Is Your NFP Innovative?

According to the results of the recently released Give Easy 2018 Innovation Index, innovation in Australian nonprofits has increased just over 10 points in three years, going from 57.7 to 66.0 this year. The survey revealed that Australia’s most innovative nonprofits include: Burn Bright, the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, Culture at Work, Thankyou, along with the Australian Red Cross and the Fred Hollows Foundation.

How does your NFP compare to the nation’s most innovative organisations? What qualities do these nonprofits have that allows them to stand out and make a real difference in the world?

Innovative Traits

Innovation doesn’t happen by accident. It requires creativity, which means that organisations must bring together talented, original thinkers, and give them an environment rich with resources, open communication and the freedom to take risks and try out new ideas.  The most innovative organisations are known for giving their teams the freedom to experiment with processes and procedures. Burn Bright, for example, is constantly pushing the envelope in the methods that it uses to deliver its leadership programming to teenagers, to hold their interest and strengthen their learning abilities.

An additional trait that the most innovative NFPs share is that they truly have the welfare of their communities close to their hearts. Their concern is part of the values of their organisation, informing their mission and showing in every program and service that they offer. Their values are apparent in every action that they take. The Fred Hollows Foundation, for example, was created to put an end to avoidable blindness, and has now saved the sight of millions in Australia and 25 additional countries around the world!

Innovative nonprofits are also confident, because their entire organisation is focused on achieving a shared purpose. They believe in their cause, and the work that they are doing to help their communities!

Does your nonprofit encourage your team to experiment with new ways of thinking and doing things? Do you have a system in place to capture new ideas? Are you focused on your mission, and are you giving your team all the resources that it needs to connect with its community and increase support for your cause?

Tips to Encourage Greater Innovation in Your Nonprofit

The best thing that every organisation can do to encourage greater creativity, cooperation and innovation is to help their associates to share their thoughts and ideas. Look for ways to develop a system to gather new ideas from multiple areas of your organisation.

This means encouraging your staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries of your services to give you feedback on your performance. What are some areas that need to be changed or altered to be improved? What are their best ideas on how things can be made better?

When analysing feedback, don’t settle on just one or two concepts. Instead, narrow your list down to several great ideas. Develop a plan to implement each of them, at least on a trial basis. You can then monitor your change initiatives, tweaking performance as you go along and perfecting it before you “roll-out” the best ideas organisation-wide!

As you try out new ideas, processes and procedures, keep in mind that you will fail at least some of the time, and this is okay – it’s to be expected! Don’t let these setbacks derail your overall change process, however, but learn from these mistakes and use this information to improve the process and create just the right environment where innovation can flourish!

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Looking Back…Moving Forward

Ready or not…the new year has come!!  We covered a lot of ground in 2011 and much of it is worthwhile to revisit in order to move forward with a positive approach.

But before we do, take time to reread 10 Reasons You Need A Day Off and start the year as you mean to go on.  Being overworked does you, your family or your business no good at all.

2012 is your year. Your year to do what?  Shine?  Be noticed?  Develop your skills?  Whatever it is, our earlier article on How To Change Bad Work Habits may come in handy.

If you have a great idea and you are the only one who thinks it is great, regardless of how many times you mention it, then it might possibly be time to disregard it.  As we discussed in our article entitled Knowing When To Quit, if you don’t have support from your colleagues then your idea will not be given much chance to succeed.  If you recall, you will ultimately gain more respect by giving up on your unfavourable idea rather than tirelessly trying to pursue your cause.

If personal development is high on your list, check out Business Link’s questionnaire which will give you an assessment of your personal requirements.  If you save your final plan, you will be able to come back to the site, answer a few more questions and see how much your skills have improved.

Don’t wait another year to do the things you want to do – as another year may pass and you may still be in the same position while your colleagues are moving onwards and upwards.  Network, get referrals – do whatever you can to make a good year GREAT!

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How to Get Along with Co-workers Who Annoy You

Everyone who works to earn a living needs to know that there are good co-workers and there are those who just rub you the wrong way.  Even if you’re the most laid-back person on the planet, you’ll come across people who are hard to handle.

Learning how to deal with these types of people is important if you want to keep your job and your sanity intact.

