valuing potential

8/4/2019 Valuing Potential

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cpfCITY PAROCHIALFOUNDATION

ValuingpotentialNew thinking on recruitmentand retention of staff in the

voluntary sector

SPRING 2004

A discussion document by Lucy Balland Julia Unwin commissioned by


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New thinking on recruitment and retention of staff in the voluntary sectorVALUING POTENTIAL

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Lucy Ball

Lucy Ball is co-founder of Charis, established in 2003 to

facilitate the creation of new charitable trust funds and

to provide grants administration for grant making trusts.

She has advised on the creation, strategic planning and

policy development of grant making trusts for the last

decade including work with KPMG, the Baring

Foundation, Nat West, Comic Relief, the, the National

Lotteries Charities Board, Scottish Power and the

London Housing Foundation.

As an organisational consultant Lucy has worked withdozens of voluntary and statutory organisations

including the Association of Charitable Foundations,

Community Foundations Network, the Chartered Society

of Physiotherapy, CancerBACUP, the Mental Health

Foundation, the National Youth Agency, the London

Probation Service, the Diocese of London, the Refugee

Council and ABANTU.

PrefaceAt a time when there are high expectations of voluntary

organisations, many are finding it difficult to recruit and

retain the staff they need. This discussion paper looks at

some of the strategies used to deal with this problem, and

raises questions both about the effectiveness of these

strategies, and about the approach taken by voluntary

organisations in an increasingly competitive employment

market.

In raising questions it seeks to point to alternative solutions to

enable the sector to make the best possible contribution. The

paper focuses on the development of recruitment for paid

staff, but acknowledges that recruitment of trustees is also a

live issue within the sector, and will have a significant impact

on the performance of voluntary organisations.

Julia Unwin OBE

Julia Unwin is the Deputy Chair of the Food Standards

Agency.

She has worked in the voluntary sector, local and central

government and in the private sector, and has a long

track record in promoting and developing the public

interest in social policy. Julia was a Charity

Commissioner from 1998 to April 2003 and served on

the Board of the Housing Corporation for over ten

years. She is a member of the Committee of Reference

for Friends Provident, a Board member of the NationalConsumer Council, and is also an independent Board

member of the DTI, and a member of the Audit

Committee there.

In a freelance capacity Julia has been an adviser to grant

making trusts and to companies and has researched and

published on the funding of the voluntary sector. As a

consultant she has specialised in issues of governance

and organisational strategy. As a Senior Associate at

the Kings Fund she is chairing the current Inquiry into

the care market serving older people in London.


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Spring 2004

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ForewordOne of the challenges facing independent grant-making trusts is finding the time to stand back fromthe detail of committee meetings and grant-making sothat they can reflect a little more generally about whatis happening.

City Parochial Foundation has always taken some painsto review progress and to try to identify trends andproblems, and, when we have come across problemswhich seem to have wider implications, we have often

tried to share our perceptions and to invite others tojoin in working towards practicable solutions. Thisdocument is a part of that process.

Over the past several years City Parochial Foundation'sfield officers have noticed that a growing number oforganisations have delayed taking up grants made bythe Foundation for the purpose of employing workersin voluntary organisations. Time and againorganisations report that they have been unable toappoint suitably experienced staff at the first attempt.

Sometimes the posts have had to be re-structured so

that a higher salary can be offered for a part-time postbefore a successful appointment can be made; onother occasions the problem has been retention of staffrather than recruitment. Sometimes really exciting andbadly-needed initiatives have been blighted by thesebasic problems and have simply failed to achieve theirobjectives.

In response to situations like this, the staff of theFoundation undertook discussions with a number ofgrant-holders, with second-tier organisations, withother funders and with trades unions to try to identify

the key issues.

The Trustees subsequently agreed to appoint twohighly-experienced voluntary sector consultants JuliaUnwin and Lucy Ball to take part in some of thesemeetings and to produce a discussion document whichwould attempt to identify the issues more clearly,explore some possible solutions, and, above all,provoke public debate on these important matters.

It is of course not in the gift of a funder the size of CityParochial Foundation to spend its way out of suchproblems nor would this probably be the right solution.What is clear is that, if the voluntary sector is tobecome a provider of public services, as many,including the Government, would wish, thensomething effective has to be done to address theserecruitment and retention problems.

Otherwise such unresolved issues will surely have a

perceptible, negative impact on the quality of publicservices, and the whole of this ambitious initiative toinvolve the voluntary sector will be imperilled.Voluntary organisations have much to offer the publicservices, but they cannot play their part if they areunable to attract and retain top-quality staff.

City Parochial Foundation has a London brief and thisdocument therefore focusses on voluntary sector issuesin the capital. However, it is clear enough that this isalso a country-wide problem, and I do hope that ourdiscussion, which explores some provocativepossibilities and tries to suggest some ways ahead, mayalso be helpful to those voluntary agencies which facethe same problems as ourselves and find no easyanswers to them.

John Muir,Chairman of the Grants Committee,City Parochial Foundation


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Key issuesRetention and recruitment of staff in the voluntary sector is an increasing problemas it is in many other sectors. Serious efforts need to be made to counteract thisotherwise the voluntary sectors contribution to delivering services could beadversely affected.

4As in other parts for the economy, many voluntary organisations find it difficult to recruitand retain the staff they need.

4Many grant-making funders are finding that exciting and potentially very importantschemes are failing to take off because of a lack of staff.

4Many of the solutions available to government, such as a house-building programme for

key workers, are simply not available to the voluntary sector. Yet without some radicalthinking the problem will only increase.

4The role of the voluntary sector as the initiator of new ways of dealing with desperatesocial problems needs to be preserved and enhanced but without the people to do thework this is unlikely.

4Government, which has addressed the funding crisis of the sector with vigour andenthusiasm has still not recognised the need to develop the staffing base of thisimportant sector.

4Funders need to recognise their contribution to the problem.

4Without a response from all players the voluntary sector faces a real crisis.

4Recruitment of trustees is also a live issue within the sector, and will have a significantimpact on the performance of voluntary organisations.

4Ways to tackle the problems amount to fishing in different pool and using a differentrod specifically:

q honesty about motivation to work in the voluntary sector;

q more attention should be given to pay and pensions issues;

q flexibility in terms and conditions needs to be actively promoted developed;

q more attention to job design;

q voluntary organisations need to develop their brands to attract recruits;

q more creativity is needed to meet individual preferences in styles of working;

q broadening the pool of potential recruits;

q adopting techniques such as the university milk round to attract graduates;

q further efforts in promoting diversity particularly among senior levels;

q considering new types of recruits with less reliance on relying on traditional people suchas young and committed graduate;

q consider great use of secondments from other sectors, perhaps through joint approaches

such as a voluntary sector agency;

q improve access through joint working on recruitment to promote the voluntary sector asa career;

q better job structures including fixed term contracts.


