We recently connected with Dr Rob Harter and have shared our conversation below.
Dr Rob, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear you experience with and lessons learned from recruiting and team building.
When I first arrived at my current organization, we had 8 employees. Now, just over 12 years later, we have 72 staff and are still growing. I would say three key things have led to growing our team. First, having a clear mission that you are recruiting people to. A clear and compelling mission is so critical for growing an effective organization or business. I’m a nonprofit leader and in the nonprofit sector this is absolutely critical. Second, living out the mission with passion as the CEO or manager both inspires others to join your cause and motivates them to want to make a difference too. Finally, recognizing and honoring your team for their accomplishments on a regular and intentional basis will help keep your team happy and more committed.
Dr Rob, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a nonprofit executive professional with over 29 years of experience in leading and building nonprofit organizations, leveraging resources and managing organizational growth. I have demonstrated communication skills with both large and small groups as a speaker, teacher and seminar facilitator. I love to provide keynote addresses for groups and facilitate seminars. I also founded and host the “Nonprofit Leadership Podcast”, one of the top rated nonprofit podcasts in the country. I have been a member of and contributor for the Forbes Nonprofit Council. Since 2010, I have served as the Executive Director of CCPC, a humanitarian and community-focused nonprofit organization with a bold vision to serve as a leading networker of community services, based in Park City, Utah. Further, in 2023, I launched my own Coaching business, Rob Harter Coaching and Consulting, as another way to invest in other leaders.
I was really honored to be invited to be part of Harvard Business School’s “Young American Leaders Program” in 2021. I also serve on the Utah Advisory Committee for the US Global Leadership Coalition, as well as the Park City Chamber of Commerce.
I loved serving as chair for the MLK Jr. Commission for Human Rights for the State of Utah as well as serving as the Chair of the Utah Nonprofit Association’s Board. Perhaps two of the most encouraging awards I have received is receiving the “Citizen of the Year” award for Park City this year and recognized as a “Hometown Hero” by Salt Lake Magazine a few years ago.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During COVID the humanitarian organization I lead (CCPC), we had to pivot immediately from the day we heard schools/businesses and workplaces were shutting down. We are the primary food security organization in a two county region, providing food through our two food pantries to those in our region. Additionally, we provide what we call “Basic Needs Assistance”, which helps individuals who need help with rent assistance, car repairs, medical bills etc. During COVID, hundreds of families needed rent assistance, and thanks to the community support, we were able to give out around $2 Million, mostly which went to rent assistance. Finally, we have a mental health counseling center which not only was inundated with calls for help but our counseling center continues to grow in response to the enormous need for counseling services. When this all happened, we never shut down. We remained open during the entire COVID crisis, because we were considered a “front line” response to the epidemic. However, we had to pivot our entire staff, to focus on those three programs: Food Security, Rent Assistance and Mental Health help. As I look back at the thousands of people we served during this time, our team pivoted so well and served our community under the most difficult of circumstances. I could never be more proud of our team.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
What has helped us build our reputation, our brand, has been three key things I believe. First, we consistently follow through on what we say we are going to do. If we set out to do something, provide a service, meet a need, we will do everything in our power to follow through on this. We will do this even to the point where we will take a “loss” on our service costs because we know that trust is being built every time we say we will do what we have said we will do. Second, we seek to treat everyone with dignity and respect. We serve an incredibly wide audience, from homeless individuals to billionaires, and everyone in between. I regularly emphasize with our staff the importance of treating everyone who walks through our doors with dignity and respect, This has become one of the strongest demonstrations of our “brand” to our community over the years. Finally, I would say we have created a very positive experience for our customers and clients to the point where we consistently hear comments from them saying how much they love coming to our campus because the energy and vibe is so positive. Whether they come for a quick smile or an encouraging word, or perhaps a great deal on a designer dress, we strive to provide the positive experience for them. This has built our reputation and brand throughout our region.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.robharter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonprofitleadershippodcast/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NonprofitLeadershipPodcast/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rob-harter-25457313/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/robharter
- Other: https://ccofpc.org
Image Credits
These credits were given to me by permission to use.