What do you do if some team members are consistently overloaded with tasks in a non-profit program?

When we think about workloads, particularly in a non-profit organization, we must first acknowledge that most non-profit organizations operate with reduced capacity and resources, including "people" resources. In my experience as a non-profit leader, combatting overloaded workloads first begins with effective leadership. As a leader, are you modeling work-life balance? Are you efficient in your efforts to maximize your team's impact? Are you engaging in projects and tasks that align with your strategic goals? Have you addressed inefficiency through automation and codifying your team's approach?

Creo que lo primero es saber en que estan utilizando el tiempo y luego evaluar cuales actividades son las que corresponden al puesto y obligaciones para dar los resultados. Esto es sencillo llenado en una agenda cada media hora lo que en realidad se está utilizando el tiempo durante dos semanas y luego clasificar esas actividades y luego evaluar. Lo que he encontrado muchas veces es que las personas de procuracion de fondos usan su tiempo para hacer otras cosas relacionadas con la organizacion pero con con su puesto de obtencion de fondos y con ello descuidan a los doantes y se pierden recursos.

Work overload is a common occurrence in the non-profit sector, where we often operate with minimal resources to deliver our best. I believe that if we cultivate a community of like-minded individuals who are wholeheartedly dedicated to this field and are eager to learn and apply their knowledge in their lives, exhaustion would never be a concern. Creating an open and safe space where people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts can also prioritise their emotional well-being.

Before defining the requirements, it is important to have the right people in the right places. Leadership is all about inspiration, role modeling, skill modeling, encouragement, appreciation, motivation, etc. A heart to heart talk between an inspiring leader and their team members followed by a needed training and development program is the perfect solution for most organizations. Sometimes all that it takes is care. We are simple creatures, and so is every employee, manager and consultant.

In assessing needs as a Supervisor, learning to say "No" to more work is essential. Non-profits have a way of continuously adding more work without adding more staff or compensation. If we are at capacity, we need to say no to the next grant or next ask. Instead, asking ourselves "Are we able to take on more and work within our ethics? Will this strain my already overworked team? Will we have room to be human with sick days, holidays, etc. ?" Asking these questions of yourself and the team will help prevent burnout, keep staff in a world of staff shortages and loss, and enable us to give better services while giving space to pay attention to our overall wellness.

You can do a few things to support the staff member or team. 1. You could Step Up and offer to help or assist on a project. 2. You could recommend that the person ask for help or an adjustment on timelines for projects. 3. You could recommend the person host a hackathon to get help from multiple people at the same time on the same project.

Managing a non-profit program can be a challenging task, especially when it comes to ensuring that all team members are able to effectively contribute to the organization's mission. It is not uncommon for certain team members to become consistently overburdened with work, leading to feelings of burnout and decreased job satisfaction. When this happens, it is important for program managers to take proactive steps to address the issue and prevent it from negatively impacting the team's overall performance.

1. Evaluate the needs of the non-profit program. 2. Examine the workload distribution. 3. Determine specific responsibilities causing strain. 4. Assessment should involve direct communication with affected team members to understand their challenges and gather suggestions for improvement.

Don't assume you know best. Talk to those overloaded employees – are there bottlenecks in the process causing the problem? Are expectations realistic? Is one person being asked to do the work of two? Sometimes the workload itself is the issue. Look for hidden work contributions. Who mentors new staff? Who always organizes team events? These things matter, even if they're not on a job description. Track how long tasks actually take. It might turn out some projects were planned with wildly inaccurate time estimates.

Motivation drives the members of non-profit organization. We check and asses and try to re-assign the tasks by adding more team members.

When it comes to prioritization there is a book I recommend wvery professional read. It's called 'The One Thing' and it will change the way your focus on productivity.

The first thing that I would do is assess the situation. And I would do that, by speaking directly to the staff who is impacted by the overload. Have a conversation directly with the overloaded team member. Try to avoid making any assumptions about the situation. When we do that, we’re more likely to include our bias than anything else. Ask questions and wait for their responses to gain clarity around what the issue is. If you are quickly able to figure out what the issue is, and have a solve, fantastic! If the issue is a bit more unclear, then start with prioritizing and go from there. Regardless, if you figure out exactly what’s going on or not, do something to support that team member in a way that they feel supported. #ImpactfulLeaders.

One of the key components of effective time management is the ability to prioritize tasks. Once you have a clear understanding of the workload ahead of you, it's important to prioritize your tasks in order to ensure that you are utilizing your time and energy efficiently. Prioritizing tasks involves determining which tasks are the most important, which ones are the most time-sensitive, and which ones will have the greatest impact on your overall goals. By identifying these key factors, you can create a prioritized list of tasks that will guide your work and help you stay on track.

After assessing the workload, prioritize tasks by identifying critical assignments necessary for achieving the non-profit's goals, while deferring, delegating, or eliminating less urgent tasks. This approach reduces stress on the team and ensures focus on high-impact objectives. Encourage the team to set realistic deadlines for their work.

