I find many people tend to assume that the Third Sector is mostly staffed by tree-hugging hippies, and is full of warm and fuzzy organisations where group hugs are on each meeting agenda.
(This is usually the view of people who work in the private and public sectors, funnily enough.)
But did you know that there are disproportionately more grievances and other disputes in the not-for-profit sector than any other? And despite being ‘employee champions’, it seems poor HR is part of the problem.
Back in 2007, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) cottoned on to this, and pointed out that while meaning well, senior staff and trustees in smaller NFP organisations often just didn’t have the HR and ER expertise necessary to create and implement effective HR practices, particularly around dispute resolution. Not only that, but they lacked the finances to hire in.
Given the worsening economic climate, particularly for non-profits who have lost even more funding as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review, we can only assume that this situation has been exacerbated over the last five years.
ACEVO recommended more collaboration between organisations as a way of addressing the situation – specifically larger charities sharing their expertise and best practice with their smaller counterparts for free. Sounds like a great idea – so is it happening?
Maybe, but I’ve not come across much in the way of evidence! There are plenty of ways that this could happen. Workplace secondments, workshadowing, coaching, mentoring, provision of guidance documents and materials, or even direct training.
Larger and smaller organisations (or even just those with differing levels of experience and expertise – it isn’t always the larger ones that have a monopoly on those!) could work in partnership to enable the less effective to learn from others.
The third sector has some very specific cultural characteristics and issues that have real implications for HR and people management practices, leading to some distinctive needs and challenges. Staff are frequently very mission-focused and gain a lot of job satisfaction by just being committed to the cause.
But this goodwill can only go so far, and can be easily taken for granted or even exploited by their employer. So it’s critical to ensure that these organisations can keep their staff motivated, committed and effective, without breaking the bank – and what better way than to help out each other?
Maybe this sharing of expertise already happens informally with some non-profits, but how about making it more structured, more effective and more widespread? After all, this altruism should pretty much go through the third sector like a stick of rock, given the nature of the work this sector does!
Tara Daynes is founder and director of consultancy, Tara Daynes HR.
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