UK Small Charity Sector

Transcription

1 UK Small Charity Sector Skills Survey 2014/15

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3 Content AUTHORS OF THIS SURVEY Madeleine May GSS Voluntary Sector Placement Scheme Pauline Broomhead CEO FSI Foreword Executive Summary Background to Survey Introduction Skills Ratings Recruitment Problems Key Skills Issues Causes for Perceived Skills Gaps Solutions Final Comment

4 About the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) The FSI was launched in 2007 and has grown to become the UK s largest provider of free capacity building support services to the Small Charity Sector. Established by Emma Harrison CBE and Pauline Broomhead to deliver strategic skills to small charities, the FSI provides a year-round programme of training and conference learning across the UK. Our aim is to amplify the voice of small charities who represent 97% of the charity sector as a whole, this is achieved through advocacy, research and campaigning. All of our programmes are delivered free of charge to members of the FSI (membership is also free for small charities). Today the FSI delivers almost 2 million worth of free support opportunities to small charities right across the UK. In 2015/16 we will deliver: Training days in central London and other major cities (2014: Newcastle, Preston, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Cambridge, Bristol and Brighton) and it is our intention to extend regional coverage in 2015/16. Training covers all of the major fundraising methodologies and key strategic areas such as leadership, governance and marketing. Conference places in central London. The FSI Fundraising Conference brings together experienced speakers to share the knowledge needed to make small charities sustainable. The FSI Skills Conference provides a platform for 20 experts in areas such as Pensions, Law, HR and Governance to impart the vital knowledge needed to run a small charity efficiently and effectively. Advice Clinics. Those working to support small charities have one to one support to discuss organisational and programme strategy or any aspect of their work where advice is needed, including fundraising. Small Charity Week. A major celebration of the Small Charity Sector and its impact on every community in the UK. The week is packed with events, awareness campaigns, fundraising and volunteering opportunities and policy activities including the release of research that focuses on the challenges facing the Small Charity Sector. The Small Charity Index. Provides evidence-based data to support the voice of the Small Charity Sector in the UK. The Index informs and influences decision makers when deciding legislation and policy that will affect the Small Charity Sector. Research and Campaigns. Each year the FSI undertakes a key piece of research which looks into the challenges facing small charities and subsequently uses the research to campaign for changes that will positively affect small charities. Skills Survey (undertaken every two years). Understanding the skills gaps across small charities is crucial in deciding the training courses, workshop topics and other areas of support that will be needed to enhance their effectiveness. The Federation for Small Charities Council. The Council is a membership organisation representative of the sector as a whole by turnover, cause type and geography. The Council is facilitated and supported by the FSI as part of its influencing activities. Policy and Influencing Programme. The FSI is committed to amplifying the voice of small charities through joint consultation on legislative changes, representation on national committees, through the media and via campaigns. We ensure as broad an audience as possible, including policy makers and the general public, are aware of the impact small charities have in every community across the UK.

5 Foreword Small charities are a key part of civil society. They play an important role in supporting the economy, in building social cohesion and in integrating those individuals who are in danger of being marginalised from society. Having the relevant skills to undertake this important role is vital to their continued effectiveness and for the development of the Small Charity Sector as a whole. It is important to invest in the development of a thriving and diverse Small Charity Sector as they represent all that is relevant in a healthy democracy where people come together around the causes they care about to make a difference. These are not easy times and so it is now more important than ever that we take time to find out what skills and development opportunities are needed in order that small charities are able to continue their vital work. We hope that this report ignites the debate on how we support small charities to become more effective and self sustaining in order that their doors remain open to the millions who need their support. There are many challenges facing small charities at this time. As a result of the reductions in local authority funding there has been an upsurge in demand for the services that small charities offer to the communities they serve. The demand for the services that small charities provide has never been greater, 58% of charities contributing to the Small Charity Index for the months of September to November 2014 indicated that the demand for their services had increased. As a result small charities continue to face acute financial pressure whilst continuing to strive to meet this higher demand, which has brought its own challenges. Since the Small Charity Index was launched, small charities have been consistently reporting reductions in staff. Workload has been highlighted as a significant challenge and as having a negative impact on a charity s ability to deliver services. As small charity staff spend more and more time on delivery they must squeeze in all of the other tasks related to their role as best they are able. Many small charity staff must also spend more of their time on fund development as they seek to balance the increased costs of delivering higher levels of services against flat lining income from all sources. 1