Focus on impact, not just urgency. Is that task vital to your mission, or just something that's making the most noise? Can non-essential tasks be put on hold? This frees up resources in the short-term to address the overload. Break large tasks into smaller ones. This makes them seem less daunting, and can make it easier to delegate parts of the work Don't be afraid to say no. Does your team keep getting pulled into projects outside their core responsibilities? Eliminate everything that is not necessary.

Take a look at how work is distributed. It's about understanding who's doing what, how long tasks take, and whether some tasks are more demanding. You might find it helpful to have everyone track their time for a bit. This isn't about micromanaging but getting a picture of the challenges and finding solutions to ease the pressure.

One thing I have found helpful is prioritizing tasks according to urgency and set achievable and realistic deadlines so your team members have time to do the lesser urgent or deffered tasks.

I'm not a fan of "Identify other team members who have the capacity or the necessary skills to take on additional responsibilities." That's part of how you get into the trouble with overloading people. Don't take things off others that are drowning and throw them on people that have more capacity. Go back to the beginning and look at your processes and workflow. Look at the strengths and weaknesses of your team members. Listen to what they love to do, what their needs are, and stay away from knee-jerk reactionary decisions that create stress. We have a responsibility as leaders to be a champion for our people. When we delegate, we need to think about the tasks, the support we are offering, and how we balance the workload.

Efficient delegation is essential for effectively managing workloads in non-profit organizations. This includes identifying team members who have the ability and skills to take on extra tasks, taking into account their strengths and interests. By using this method, not only is the workload spread out evenly, but it also empowers the team by giving them opportunities for personal growth and making meaningful contributions.

Effective delegation is a crucial component of successful workload management in a non-profit setting. Non-profit organizations often operate with limited resources and staff, making it essential for leaders to effectively delegate tasks in order to maximize productivity and efficiency. Delegating tasks involves assigning specific responsibilities and authority to team members or volunteers within an organization. By delegating tasks, leaders are able to distribute workloads evenly among team members, allowing everyone to contribute their skills and expertise towards achieving common goals. This not only helps in preventing burnout among employees, but also fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility among team members.

Delegate the outcome, not the process. Instead of micromanaging, give people the goal and let them figure out the best way to get there. Provide clear instructions and expectations. What does success look like? What resources and support will the person have? Don't delegate just the grunt work. Let people tackle higher-level tasks that build their skills and confidence. Match tasks to interests when possible. Someone who's passionate about social media will likely do a better job of it.

In non-profit there is often an invisible ego-tention between people. They want to feel as they are leaders, especially culturaly-donimated non-profits, where natives feel they are superior in many positions. So people try to show that they can do it all. By themselves. If you are a manager of non-profit. and you see this situation, when one person plays a role of "I can do it", politely ask them to deligate their most annoying duties to someone else. Usually even the most proud person does not like something. Begin with that and go as things change.

All of that as well as leaning into an individuals strengths. When a person feels heard and seen- their talents recognized and their contributions appreciated, they are more likely to rank job satisfaction higher. High job satisfaction leads to more productive and happier people- a nonprofits biggest asset.

Assigning a task to anyone should involve evaluating their training and that specific area. In a fast moving environment It’s easy to overlook that element at an individual or even organizational level. Following up and ensuring they have adequate support is also key to the success of the individual and the overall project. It’s not uncommon with young achievers to try to push through and take on more than they can handle. Reaching out for support is a sign of maturity, not weakness. Good leaders should also have a sense of when personnel are overtasked and under supported. Establishing a relationship with your team underpins the mutual, collaborative, give-and-take necessary for success.

Training and support can help employees develop new skills and improve their efficiency in completing tasks. This can ultimately lead to a decrease in workload-related stress and an increase in productivity. By investing in training programs, you are demonstrating a commitment to employee development and growth, which can boost morale and motivation within the team. Furthermore, providing adequate support for your team can help them navigate complex projects and deadlines more effectively. Whether it be offering mentorship opportunities, providing resources such as project management tools, or hiring additional staff to help with workload distribution, support can make a significant impact on the overall workload of your team.

Folks tend to get overloaded at a nonprofit because there are missing skills represented by the overloaded person. As a nonprofit staff member (domestic violence and sexual assault shelter), I would write grants, oversee clients, fill in for absent daycare workers, and once fixed an ice machine that wouldn’t drain. When someone is overloaded, make a list of their tasks. If other employees do not have those skills or if you would need to pay someone to do the additional work, offer the employee more money.

Supporting and training the second line of leadership is very important. Generally, people wear many hats while working in the non-profit organizations (whether raising funds, managing projects, relationship building with the funder etc.) They need to train and build second line of leadership who can take-up few function rather than relaying on few people or founders. Imparting skills and redefining roles after a certain point of time is important to reduce the burden on everyone.

