PartnersBethlehem Haven

Center for Victims of Violence & CrimePOWER

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem Haven’s mission is to

provide a continuum of care to homeless women that leads to

self sufficiency.

The Center for Victims of Violence &

Crime’s mission is to heal

trauma, resolve conflict & end

violence.

POWER’s mission is to help women reclaim their lives from the

disease of addiction & to reduce the incidence of

addiction in future generations.

Collaboration . . . mutually beneficial relationship between two or more organizations that includes:

• Commitment to shared relationships & goals

• Jointly developed structure & shared responsibility

• Mutual Authority & Accountability

• Sharing of Resources & RewardsReport from The Forbes Funds

“Mutually Beneficial”

Step 1: Identified the Problem

• Growing HR needs• Limited resources

Step 2: Envisioned the Solution

• To address growing HR needs by creating a shared HR department 

Getting Started

Step 3: Who Should be Involved?

• Identified ourselves as the Partners

• Obtained Board approval

• Secured initial Foundation support

• Hired Consultant

HR Director & Partners with consultant Kate Dewey, Dewey & Kaye

“Commitment to Shared Relationships &

Goals”

• Why it worked (and works!)

Initially . . . Trust, respect & mutual likability 

Throughout . . . Operating Agreement

Today . . . History and trust, respect & mutual likability 

The Relationship

HR-C Original PartnersHR Director, Nancy Simpronio, with Executive Directors of HR-C Partner Agencies – Marilyn Sullivan, Rosa Davis and Stephanie 

Walsh

The Goals

• Address growing HR & personnel management needs of the three partner agencies

• Ensure legal compliance & best practices

• Become employers of choice 

• Realize cost savings through economies of scale

Step 4: Conducted a Readiness Assessment

• Hired consulting firm to conduct HR audits of each organization

“Jointly Developed Structure with Shared

Responsibilities”

Step 5: Developed a Plan

• Establish a workable model

• Created a job description

• Agreed on plan for recruiting HR Director

• Developed an Operating Agreement

Planning Cont’d.

• Agreed on Resources & Inputs

– Time ~ commitment to monthly meetings

– Talent ~ each ED took responsibility for portion of the plan (i.e. grant writing, supervision, pr)

– Funding ~ sought & secured $325,000+ from foundations

Planning Cont’d.• Identified Desired Outputs– Hire & Share HR Director– Develop materials, templates, etc.– Establish structure for future expansion

• Assigned responsibilities– Rosa ~ grant writer & keeper of records– Stephanie ~ space & management– Marilyn ~ communications/PR

“Mutual Authority & Accountability for

Success”Step 6:

Implemented the Collaborative

• Operating Agreement described:– our values &

guiding principles– how decisions

would be made– the exit strategy

HR-C received the

People Do Matter Award

April 5, 2006

HR-C wins People Do Matter award, sponsored by the PHRA, in the category of “Work Structures & Processes”

Nancy Simpronio, MSHR, PHR and her mom!

Increased Local Visibility & National Attention

Respect & Recognition/Model 

Increased Funding from Foundation Community

Opportunities to Share & Learn Outside of HR

SHARING MORE RESOURCES & REWARDS

So, where are we now and where are we headed?

Today’s Team

A Strategy for Expanding the Impact of the HR-C

• With additional funding from Richard King Mellon Foundation, we hired consultant Rhonda Schuldt of The Synergos Group LLC to help us develop a business model & plan for expanding the HR-C. (Outline for the business plan developed by consultant follows)

An Expanded HR-C• The HR-C’s Primary Customer– Executive Directors of Nonprofit

Organizations

• What They Need (What we’ve learned*)– HR Audits– Benefits and Pay– Professional/Expert Knowledge– Uniform Policies and Procedures– Successful Recruiting & Retention– Collaboration Consulting* customer research through surveys in early 2008 & executive

director round table discussion in the summer of 2008

What Has Changed?Radically Changing Economic Times 

Current HR-C Members• All 3 have merged and/or grown – increased complexity &

issues that accompany such changes have stressed HR-C capacity

Nonprofit Community• Stress on Employees – as more people seek assistance &

resources to deliver services, organizations need assistance in training, motivating & retaining employees

• Downsizing – assistance with layoffs and organizational closures

• Risk Management – employee stress can increase risk, particularly in human services agencies

• Partnership & Mergers – cultural and programmatic alignment to better serve the community through organizational alliances

Invest in staff development – “Agency leaders must be cautious of the stress being placed on nonprofit

staffs and avoid burnout during this tumultuous time. Workloads must be monitored, and agencies must implement activities to keep staff energized,

refreshed, and current with needs and trends.”• Understanding the Impact of the Economic Downturn on

Pittsburgh Residents and Human Services AgenciesThe Forbes FundNovember 2008

OPPORTUNITY

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities - brilliantly disguised as

insoluble problems.”~ John W. Gardner

Immediate Opportunities

Assist organizations in crisis by helping them thoughtfully address staff

reductions while maintainingcritical services.

Longer Range OpportunitiesStrategic Direction

Missionour purpose, expressed in lives changed

“To professionalize human resources for nonprofit organizations so they can better focus on their mission.”

9/3/08

Strategic Vision strategic destination…where we want to be

“The HR-C will be a premier builder of human resource

capacity for the nonprofit community in

Southwestern Pennsylvania”

9/3/08

Responding to the Needsdiffering levels of need and engagement

Partners – New partners in the “collaborative”– Professional HR function to be present within the organization– HR professional as a member of the management team

Clients– Specific services offered– Short-term engagement– “consulting”

Subscribers– Access to a knowledge bank, updated information related to

HR issues– “Call-In” option for HR questions needing a quick answer from a

HR professional– Community/Network

Potential Offerings

Strategic Next Steps Moving Forward

Contacts & Resources

• HR-C, Nancy Simpronio, PHR– 412.243.7535, x-221– nsimpronio@cvvc.org

• Bethlehem Haven, Lois Mufuka-Martin, MEd– 412.391.1348– lmartin@bethlehemhaven.org– www.bethlehemhaven.org

Contacts & Resources• CVVC, Stephanie Walsh, MSW– 412.482.3240, x-120– swalsh@cvvc.org– www.cvvc.org

• POWER, Rosa Davis, MSW– 412.243.7535, x-213– rdavis@power-recovery.com– www.power-recovery.com

Contacts & Resources• The Synergos Group LLC, Rhonda Schuldt– 412.551.4408– rschuldt@synergosgroup.com– www.synergosgroup.com

• Dewey & Kaye, Kate Dewey– 412.281.9690– info@mccmcd.com– www.deweykaye.com

Contacts & Resources

• The Forbes Funds, Diana Bucco– 412. 394.4271 – info@forbesfunds.org – www.forbesfunds.org