6 Executive Summary In the fourth edition of our biennial Small Charity Sector Skills Survey, the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) concludes that skills gaps still present a major barrier for small charities across the UK with many basic problems remaining the same. Fundraisers remain the most challenging vacancy to fill with nearly a third of respondents selecting this option (3), however, this is down from 57% in the 2012/13 Survey. Salary remained the biggest reason why vacancies were hard to fill (58%), however, applicants lack of experience has become more prominent since 2012/13 (9%) with now 25% of respondents selecting this. In this Survey we asked about the part Trustees play in fundraising and whilst 51% of respondents reported that their Trustees played an active role in fundraising, 8 of respondents felt that they ought to play an active role. The strongest performance ratings* were given to: Research (31%), Health & Safety (47%), Recruitment Practices (48%), Basic IT Skills (70%), Copywriting (43%) and People Management (71%). In fundraising the strongest performance ratings were given to Presentation Skills (54%) and Trusts & Foundations (45%). The poorest performance ratings* were given to: Lobbying (49%), Utilising Social Media (44%), Structuring Communications (4) and Latest HR Laws and Practices (27%). In fundraising the poorest performance ratings were given to Major Donor Fundraising (64%), Online Fundraising (6) and Corporate Fundraising (61%). 2 Lack of training and development remained the main reason stated for the cause of the skills gaps, closely followed by a lack of time available for employees to attend training. As in previous surveys, the impact of skills gaps identified by the largest proportion of respondents was increased workload across the organisation (61%), although this was closely followed by increased time taken to deliver work (51%). Since 2012/13 there has been an increas in the proportion of respondents indicating a decreased ability to take on new work (from 39% to 43%), which is particularly worrying at a time when small charities are experiencing an increased demand for their services. In the 2010/11 and 2012/13 Surveys the most common way to address existing skills gaps within a charity was to use volunteers instead of paid employees (4 and 4). While the percentage of charities proposing to take this action remained similar in 2012/13 (41%), using resources and training from sector umbrella and other infrastructure bodies (43%) and further training provision (4) were the two most cited actions taken. The most common reason given for not providing employees with training was the cost of external training. The demand for further training provision and the relatively low level of training provided for small charitable organisations indicates the ongoing importance of the FSI s programme of free support services for the Small Charity Sector. *An explanation of how skills ratings are defined is on page 8 of this survey.

7 Background to the Survey Given that the Small Charity Sector has many unique characteristics, we have highlighted some key statistics from previous research below in order to better understand the results of the survey. In September 2014 over 164,987 charities hadsubmitted an annual return to the Charity Commission in the last three years of which we estimate that 9 or 159,174 of these were charities with an annual turnover of less than 1.5 million. (NCVO/TSRC, Charity Commission) Civil society encompasses a diverse range of organisations from small micro charities delivering specific projects with limited numbers of beneficiaries, right through to larger national organisations with thousands of employees that deliver government contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds. More than eight out of every ten (84%) of voluntary sector employees are based in England, with around a tenth being based in Scotland. (LSF) There has been an 8.8% overall real term fall in voluntary sector income from government between 2010/11 and 2011/12. (NCVO, The UK Civil Society Almanac 2014) Generating income and achieving financial stability is the most pressing challenge according to ACEVO s 2015 Social Landscape Survey. Income in respect of small charities has remained relatively static over the 18 months June 2013 to November (FSI Small Charity Index Quarterly Report) The UK Giving 2014 Survey reported that the sector as a whole had seen donations drop by 400 million. One in five small charities are struggling to survive (ACEVO 2015 Social Landscape Survey). The demand for the services that small charities provide has never been greater, 58% of charities contributing to the Small Charity Index for the months of September to November 2014 indicated that the demand for their services had increased. Civil society organisations are a major employer with an estimated 2.3 million people employed as paid staff, this is the equivalent of 8% of the total UK workforce. (NCVO/TSRC) One-fifth of voluntary sector organisations provided no training at all during 2012/13. (UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2013) The main impact of skills gaps within the voluntary sector was an increase in the workload of other employees (84%). This was followed by having difficulty introducing new working practices within the organisation (4) and having difficulty meeting quality standards (4). (UKCES/UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2013) Voluntary sector employees are highly qualified, with more than one-third (38%) holding a degree level qualification or higher in This is slightly lower than employees within the public sector (41%) but higher than employees within the private sector (23%). Overall more than seven of every ten (7) voluntary sector employees held an A Level qualification, its equivalent or higher (LSF/UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2013) Voluntary sector employers, who had skills gaps within their organisation, were most likely to report gaps for administrative/clerical staff (33%) and managers (28%) (UKCES/UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2013) The workforce is made up of 6 women and 34% men. 3

