Set monthly or yearly objectives and organise probationary meetings. These are to be advertised as moments where the entire team gathers to assess what has been done and to develop strategies to improve the overall performance of the organisation. Make sure that the assessment procedure has been explained to new members of staff and they are comfortable with it. For instance, if the organisation is small and the members of staff few, they should all be involved in the assessment process. If the organisation is bigger and there are too many people working, the fundraiser’s line manager, the financial manager and the head of the organisation should be running the probationary meeting.
In regards to objectives set for the fundraising team, there could be: to increase the annual donation by x%, to draft a 3/5 years funding strategy for the NGO, to engage at least 3 new donors in the funding activities of the organisation, to attend 3 courses to improve their skills, to improve the relationship with the community by organising at least 1 social event or to extend the NGO network by establishing at least 1 new partnership with an organisation working in the territory. For each set objective there should be a clear deadline, means to measure the performance and ways to assess the overall achievements of the candidate.
During the assessment meeting, make sure that the candidate feels at ease and also that there is enough time to discuss eventual points of disagreement between the examining commission and the candidate. You could ask the candidate to prepare a presentation illustrating his/her achievements, discussing what he/she has learned in the months spent working in the organisation, the main challenges faced and strategies adopted to overcome them. The candidate should also be asked to prepare a speech about his/her targets for the next 6 months to be discussed and approved by the examining commission.
When evaluating the work done by a new member of staff you should consider the reasons behind a person’s failures. For instance, the candidate failed to present a 3-year fundraising strategy because the candidate needs more time to understand the mechanisms of the NGO and how to interact with all the other members and groups working in the organisation to include them in the long-term strategy. This could be true especially for bigger NGO. You should set priorities for the assessment team that will help you making a final decision. For instance, if the assessment team decided that meeting deadlines is a firm priority, this candidate will not pass the probationary meeting. Instead, if the assessing team decided that meeting deadline is not a firm priority but that for new member of staff to understand the internal dynamics of the organisation is, the candidate will have the chance to pass the assessment meeting even without meeting the set target. In other words, it is important to set clear targets and to respect deadlines, but it is also important to be flexible and to assess new members of staff by considering their potential.