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Challenges4If the days of a job for life have gone, do we really

want to encourage people to spend their wholecareer in the voluntary sector?

4Is it a good use of charitable or public money topay the costs of recruitment, rather thanredesigning work to meet the costs of retention?

4Is there a danger that the assumptions and normsof those who came of age in the 1970s are shapingthe recruitment market for those who came of age

in the 1990s?

4Can we be brave enough to offer completelydifferent types of jobs for the 21st century?

Challenges to the voluntarysector

4Where are the voluntary sector champions changingthe way in which people are recruited to thesector?

4In a competitive environment is it possible fororganisations to share their approaches anddevelop new and co-operative ways of recruiting?

4Can the ingenuity and imagination of the sector beharnessed to find new ways of considering theemployment of staff in just the same way that theingenuity of the sector has focused on changingtired, wasteful and de-motivating funding patterns

Challenges to the funders of

the sector4Can new ways of recruiting and retaining staff be

financed?

4Do funders see this issue as fundamental to thehealth of the sector? Or will it remain an extra, andtherefore expensive, addition?

4Can systems funding be adjusted to ensure that theycontribute to a strong platform for the sector, ratherthan eroding this strength?

Challenges to government

4Can the voluntary sector be strengthened through aprogramme of planned senior level secondmentsinto the sector?

4Can the operating environment be adjusted toenable the sector to continue to develop newapproaches to complex problems?

4Are there adaptations to the funding codes withinthe compact which would enable the sector torecruit and retain staff more effectively?

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1. IntroductionThe issue of recruitment in London and the South Eastneeds little introduction. The press coverage of theissue as it affects the National Health Service, localgovernment, the teaching and medical professions, aswell as the civil service, has been extensive. Evenmajor corporate organisations openly recognise thatrecruitment presents them with one of the biggestmanagement challenges they face.

All the major sectors, and particularly the private andpublic sectors, have mobilised significant resource toaddress the problem. They have adapted theirrecruitment methods, have analysed theirperformance, and are focused on responding to thischallenge.

It is much more difficult for the voluntary sector to dothis. It is a collection of small and medium sizedenterprises, which in extremely differentcircumstances, are searching for an ever-widening skillbase; it has been hit by the same challenge, but theresponse has been varied.

As this paper describes, the recruitment problemsfacing the sector are a matter of public concern.London grant-making trusts are acutely conscious ofthe issue because of their own experience of fundingexciting and potentially very important schemes, onlyto find them failing to take off because of a lack ofstaff.

They also recognise that there are obstacles toaddressing this problem creatively. Many of thesolutions available to government, such as a housebuilding programme for key workers, are simply not

available to the voluntary sector. Yet without someradical thinking the problem will only increase.

This paper offers a range of challenges. It seeks todraw attention to the issue, but also to provoke. Itseeks to invite all those involved to apply lateralthinking, imagination and skill to designing a sectorwhich can then attract the staff it needs. The paperspeaks to voluntary organisations as the bodies thatcan themselves think differently, design jobsdifferently, and describe their work in new and morepersuasive ways.

It speaks to funders who need to recognise their owncontribution to the problems the sector faces. And itspeaks to government, which has addressed thefunding crisis of the sector with vigour andenthusiasm, and yet has still not recognised the needto develop the staffing base of this important sector.Without a response from all these players thevoluntary sector faces a real crisis. A sector with sucha critical role to play needs to be able to attract ableand skilled staff. Without these staff it will be unableto renew itself, and may become stale and lesseffective. The role of the sector as the initiator ofnew ways of dealing with desperate social problemsneeds to be preserved and enhanced. Without thepeople to do the work this is unlikely.

Focus of the paper

This paper describes the experiences of small andmedium sized voluntary organisations in London. Itfocuses on the smaller, frequently local, organisationsthat are supported by City Parochial Foundation and

which find their path to development blocked by theinability to recruit and retain the staff they need.

National initiatives led by ACEVO on the developmentof a Leadership Academy, and the work done byNCVO on the sustainable funding environment, aswell as work to address quality standards, provide thebackcloth for this paper which focuses on thechallenges facing organisations operating in Londonand the South East.

OriginsThis is a discussion paper, not a piece of primaryresearch. It is based on a wide range ofconversations, both formal and informal, seeking toidentify the challenges faced in recruiting staff in thevoluntary sector, and exploring some of the moreradical strategies that could be deployed to overcomethese challenges.

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Discussions with trustees and staff from across thevoluntary sector, and extensive discussions withindividuals with experience of recruiting within andfor the voluntary sector have informed thedevelopment of the paper. The principal ideas werediscussed at a seminar organised by City ParochialFoundation in the winter of 2003, which in turn drewheavily on work commissioned by the BaringFoundation in 2001/2.

This seminar involved the active engagement offunders, both voluntary and statutory, umbrellaorganisations and trades unions involved in organisingin the voluntary sector.

Structure

The discussion paper sets out a range of challengesand issues facing the sector in terms of recruitmentand retention of staff. It then considers the strategiesavailable under two headings:

4Using a different rod identifying differentapproaches to attracting and keeping staff

4Fishing in a bigger pool identifying the ways inwhich the range of potential candidates could beexpanded

This paper proposes a range of strategies under eachheading, considers the pressures on them, discussesthe issues affecting recruitment under these headingsand concludes with some challenges for both thesector and its funders.

Background

The voluntary sector is being called upon to play alarger and more significant role both in the delivery ofpublic services and in building a strong civil society.Many parts of the sector are energised by this call,and are indeed enthusiastic to make an ever greatercontribution.

However, in all parts of the voluntary sector thisgrowing crisis in recruitment is reported. Voluntaryorganisations, of all types and sizes, are finding itdifficult to fill the jobs they advertise, and are dealingwith a high level of turnover. The problem isparticularly acute in London and the South East andthis paper was commissioned by City ParochialFoundation to explore the challenges and theopportunities.

The impetus for the paper has been the recognitionby a number of grant-making trusts that their fundingintentions are being frustrated by the lack of skilledand appropriate people to do the work. All too oftenfunders respond positively to well considered andimaginative proposals only to find that these plansfalter, or indeed fail, because of problems withrecruiting the right staff.

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Imagine for a moment agathering of trustees and chiefexecutives. While everyone isengaged with the big macrodebates about the future of thepublic service, the need togenerate diverse sources offunding and the challenge ofprotecting organisationalindependence, the almostunspoken worry is aboutfinding the people to do thejob.

At all levels the same lament,or a variation on that lament, isheard. Trustees are concernedthat they will not be able to filla chief executives post. They dearly want to appointa visionary and charismatic leader, who can mobilise avolunteer workforce, speak with authority on theBBCs Newsnight and comply with the regulatoryframework. They fear they will be forced to appoint

someone who disappoints on all counts. They fearthat the choices will be too limited.