8 Voluntary sector employees are mainly concentrated in small workplaces. Almost a third (3) of voluntary sector workers in 2011 were employed in workplaces of less than ten employees. This is noticeably different to both the private and the public sectors (2 and 7% respectively). (LSF) It is estimated that the voluntary sector contributes 11.8 billion to the UK GDP.* The Community Life Survey 19b estimates that UK adults who formally volunteer at least once a month spent more than 2.1 billion hours volunteering in 2012/13. Using a replacement cost approach, which uses the median wage from equivalent occupational groups to calculate the cost of replacing volunteers with paid staff, the ONS estimate 19c, that the value of voluntary activity is 23.9 billion this is equivalent to just over 1.5% of GDP billion is the estimated value of the output of volunteers in 2012/13. (ONS). Responding Charities by Location Respondents were asked where they deliver their support. 43% of respondents answered that their charity delivers support locally, almost twice as many as any other response option. (Base: all individual respondents (n=378) Of those who deliver support nationally; the largest proportion deliver support in England (83%), followed by Wales (10%), Northern Ireland (5%) and Scotland (). It is worth noting that 82 respondents selected National as their location, but only 63 went on to specify which nation they deliver support in. Where the services were delivered 2 19% Local Regional National International Some people appeared not to answer the question as intended, so if we also take into account free text responses and responses from people who selected local, regional or international in the previous question, we see that 50% deliver services just to England, 1 to the whole of the UK, while 4% deliver in Great Britain. Other countries that feature more than once in the free text responses include: Uganda (9 responses), Kenya (7 responses), India (5 responses), Malawi and Zimbabwe (4 responses each). Broken down by continent, of the countries listed, 53 are in Africa, 24 in Asia, 3 in North America and 2 in South America. Recession 1 43% Only 9% of respondents indicated that they had found it more difficult to retain staff as a result of the impact of the recession in the UK (following six consecutive quarters of negative growth, the UK economy finally moved out of recession in the last quarter of The economy had moved into technical recession in the third quarter of 2008 as GDP fell for a second successive quarter). Respondents were asked to provide reasons if they selected yes to this question. The majority of the responses cited financial reasons such as reduced funding, while others attributed the difficulty to contract length or part time working. Over half of respondents (58%) answered that they had not found it more difficult to retain staff as a result of the recession. (Base: all individual respondents (n=301) 4 * GVA (gross value added) measures the value of output, NCVO developed a method to estimate the voluntary sector s GVA in consultation with the ONS in the early 2000s.

9 Introduction In this fourth edition of our biennial Small Charity Sector Skills Survey, the FSI concludes that skills gaps still present a major barrier for small charities across the UK. Aims and objectives The survey has been conducted by the FSI as part of its work to promote skills, knowledge and sustainability within the Small Charity Sector. The overarching aim of the survey was to explore and examine the nature and scope of skills shortages and skills gaps in the paid workforce of the Small Charity Sector. These results provide reliable measures to: 1. Identify hard to fill vacancies and the factors that contribute to this. 2. Analyse skills gaps in the existing workforce and the reasons for this. 3. Identify correlation and the differences between these findings and earlier studies. 4. Consider measures and approaches to deal with skills issues. Definitions Skills: We have used definitions from the UK Commission for Funding and Skills : National Employers Skills Survey in defining skills. Skills Shortage Vacancies: Are a subset of job vacancies where a role is hard to fill due to lack of skills, work experience or qualifications in the applicants for the role. Skills Gaps: Are the lack of skills, work experience or qualifications among workers already employed in a job. Small Charities: In the context of this survey a small charity is a registered charitable organisation with an annual turnover of less than 1.5 million. This definition is consistent with the approach that the FSI uses to define its beneficiary group. Scope of the Survey The findings of the survey are based on valid responses from individuals working in registered charitable organisations with an annual turnover of less than 1.5 million. The majority of the respondents were in leadership roles or governance positions within these organisations. However due to the limited workforce in many small charities, a great number of respondents had multiple roles within their organisations. Accordingly the survey focused on specific skills utilised by individuals within the sector as opposed to specific job roles. Respondents were asked to answer questions relating to areas within their charity which they had responsibility for, had a strong working knowledge of, or could seek responses from those who had access to the information required to complete the survey. The survey is intended to highlight the need for skills development within the Small Charity Sector and to inform the development of FSI services. 5

