Studies on voluntary sector jobs

Staff turnover in the voluntary sector is lower than the national average but when employees do leave it’s often because of better pay packages elsewhere.

These are the implications of two recent surveys, one which asks if organisations have plans to deal with staff departures and another revealing whether they draw up strategies for workers’ pay.

Research by consultancy TalentDrain found that more than half of voluntary organisations have an annual staff turnover rate of 16% or higher, that’s compared to an average of more than 18% for the UK.

The second study, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) Annual Reward Management Survey, found that only a quarter of voluntary sector organisations have adopted a planned approach to pay. This compares with just more than a third of private sector organisations.

“The staff turnover rate for charities is pretty good, “says Natasha Waas, director of Charity People, a recruitment agency for the not-for-profit sector. “We find that people normally stay in the sector for 18 months to two years. Many then go into the commercial sector because the pay is better and they want to get a mortgage but then they often return to work in charities after they’ve done this.”

Waas says most of the sector is made up of small and medium sized organisations which don’t have HR departments. So, she isn’t surprised that that three quarters of voluntary sector organisations have no plan to deal with staff departures or more than half only look at pay annually based on inflation.

People have different motivators for working in the voluntary sector than pay, says Waas. Indeed the CIPD study revealed that nine out of 10 organisations in the voluntary sector provide staff training.

Commenting on the study, Charles Cotton, CIPD’s employment conditions and reward adviser, said: “How you reward and recognise employees sends a powerful message to employees at all grades about what your organisation regards as important. If you claim a green philosophy then this should be reflected in your reward principles, strategy, policies and practices.”

TalentDrain
http://www.talentdrain.com/rs08.asp

CIPD
www.cipd.co.uk

Charity People
www.charitypeople.co.uk