5 of the Best HR Software Solutions for Nonprofits
HR management (HRM) teams in nonprofits have to be experts in everything. They support employees, mobilize volunteers, handle compliance, and stretch budgets as far as they can go.
It takes a lot of skill. But using the right software can take some of the stress out of the job.
Nonprofit organizations need HRM software that’s affordable, flexible, and designed to handle a complex patchwork of funding, volunteers, and employees. It should support best practices for nonprofit HR, including access to training and compliance.
This is your guide to finding the right software for your nonprofit HR needs — plus, the top 5 HR tools for nonprofits to try.
What Are the Main Challenges in Nonprofit HR?
HR is a complex field in any organization. However, nonprofit HR departments face extra challenges, including:
Limited Budgets and Resources
The number one challenge at every nonprofit is budget.
Many nonprofits rely on grant funding that's often project-based, which means they're in a continuous cycle of applying for funding, implementing new projects, and then figuring out how to wind them up or sustain them long-term.
They're also short on resources from staff to office space. Allocating resources, managing the nonprofit payroll, and assessing value for money takes up a huge amount of time and energy.
With all of that going on, it's hard to justify buying expensive HR systems. And truth be told, many of the enterprise-level systems that dominate the market don't have the features that nonprofits need anyway.
The right HR solution makes nonprofits more effective, without taking too much out of their operating budgets. Some tools can actively improve your impact and efficiency by helping to build a strong data culture where you can make operational decisions based on real performance metrics. Long story short: once you find the right HR platform, it'll save you money.
High Turnover Rates
Most nonprofits struggle to recruit and retain skilled staff. At a time when the labor market's hard for everyone, it's difficult for nonprofits to attract people with lower compensation and few (or no) employee benefits.
However, it is possible to staff nonprofits effectively while improving employee engagement and talent acquisition. There are cultural changes you can make, such as offering non-traditional benefits like remote work, extra time off, or mental wellbeing support.
HR software can also help smooth out the gaps in your workforce management. For example, it can speed up recruitment and onboarding so that you find new hires faster. It can also help with resource and people management so that while you are short on staff, the impact is minimal.
Compliance With Diverse Regulations
Nonprofits are subject to the same employee legislation as other organizations, plus a few extras.
They have to be cautious about grant funding conditions, legally differentiating employees from volunteers, and correctly accounting for donations. They're responsible for safely handling client, volunteer, and employee information. Some nonprofits will also have to take care over safeguarding, privacy laws, or other industry-specific regulations.
Most common compliance pitfalls for nonprofits come back to HR tasks. Unclear roles and responsibilities, missed training, poor communication, or even failing to follow checklists for key operational tasks can all be traced back to an HR issue.
The good news is that HRM software can help you avoid those same regulatory pitfalls. Look for features that help you publish policies, communicate with staff, and track continued training and development.
Managing Volunteer and Paid Staff
Many nonprofits depend on volunteers to increase the impact they can have without blowing up the budget. But there are challenges for HRM, too.
The boundary between employees and volunteers can be surprisingly legally unclear. It's even harder to recruit volunteers than to find paid staff. And, while volunteers aren't compensated financially, you still need ways to recognize and reward top talent.
HR software can support a volunteer workforce by handling different types of employee records, as well as managing shift scheduling, time tracking, and training requirements.
How To Choose HR Software for Nonprofits
Under constant pressure to cut costs, find staff, and keep up with regulations, they need HRM software to simplify HR operations and take some of the pressure off.
You’ll want to look for software that matches your organization’s needs and resources in terms of:
A great nonprofit fundraising CRM will include features like:
- Pricing: First on the list for any nonprofit, your HR services app should find the balance between cost and functionality.
- User-friendly: Choose software that's intuitive, so that new hires can get up to speed quickly and with minimal training.
- Scalability: The platform should be able to scale up if your staffing, data collection, or client base increases.
- Project-focused: Most nonprofits work — and are funded — based on specific projects, so you'll need an HR tool that reflects that.
- Volunteer management: Look for software that lets you set up different types of employee records so that you can clearly differentiate employees from volunteers.
- Grant management: You'll need specialist grant tracking features to keep a record of opportunities, organize applications, and record any follow-up information about expenditures and impacts.