10 Methodology The survey was conducted online and was designed to be consistent with the approach taken in the three previous Small Charity Sector Skills Surveys undertaken by the FSI in order to provide continuity in the results. The survey was disseminated to the FSI s member database of 3,500 charities and via FSI partner organisations. The 2014/15 Skills Survey generated 414 responses. Three of these were duplicates and were removed - removing these had no meaningful impact on the results. A further 55 responses were attributed to 25 organisations. We retained the most recent response from each organisation and removed all others from the dataset. This left a sample size of n=381. Responding Charities by Annual Turnover Over half of respondents (53%) represented charities with annual turnover of 250,000 or less. This was the case in the 10/11 and 12/13 surveys however the proportion has decreased from 67% to 53% over this period. (Base: all individual respondents (n=381) Annual Turnover 0K - 50K 78 0K - 50K 51K - 250K K - 250K 251K - 500K K - 500K 501K - 1M K - 1M 2010/ /13 1M - 1.5M 29 1M - 1.5M 2014/

11 Responding Charities by Cause Type Children and young people still represent one of the most common causes with 17% of respondents (65) selecting this group as their cause, along with 17% (65) who selected Education & Training. Health, which was the second most common cause in 10/11 and 12/13 is now the third most common (1), replaced by Community Welfare, Advocacy and Rights in third place with 17% (63). (Base: all individual respondents (n=375) When asked about their beneficiaries, over half (54%) of respondents selected children and young people. A quarter (25%) selected the elderly. From the other free text responses, the following groups were the most common beneficiaries; people with specific health issues, disabled people, homeless people, local communities and people with learning disabilities. (Base: all individual respondents (n=375) Cause Type Children & Young People Education & Training Community Welfare, Advocacy and Rights Health 59 Disability 45 Arts & Culture 29 Environment 18 Homelessness 14 Animals 9 Religion 7 Sport

12 Skills Ratings Skills with strong performance ratings are where 40% or more respondents selected excellent or very good and skills with poor performance ratings are where 50% or more respondents selected need some upskilling or need significant upskilling. Strong Performance Ratings Skills areas where respondents reported the greatest proportion of excellent or very good skills include: team working (6), basic computer literacy/ IT (65%), leadership (65%), working in partnership with other organisations (5) and health and safety (5). These categories were reported on as skills with strong performance ratings in the 12/13 report, but for most skills, the percentage of excellent or very good responses has increased, with the exception of basic computer literacy/ IT and working in partnership with other organisations (previously 67% and 57% respectively). Skills with strong performance ratings Team working Basic computer literacy/it Leadership 9% 58% 13% 20% Health and safety Working in partnership with other organisations 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Need significant upskilling Need some upskilling Neutral Very good Excellent Not relevant Performance ratings Strong Team working Working in partnership with other organisations Health and safety Basic computer literacy (IT) Communications (external) Communications (internal) Leadership Finance Management of paid staff Management of volunteers Project Management Neither Charity law Fundraising Monitoring and evaluation Long term strategic planning Annual strategies Influencing policy HR/Personnel Campaigning Procurement/contract management Poor Strategic use of IT Impact reporting Marketing Engaging and working with businesses/companies 8

13 Poor Performance Ratings In the 12/13 report, 14% of respondents selected that their organisations needed some or significant upskilling in fundraising, while in the latest results, only 9% of respondents considered that fundraising skills required some or significant upskilling. Similarly, the percentage of respondents considering the need for significant upskilling in long term strategic planning has decreased from 14% in 12/13 to 11% in 14/15. Skills by Income The difference in the need for skills development in fundraising between charities with smaller and larger annual turnover is less pronounced than in previous reports. 40% of organisations with a turnover of 0-50K recognised a need for upskilling in fundraising, while 43% of organisations with a turnover of K recognised the same need. The table shows the percentage of respondents who selected need significant upskilling or need some upskilling for a selection of skills, by annual turnover. Fundraising Policy Finance Working with companies Skills with poor performance ratings 9% 20% Impact reporting Marketing Strategic use of IT Engaging and working with businesses/companies 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Need significant upskilling Need some upskilling Neutral Very good Excellent Not relevant Fundraising skills by charity s annual turnover 58% 13% 0K - 50K 51K - 250K 0-50K 51K- 250K 251K- 500K 501K- 1M 1M - 1.5M Difference between 40.3% 42.9% % 32.0% 8.3% 32.9% 30.4% 22.5% 32.3% 42.3% -9.4% 0-50K and 1M- 1.5M Influencing/ Engaging/ Note: figures in orange represent the greatest need for upskilling while figures in green represent the least need for upskilling. Therefore the difference calculated is not always the difference between the largest and smallest proportions. As can be seen from the table above, the largest difference is seen for engaging and working with businesses/companies. 70% of small charities with a turnover of 0-50k recognised a need for upskilling in this area compared with just 58% of organisations with a turnover of 1-1.5m. Interestingly, the pattern was reversed for influencing policy; a larger proportion of organisations with a higher annual turnover identified a need for upskilling in this area than organisations with a lower annual turnover % 18.3% 15.4% 11.5% 10.7% 69.9% 62.7% 50.7% 39.1% 57.7% K - 500K 501K - 1M 1M - 1.5M 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Excellent Very good Neutral Need some Need significant Not relevant upskilling upskilling 9

