5 Signs Your Nonprofit Organization Needs an HR Consultant

July 18, 2025

5 Signs Your Nonprofit Organization Needs an HR Consultant

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Human resources is a fundamental part of every type of organization, including nonprofits. However, many nonprofits, especially small or new organizations, may lack formal HR departments and are unsure how to develop them as their organization grows.

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Fortunately, there are many HR experts who specialize in nonprofits, and these consultants can help your nonprofit standardize its processes, maintain legal compliance, and improve workplace culture.

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To help your nonprofit determine if now is the right time to hire an HR consultant, this guide will explore five signs that may indicate bringing in an external expert is the right move.

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1. You’re facing frequent compliance issues.

All organizations with employees are subject to employment laws. Nonprofits that lack dedicated HR teams may have questions about various regulations or even encounter compliance issues, which may open them up to liability.

A few common nonprofit HR compliance issues include the following:

• Challenges keeping up with local, state, or federal labor laws
• Unclear employee classifications
• Outdated or vague employee handbook policies
• Payroll errors

A nonprofit HR consultant can resolve these issues by auditing your current practices, providing direction for updating your internal guidelines, and helping you implement policies to ensure your organization maintains compliance moving forward.

When researching nonprofit HR consultants, look for ones who are specifically knowledgeable about your state, as laws can vary widely, change suddenly, and be highly localized. For example, in 2024, California announced minimum wage increases that differed from city to city, and a nonprofit with operations in those various locations might then need to adjust its pay policies.

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2. Your staff turnover is high.

If your nonprofit’s turnover is higher than the industry average, you may need an HR consultant to help you get to the bottom of the problem.

Here are a few common issues that can result in high turnover that an HR consultant can help you correct:

• Lack of professional development pathways. Many of your employees likely want careers that they can grow and advance in, and if they don’t see ways to move up at your nonprofit, they might seek employment elsewhere. An HR consultant can help you rethink your advancement pathways, brainstorm resources, and develop training experiences for employees who are looking to grow their careers.
• Unclear roles and expectations. If employees aren’t sure what they’re supposed to be doing day to day, they will likely feel disconnected from their work. This also can happen if employees experience responsibility creep, where they’re assigned new tasks but their job description, title, and compensation aren’t updated to reflect the change. An HR consultant can help you take inventory of your team members’ various responsibilities and solidify their roles.
• Poor communication. A lack of communication can hurt all aspects of staffing, from initial hiring to managing ongoing projects. Poor communication often makes employees feel unsupported and frustrated, resulting in turnover. HR consultants can help you reassess your communication practices and implement standards that keep your team connected.

Many organizations, including nonprofits, often accept high turnover due to worries that trying to implement solutions related to employee satisfaction may be expensive or fail to resolve the issues.

However, Astron Solutions’ guide to employee retention specifically calls out a few common myths related to retention, such as that improving employee satisfaction is costly. In practice, many organizations might just need a simple policy change. Or, others may think employees don’t want more responsibility, when in reality, many team members likely want to try new things and expand their skill sets.

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3. You’re scaling quickly or reorganizing.

Increasing your nonprofit’s capacity and scaling up can be exciting, but it also can bring challenges related to pay equity, workplace culture, and other HR-related matters. An HR consultant can help you overcome these common scaling challenges:

• Rapid hiring without consistency. If you know you’re going to be bringing in many new employees, consider consulting an HR professional ahead of time to iron out your hiring and onboarding processes. These experts can ensure you have a standardized recruitment process that maintains candidate quality, minimizes bias, and provides a positive candidate experience.
• Sudden changes in team structures or roles. When your organization grows, employees may suddenly find themselves on new teams or realize their job description has changed. Working with an HR professional helps sort out any hierarchical issues that may cause friction or confusion among employees.
• Supporting new teams and locations. Nonprofits opening a chapter or office in another state or bringing on their first remote employees need to consider new local employment laws that might apply to them and reassess their benefits policies to ensure remote workers receive equal compensation. HR consultants can advise on this.

In these scenarios, an HR expert can be a useful resource for supporting your workforce planning and change management. If you are planning to scale up soon or have done so recently, consider bringing in an HR consultant to help resolve any challenges that emerge due to the transition.

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4. You lack a formal HR strategy.

Nonprofits of all sizes can benefit from creating a formal HR strategy. While some organizations develop practices in an ad hoc manner over time, it’s best to sit down and formalize your processes to ensure you account for a range of approaches and situations.

For example, HR policies can help you manage payroll processes, standardize hiring, and handle workplace disputes, among other vital responsibilities. Additionally, a formal strategy helps you maintain consistent documentation and consolidate HR tasks into a few specific roles rather than inadvertently spreading them out across your team.

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5. You want to invest in a healthier culture.

Nonprofits looking to make a concerted effort to adjust their workplace culture also may benefit from working with an HR consultant. Nonprofit HR consultants can help your organization implement a range of policies designed to improve work culture, like:

• DEI initiatives. While some organizations are backing away from diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, many realize the inherent benefits of having a team with a wide variety of viewpoints and life experiences. HR consultants can help you determine how best to support employees from a range of backgrounds in a fair and equitable manner.
• Corporate philanthropy programs. Nonprofits already give back to their communities, but you can reinforce your commitment to making an impact by helping employees support other causes they care about. 360MatchPro’s guide to employee engagement lists a few popular corporate philanthropy programs, such as matching gifts, volunteer grants, and employee grant stipends. An HR consultant can help you iron out the policies for these initiatives and assess how they might impact your compensation package offerings.
• Employee wellness initiatives. Poor work culture often results in employees overworking themselves, which can turn into burnout and lead to lower quality work and turnover. Wellness programs provide employees with the resources they need to stay healthy and focused at work. An HR consultant can help determine what type of program best suits your nonprofit, such as providing flexible hours, increasing available sick time, or connecting employees to mental health resources.

In addition to launching new programs, HR consultants can help you assess your current workplace practices that might inadvertently be contributing to an unhealthy work culture.

For instance, incentive plans are a great motivator that rewards the behaviors you want to see in employees. However, a poorly implemented plan may cause employees to become overly competitive with one another or feel resentful of individuals who underperform. An HR consultant could help identify these issues, determine the root causes, and suggest healthier alternatives.

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Whether your nonprofit is struggling with compliance or striving to create a more positive workplace, partnering with an HR consultant can help you manage your employees fairly and legally. Start by identifying your HR pain points, then explore potential partners who specialize in your nonprofit’s needs.