- Integrations: Choose software that will play well with any other programs in your tech stack, such as task management software or client record management.
- Customizable: Your chosen system should be able to document processes, define workflows, and even automate some HR tasks.
5 Leading HR Software Solutions for Nonprofits
Software can absolutely streamline your nonprofit’s HR processes — as long as you choose the right one. With dozens of HR solutions on the market, many catered to enterprises and large, for-profit organizations, it can be tough to determine what will work well for you. Below, we’ll highlight five of the top solutions for nonprofits that may best suit your organization’s unique needs (and its budget).
- Archarina
- Homebase
- BambooHR
- Breezy HR
- Zoho People
Archarina’s ArcHRM is an HRM platform built on automations to help you work faster and more efficiently. It includes features specifically designed for nonprofits, such as volunteer coordination and compliance tracking.
The platform includes a self-service portal so that employees and volunteers alike can take responsibility for their own professional development, benefits enrollment, personal information, and more. Managers get real-time notifications so that they can spot any delays or issues right away.
For the HR team themselves, Archarina has smart workflows and integrations to speed up tasks such as interviewing and onboarding new hires. It's all designed to work as simply as possible, adding new employees and volunteers seamlessly into your team.
Homebase is a lightweight app that combines shift scheduling, time tracking, and payroll in a single place. It also has messaging features built in to support communication within your team, which can be invaluable if you need people to respond quickly on the ground.
The platform is designed for an hourly workforce, so it's especially useful for nonprofits that rely on a mix of volunteers and paid staff. However, it's a little lighter on HR features.
Homebase offers HR advisors and online guides, but it doesn't have tools for professional development or a simple way to keep track of volunteer or employee certifications.
BambooHR is an all-in-one human resources tool designed to help organizations with everything from recruitment and onboarding to performance management. It’s popular with nonprofits due to its tools that provide workforce data and insights to achieve provable ROI.
The software also offers tools to help nonprofits stay ahead of compliance management, operating as a single source of truth and a centralized repository for all compliance data.
Blackbaud’s tools are quite powerful, but the company’s interfaces tend to be on the clunky side. Customization is possible but requires technical expertise. Also, Blackbaud’s various tools and modules aren’t well integrated, so data siloing is a concern (especially if you want to use multiple products).
As one of the bigger companies on this list, BambooHR may be out of smaller nonprofit budgets. However, it’s highly scalable and services are designed to scale with your organization as it grows.
Breezy HR is a platform principally focused on recruitment. It's a good pick if you're trying to scale up quickly or fill persistent staffing gaps.
As well as advertising job roles, Breezy has automated workflows so that you can screen, contact, and make offers to candidates with less effort. It uses visual tools like client scorecards to speed up decision-making, and you can even set up custom hiring workflows so that the platform works according to your unique hiring process.
Breezy also offers some compliance tools for handling applicant and employee data. However, it doesn't offer much else beyond the hiring stage. If you need tools for payroll processing, training, time tracking, or scheduling, then you'll need another HR solution on top.
Zoho People is the polar opposite of Breezy HR. Instead of recruitment, it's all about employee retention.
The platform has a lot of features for performance reviews and talent management, including setting goals, 360-degree feedback, and data analytics. It also offers everyday tools for scheduling shifts, booking time off, and tracking attendance.
Zoho People's greatest strength is its versatility. As part of the Zoho suite, it's integrated with other Zoho tools such as accounting, remote access, and helpdesk software. It's a good pick for large nonprofits that have remote or hybrid teams.
Why Archarina Is the Right HR Software Choice for Nonprofits
HR software is essential for nonprofits that want to maximize their impact. It can smooth out staff shortages, strengthen your volunteer workforce, and handle complex tasks such as compliance and grant tracking.
But with small and carefully allocated budgets, not every nonprofit can afford a huge, complicated solution loaded with expensive bells and whistles they’ll never use.
This is where Archarina’s ArcHRM shines. ArcHRM is flexible and scalable for project-led organizations, designed to provide support through every stage of the HR process. Our smart onboarding reduces admin time, and our automations can eliminate much of the tedious repetitive tasks your HR team could be spending on more pressing tasks. ArcHRM also integrates with Archarina’s other tools, streamlining payroll, time tracking, and scheduling.
Get started with a demo to see how Archarina can simplify your HR processes!
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