Equally, chief executives worry about filling the postof development managers. They secure the fundingwith the anxiety at the back of their minds that theywill not be able to attract the right sort of person.And project managers know that in the search forreally committed care workers they are in directcompetition with better funded hospital trusts offeringbetter packages and less stress.

At the same gathering, the chief executivesacknowledge that their role is becoming increasinglyuntenable and the notion of developing a portfoliocareer starts to seem very much more attractive.

In the next door room a group of funders of thesector are gathered. They too believe that thevoluntary sector has an enormous contribution tomake. They are enthused and excited by the ideas infront of them, and yet they know, with certainty borne

of long experience, thatnone of the proposals theyare considering will workif the people are not thereto fill the roles.

They also know, in alltheir experience offunding voluntaryorganisations, that the keydeterminant of success isnot the robustness of thebusiness plan, or theglittering array of support,but the qualities andabilities of the personappointed to the job.

The problem they all worry about is recruitment.They know that this apparently unglamorous concernhas the potential to destabilise the whole sector. Inthe next few years, it will require urgent attention ifany of the voluntary sectors ambitions are to be

realised.

Recruitment is the singlebiggest problem facing our

sector. We dont talk about itbecause we dont know what to

do about it. We dont knowwhat to do about it because we

dont really understand it.Chief executive of largeservice-providing charity

2. The issue

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There is, of course, a considerable body of researchon the pressures and problems affecting recruitmentinto the public service. One of the crucial pressurepoints is the supply of housing. Research publishedby the Halifax Building Society in February 2004drew attention to some of the financial pressures onpublic sector workers, pointing out that:

4Public-sector workers such as teachers and nurseshave been priced out of the housing market inmore than half of Britains urban areas.

4Such workers cannot afford to buy an average-priced house in more than 60 per cent of thecountrys 634 principal cities and towns, showingthat the problem is no longer confined to the SouthEast and London.

4House prices are rising faster than public-sectorpay, with the average house price in 80 per cent ofthe towns analysed being in excess of 100,000.

4Comparing average salaries and house prices, the

survey showed that 496 towns (78 per cent) areunaffordable for nurses. Police officers cannotafford to buy a house in 400 towns (63 per cent),

while 390 (62 per cent) are now unaffordable forteachers.

4The average price for a house in Britain in the lastquarter of 2003 was 139,716, almost six times theaverage salary of nurses and fire-fighters. Forteachers on an average salary of 30,274, the houseprice to earnings ratio was 4.61, and for policeofficers it was 4.44.

4According to the Office of National Statistics, theaverage salary for nurses is 24,000, while policeofficers earn 31,450 and fire-fighters 23,546.

In response to these figures, and to many othersimilar pieces of research, an energetic and wellresourced programme targeting key workers has beendeveloped by government and public sector agencies.The funding available for key worker housing,particularly in the capital, has enabled thedevelopment of specially allocated housing in nearlyall London boroughs.

3. The context

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The NHS, through its Workforce programmes, hasfocused both policy attention and considerablefinancial resource on the practical measures that canenable young nursing, medical and other staff to takeup positions in London. Simultaneously, theMetropolitan Police and the education authorities havedeveloped extensive programmes of housing andother incentives to enable people to take up theseroles.

For the voluntary sector two separate sets of issuescan be identified. Firstly there are issues related tothe sector itself. On the one hand, individualorganisations and the sector itself need to design themechanisms that will attract and keep the rightpeople. On the other hand, there is a strong, andvalid, sense that it is not right that individuals shouldprofit excessively from their work within the sector.

The tension between these two pressures provides thecontext for this discussion paper. There are also issuesabout the sector in relation to other sectors. With thelevel of support now available to encourage people

into the public service, it may well be that thevoluntary sector finds itself in competition with anincreasingly well-resourced public sector in pursuit ofthe same talented and committed individuals. Thispaper seeks to describe the ways in which thevoluntary sector can offer an attractive, andcompetitive, recruitment market.

In the voluntary sector the problem is by no meanseasily defined. There are a number of ways ofdividing the issues. Firstly there are differences withintheworkforce.

1. At the level ofbasic grade staff

those offering


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4Are there differences in recruitment and retention

problems?

4Do service delivery organisations working directlywith service users find it more difficult to recruitstaff, and so mirror the dilemmas in the publicsector?

4Does the passion for the issue and the desire to bepersonally involved outweigh this?

Policy development organisations, or those concernedwith offering infrastructure support, may seem moreremote from the service. On the other hand, they canoffer their staff apparently more comfortableconditions, and in some cases the opportunity to havea real influence.

The third means of analysing the sector is by the sizeof organisation. Large organisations can offer moresupport, and sometimes even the opportunity forprogression. But sometimes they may seeminsufficiently distinguishable from their public sectorrivals in the recruitment marketplace. Equally, insmall organisations staff may have more opportunityto influence the direction of the organisation, and may

therefore feel more of a sense of motivation, whileforegoing the opportunity to develop a career withina larger organisation.

caring or support services directly to clients,

frequently without a professional qualification. At thislevel the voluntary sector market mimics the publicservice market, where there are significant and well-documented problems recruiting staff to basic gradeor support functions, and these difficulties are thesame in local authorities, health authorities and the

voluntary sector. ( Future Imperfect,The Kings FundInquiry)

4Are there particular measures that could make iteasier for the voluntary sector to recruit to thislevel?

4Where do they find their competitive edge?

4What will be the experience of public sector frontline workers if and when their jobs are transferredto the voluntary sector under TUPE arrangements?

2. Middle managers and project developmentstaff a seminar at the Baring Foundation in 2002reported particular difficulties in recruiting to thislevel, and it has been the experience of funders in thesector that these jobs are hard to fill. There alsoseems to be very high turnover in some parts of the

sector.

3.The most senior posts in the organisation,whether termed manager or chief executive. Thereare anecdotal reports of a range of difficulties withthese posts. They can be difficult to fill, and trusteessay they believe they are selecting from too narrow afield. At the same time, there is a concern at therapid turnover at some levels in these jobs, withcomments about the job simply becoming much moredifficult and demanding at a time when thosepotential recruits consider the benefits do notoutweigh the disadvantages. And there are alsoconcerns about the chief executives who have stayedtoo long.

The second way of dividing the issue is by thetype of organisation. A review of theorganisations funded by CPF, and by a few otherLondon grant-making trusts, indicates that,although some organisations encompass bothfunctions, it is still possible to divide organisations aspredominantly service delivery organisations, orpredominantly policy or second tier organisations.

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This paper has described an urgent problem as onethat threatens us all. Is this simply alarmism? Whodoes it threaten? Does it matter if the voluntary sectorloses staff to other providers of public services?

Threats to Government a core feature of currentgovernment policy is to work closely with the

voluntary sector both to improve the delivery ofpublic service and to build strong communities. Ifthese voluntary organisations are not able to attract orretain staff of the necessary quality the contractdelivery will be poor. This will imperil the success ofthe strategy.