14 Recruitment Problems Vacancies Fundraisers remain the most challenging vacancies to fill, with nearly a third of respondents selecting this option (3), that is, over three times as many as the next most difficult vacancy to fill (volunteer managers identified by 10% of respondents). (Base: all individual respondents (n=351) However, compared with previous survey results, the percentage of organisations identifying fundraisers as difficult vacancies to fill has fallen from 57% in 2012/13 to 3 in the latest results. It is hard to know exactly why there has been a reduction. It could be variety reasons, fundraising becoming increasingly important due to cuts in funding from other sources and therefore more focus on recruiting fundraisers or more people applying for fundraising positions. Which vacancies do you find hardest to fill? Fundraisers Volunteer managers Marketing/Communications Administrators Project managers Finance CEO/Director IT support Youth/Social workers Development workers Advisors/Counsellors Heads of department/functions Information/Research/Policy HR/Personnel Fundraisers Volunteer managers Marketing/Communications Administrators Project managers Finance CEO/Director IT support Youth/Social workers Development workers Advisors/Counsellors Heads of department/functions Information/Research/Policy HR/Personnel 2010/ / / % 20% 40% 60%

15 In response to being asked how easy respondents feel it is to get suitable staff with the best skills, 4% responded that they found it very difficult. This is a decrease since 2010/11 (11%) and 2012/13 (5%). However, the number of respondents finding it somewhat difficult has increased to 31% from 23% in 2012/13, returning to a similar level observed in 2010/11 (30%). The majority of respondents (4) felt that recruiting suitable staff with the best skills was somewhat easy depending on the role recruited for. (Base: all individual respondents (n=334) Reasons for problems recruiting appear to be similar to those observed in previous surveys. Salary remains the most commonly cited reason although the percentage of respondents selecting this has fallen from 58% in 2012/13 to 3 in 2014/15. Not enough funds to advertise widely remains second on the list of reasons, although again the percentage of respondents selecting this reason has also fallen from 45% in 2012/13 to 31% in 2014/15. Reasons for hard to fill vacancies Salary Not enough funds to advertise widely Applicants lack of specialist skills Few or no applicants Applicants lack of experience Job only temporary or offered on a short term contract Competition from other organisations Applicants lack of basic skills How easy do you feel it is to get suitable staff 20% with the best skills? 4% % 100% 20% 31% 4% Very easy Somewhat Neutral Somewhat Very difficult easy difficult Applicants lack of experience has become more prominent since 2012/13 (9%), with now 25% of respondents selecting this. However, this is still a lower percentage than observed in 2010/11 (38%). Competition from other organisations has increased in prominence since 2010/11 (8%) and is now at 11%. Other reasons cited for not being able to recruit staff with the best skills include the location of the organisation, finding applicants with values that match the organisation and finding applicants with passion for the sector or role. (Base: all individual respondents (n=304) 2010/11 Applicants lack of qualifications 2012/ /15 Terms and conditions 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 11

16 Key Skills Issues The survey asked respondents to rate skill levels in a range of competencies within their organisation. Governance These results are similar to those observed in the 10/11 and 12/13 surveys. There is still a split between the expectations for trustees with regards to fundraising and their actual contribution. Formal board management is the area where respondents felt the greatest need for upskilling amongst their trustees - 2 selected either significant or some upskilling needed. Need significant upskilling Need some upskilling Neutral Very good Excellent Trustee governance 3% 17% 24% 4 5% Leadership 3% 18% 23% 44% 7% Formal board management 20% 23% 43% 7% Not relevant 5% 5% 5% Total number of respondents In the Survey we asked about the part Trustees play in fundraising and whilst 51% of respondents reported that their Trustees played an active role in fundraising, 8 of respondents felt that they ought to play an active role. Take an active role in fundraising? Do you feel your trustees... 20% Should take an active role in fundraising? 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 12 Yes No Don t know Not relevant