Here are a few tips on how to survive your office nightmare:

Fight the right battles.  Forget about the menial stuff.  If you’re going to sweat over every little thing that irks you, then you won’t last long in the professional world.  When he or she insists on doing a task a certain way you might be better off letting them do it as long as it achieves the same goal without breaking the rules.

Choose your words.  As difficult as it is not to rise to the bait, sometimes you do.  This is the perfect time to practice the art of diplomacy.  Rein in those reactive comments and instead offer constructive criticism and opinions in a tactful manner.  If you need to confront them, be polite when you approach them and be specific on what exactly they’re doing that annoys you.

Ignore them.  If you can’t stand the sight and sound of your annoying co-worker then make sure you have as little contact as possible.  If you sit next to the person, ask to be transferred to a different spot or choose to have your breaks at a different time.  This way you can keep sane and still be productive at work.

The key is to remain courteous no matter how inconsiderate your co-worker may be.  You can be certain that his or her behaviour is being noticed, just as yours will be.

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Influencing Your Office Culture

People say that change is hard, especially in the work place.  When you’re trying to effect a change in an entrenched culture, even if it is for the better, it can be an incredibly difficult task.  It’s complicated, yes, but not impossible.  You must win the confidence of the people you work with and persuade them to go with the change.

According to the book “Blue Ocean Strategy”, creating a “tipping point” in the organisation is a good way to hurdle through the difficult process of change.  By getting key people with a certain amount of influence in the work place committed to your goal, and then having them persuade other employees, it creates a wave that can tip the scales in your favour.

If you’re in management, then you have more power and authority to start a transformation in your office culture.  Start by having a system of rewards.  It doesn’t have to be monetary in nature, just something that can motivate your people to go in the direction you want them to.

For a job well done, you could give your employees additional vacation leave, or a gift certificate to a favourite store.  Even if they don’t say it, workers need to feel that their hard work is appreciated.  You’ll see that they’ll work harder but they’ll be happier.

If you’re part of the staff and would like to change your office culture, then believe that you can do it.  Take the example of a teacher who changed her workplace of haters into an appreciative, caring community of teachers.  She started by anonymously giving positive notes and thank you gifts to the faculty members.  As people continued to receive gifts, they started to wonder who this person was. In the process, they also began treating each other better.

All big change starts with a small step.  If you want change to happen it is up to you to take that small step first.

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Training Courses Online

Have you thought about updating your skills?  Sometimes it is difficult to find the time to attend training.  Sometimes it’s the last thing you feel like doing after a hard  day at the office.

There are a number of places that offer online training courses so that you can do them at home and on weekends.  The course fits into your timetable rather than you having to fit in with its.

Australian Online Training is just one of many online course providers offering similar training opportunities.  It offers short courses in business, finance, management, hospitality, customer service and more.  The business topics include:

• Business Management
• Create and use spreadsheet
• Office Administration
• Organise meetings and conferences
• Personal Assistant Skills
• Introduction to Time Management
• Small Business Basic
• Small Business Start Up
• Use business technology
• Time Management Short Course

You can see how practical these courses are for anyone in an administrative role.  The centre also offers accredited certificate level courses.

It is important to keep your skills and knowledge up to date and online training offers you the chance to do that without leaving home.  If you think your skills need a polish why not look online for the solution?

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Webinars

Just like to say I love webinars. ie. seminars you can participate in from home. I can login from the comfort of my own home with a glass of wine at the ready and soak up the information being presented. When a presenter refers to a website, I can go straight there and quickly check it out and bookmark it for later reference. Taking notes is quicker by typing them straight into a document which I can easily file with other learning opportunities and refer back to.

Unusually, Australians who are normally quick adopters of new technology haven’t taken to webinars as quickly as you might expect. A curious phenomenon. There are all sorts of topics covered by these webinars ranging from e-zine marketing to copywriting to exploring social networking for not for profit organisations to tips and tricks with Microsoft Word.  The technology to make it happen also varies. Two examples are GoToWebinar and Microsoft Live Meeting both of which offer a free 30 day trial.

Some you need to call and login, some are totally via the web some are just phone in (not sure if this really is a webinar, maybe it is a phoneinar!). 🙂 Networking World has some webinars on networking and copywriting coming up.

Would love to hear your thoughts on webinars. Have you participated in a webinar? Have you used this technology to connect with your network or your customers? If so, what technology have you used?

 Here’s to volunteer treasurers..

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