Threat to the voluntary sector many national andlocal voluntary organisations have taken ongovernment contracts to deliver services, and manyare basing their current business plans on their abilityto do so. If they are unable to recruit and retain staffwith sufficient skill, this will endanger the fundedproject, and may well have a greater impact on the

reputation of the organisation itself, and on the sectoras a whole. Contract conditions will be tightened orcontracts may be lost, resulting in a loss of reputation,of funding and, possibly, of identity. The reputationof the voluntary sector amongst the community andamongst its funders may be damaged. Willindependent funders fund organisations that havefailed to get contracts because they are too expensiveor which have lost them because they have lost keystaff or failed to recruit?

Threat to grant-making trusts all independent

funders experience periods in which projects andfunding are frozen while replacement staff arerecruited. This is particularly crucial in schemes thatare starting up and where there is a strong element ofinnovation and monitoring and evaluation. Trusteesbecome wary of agreeing funding where it cannot beguaranteed that the scheme will start and finish to theagreed timetable because of recruitment and retentiondifficulties. These sorts of failures may lead totrustees becoming risk-averse.

Threat to the users of voluntary sector servicesthe voluntary sector in London has the potential toreach the poor and deprived communities of Londonmore effectively than either the public or the privatesectors. However, inadequately skilled and motivatedworkers do not provide the best services for poor anddeprived communities in London.

4. Why does this matter?To whom does it matter?

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Voluntary organisations do not exist in isolation. Justlike all other sectors they are both a product of thefinancial structures that shape and define them, and toa certain extent the regulatory environment in whichthey operate. They are also, perhaps even more thanother sectors, moulded and influenced in theirbehaviour by public perception and views.

The funding environment

Although the funding of the voluntary sector isimmensely varied, common features are that it isfrequently uncertain, nearly always complex tomanage, and usually provided by a number ofdifferent sources.

Most voluntary organisations of whatever size, butparticularly the small and medium sized organisations,are funded by a mixture of relatively short term grantsfor particular projects, and possibly contracts forservice delivery. The role of the trustees and seniorstaff is to reconcile this uneven and apparentlyunstable funding base with the need to provide astable service and a sound platform for recruiting andretaining staff.

The prevalence of short term funding for projects isfrequently cited as one of the reasons for the difficultyin finding appropriate staff. In a three year fundingperiod it can take six months to recruit the rightperson, a further six months to get their activities fullyoperational, and then, before the third year begins,the post-holder is inevitably seeking alternativeemployment. The cost to the sector and to its funders

of false starts and aborted projects has not beenquantified, but, if the anecdotes are to be believed, itis significant.

The complexity of the funding environment also hasimplications for the role and task of senior staff.Repeatedly, the challenges of grant and contractcompliance were cited as reasons for the exhaustionand dissatisfaction of senior staff. Juggling theexpectations of different and, occasionally,contradictory funders is part and parcel of the role ofthe senior staff member in a small voluntaryorganisation.

5. The impact of the environmentIt is not, however, normally the reason they weremotivated to apply for their job in the first place.This dissonance between hopes and aspirations, andthe reality of the funding environment, is seen as oneof the key challenges for these roles.

The regulatory environment

The regulatory environment also plays its part in

influencing the recruitment and retention of staff. Forgood reasons charitable organisations must only applytheir resource to meeting their own charitable objects.Enhanced salary packages, golden hellos and otherfinancial inducements are normally seen asinappropriate ways of spending charitable money.

Trustees rightly feel they are under an obligationto maximise the funds available for direct charitablepurposes, and yet they also know that they areoperating in a competitive environment in which theconditions offered to staff will mean real and tangibledifferences to their ability to recruit. The regulatory

environment extends beyond charitable law.

Housing organisations are restricted in the extent towhich they can offer housing to their staff as part ofan incentive package. Care organisations need toaccount for the ways in which they recruit and retainstaff.

While these regulations are all important checks toprotect both the integrity of the organisations, theirresources and, crucially, the well-being of serviceusers, the regulatory environment does inhibit

managers from using maximum flexibility in therecruitment and retention of staff.

The public interest in thevoluntary sector

These restraints are in place in part because of thevulnerability of the users of voluntary sector services,but also because of the critical role played by publicattitudes to the voluntary sector. The sector has areputation for operating from a firm values base,

acting in a way that demonstrates that the onlybeneficiary of the voluntary organisation is the serviceuser themselves, and that staff and trustees do notbenefit excessively.

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All the research illustrates that retaining high levels ofpublic trust and confidence is essential if the sector isto thrive. Once suspicion develops about themotivations of the sector, and in particular any sensethat individuals are motivated by greed or self-interest,the future of the sector is jeopardised. It is thereforean important part of the environment that voluntaryorganisations, in seeking to address the recruitmentcrisis, attend to the concerns of the public and theirattitudes to the sector.

These three aspects of the environment the fundingenvironment, the regulatory environment and theenvironment of public opinion have a major impacton the extent to which the voluntary sector canaddress the recruitment crisis it is now facing.

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What draws people to work in any sector? What arethe incentives and attractions? What offers arevoluntary organisations making when they start theprocess of recruitment?

Passion

Traditionally people have been drawn to work in thevoluntary sector by a passion for the cause, and by a

feeling that the voluntary sector offered the primaryvehicle for making a contribution to the community.Even a cursory glance at the job advertisementsdemonstrates that this is no longer the province of thevoluntary sector alone.

Advertisements for organisations as diverse as theMetropolitan Police and Shell offer the opportunity tomake a contribution to the community. Organisationscompeting for applicants in the graduate market areparticularly conscious of the need to demonstrate thattheir organisations offer applicants the opportunity tomake such a contribution.

For many people in the voluntary sector, a passion tochange the world or meet particular needs wasundoubtedly a motivator in first applying for a role.The fact that the organisation was in the voluntarysector was largely coincidental. The motivation wasthe cause.

However, with much more movement betweensectors, particularly between the public and voluntarysectors, the value of passion and commitment is nolonger only found in the voluntary sector, and indeed

other organisations searching for staff are clearlyseeking to attract people on the basis that they couldfulfil a desire to make a difference in other settings.

The very different interests that motivate peoplerequire further analysis. While for some the desire to

work closely with a particular client group may beattractive, for others the ability to influence policy at ahigh level may be just as important. Again, some

value the high media profile that some voluntarysector jobs offer, while others are motivated more bythe chance of closeness to particular communities.Honesty both about these motivations, and about theoffer that any particular job makes, will be animportant component in making recruitment in thesector easier.