17 Government relations Research Lobbying Need significant upskilling Need some upskilling Neutral Very good % 13% 14% 18% 37% 27% 25% 24% 38% 11% Public Policy Nearly half of respondents felt that upskilling was required in lobbying (49%) and government relations (48%). Excellent 1% 4% Not relevant 0% 0% 0% Total number of respondents Health and safety knowledge Health and safety procedures First aid Need significant upskilling Need some upskilling Neutral Very good 14% 3 39% 3% 1 28% 39% 4% 1 27% 3 Health & Safety First aid skills were identified by 20% of charities as requiring further development. Excellent 7% 8% 10% Not relevant 7% Total number of respondents Table Code Highest Need for UpSkilling Lowest Need for UpSkilling 13

18 Recruitment practices Latest HR laws and practices Payroll management Benefits administration Talent management Need significant upskilling Need some upskilling Neutral Very good Excellent Not relevant Total number of respondents 3% 9% 30% 44% 4% 10% 284 7% 20% 33% 35% 4% 1% 286 9% 23% 37% 7% % 1 28% 17% 3% 31% 314 3% 15% 37% 28% 4% 13% 315 HR Latest HR laws and practices remain the areas where small charities feel the greatest need for upskilling (27%) however this has decreased from 43% in 2012/13. IT When asked about IT Skills, respondents identified utilising social media as the area requiring the greatest upskilling with 44% selecting the need for either significant or some upskilling. This was closely followed by website development (4), similar to results in previous surveys. As in 2010/11 and 2012/13, a large proportion of respondents felt confident about basic IT skills within their organisation (70% compared with 81% in 2010/11 and just under 80% in 2012/13). Basic IT skills Specialist IT skills IT support/ customer services Hardware and network management Website Development Utilising social media Need significant upskilling 1% 8% 11% 17% 14% Need some upskilling 9% 3 17% 25% 25% 30% Neutral 1 24% 24% 21% 18% 17% Very good 49% 21% 19% 14% 23% 27% Excellent 21% 5% 5% 5% 7% Not relevant 4% 10% 29% 24% 11% 5% Total number of respondents

19 Marketing & Communications As seen in previous surveys, structuring communication plans and marketing planning were identified by respondents as the areas within marketing and communications that required most upskilling (4 and 44% respectively). These were closely followed by social media (43%) and membership/supporter retention (4). Copywriting Marketing planning Structuring communications Direct communications Website management Membership/ supporter retention Social media Need significant upskilling 10% 10% 14% 13% 14% Need some upskilling 2 34% % 29% 29% Neutral 21% 28% 25% 28% 23% 27% 18% Very good 37% 2 21% 35% 29% 21% 30% Excellent 5% 5% Not relevant 8% 4% 4% 8% 3% Total number of respondents Management Business planning is the area where respondents felt the geatest need for upskilling (27%), a decrease from 33% in 2012/13. People management Supervision and appraisal of staff Managing difficult behaviour Managing a diverse workforce Strategic business management Business planning Team building and motivation Need significant upskilling 1% 3% 3% 1% 3% Need some upskilling 8% 14% 18% 8% 21% 21% 1 Neutral 18% 23% 30% 24% 2 21% 19% Very good 60% 4 35% 48% 40% 41% 51% Excellent 11% 8% 5% 9% 7% 13% Not relevant 9% 10% 4% 4% 3% Total number of respondents

20 Fundraising As observed in the 2010/11 survey, nearly two thirds of respondents identified major donor fundraising (64%), online fundraising (6) and corporate fundraising (61%) as areas requiring skills development. In 2012/13 there was an increase to around 70% of each of these areas. The current survey shows three of these disciplines returning to 2010/11 level, major donor fundraising (64%), online fundraising (6) and corporate fundraising (61%). Fundraising strategy Trusts and foundations Major donor fundraising Online fundraising Community fundraising Corporate fundraising Need significant upskilling 7% 9% 23% 24% 11% 23% Need some upskilling 28% 25% 41% 38% 31% 38% Neutral 31% 19% 19% 20% 21% 18% Very good 27% 3 9% 10% 2 13% Excellent 5% 9% 4% Not relevant 7% Total number of respondents Fundraising events Street and telephone fundraising Local authority/ government contracts Developing donor relationships Presentation skills Recognition and stewardship Need significant upskilling 15% 15% 14% 15% 9% Need some upskilling 24% 1 29% 31% 17% 2 Neutral 21% 13% 19% 17% 21% 25% Very good 29% 3% 19% 25% 43% 25% Excellent 4% 1% 3% 5% 11% Not relevant 7% 5 1 7% 9% Total number of respondents

