When you work at a Positive Impact Organization, the WHY is your North Star. Once there is a steadfast why, the HOW is usually not far behind. As orgs age and shift to reach more of their audience, it is perfectly okay to adapt how you serve your community.

We know that the heart of Positive Impact Orgs are its employees. The people doing the work on the ground are the ones that have the clearest view of how things are working and how they may be able to work better. Employees who care combined with leadership that has a keen ability to listen to feedback and utilize it is what can take the org to the next level. 

Here at Digital Mountaineers, we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk. And – we’re transparent about the steps we take along that journey. We are in the midst of evaluating how we work & shifting how we serve our communities to maximize our impact. We want to return to providing customized 1-on-1 service because dealing with tech can be overwhelming and confusing, but when you do it with a collaborative partner, it can feel fun. While we walk this journey of reinvention, we wanted to share a few tips in case your org is looking to shift its HOW. Hopefully these can help you better serve your community! 

Recognize internal pain points

You can’t fix a problem you can’t see. This is the first step and often, it trips up lots of folks. Finding a pain point is actually a great thing – because it’s an opportunity to remedy it so that it doesn’t happen again, thus making it better for your employees and the communities you serve. Perhaps you can have a monthly meeting where folks can attend and voice their concerns. Or, maybe invite your employees to send an email to a point person about what can be improved. People want to be heard, and the first part of remedying a pain point is listening. 

Solution based critiques  

Solution based critiques & shifts have done us well here at DM. It means making creative suggestions like “I think A isn’t working as well as it should be, but I propose we try B to help us all work more efficiently.” Hopefully, your org’s pain point is still at a manageable level. If not, allow time and space for decompression. This is an important step. Afterwards, you can listen to the employee’s experience and try to create helpful ways forward. This takes trial and error and patience. Some suggestions sound great but in practice aren’t as useful as you first thought. That’s okay! You have to continually try new things until a remedy is found for both the employee and the org. Most times, when folks feel burnt out, listening and validating the experience goes a long way. We all spend so much time at work. Let’s make it a place that functions well and feels good. 

Are you executing your org’s mission & vision? 

It’s easy to have a powerfully written mission statement, but are you brave enough to evaluate if the mission is being accomplished? At the end of every year, it’s important to analyze how successful your org was at impacting change via the intended mission. This is an important step because it can allow you to open the aperture and discover ways to help that you couldn’t see before.  If you find that you are happy with where your team is, fantastic! A cause for celebration and reminding folks about the impact the org is making. Keeping the team energized is so very important when you are a Positive Impact Organization. If you find there are new ways to serve your community, how can you make a plan to start these new services? 

How can you level up the way you serve your community? 

Good work is often born of new challenges. How can you help nudge your org into a positive shift in the coming year? Perhaps it’s making your team feel heard and valued so that they are empowered to take ownership in creating new program ideas or adding some fun staff retreats to the calendar. Being a Positive Impact Organization is similar to social media. It’s not just about shouting your message into the void and hoping someone finds value. It’s about creating an open dialogue between you and those you serve. Listen to what is needed and see if it is something you can offer. 

Measure the invisible 

Often in the nonprofit space, many KPIs are measured in tangible numbers, which is great to deliver to stakeholders. But what about the invisible differences you’re making? Those matter, sometimes more than the measurable impacts. Perhaps you encouraged employees to start taking PTO. Has morale improved? Has work felt lighter and more purpose driven? Maybe you work at a Positive Impact Org that encourages you to learn new skills or supports you going back to school. Figuring out how to measure this type of success is critical to making sure your Positive Impact Organization walks the walk as well. There is no point in running an org that serves others if the employees are burnt out and drained. It is unethical and toxic to say you serve your community in one way, but then you treat your employees horribly for the sake of “doing good.” The more we can create & shift into a healthy work culture across our industries, the more it ripples out into the communities we serve to make real differences for generations to come. 

Make your 2023 plan

Is your org ready to make some big changes in the new year? We’re here to support the shift and help you plan for success. Click here for a free consultation. We know that the climb to new levels can be scary, but here at Digital Mountaineers, we make sure no one climbs alone.