WTOP: 5 ways nonprofits can…
Client Demographics
Client Name: Loretto
Nonprofit HR Practice Area: People & Organizational Strategy
Location: New York
Sector: Nonprofit
Mission Type: Healthcare
Staff Size: 4,000 Employees
Annual Budget: $70 Million
ScenarioLoretto partnered with Nonprofit HR to design and implement a pilot leadership development program for their directors, managers and front-line supervisors. The organization shifted their focus on clinical skill development and recognized that, due in part to the pandemic, most of their supervisors, managers and directors had not received foundational leadership development. The goal of partnering with Nonprofit HR was to create and deliver a pilot project, with the intent to roll it out across all 600 of their directors, managers and supervisors over the next few years. |
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Project Duration: One year
Considerations
- Throughout the course of the curriculum, program participants (particularly the front-line supervisors) struggled with short staffing and events requiring crisis intervention, which sometimes pulled them away from learning/coaching modules.
- Virtual training was not the best fit for these specific leaders, so the Nonprofit HR team had to make adjustments to the initial plan to ensure successful outcomes of the continued engagement.
Solutions
With Loretto’s Learning and Development Director, Diana Wolgemuth, the organization and Nonprofit HR’s experts worked hand in hand designing content, ensuring method of delivery for workshops, checking in on group coaching, and sharing all progress and areas of opportunity with the senior leadership team. This collaborative process led to a robust, interactive experience for the leaders participating in the program. Furthermore, the organization experienced numerous successes as a result of the program.
Manager feedback outlined that the program provided staff with valuable skills, helped them recognize strengths and generated excitement around continual professional growth. As Nonprofit HR’s consultants evaluate and plan for the next successful round of participants, this feedback reinforces the program’s impact and importance.
The engagement also benefited from the partnership of LeadingAge New York, which connected Nonprofit HR to Loretto and supported in delivering content throughout the program. For the next round of workshops, Nonprofit HR consultants are looking to deepen this partnership to ensure the leadership skills and competencies presented in the program are aligned with essential business knowledge on long-term care.
Post-Pilot Update (Year 2)
After a successful pilot program, Loretto enrolled the next group of managers and directors in the EDGE Leadership program. The learnings around the cadence of the trainings themselves, along with “virtual versus in-person” were applied to the second cohort, leading to a deeper impact on participants as they met more frequently (over a shorter period of time) and all the sessions were in-person, with facilitators in the room with them. The result was more engagement with the content, deeper application of the learnings during the program, and overall positive feedback from the cohort participants. Loretto graduated their third cohort in the spring of 2024.
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From the supervisors of program participants:
- “I have appreciated [participant 1]’s commitment to engaging in the EDGE program. He was eager to connect with his peers and find support in finding his footing as a new supervisor. He has demonstrated growth in his own self-reflection, identifying personality traits which will help him define and refine his own leadership style.”
- “I am glad that [participant 2] was able to participate in the class. I feel that over the few months, she has increased her self-confidence, learned about effective communication, and is proud to be a part of the Loretto leadership team. The assisted living dining department is running properly, standards are enforced, and staff turnover has been reduced.”
- “I have seen tremendous growth in [participant 3] as a person and a people manager. She embraced the lessons with enthusiasm and seemed to really enjoy the hands-on engagement. This program is providing valuable skills to help her be a great people leader!”