Investing in your team always pays off! Could cross-training ease the burden? If one person's illness can derail a project, teaching basic skills to a teammate is a smart move. Look for simple fixes. Could better software, templates, or updated equipment prevent time-wasting workarounds? Is there an experienced staff member or volunteer who could mentor a newer employee? This knowledge-sharing is invaluable. Support isn't just about work skills. Is overwork leading to burnout? Encouraging breaks and work-life balance matters too.

When we truly get to know the people on our team, we should be constantly asking (and listening to their answers) what are their needs. This way we aren't giving them the training and development we think they need, but can offer ways to reskill, upskill, mentor, and train them to receive what they want and need. They will feel respected, heard, seen, and appreciated which will make them happier and more productive. Allowing team members to collaborate, cross train, and share ideas openly in safe spaces also increases the team dynamics and can provide unlimited support opportunities.

Did your solutions actually solve the problem? Regular one-on-one meetings are key. This gives people space to share concerns that they might not bring up to a group. Don't just ask how it's going – get specific data. Is anyone consistently working overtime? Are deadlines still being missed? Revisit workload distribution regularly. As projects and team members change, you'll need to as well, to keep things fair. Celebrate improvement! When things get better, thank the team for their hard work in making the changes successful.

A team working well today might need a different approach in six months! Build reflection time into your schedule. A brief weekly check-in on what's working and what's not prevents problems from snowballing. Ask, "what if?" Think ahead to potential challenges – staff absences, unexpected grants, etc. – and brainstorm how you'll handle them. Make sure every team member feels safe giving honest feedback. They're the ones who will know first if a well-intentioned change isn't working out. Never stop learning! Is there a conference, online course, or a more experienced colleague who can teach your team better work processes?

Reflection and analysis of work is really useful to assess the workload as well as impact of the project or organization. Sometime we tend to start few things as a funder's requirement or necessary action at certain point of time but some of them become redundant with time. We really need to take off sometime (maybe in 6 months) to reflect "what" every person is doing and "why" they are doing it. It will also help to reduce work which is not required and will lead to better prioritization. Also, sometime it is okay to let-go of certain work or process if it is not adding significant value. We really need to assess the direction and prioritize to reach the over-arching goal/purpose.

I have worked in non-profits where bureaucracy seems to breed. It is not from bad intentions - it is perhaps due to the need to deliver complex programmes with limited resources. One thing that I recommend is to review the tasks as a whole and ask - is there anything we can drop? There can be a tendency to always add new things but never to stop doing anything. I look at tasks and ask questions like who is the work for, why are we doing this, is it effective, do we need to do it, is there another way to do this? Non-profit workers are incredibly motivated and purpose driven, but without this kind of reflection and adapting plans there might be a risk of burnout.

Having an open dialogue and conversation with teammates as well as funders is very important. It helps in understanding the progress, analyze the impact and create a better roadmap to achieve the goals. It also helps in getting everyone on the same page so that team-members can also support each other. Every person has a limit to the number of balls which they juggle, if they push beyond the limit then it is destined to fall. So it's better to reach-out and discuss. And being a good team player helps in better management as the right support enhances the capacity of the individuals leading to the better management of tasks.

One of the reasons this happens can be that the staff person carrying the heavy load believes that, in spite of the load being too much, they need to keep all of these items on their job description because their job and prospects for promotion will be diminished if some items are removed. A heart to heart talk without judgment is necessary in this case. Which jobs do they believe they should keep? How would they divide up the labor if they had a choice? It’s an opportunity for the organization to share concerns about how they handle their workload as well as for them to share some hopes about the direction of their career, and to come to a mutual understanding about both of these concerns.

When I looked at the list here of topics and the overarching theme, the first thing that came to my mind is this isn't a Nonprofit problem, this is a leadership problem. If we are learning about all of the people on our team, really listening to their needs, and creating a safe space for them to grow, learn, fail forward and thrive, then the result will be that we get to know them better. That also means that we will be able to provide the support they need to feel appreciated and accomplished. When people are over worked, overloaded, and stressed, we as leaders are failing them. We have to lead the way. Walk the walk and talk the talk. People make the difference.

It is important to note that in the non-profit sector, there is so much we want to do to help the people we serve. Some of us are weighed down by this sense of purpose that we do not know how to say no. If and when we spot a fellow team member that is overloaded with tasks, we should review if it's an issue with workflow processes and identify if system implementation may be able to facilitate productivity improvement. Alternatively, it is important for the team to come together and see if the load can be distributed and shared by tapping on each other's strengths and expertise. In the event that it is not possible, the team should review and set boundary to hold off new requests until the team is ready to take on more tasks.

People are always the most important. If things are not going to plan, then consider the “why.” Most of the time the people you hired are good at their job and most of the time your programs are necessary. But if there is an under performing program, it’s a process issue. What do your people need to make the program a success? If they have what they need and it is still not going to plan, then there is people problem. But if they do not have what they need to succeed then there is either a workflow or program issue. Believing in your people and trusting them will 9 times out of 10 equate to success.