6. Using a different rodExample recruitment literature fromthe Metropolitan Police

Londons Metropolitan Police Service isrecognised as one of the worlds finest.Responsible for policing an area of 620 squaremiles and a population of 7.2 million, the Metemploys well over 35,000 people who worktogether to achieve the goal of making Londonthe safest major city in the world. As we

embark on the 21st century, London is morecrowded and multicultural than ever before.While this makes for an exciting melting pot ofnationalities, faiths, backgrounds andpersuasions, it also presents the Met with aunique and uniquely rewarding set ofchallenges. The variety of roles and experienceavailable through working for the Met mirrorsthe diversity of the communities we serve.Armed with the very best in training and withthe latest technology at your disposal, you couldplay an important part in creating a city to be

proud of. If you are interested in contributing tothe efforts of the Metropolitan Police Service working with and for your community, as well asits visitors please feel free to explore the restof this website. Or drop in to our friendlycareers office, located at New Scotland Yard.

Challenge to the sectorCan the voluntary sector do more to promote jobopportunities as offering a chance to make a realdifference? Is there a risk that the moreprofessional voluntary sector brand has made itdifficult for the sector to promote itself as a placewhere people with a passion for social change can

flourish?

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Pay and pensions

In preparing this paper we have encountered moreanger, emotion and confusion on the issue of paythan on anything else. People working in thevoluntary sector assert that they would not beworking there for the money. Almost universallythere is an assumption among them that pay levelsare lower than the equivalent roles in the public orprivate sectors.

While stating that they are personally not motivatedby pay, they have a tendency to lament the fact that

others now coming into the sector, apparently findlower pay a barrier to entry. At the same time theyresist recommendations which suggest higher pay isthe answer.

In truth, the issue of pay is probably more complexand more varied. While undoubtedly some voluntarysector roles pay less well than some apparentlycomparable public sector roles, equally some arerather better paid.

It may be useful to consider the two differingperspectives on reward that this paper has

highlighted. There is the perspective of the applicant,and the extent to which s/he is likely to be influencedin their choices by remuneration. And there is theperspective of the organisation, and the extent to

which it believes that there is justification forspending scarce resources attracting individuals.

There is, of course, a significant literature reviewingthe extent to which people are influenced byremuneration in their search for work. As in all othersectors individuals coming to work in the voluntarysector have a number of different and frequently

contradictory attitudes to pay.

What does seem clear is that these attitudes change atdifferent stages of peoples lives. For example, anumber of senior recruits to the sector already havecommercial or other pension arrangements in place,and for them the level of remuneration may be lessdetermining than for someone at a different stage oflife.

However, the levels of pay do have an influence onthe range of people willing and able to apply for rolesin the voluntary sector. Salaries set below marketrates will attract people for whom salary is either notperceived as an important factor, or those for whom itis not the only income. This narrowing of the poolfrom which people are recruited is a serious inhibitorfor the sector.

Pay is also important because it forms part of

perception. Many observers of the sector, includingthose professionally engaged in recruiting into thesector, reported that low pay is an assumed norm forposts in the voluntary sector, and that candidates fromoutside will frequently reject the sector as a source ofpossible jobs because they believe, rightly or wrongly,that the pay will be inadequate.

A rough survey of posts advertised in the broadsheetpapers in the first month of 2004 revealed that thepicture is, in truth, much more complicated. Levels ofpay vary enormously between advertised posts, but itis hard to draw the conclusion that the voluntarysector, particularly in London, is paying any less wellthan the public sector.

What is different is the other advantages that comewith pay. Whitehall recruitment offers careerprogression and a degree of security of tenure, eventhough the pay does not compete with similar postsin the sector. Equally senior posts in the voluntarysector are advertised with very different levels of pay,but even the best paid tend to lack the supportstructure that senior posts in the health service orlocal government offer.

A critical difference between the sectors, especially ata senior level, is compensation for severance. Whilerapid turnover in the senior jobs in the public sectoris well documented, there is scope for compensationwhen relations sour. The voluntary sector, partlybecause of its income base, and partly because of theregulatory environment, is not able to offer these sortsof compensation packages, and this may well be adisincentive to those who believe they are taking arisk in joining a voluntary organisation at a seniorlevel.

15

Challenges to fundersFunders need to consider whether paying theadditional cost of recruiting the right individual is asuitable use of their funding. They also need todevelop policies about meeting the costs of pensioncontributions and other salary enhancements.


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Perks conditions of service

The need to attract people back into the workplacehas created a real interest in different terms andconditions for staff at all levels in a wide range oforganisations. Part time working, term time workingand flexible arrangements are all widely advertisedacross the public sector. Specific NHS campaigns toencourage clinicians back to work have highlightedthe possibilities of working in different ways, andacross Whitehall, in policy jobs, there are a growingnumber of senior people working very differentlyfrom their predecessors. Equally, organisations are

experimenting with offering sabbaticals as a rewardfor long service.

While it is rare for voluntary organisations to advertisethat flexible working is available, many voluntaryorganisations do actually offer it in practice. In termsof attracting people to work in the sector it may benecessary to formalise some of these advantages andpublicise the possibility of different working patterns.

For some organisations the cost of offering flexibilitypresents a real barrier. However, losing staff or failingrepeatedly to make good appointments costs

organisations dear. It may be that by restricting thebudget required to retain staff, voluntary organisationsare instead using scarce charitable funds on repeatedrecruitment exercises.

Conditions of service go far beyond working hoursand leave arrangements. The physical conditions inwhich many voluntary organisations are housed areunattractive and uncomfortable. Although this isfrequently a result of costs, it may also reflect anattitude to the organisation which is part of theculture of the sector and is unhelpful in attracting new

people.

Recruitment consultants report that the imagepotential candidates have of the voluntary sector isfrequently coloured by the poor physical workingconditions and the lack of good support. In manyways these voluntary organisations are similar to smalland medium enterprises that cannot offer the packageof support provided by large institutions.Nevertheless, small and medium enterprises,particularly in the growing creative industries, areincreasingly developing good conditions for staff inorder to enable them to recruit in a very tight anddifficult employment market.

In Whitehall it is now commonplace for very seniorofficials to work part time. This is not nowapparently any bar to progression and indeed SumarChakrabarti, on his appointment as PermanentSecretary at the Department for InternationalDevelopment, announced the fact that he would beadjusting his hours in order to spend time with hisfamily.

Job design

In an earlier piece of work for the Baring Foundationon the role of chief executives in small and mediumsized organisations, many respondents commented onthe sheer difficulty of their roles. They were nowexpected to operate on so many different levels, andtake such wide ranging responsibility, that many feltthat their job was simply not attractive anymore, andwere either contemplating leaving or recognising thatthey would be hard to replace.

Many of the senior staff who contributed to this papercommented on the significant pressures created by the

funding and regulatory environment. Jugglingdifferent systems of funding compliance, a package ofdifferent funding periods as well as an increasedregulatory and inspection regime, has contributed tothe pressures experienced by senior staff. At thesame time many report that the demands of workingin partnership with other agencies, while desirable initself, is stretching their capacity and skills.

