Nonprofits attract people who are inspired by the mission of their organization and who recognize organizations rely on staff who, as the cliché goes, give 110%. A certain degree of pitching in and working overtime as needed comes with the territory. While stepping up and taking initiative is one thing, what happens when employees are asked to take on additional duties and responsibilities that are well beyond the scope of their job?

Barefoot and uphill both ways

CharityVillage heard from a number of people who currently work in nonprofits who shared their stories about being thrown into situations they had not expected, based on their job description.

Kristen says, “On my fourth day of a part-time job as a fundraising assistant, my supervisor announced she would be going on maternity leave in six months. My employer had trouble finding a great replacement. Instead, they gave me the choice to take on some of my supervisor’s role. A few months later, I was the lead on the foundation’s first gala.”

Not long after Carolyn began her job, she was asked to do data entry of registration forms for approximately 1,000 volunteers for a building project. When it came time for the build, Carolyn expected to help with construction. However, she says, “When I landed on the ground, I realized no one had managed the volunteers or organized them into teams. I was in over my head but there was no one else to do it so I had to go through all one thousand applications to sort the volunteers into teams and then to manage those teams.”

Numbers sometimes tell the story: organizations with fewer staff often require greater flexibility from employees while larger organizations have more differentiated staff and less fluidity of roles.

Nikki worked in a nonprofit that had a retail operation with too few staff to meet demands, especially during peak seasons. She was also not always sure which expectations were organizational and which were her manager’s. Among extra tasks assigned to her were managing off-site events and festivals, screening volunteers, public relations and communications. She says, “I didn’t mind the work but the way it was on paper and how it played out were quite different.”

One organization that has some degree of built in job-description chaos is Médecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kavya Kumar, internal HR officer at MSF says, “We are an emergency organization. Our field teams are oriented with expectations of what it will be like in the field. Sometimes in the field, tremendous responsibility is thrown on someone.” However, in MSF’s Canadian offices, the situation is significantly different. In an office with a staff of approximately 45 people, “Roles are really clear. Even in an emergency, people still work within scope of their capacity.”

Sometimes, being asked to go above and beyond a job description is part of an organization’s culture. Laura had been with her nonprofit organization for a year when she was asked to write grant proposals. She says, “I didn’t have much experience with this, but they asked me to give it a shot anyways.” At first, Laura thought it was simply that she was new, but after a few years, she came to see that “giving it a shot” was her organization’s approach.

Laura also saw generational differences between seasoned staff who were used to the culture and newer ones who “wanted to get things right the first time.” Nikki, too, was a young staff person so concerned with doing the wrong thing that she tiptoed around trying to meet expectations. She says, “I kind of wish I had run with some of the opportunities a little bit more.”

Opportunity or stressor?

Like many people working in nonprofits, Nikki describes herself as resourceful, appreciating the opportunity to go beyond her job description. However, she adds, “Putting on a professional veneer to manage chaotic situations was challenging.” She usually had to improvise in the moment and afterwards evaluate how it could be done better.

Of Carolyn’s experience of spontaneously managing volunteers, she says, “I was completely floored but because I persevered and made do, it was a valuable opportunity.”

Laura says, “I wouldn’t likely have had the experience elsewhere of having an organization put the same degree of trust in an entry-level person. My experience is also what got me into grad school – I had experience managing tasks that most people my age didn’t have.”

Nikki adds that going above and beyond in a contract position is “an awesome way to prove yourself as an employee and be in the running for a permanent position.” Kumar agrees. “Leaders are people who step up and do what needs to be done. Any organization wants to promote people who go above and beyond like this.”

Good idea? Bad idea?

An employee ultimately has a choice about whether or not to take on additional responsibilities. In conversations about adding additional responsibilities, Nikki says she always came back to her job description as a point of reference. Laura says, “You have to look at what you want out of the situation. Sometimes looking at the bigger picture makes you willing to do more.” Other times, it doesn’t: Laura had a probationary colleague whose contract was not renewed because she often said no to work she wasn’t trained to do.

Organizations also need to consider the risks of asking employees to take on additional responsibilities. According to the HR Council’s HR Toolkit, “Any significant changes to the responsibilities of an employee need to be discussed and negotiated with them and their written consent to the changes should be obtained. Fundamental changes may attract claims of constructive dismissal.”

Kumar says, “We have to be cautious of the legal territory that comes with asking people to assume responsibility that’s way beyond their contract and we have to make sure they are compensated accurately.” While different provinces have different labour laws, the HR Council advises that “good job descriptions contribute to organizational effectiveness by…helping management clearly identify the most appropriate employee for new duties and realigning workloads.” They also suggest actively involving an employee in a job description revision, a process they call job analysis.

Making it work

Kumar says, “A person needs to know what they are signing up for throughout the recruitment, interview and contract process.” MSF encourages new employees to take time to consider and get counsel on contracts before signing them. She adds, “Once they sign, we are cautious about changing terms of contracts – you can’t just make changes. ‘Other duties as assigned’ doesn’t mean anything and everything – the work has to be somewhat similar to what the person was contracted to do.”

If new responsibilities are added, she recommends a conversation with the employee and if the changes are significant, following a more formal process of contract review. Nikki says, “If I could do it again, at the very beginning of the contract, I would clarify issues and roles clearly with my manager and with the organization’s human resource department. That would have helped me to know whether the issues were organizational or local. If it was my manager, I could have gone to the organization for support.”

Sometimes, however, in situations like Kristen’s, despite the fact that she and her supervisor reviewed possibilities before her supervisor left on maternity leave, “you don’t know what you’re getting into until it happens.” In such situations, employees and organizations can help make a situation work, often through mentorship, training and guidance.

Nikki says, “Both employee and organization are responsible to at least make sure there is clear communication about expectations.” She would have appreciated a better sense of how her organization worked, and how her role affected the bigger picture, as well as what resources and support system were available.

Carolyn suggests, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Sometimes they don’t know you need it or are struggling. If you ask for support in a constructive way, people are more than happy to help. If I have said, I want more training or help, it’s always been positive. People also recognize that you are young and wouldn’t have those experiences and that is normal, and that you have skills as a young person that they don’t.”

Organizations can increase staff pay along with an increase in responsibilities, but can also compensate staff in other ways, such as lieu time after busy periods or even a simple thank you. Like many new staff, Laura says, “I was really excited about my first job with a nonprofit. I wanted to impress.”

Wanting to impress can mean saying yes indiscriminately to organizational demands, without asking for necessary resources, support and balance. It can be a worthwhile risk for an individual and an organization – or it can backfire. As Kumar says, “Leadership involves asking questions and being strategic.” Organizations benefit from leaders who carefully add responsibilities to staff, and also from employees who ensure they can do what they agree to do.

Susan Fish is a writer/editor at Storywell, a company that helps individuals and organization tell their story well. She has written for the nonprofit sector for almost two decades and loves a good story.

Photos (from top) via iStock.com. All photos used with permission.

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