By Térèse Coudreaut, Human Resources Director, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The session, facilitated by James Weinberg, founder and CEO of Commongood Careers, covered the topic of turnover and what it means, both positive and negative, for our organizations. Panelists included Don Aguilar, vice president of human resources at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Rafael Lopez, associate director for talent and leadership development at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and James Siegal, executive vice president and COO for KaBOOM!

James Weinberg anchored the discussion stating what we all know – human capital is imperative to an organization's success. He warned the sector is seeing increased turnover, and with the post-election political landscape settled, music is playing and employees are finding new chairs. On the employers' side, leaders with the wrong people on the bus are rethinking talent pools.

The panel weighed into the conversation.

In 2007, just before the economic crisis, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation went through a significant merger. Reductions in staff followed forcing some employees to reapply for positions. Aguilar shared his organization's simple formula for success: it's about the people. You have to get your talent in the right role, compensate fairly, provide a career path, supervise well and listen to them. If we could, he said, job descriptions would have one bullet point: be effective.

Siegal shared two interesting talent challenges. The first was with the Corporation for National and Community Service, where he served as chief of staff. There, he needed to recruit a diverse set of people who could deal with change, ambiguity and volatility. He quickly learned if someone wants to spend a week negotiating a job description; s/he isn't right for the job. In his current and growing organization, KaBoom! his challenge is to find lots of good talent. When he does, he hoards it. His advice: bring people in even if you’re not clear what role they'll play; if they're aligned with your mission and vision, they'll achieve outcomes. When asked how do you identify and hoard talent without a job description? Siegal replied, "If you can't define the job, define the value the individual brings to the table."

On the challenges of grantee staff transitions for a grant making organization, Rafael Lopez of the Annie E. Casey Foundation emphasized the importance of paying attention and investing in organizations before they're in crisis. He noted five pillars that guide his work on talent: network, attract, develop, deploy, and retain the best leaders. He reminded us, you don't just want to retain the best for a particular grant; you want to retain talent in the sector.

The session ended with a case study requiring participants to think through the "what ifs" of a significant top talent exodus at a fictitious human services organization. It hit a little too clos to home for some of us who could see our own organizations manifesting in the tricky scenario. Luckily, we had the panel to consult.