Much of the voluntary sector has adopted amanagement model, with associated job descriptions,that is based on many aspects of the civil service orlocal government. This style assumes a pyramid

structure for management, with accountability forpolicy development and for delivery ending in theapex. At a time when these major employers arechanging their style of management, and seeking tofind and promote new models of leadership, thisapproach needs at least to be reconsidered.

Challenge to the voluntary sectorEach role in an organisation needs to be consideredafresh at the time of a vacancy. Are there differentways in which the function can be structured?

Could the organisation afford to employ someadditional support, possibly even on a temporarybasis, to enable the design of the particular job toreflect the reality of the current environment?

EXAMPLE

16


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Spring 2004

The requirement of heading the professional service

of any organisation, as well as running the business, isa taxing combination. Theatres are run by anexecutive director with an artistic director. Healthcentres increasingly have a practice manager workingalongside senior clinicians. Law firms will retain ahead of chambers.

Do these models of dual accountability offer anythingfor the voluntary sector? Are there ways in which thecomplex and demanding funding and regulatoryenvironment can be responded to through a new wayof defining and developing the roles at the seniorlevel?

More radically still, are there ways in which someorganisations can share their business managementwork, allowing a separate organisation to deliverservices, or develop policy, while a shared resourcefunction offers the company secretary, and financialmanagement functions?

The effect of the programme of ModernisingGovernment is to make the management of publicservices much more responsive to consumer needs,and it does this through encouraging delegation of

decision making as far as possible, and by enabling amuch more flexible working environment, in whichthe emphasis is more on task than on role.

This approach is more motivating for staff, freeingthem from some of the adverse consequences ofhierarchical systems and allowing them moreinfluence in their work. There has been noequivalent in the voluntary sector, and this is largelybecause the voluntary sector itself has developed anumber of pioneering and innovative ways of

working. However, there must be a risk that newstyles of work in the public sector begin to offer amore flexible and attractive option for somecandidates.

A voluntary organisation in search of a new chiefexecutive concluded that actually they wanted toappoint a two year transformational chiefexecutive, but would in the long term seek amore consolidating senior manager.

There are particular issues about the role of thedirector or chief executive. Many chief executivesreport feeling both over-stretched and over-burdenedas they shoulder responsibility for finance and humanresource management at the same time as trying to

offer strategic guidance and manage services. Theburden is great, but the skill set required is also large.

There is also an issue about job definition. There aredifferences between the requirements of a chiefexecutive in a period of growth compared with aperiod of consolidation. The traditional model ofappointment through which a senior post is filled foran indefinite period may not be the best way toachieve the essential fit with the skills of thecandidates and the needs of the organisation.

A voluntary organisation reconsidered the role ofthe Company Secretary and created a senior postwith responsibility for governance and compliance,thus freeing the chief executive for leadership anddevelopment.

A group of councils of voluntary service in SouthWest London commissioned some branddevelopment work considering the CVS brand, itsassociations and its strengths and weaknesses. Theresulting work enables them to describe moreeffectively their activity, and serves to position themmore effectively.

EXAMPLE

EXAMPLE

EXAMPLE

17

As the work of the voluntary sector gets morecomplex and more demanding, the workload ofsenior managers in the sector is likely also to increase.Regulatory requirements, and the demands of fundraising and fund negotiation,can both burden the chiefexecutive and make the roleless sustainable.


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Profile

In a very competitive recruitment market, brandrecognition is very important. People apply for jobsbecause they have some sense of identity with theadvertising organisation. While - undoubtedly some voluntary organisations are household names,most are not. The profile of voluntary organisations,and the way in which the whole sector is viewed, istherefore rather critical for recruitment.

Despite the high profile of the voluntary sector, andthe important work it does, it continues to be seen by

outsiders as essentially an amateur operation,frequently not very effective and offering little tosomeone with ambition, entrepreneurial skill and thedesire to make a difference.

This crude, and inaccurate, image of the sectorsignificantly influences the recruitment market inwhich it is operating. The sector often fails to sellitself effectively. This means that its image continuesto be a poor one, and this has a direct impact on therange of people applying to work in the sector.

In fact, there is a good story to tell. The sector has

offered many individuals successful and interestingcareers, with real opportunities for change and forchallenge. The breadth of the voluntary sectorenables people to explore really very complex areasof policy, and for those who reach senior positions

it increasingly provides opportunities for realinfluence and impact. Although there is no careerstructure, the biographies of some of the leaders ofthe sector suggests that enriching and rewardingcareers can be built.

Challenge to the voluntary sectorTo develop a more persuasive brand with which toattract the sort of recruits that are required.

PreferenceOnce people join organisations there is frequently agreat deal of work establishing working styles,leadership and learning styles. Organisations that dospend money on building strong teams often exploreBelbin roles and Myers Briggs categories.

But working preferences before joining anorganisation are rarely explored with the sameintensity or rigour. These preferences will change atdifferent times of a persons life, but may also indicatedeep and abiding styles. So, for example, some willalways be happier working in small, co-operativeteams, sharing responsibility, while others will cravethe stimulus of large, more structured organisations.

18Recruitment consultants focus very strongly onpersonal preferences and organisational fit. They willadvise their clients to seek out individuals who will bemost comfortable working in a particular style oforganisation. Yet most voluntary organisations, forgood reasons, manage their own recruitment, and willtherefore tend not to focus sufficiently on personalpreference.

Traditional recruitment is not usually based on a goodunderstanding of the different motivations that attractpeople to particular types of organisations, and willinstead seek to match candidates skills with particularroles, without analysing in too much detail the styleand nature of the recruiting organisation.


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Spring 2004

If using different inducements is one way ofaddressing a recruitment problem, the other way is tochange the pool of people who we expect to work inparticular ways.

Expanding the pool ofpotential recruits

The voluntary sector is not alone in being concerned

about the numbers of people responding torecruitment approaches, and, in common with manyother sectors, is considering the potential size of thepool. While there have traditionally been a numberof different sources for recruits, this study suggeststhat the most common routes into the voluntary sectorseem to be:

4recruitment of new graduates;4people, particularly women, returning to work after

a career break;4people who have completed successful careers

elsewhere, perhaps the armed forces or the City,then taking on senior roles in larger charities.

Obviously, this is a simplification of the very manydifferent routes used to enter the sector, butexamination of the work of other sectors suggests thatthese approaches may need to be broadened stillfurther.

Diversity

In the corporate sector it is striking that a number of

companies have consciously pursued a diversityagenda in order to widen the pool of potentialrecruits. The business case for equality inemployment is focused clearly on the need to recruitthe best, rather than on social justice. This is echoedin the Modernising Government agenda, whichrecognises that for public service delivery the publicsector also needs to diversify the pool in which itfishes.

Recruitment exercises by service companies such asCentrica, as well as by other businesses, focus on the

need for a diverse workforce, and particular effortsare made to recruit people from the black andminority ethnic communities.

