Business Skills for Social Work and Human Service Leaders Andrew J. Germak, MBA, MSW, LSW Rutgers University Steven Silbiger, MBA, CPA Top Dog Direct NJAMHAA Annual Conference Woodbridge, NJ – April 16, 2015

Workshop outline Presenter Introductions Trends in the human services environment Business skills that can help with these trends Managing your boss (or bosses) effectively Other “MBA insights” from Steven Silbiger Q & A

Source: Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2014 State of the Sector Survey (nonprofitfinancefund.org) National trends

Source: Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2014 State of the Sector Survey (nonprofitfinancefund.org) National trends, cont.

Source: Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2014 State of the Sector Survey (nonprofitfinancefund.org) New Jersey/New York trends

The extreme case of FEGS

Business activity on the rise A good number of human service organizations are turning to entrepreneurship and business activity to mitigate challenges, e.g. for-profit subsidiaries, sale of goods and services, etc. In New Jersey/New York, 23% of human service organizations indicate that they plan to launch an enterprise in 2014, compared to 13% that reported launching an enterprise in 2013 (Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2014 State of the Sector Survey) Some organizations are taking on more debt and/or high-risk investments – a potentially dangerous situation (e.g. Cooper Union) But, most human service leaders, especially social workers, are not trained in these areas Trends presented pertain to nonprofits, but public sector and other organizations are experiencing similar issues

Essential business skill domains Source: Germak, A. J. (2015). Essential Business Skills for Social Work Managers. Financial management Talent management Marketing, sales, and communications

Financial management Understanding and managing the financial health of your program or organization is paramount “No money, no mission” How to enhance financial health? – Understand basic budgeting Know your revenues and expenses Use proper estimation techniques Be able to build pro forma statements – Understand accounting, reporting, and key ratios Balance sheet Income statement Statement of cash flows

Talent Management A successful human service leader will effectively manage in the following directions: – Downward (e.g. supervisees, volunteers, etc.) – Upward (e.g. supervisor, board, etc.) – Sideways (e.g. professional network, peers, etc.)

Marketing Marketing is more than just advertising – Market research – Marketing plans (includes advertising strategy) – Use of key marketing frameworks STP (Segment-Target-Position) The Four P’s

Sales Sales is the process by which you as the human service leader convince someone to “buy” something from you, for example: – You sell a new program idea to your boss – You sell a new agency policy to your staff – You sell your services to prospective clients – You sell your mission to a potential funder – And so on… The sales process can be internal or external

Communications Among various communications techniques, effective human service leaders are able to utilize the following in a variety of situations: The 30-second “elevator” pitch – Name and title (and org. name), mission, action request The 2-minute pitch – Name and title (and org. name), mission, client success story, action request

In conclusion… Based on my experience as a manager and executive in the human services, mastery (or at least good familiarity) with the following key areas are important for organizational success: – Financial management – Talent management – Marketing, sales, communications Remember that much of this is not taught in MSW- type programs!

Some helpful resources Center for Leadership and Management – academic center at Rutgers bridging discipline of social work with leadership and management through scholarship, training & consultation, and service activities: gement.aspx gement.aspx Network for Social Work Management – membership and networking organization dedicated to enhancing management in the human services: Assoc. for Community Organization and Social Admin. (ACOSA) – membership organization for community organizers, activists, nonprofit administrators, community builders, etc.: Alliance for Nonprofit Management – sponsors an annual conference with helpful training workshops:

Q & A Andy Germak Executive Director Center for Leadership and Management Rutgers University School of Social Work Mobile/Text/WeChat/WhatsApp: LinkedIn: