News & Events

By Dawn Taylor, Director of Business Development

Earlier this week, our firm attended the 2010 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition.  The conference was full of executive directors and CEOs getting the latest and greatest information regarding the sector, networking and having a good time.

 Four hours into the second day of staffing our exhibit booth a gentleman walked by, glanced at our display then let out the biggest sigh that I have ever heard. I didn’t know whether to run from him or hug him. I did neither. I simply stated, “You don’t have anyone handling your HR function.” With that came a fire storm of words and gestures so fast that I had a difficult time keeping up. It was if he had just discovered water in the desert and boy was he thirsty!

It was in that moment that I think I truly discovered how stressful having the responsibility of managing human resources for an organization can be if you are not a human resources professional. Things that we take for granted such as our paycheck being accurate or getting a fair performance review are seen in a different light if you are the Executive Director or the Office Manager trying to juggle it all.

Later that day a young lady approached our booth and talked about being in the middle of a sexual harassment issue. I asked what her role was in the organization.  She said she was the office manager AND the human resources manager, marketing specialist and membership coordinator. As she explained the situation at her organization and the only thing that I could think of was “lawsuit.” I asked if she had any formal training with regards to sexual harassment or employee relations. She said no. I explained what our company did and how we could assist.  She too exhaled now knowing that she could call on human resource professionals to get the expert advice she would need to handle her situation properly.

It was 11:00 P.M. when I boarded my plane back to Washington, D.C. Monday night. As I sat down to get comfortable for the long flight back, I felt a smile creep across my face. Then I too exhaled knowing that there are a least two organizations that now feel better because Nonprofit HR Solutions is here.