Staff turnover in the voluntary sector has continued to rise despite the
introduction of pay increases above the UK average and inflation.
New research shows that voluntary organisations are still struggling to
recruit new staff, however, fewer organisations are having trouble than last
year.
The Voluntary Sector Salary Survey shows that average salaries and earnings
are rising at a rate of 4.7 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.
It also found that staff turnover increased from 8.5 per cent to 10.7 per
cent and half of all charities experienced recruitment problems.
Karl Wilding, head of research at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations,
said the findings were the product of the tight labour market and skills
shortages.
"Turnover is increasing from last year and half of all the respondents
are having recruitment problems. Organisations are having problems because
there’s a lack of specialist skills in the UK," he said.
Wilding said investment in skills was now crucial as voluntary organisations
faced tougher competition for staff from the public sector. "Organisations
are increasingly realising they are competing against the private and public
sectors as well as other voluntary organisations," he added.
Almost all organisations were recruiting, with 50 per cent experiencing
problems. However, the number having troubles recruiting dropped 15.9 per cent
from last year.
Wilding said this improvement was due partly to the recession but also
because charities were becoming more sophisticated in recruitment tactics.
According to the study, charities now spend £5.3bn on staff costs and
voluntary CEOs earn a median average of 53 per cent of CEO salaries covered by
the small business review. For junior and trainee employees, the median annual
earnings ranged from £11,800 in the smallest organisations to more than £12,700
in the largest charities.
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By Ross Wigham
