The Nonprofit Human Resource Management Handbook: From Theory to Practice (Public Administration and Public Policy)

As an increasing number of individuals go to work in the nonprofit sector, nonprofit managers need support on how best to build their human resource management capacity. They need to know what systems to examine, what questions to ask, and how to ensure they are managing people in a legal manner and as effectively as possible given their particular resource constraints. Important questions include: Do we have a clear philosophy, one that aligns with our nonprofit mission and values and allows us to treat our employees as the professionals they are? How do we select, develop, and retain the best people who will produce high value, high performance work, and how do we do so with limited resources? How do we effectively manage our mix of volunteers and paid staff? What do we need to consider to ensure diverse people work together in a harmonious fashion? With all-new chapters written by the top scholars in the field of nonprofit HRM, these are but a few of the many questions that are addressed in this timely volume.

These scholars delve into their particular areas of expertise, offering a comprehensive look at theories and trends; legal and ethical issues; how to build HRM from recruitment, management, labor relations, to training and appraisal; as well as topics in diversity, technology, and paid versus volunteer workforce management. This essential handbook offers all core topic coverage as well as countless insider insights, additional resource lists, and tool sets for practical application. With chapters grounded in existing research, but also connecting research to practice for those in the field, The Nonprofit Human Resource Management Handbook will be required reading for a generation of scholars, students, and practitioners of nonprofit human resource management.

Jessica K. A. Word is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy and Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA. She currently serves as Director of the Nonprofit, Community, and Leadership Initiative and Graduate Coordinator for the School. She received her doctorate from the Rueben Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University in 2006. Her research focuses on capacity building in the public and nonprofit sector. Her work has been published in Public Administration Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Public Personnel Management, the Journal for Nonprofit Management, Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, and The Innovation Journal. She currently serves as the book review editor for the International Journal of Public Administration. She has worked with notable national nonprofits such as the Girl Scouts of the USA, Volunteers of America, and Opportunity Knocks on issues related to employee engagement and burnout.

Jessica E. Sowa is an Associate Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs in the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore, USA. She currently serves as Director of the M.S. in Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship program. Her research focuses on public and nonprofit management, with an emphasis on organizational effectiveness, leadership, and the management of human resources in public and nonprofit organizations. Dr. Sowa’s work has been published in Public Administration Review, Administration and Society, Public Personnel Administration, American Review of Public Administration, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, and the Review of Public Personnel Administration. Her current research on high performance work systems in nonprofit human service organizations was funded by a grant from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation. She serves on the editorial board of a number of journals in public administration and human resource management.