7. Fishing in a different poolThe Employers Forum on Disability has beenestablished in order to help companies attractdisabled employees. The rationale is clearly expressedin their literature:More and more businesses are realising that equalopportunities in employment makes commercialsense. Recruiting and retaining the best workforce isvital for future success. Disabled people are a largely

untapped pool of talent and an often neglectedmarket, but promoting best practice can be difficult.Membership of the Employers Forum on Disabilitymakes it easier to gain top team commitment anddevelop practical programmes for change, to learnfrom the experience of other organisations and tokeep up to date with the fast changing and complexissue of disability.

EXAMPLE

19

The voluntary sector in the UK pioneered thedevelopment of policies promoting and facilitatingequal opportunities. The result of this pioneeringwork can be seen in the shape and style of themodern voluntary sector in London. It has created asignificant number of local organisations that are runby disabled people for disabled people.

This has contributed to the fact that the DisabilityRights Commission can be run by highly skilled andexperienced disabled people. There are over 1,000mother-tongue and supplementary schools in Londonthat are run by refugees themselves. The voluntarysector has a good track record of promoting womento senior executive positions and it even has adistinguished record of achievement in creating

workplaces in which lesbians and gay men can workwith confidence.


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In many ways, the voluntary sector has traditionally

pursued equality policies on the basis of social justice,but has reaped some of the benefits of a widerrecruitment pool. The voluntary sector has led the

way over at least two decades in bringing in a widerworkforce. This competitive edge may now beeroded as other employers demonstrate its opennessto recruit people from under-represented groups. Theprivate sector in particular is increasingly advertisingthe warm welcome it offers to groups previouslyoverlooked in their recruitment processes.

While it is important not to overstate this, it is clearthat the strategy of fishing in a wider pool is nowmuch more widespread, and this has been adoptedbecause of the recruitment crisis facing most sectors.

If the voluntary sector is no longer the brand leader inthis respect it will have implications for the ways inwhich the sector recruits in the future. There is alsono room for complacency. While the voluntary sectorhas pioneered the development of equality policies inrecruitment, the continuing lack of many visible blackand minority ethnic leaders in the voluntary sector is apowerful illustration of the weaknesses of the strategy,or at least of its implementation.

Different types of recruit

There are other ways of expanding the pool,however. Voluntary organisations have successfullyrecruited people with very different career paths andat different stages in their lives. The reliance onyoung and committed graduates for particular jobsmay come to seem outdated. The voluntary sectorcan offer interesting work opportunities for people atretirement age, or for those taking a career break.

But the sector also needs to acknowledge the verywide range of people already working in the sectorwho could do so much more. In London thecontribution of refugees to the development of therefugee community sector is a largely unsung story.The wide-ranging skills and experience devoted to thedevelopment of this part of the sector has resulted inthe development of some energetic and successfulvoluntary and community organisations.

Refugees are not, however, found in the rest of thevoluntary sector. While this may, in part, be informed

by the willingness of refugees to seek work in otherorganisations, it must also be a reflection ofrecruitment practices that do not attract and supportpeople who have already demonstrated high levels ofskills and commitment.

One London borough successfully addressed itsproblem in recruiting home care staff by targetingyoung Australian women in London for their gapyear. They found that the different type of recruitwas popular with service users and brought aperspective and energy to the role that wasotherwise difficult to find.

Challenge to governmentWhile the government wishes to continue to workwith and through the voluntary sector, it needs tounderstand it better. By running a programme ofsecondments into the sector from Whitehall, thesector itself would be strengthened and developed,while at the same time senior civil servants woulddevelop the skills and understanding to enable themto work even more effectively with the sector.

Equally, the voluntary sector could well become asector in which many people expect to spend aportion of their working lives. Civil servicesecondments to industry are now commonplace.Secondments from Whitehall to management jobs inthe voluntary sector are much rarer.

Yet at the same time the voluntary sector hasprovided a steady supply of secondees and long termrecruits to the public sector. Perhaps the voluntarysector needs to be nurtured and made more attractiveand competitive, in order that this seed-bed of talentis renewed.

EXAMPLE

The charitable sector is held in high public esteemand yet at the same time it is not seen as a place

where successful careers are built. Hilary ArmstrongMP, when she was Local Government Minister in1998, addressed a group of senior managers inWhitehall and made a persuasive case that moderncareers will be judged successful if they include timein the private, voluntary and statutory sectors.

While there is a growing amount of movementbetween the public and private sectors, the voluntarysector remains excluded from this circle, with fewpeople coming into the sector for five or six years aspart of a varied and rich career.

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Spring 2004

It is possible to imagine a time when routinely high

flying and ambitious individuals would seek to workin a voluntary organisation for a period of their lives,without necessarily making a commitment to thesector for their whole careers. Notable individualshave done this, and their practice and knowledge isconsiderably enhanced by doing so. Making this intomore common practice would significantly affect therecruitment problem, and would also erode theunhelpful myths and misconceptions that bedevilvoluntary sector development.

Matthew Taylor, formerly Director of IPPR, has arguedthat one response to the crisis in teacher recruitmentis to make it somehow obligatory for graduates tospend at least two years of their lives teaching inschools. There are, he argues, a great many people

who do not wish to teach for a lifetime, but couldmake a real contribution for a period of their lives.The voluntary sector, with a much wider offering,could, perhaps, try to build a culture where far morepeople expect to work within it at some time oranother.

Different sources

Traditionally secondment has been the poor relationof recruitment. Charities have accepted secondmentsas part of the offering made by companies, andoccasionally by government, but again with rareexceptions, they have not been used as well as theymight.

When a high flying Treasury civil servant wasseconded to work in a community project, he not

only brought invaluable skills of financial analysis,but was also able to help the organisation toposition itself in the emerging debate aboutregeneration.

Skills in creating and managing secondmentopportunities might also be developed as a responseto the recruitment crisis, and not simply as anadditional extra. There is no reason why a greatmany jobs could not be done by people onsecondment, and the voluntary sector could becomeadept at structuring its requirement for staff to attract

secondees.

Access to the sector

There also seem to be questions about access to jobsin the voluntary sector. Repeatedly those with whomwe discussed this described the sector asunwelcoming to outsiders, and difficult to access bothby people at the start of their careers and by thosewho wished to make a change later in life.

Young people without experience tended to beignored by organisations searching through theestablished advertising route, and the lack of internschemes, or a recognisable approach to those aboutto graduate, made it difficult for people to join thesector at the start of their careers. Equally, we had anumber of comments about the difficulty of making achange at a later stage. While this seems to becontradicted by the number of people in very seniorjobs in the sector that have come from a military orcommercial background, it seems to be difficult tomake this move below chief executive level.

