Survey found that staff turnover in charities fell to 16 per cent last year
But proportion leaving their jobs is still higher than the national average, according to annual People Count Third Sector poll
Staff turnover in charities fell from 20 per cent last year to 16 per cent this year, according to a new human resources study.
Seventy-three charities, all with more than 50 employees, took part in the annual People Count Third Sector study, carried out by the management and HR consultancy Agenda Consulting. It analysed staff data from March 2010 to March 2011.
The turnover of charity fundraising staff fell significantly from 19 per cent to 12 per cent this year. A press release accompanying the report speculates that employees could be holding on to their jobs because of the state of the economy.
Although fewer charity staff are leaving their jobs, the proportion of departures in the sector remains higher than the overall UK average of 13 per cent, the report says.
The study also found that 71 per cent of charity employees were female, compared with 46 per cent across the whole of the UK workforce.
Women accounted for 61 per cent of management posts in charities but only 38 per cent of organisations had a female chief executive – the same figure as the previous year’s survey.
Roger Parry, director of Agenda Consulting, said charities would be able to manage the current challenging economic environment only if their HR processes were effective.
"They need to balance the need to recruit and retain talented people, develop the skills and capabilities that their organisations require and build the processes and culture to achieve a high-performing and motivated workforce with the reduced resources available to them," he said.
