprofits adjusting? What should boards and leadership teams consider as they face these obstacles?

Hiring Is Too Slow—And It’s Costing Nonprofits Great Candidates

Nonprofits often struggle with lengthy hiring processes. Many spend months searching for the right candidate, only to lose them to faster-moving organizations. Outdated procedures, slow approvals, and manual workflows are significant contributors to these delays.

Good candidates aren’t easy to find, and you can’t just expect them to wait around. Staying competitive means planning in advance for an efficient and clear hiring process. A panelist at BoardCon shared a story about a candidate who went through three rounds of interviews over six weeks, only to receive an offer after they had already accepted another job. Every day a position remains unfilled means lost productivity, overworked staff, and missed opportunities.

To address this issue, some nonprofits are leveraging AI-powered hiring tools to speed up resume screening, automate interview scheduling to reduce inefficiencies, and use workforce planning technology to anticipate hiring needs before they become urgent.

Retention: Are We Accidentally Driving Our Best People Away?

Nonprofit work is fulfilling, but passion alone doesn’t prevent burnout. Many organizations experience high turnover not just because of salaries, but due to employees feeling overworked, under-supported, or lacking a clear career path.

Some nonprofits are addressing retention by monitoring engagement trends to detect burnout before it leads to resignations. They are ensuring employees fully understand their benefits and cross-training staff to balance workloads and prevent burnout.

For boards and leadership teams, a crucial question is: Are we investing in strategies that keep employees engaged, or are we constantly trying to replace burned-out staff? Retention isn’t just about compensation—it’s also about communication, career development, and thoughtful planning.

Financial Planning and Hiring: Looking Beyond This Year’s Budget

Every nonprofit is familiar with the myriad challenges posed by financial constraints. One of the biggest challenges nonprofits face is balancing hiring needs with financial constraints. Many financial planning models don’t account for long-term workforce needs. Instead, hiring decisions are often reactive—made only when a role opens up rather than being proactively planned for. This results in budgets that don’t align with hiring needs, leaving critical roles unfilled. Hiring becomes a last-minute scramble, leading to rushed (and sometimes costly) decisions.

At BoardCon, one nonprofit leader shared how they shifted from “hiring as needed” to including workforce projections in their financial planning—without increasing their budget. Small adjustments in fund allocation make it easier to plan ahead for key positions rather than being caught off guard.

Technology Can Help—Even With a Tight Budget

One of the most interesting takeaways from the conference was that modernizing hiring and HR doesn’t require a massive, expensive system overhaul. Some of the most effective nonprofits are using small, strategic tech solutions that make a big impact without breaking the budget.

These include affordable workforce planning software to align hiring with budgets, HR automation tools to reduce administrative work, and data-driven insights to track employee engagement and prevent turnover.

Final Thought: Stronger Hiring = Stronger Nonprofits

If there’s one key takeaway from BoardCon, it’s that hiring, retention, and financial planning aren’t separate conversations. The nonprofits that are thriving are the ones aligning their hiring strategies with their financial realities—finding ways to work smarter, not just harder.

The right approach to hiring and retention doesn’t just fill positions—it strengthens the organization’s mission. If your nonprofit is navigating these challenges, finding the right strategic partners can help bridge the gap between mission and execution.

At Tandym, we work with many nonprofits to find the best candidates through an efficient and transparent hiring process. We’d love to work with you to help solve for your talent gaps: please get in touch!

About the Author: Melanie Eisenberg is a Managing Director at Tandym Group with nine years of experience and a track record as one of the company’s most successful leaders. With clients across media, healthcare, and nonprofits, Melanie has built her expertise by deeply understanding each industry’s unique needs. Her dedication and client-first approach make her a trusted partner in talent solutions.