21 Causes of perceived skills gaps Resource issues remain the most commonly identified reasons for skills gaps; lack of funding for training (64%) and lack of time to attend training (5). However, the percentage for both has decreased since 2010/11 and 2012/13. There has been an increase in the percentage of respondents identifying lack of training locally as a cause for skills gaps; from 13% in 2012/13 (when the question was first asked) to 23% in the latest results. Since 2010/11 there has also been a slight increase (of about ) in the proportion of people, indicating a lack of recognition that training and development are required. Base: all individual respondents (n=302) Causes for skills gaps Lack of funding for training and development Lack of time available for employees to attend training Lack of training locally Not been in the role for long enough Lack of recognition that training and development is required Lack of suitable training and guidance available internally Lack of suitable training available from external providers Paid employees find it difficult to keep up with change High staff turnover Recruitment problems 2010/ / /15 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% In 2010/11 we did not ask whether a lack of training locally was the cause for a skills gap. 17

22 Impact of skills gaps As in previous surveys, the impact of skills gaps identified by the largest proportion of respondents was increased workload across the organisation (61%) closely followed by increased time taken to deliver work (51%). Both of these percentages have increased since 10/11 when 58% and 48% of respondents selected these impacts respectively. Since 12/13 there have been increases in the proportion of respondents indicating a decreased ability to take on new work (from 39% to 43%) and no room for the development of services (from 37% to 40%). Since 10/11 there has been a decrease in the proportion of respondents identifying the following impacts of skills gaps: Inability to meet targets (from 2 to 20%) Decreased quality of delivered work (from 23% to 17%) Decreased ability to deliver existing services (from 17% to 13%) Impact of skills gaps Increased workload for colleagues Increased time taken to deliver work Decreased ability to take on new work No room for development of services Increased costs Inability to meet targets Decreased quality of delivered work Decreased ability to deliver existing services Services not responding to beneficiary needs Nothing 2010/ / / % 20% 40% 60% 80%

23 Solutions In both the 10/11 and 12/13 surveys, the most common action for an organisation to take to address existing skills gaps was to use volunteers instead of paid employees (4 in 10/11 and 4 in 12/13). While the percentage of organisations taking this action has remained similar to 12/13 (41%), there were two other actions which proved more common in the latest results. Namely, using resources and training from voluntary sector umbrella and other infrastructure bodies (43%) and further training provision (4). Other popular actions include visits to other organisations delivering similar activities (38%), mentoring (29%) and staff away-days (24%). When asked about actions they felt could be successful to address skills gaps, nearly half of respondents cited visits to other organisations delivering similar activities (50%), closely followed by further training provision (49%). These were the two most common responses in the 10/11 and 12/13 survey. In the 14/15 survey two new suggested actions were added; connecting with a business and using their skills and experience, and using resources and training from voluntary sector umbrella and other infrastructure bodies. The former was ranked the third most successful action by respondents, with 39% selecting this option. Actions to address skills gaps: perceived vs taken Visits to other organisations delivering similar activities Further training provision Connected with a business and used their skills and experience Mentoring Used resources and training from voluntary sector umbrella and other infrastructure bodies Management courses with regular follow-up meetings Peer learning groups Using volunteers instead of paid employees Staff away-days Management briefings Reorganizing workloads/people Thematic learning sets Using new recruitment methods or channels Increasing advertising or recruitment spend None Perceived Taken 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Fewer respondents (31%) felt that mentoring would be an effective solution compared to in the 10/11 and 12/13 surveys (33% and 4 respectively). Similarly, only 19% of respondents thought that re-organising workloads would be effective compared to 2 in both 10/11 and 12/13. 19

24 When comparing responses for perceived actions to actions taken, we see that far more people perceive the following actions to be effective that are actually taking them to address skills gaps: connecting with businesses (39% perceived but only 17% had taken this action) management courses with regular followup meetings (29% perceived but only 1 had taken this action) peer learning groups (27% compared to 10%) thematic learning sets (14% compared with ) Actions to address skills gaps: comparison by survey Visits to other organisations delivering similar activities Further training provision Connected with a business and used their skills and experience Mentoring Used resources and training from voluntary sector umbrella and other infrastructure bodies Management courses with regular follow-up meetings Peer learning groups Using volunteers instead of paid staff Staff away-days Management briefings Reorganizing workloads/people The opposite pattern was observed for the following actions: Thematic learning sets Using new recruitment methods or channels 2010/2011 using resources and training from Increasing advertising or recruitment spend 2012/2013 voluntary sector umbrella and other 2014/2015 None infrastructure bodies (43% had taken this action but only 31% believed it would be a successful action to take) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% using volunteers instead of paid employees (41% took this action but only 2 perceived it to be successful) reorganising workloads or people (24% had taken this action while 19% felt it would be effective) Of the people who had used resources and training from voluntary sector umbrella and other infrastructure bodies, 38% went on to say that they felt this could be an effective solution to addressing skills gaps. 6 did not select this response in answer to the question identifying perceived solutions (see graph on page 19) /11 and 2012/13 we did not ask whether charities had connected with a business and used their skills and experience or used resources and training from voluntary sector umbrella and other infrastructure bodies.

