Lizzy Mottern

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Transitions Create Opportunities

By Lizzy Mottern, VP of Talent. Transitions are part of every organization’s life cycle. The good news is they are incredible opportunities to rethink, adjust, and become even stronger. We join clients in times of transition in multiple ways: providing interim contractors through m+r interim solutions, helping boards find their next great leader through our Executive Search services, and providing counsel during succession planning, assessments, and strategic planning work. Specific to staffing needs, moss+ross has provided temporary placements since our founding in 2009, and we formalized this service as our m+r interim solutions division in 2018. Our contractor database has a strong pool of 200+ highly-qualified, local nonprofit professionals who understand the Triangle and take great pride in adding value to the important work of nonprofits. These hand-picked contractors work side-by-side with clients, offering their professional experience [...]

Tips for Retaining Talent

By Lizzy Mottern. Your search was successful, and you have hired an amazing new member of your team -- congratulations! Now you want them to stay. Retaining employees requires thought, planning, and creativity -- and has dramatic payoffs. One is financial: it costs about 33% of a new hire’s salary to replace an employee, and for highly skilled jobs, costs may be up to 150% of the annual salary (source: the Society for Human Resource Management). Finances are just one type of cost: employee turnover can mean lost momentum on projects, your organization’s inability to accept new work, and a toll on morale as other employees step in to cover duties of a vacant position. Once you find a person who makes your organization shine, take two proactive steps that help them choose to stay for a while: [...]

Our Firm is Expanding

By Mary Moss and Susan Ross, Co-founders. moss+ross celebrated its 13th anniversary just a few days ago. Our firm has grown tremendously over these years, fueled by the increased demand for our extensive suite of services. In response, as of January 1, we named three longtime senior associates as partners. Joining us as senior managers will be Kim Glenn, President; Lizzy Mottern, Vice President of Talent; and Kate Hearne, Vice President of Corporate Services. Please join us in congratulating them on these new roles. We set a goal when we founded the firm to focus on relationships, not jobs. This deep caring for our community in which we both were born has been rewarded with continued year-over-year growth. As we look toward the future, we reflect on how moss+ross has grown its footprint in many important ways. 220 [...]

The Talent Puzzle

By Lizzy Mottern, Vice President of Talent. Whether trying to hire, re-think a position, tap into new networks, or creatively re-imagine career objectives, we are all working through the talent puzzle. As nonprofits craft strong and diverse teams to fulfill their missions, moss+ross is partnering with organizations to find new leaders, fill gaps during transitions, and provide expertise for special projects. There are some powerful drivers pushing these changes. The number of Americans quitting their jobs is higher than ever. According to LinkedIn, before the pandemic 1 in 67 jobs was remote, and now the number has increased to 1 in 7. Applicants are 2.5 times more likely to apply for a remote job. In the National Association of Corporate Directors 2022 Governance Outlook survey of 250 corporate members, 70% of respondents rated increased competition for talent [...]

A Buoy for the Turnover Tsunami

By Lizzy Mottern. The statistics are staggering: The Achievers’ Employee Engagement and Retention Report found that 52% of workers plan on looking for new jobs in 2021. A study from Nonprofit HR revealed that 45% of responding nonprofit employees indicated that they would seek new or different employment by 2025. Some are calling this the “turnover tsunami.” moss+ross interim solutions helps organizations navigate these transitions.  It typically takes 6-9 months of salary to find, hire, and onboard a new employee.  If someone leaves a job with a $40,000 salary, it could cost anywhere between $20,000-$30,000 to hire and onboard a new staff member. Typically, these are unanticipated costs – and loss in productivity can drive expenses even higher. That’s where we can help. moss+ross affiliate contractors join your team to keep daily operations moving as you work [...]

The Five W’s of Development Planning

By Elizabeth Hopkins, Brooke Jenkins, and Lizzy Mottern. The summer months are a good time to refresh and renew our enthusiasm for the important work we do – and to create a Development Plan for the year ahead. The Five W’s of Development Planning will help you focus on the important elements of your plan. Why Plan? A plan provides common understanding of what is being done, who is doing it, and by when. Development plans: Secure resources for your organization Keep donors connected, informed, and feeling appreciated Ensure the development team works efficiently and effectively. When to Plan? For many organizations, the summer marks the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of another, making this an ideal time to assess what worked well last year and plan for the year ahead. Start early and [...]

m+r interim solutions: Navigating Leadership Transitions

By Lizzy Mottern, Senior Associate. Executive director turnover at nonprofit organizations was between 18% and 22% in 2019. Every five years your organization could be facing a transition, expected or not. m+r interim solutions can support you with an experienced temporary affiliate contractor who can set your next executive leader up for success. m+r interim solutions considers the kind of support you will need and provides flexible, customized staffing solutions when you are facing a transition. We gain an understanding of your unique circumstances, pair an exceptionally qualified interim person to lead your organization, and support that person with the expertise of the moss+ross team. As your organization plans for a departure and a new hire, m+r interim solutions can work with your team to examine opportunities for change. We can help you objectively assess processes and make adjustments, or focus on a special [...]

Expert Extra Hands

By Lizzy Mottern, Senior Associate. m+r interim solutions can fill gaps to make everyone’s life a little easier – especially during fundraising campaigns. Affiliate contractor Deborah Thompson has been working as a member of the North Carolina School of Science and Math development team to support their $50 million capital campaign. “Each member of the NCSSM team already has a very full workload,” says Deborah. “One of the most beneficial parts of my role is that the team knows they can rely on me to drive many of the moving parts and pieces of the campaign.” Deborah adds extra value by partnering with the moss+ross consulting team that was already on the project. The moss+ross counsel team develops strategy and focuses on long-term planning, and Deborah, the affiliate contractor on the ground, helps execute the plan. During [...]

2021-03-19T18:38:20-04:00March 19th, 2021|All Posts, Staffing, Team Expertise|

m+r interim solutions: Look Ahead to 2021

By Lizzy Mottern. People are what make your organization amazing, and moss+ross affiliate contractors have a variety of skills that can contribute to your organization’s success. As you think about closing out the year and looking ahead to 2021, consider a short-term hire of a talented nonprofit professional who can step in on short notice, for as long as you need. Over the last few months, many organizations have reconfigured staffing models and pivoted, some several times, to ensure programs are available for those who need them most. moss+ross specializes in helping organizations navigate transitions. For example, we can provide critical staffing support for a vacancy during a search for an executive director or development director, to lead a special project, or to help build a development operation. In 2020, m+r affiliate contractors worked more than 7,000 hours making an impact in 25 Triangle-area [...]

2020-11-11T03:58:04-05:00November 11th, 2020|All Posts, Staffing|

Working Through Transitions with m+r interim solutions

By Lizzy Mottern. As your organization adjusts and innovates to move successfully through the COVID-19 crisis, you will have opportunities to evaluate your needs and rethink how you do what you do. An m+r interim solutions contractor can provide specialized expertise as a temporary member of your team to help during the transition. At moss+ross, we view transitions – whether planned or unplanned - as opportunities to help clients navigate new challenges and emerge even stronger than they were before. For example, do not put off projects that will strengthen your nonprofit. See our website for a list of project ideas for which an experienced m+r interim solutions contractor can roll up his or her sleeves to work on with your nonprofit. When clients who are facing a transition contact us to explore the idea of staffing [...]

2020-05-22T16:00:16-04:00May 22nd, 2020|All Posts, Staffing, Team Expertise|
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