Recruiting and Team Building the Triple-Bottom-Line Way
Do social ventures have special considerations when it comes to recruiting and engaging top talent? Journalist Anne Field recently spoke to several experts on team-building and recruiting for social enterprises for Forbes.com. One of those experts was Erin Worsham, of the Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University, who pointed out the need for talent that grasps the triple bottom line:
When recruiting, your first filter should be skills, says Worsham. Commitment to the mission is important and a close second, but finding people with the necessary skills is foremost. As for having appropriate commitment, talking the talk isn't enough. 'They should be able to demonstrate they have a real passion for the social or environmental mission,' she says.
In certain respects, the recruiting task is harder, she says, than it is at other companies. That's because running a social enterprise is more complicated than operating a conventional one, since you have three bottom lines. So you need people capable of understanding all that complexity. Not always easy to accomplish.
On the other hand, being a cause-driven business can also be a major attraction for like-minded people looking to do good and make a living, according to Worsham. A recent Net Impact study report found 58% of students surveyed would choose a 15% pay cut if they could work for an organization that shared their values...