25 Training Staff at 88% of organisations had received relevant training in the 12 months prior to completing the survey. Base: all individual respondents (n=313) The majority of respondents (4) felt that it was relatively easy to find the right training for themselves or staff in their organisations. However, a quarter felt that it was either relatively or very difficult. Base: all individual respondents (n=308) Cost and time issues were the two most commonly identified reasons for respondents and staff at their organisations not providing or participating in training (7 and 60% respectively). Most common reasons for not providing or participating Cost - external training too expensive Time issues - difficult to take time out of the office Travel - training is too far away 3 Supply issues - difficult to find relevant training 18% Not needed 5% 60% 7 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Does your charity... 58% 13% Have a formal business plan? Have a training budget? Formally assess your organisational skills gaps? Have a training and development policy? Have an annual training plan linked to a business plan? 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Yes No Don t know Not applicable While the majority of organisations represented by respondents have an annual training plan linked to business plan (7), only 15% have a formal business plan. Just under half (49%) have a training budget and just over a third (38%) formally assess their organisational skills gaps. The percentages of organisations indicating that they have a training budget and formally assess their organisational skills gaps have increased since 10/11 by and 14% respectively. It is also worth noting that the percentage of organisations that have an annual training plan linked to a business plan has increased by over the same period. 21

26 Business volunteers When asked for their opinions on business volunteers sharing time with charities, respondents felt that the most common business volunteering activity was serving as a trustee (57%) followed by support with fundraising (54%) and delivery of a time limited project (50%). When asked which activities would be most useful for their organisation, the most common responses were fundraising (84%) followed by providing training on a specific skill or function (69%) and delivery of a time limited project (65%). Respondents were asked what the main barriers would be to them taking advantage of business support. The top three reasons given were time and resource (54%), uncertainty about the best way to approach businesses (4) and no business contacts (35%). Barriers to receiving business support Time and resource Uncertain about the best way to approach businesses No business contacts Uncertain of value it will bring to my organisation No access to a broker or intermediary to make the connection for me 22 Don t know what business can offer me Accessing business skills has never occurred to me Have previously had a bad experience with business volunteers 8% 7% 23% 21% 2 Opinions on business volunteers sharing their time with charities 35% 4 Supporting with fundraising Providing training on a specific skill or function Delivering on a time limited project Serving as a Trustee Mentoring of CEO/Senior Staff Help with recruitment practices and policies Support with Service Delivery Maintenance and refurbishment of indoor and outdoor space 54% 0% 20% 40% 60% Useful for my charity Typical business volunteer

27 Final Comment The demand for training continues to be significant and clearly remains a core element in addressing skills gaps in the Small Charity Sector. The survey also revealed that both time and cost remain barriers to acessing training. It is therefore essential to consider what the nature of available training is, and how this can be tailored to effectively address the needs of small charities. Geography will also play a key role in a charity s ability to access training and therefore it is crucial that the FSI continue to deliver nationally but also increase the number of locations from which training is delivered. As a provider of free training the FSI also addresses the concerns small charities have expressed about the affordability of training. Training must continue to play an important role in developing skills in the Small Charity Sector and the FSI welcomes the small charity training initiative announced by the Government in the last budget. Training and development in small charities can only have a lasting effect if there is a permanent shift in the way that small charity trustees view their responsibilities in respect of the training and developing of staff. It was good to see that 7 of charities linked their annual training plan to their business plan, but with only 15% of charities having a formal business plan, it is essential that more charities take a strategic approach to their learning and development programmes. Ensuring that training and development are considered as an important tool to support the charities ability to address the needs of beneficiaries in the most efficent and effective way will require a cultural shift within the Small Charity Sector. It is vital that Trustees recognise the need to invest in the training and development of their staff. 23

28 the FSI Centre Point, 45 Beech Street,London EC2Y 8AD Charity Registration Number