Info on hiring tech staff

OK, so I did a couple blog posts on my thoughts while I was job hunting about nonprofits and hiring tech staff. Well it appears that I am not alone in that topic. Here are a couple great links to conversations about hiring tech staff.

First is a blog post from Paul Hagen on the Idealware site.

Paul talks about three considerations for staff and tech:
1) Dedicate staffing to support and evangelize tools. As a rule of thumb, I’ve been suggesting organizations dedicate 0.25 FTE for every 10 staff members as on-going support and evangelizing new tools – double or triple the time during implementation and the first few months after launch.

2) Spread the responsibility. Make online responsibilities and competency something that a majority of staff participate in. Assign specific online responsibilities in staff job descriptions, such as developing content for specific sections of the web site (pages, newsletters, video) , monitoring and managing social networking presence, or providing monthly reports of web and other online statistics. Build the organizational culture by adding an online health status report to all major staff and/or program meetings.

3) Make online competency a job hiring must. Ensure that online competency is considered and weighed in all new hires, particularly for management, communications, and marketing/outreach positions.

And my favorite quote from Paul "In fact, most organizations vastly underutilize the tools they currently own because of staffing issues."

The other resource is an annual effort from NTEN and the Nonprofit Times to complete a nonprofit technology staff salary study. Always awesome information available in there.

Good stuff! Sorry I dont have a full blog post again this week. Maybe someday I will again.

Powerpoint humor - since I dont have time to blog

Sorry this blog has been so erratic in its posting, but like the title of the blog says - Random thoughts.

So I still dont have time to be anonymous, but should soon, whenever I get a job. In the meantime, someone suggested this video to me and I loved it. SO here ya go as a substitute for a real post.

Awesome Obama video from Sarah Silverman and Dont VOTE

Ok,at times I try to be controversial or sarcastic, but I cant hold a candle to Sarah Silverman. YIKES, this video has some inappropriate words, comments and themes, but sure makes a point.

Is your organization willing to take a risk like this to make a point? Are you?



There is a lot of awesome creativity in this video. It is obvious that there was a lot of planning done before just making a video. It seems that many of us could be able to come up with a way to make a point like this, if we were just willing to step out there and risk offending people. When is it time to step all over politically correctness and go extreme?

"Vote for Obama. Gonna visit Grandmama. Vote for McCain. To me you're a $%$#%$ stain." Wow.

Here is another video with some great creativity and a good message also! But hey, it actually isnt offensive and doesnt use any expletives.



I think the point of sharing these is that sometimes a video with just a great case study, professional production, inspiring message, just isnt enough. Take it all the way to what you really want to say. Dont be afraid make people mad enough to yell, hey at least they will be talking.