EXAMPLE

Challenge to funders and to thesectorIs there a need for a better resourced brokerageservice, using modern human resource techniques toplace people on substantial secondments within thevoluntary sector? Is there scope for the developmentof a new approach to secondment that sees someparticular roles carried out through secondments?Whitehall departments second staff to do particularfunctions, frequently operating at very senior levels.Could there be some reciprocity about this, with aplanned series of secondments, filling seniorexecutive posts in the voluntary sector?

21


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The drive to recruit new graduates preoccupies theprivate sector. Considerable sums are devoted totravelling around the universities, speaking to studentsin their final year and seeking to spot talent. Thismilk round, as it is still disparagingly known, is aready source of recruits for the corporate sector, and is

relied upon even in this era of complex and diversecareer paths.

Yet there is no equivalent promotion for the voluntarysector. Graduates find themselves working in thevoluntary sector as if by accident. They join anorganisation for the reasons this paper has spelt out,but there are no readily accessible routes. Theinexperienced believe that they cannot simply applyfor jobs, and the requirement to work first as a

volunteer precludes all but those with independentmeans.

Challenge to fundersCan this be supported? Is there a funding structurethat enables a shared recruitment exercise? Wouldvoluntary organisations be prepared to subscribe tosuch a service? Could futurebuilders support aninitiative that might have such potentially farreaching implications for the strength and vitality ofthe sector? Is there a way in which such an activitycan become self supporting?


Job structure

The other part of enlarging the pool is to consider jobstructure. The current arrangements offer little scopefor new structures, when the only constraint on thelength of contract offered is the amount of fundingavailable.

Articles about interim management comment on theattraction that these roles have for certain people.With anticipated high turnover in some jobs, is itpossible to structure particular roles as fixed termones? Is it possible to recognise right from the start

that some jobs will be filled by people who will stayfor 18 months and then structure those jobsaccordingly?

22

Challenge to the sectorCan the sector devise an intern scheme to helpyoung people explore the sector? Can it offer amilk round at universities, competing withcorporate and statutory players to recruit new staff?

With senior jobs, is it possible to invite individuals to

tender for the role, rather than applying for the job?Candidates could be asked to explain what they couldoffer for a given sum, in a given period, and for somesignificant senior roles this would allow forappropriate skills to be targeted at the right time. It isparticularly noticeable in the burgeoning consultancyand interim management market, that those who enjoythis method of work will often describe the pleasureof fixed-term assignments, and yet the recruitmentmarket for executive jobs still assumes long-termcommitment.

It is equally striking that most job advertisements in

the voluntary sector still describe roles as full or parttime, or suitable for job share. It seems unlikely thatthe sector which offers so many different opportunitiesis not better able to structure work to meet the needs,aspirations and other interests of candidates.

Are some voluntary sector jobs better suited to parttime work? Have we explored sufficiently the value ofparticular roles being done for one or two days aweek? Or six months in a year? Or one week amonth?


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8. ConclusionsThis paper started with a description of the privateworries of chief executives, trustees and funders inthe voluntary sector. Its premise was that unless these

worries were addressed, and with some urgency, thevoluntary sector would prove incapable of rising tothe challenges ahead.

The voluntary sector shows ingenuity and imaginationin dealing with the myriad of problems facing it. It isrenowned for its skill in developing new fundingstreams, attracting public policy attention and devisingbrilliant solutions to complex and challengingproblems.

This paper has argued that this ingenuity needs nowto be focused on the recruitment needs of the sector.Imagination and lateral thinking will be required in ahighly competitive market. This paper has made anumber of suggestions which provide a starting pointfor a much more elaborate and far reaching strategy.

The challenge to funders is to take note of therecruitment crisis, and back the imaginative and risky

ways of averting it. The challenge to the sector is toapply skill and ingenuity to resolving a problem thatotherwise threatens us all.

Yet none of these strategies will be cost free. Theyrequire champions and supporters, both to promotenew ways of working and to finance them. Thosewho wish to see a thriving, energetic and engagedvoluntary sector, able to rise to the challenges of the21st century, need also to consider where and howthe looming recruitment crisis can receive an adequateand effective response.

Summary of strategies to be used

Using a different rodPassion

Pay

Perks (terms and conditions)

Job design

Profile

Preference

Fishing in a different pool

Diversity

Different types of recruit

Different routes

Access

Changing job offer

Spring 2004

23

References

Annual Voluntary Sector Salary Survey 2003

Bolton, M & Abdy, M (2003) Leadership Leadership

Leadership NCVO & ACEVO

Employment Policies and Practice in the Voluntary Sector

(2002) Amicus

Financial Times special supplement on Business and Race

2.11.2003

Futureskills 2003: A skills foresight report on the voluntary

sector paid workforce (2003) Voluntary Sector National Training

Organisation

Halifax Building Society Annual Survey 2/2004

Keep London Working: Housing Policy and Practice (2003)

Ark Consultancy

Kessler, I (2003) Recruitment and Retention of Senior

Managers in Local GovernmentSolace

Key Worker Housing in London: Developing Good Planning

Practice (2003) Environmental Resources Management

Future Imperfect The Kings Fund Inquiry

The Case for Key Worker Housing Solutions (2003) Llewelyn-

Davies and LSE

Westwood, A (2003) Are we being served? Career mobilityand skills in the UK workforce The Work Foundation

Workforce Development Plan (2001) Voluntary Sector National

Training Organisation

Attendees at CPF Seminar

Stuart Barber Unison

Mark Clarke LVSC

Peter Dale City Parochial Foundation

John Muir

Robin Hazelwood

Martin Jones

Bharat Mehta

Elahe Panahi

Jacqui Finn Richmond CVS

Ruth Power Advice UK

Ian Redding Association of London Government

Sharon Shea Esme Fairbairn Foundation

Brian Wheelwright Wates Foundation

Information received from

Tudor Trust

Baring Foundation

Esme Fairbairn Foundation

City Parochial Foundation

Richmond CVS

Appendix


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24City Parochial Foundation exists to benefit the poor ofLondon and to provide support for communityorganisations that have charitable purposes. Set up inthe late nineteenth century with an endowmentprovided through the sale of redundant City churchesand the pooling of their assets, it has helped establishand support a large number of organisations.

Tackling disadvantage has been a key theme over theyears. Current priorities include action to supportdisabled organisations, those tackling discrimination,violence and isolation particularly among black, Asianand minority ethnic communities, lesbians and gaymen, young people, womens groups and establishedcommunities, often predominantly white, in areas oflong term poverty.

The needs of refugees and asylum seekers are anotherimportant priority, and CPF was involved in setting upEmployability Forum which assists agencies helping

displaced professionals to find appropriateemployment.

cpfCITY PAROCHIALFOUNDATION

City Parochial FoundationE-mail: [email protected]

6 Middle StreetLondon EC1A 7PH

Telephone: 020 7606 6145

Fax: 020 7600 1866 Website: www.cityparochial.org.uk

Charity Registration Number:

valuing potential

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