The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
Charity recruitment – time to review and refresh?
It’s been a busy ten months for the goodmoves team. As the covid vaccination programme rolled out, the recruitment adverts kept rolled in, with organisations keen to press on with pent-up recruitment from various lockdowns and restrictions. From fundraising to community development, marketing, human resources and finance roles, the number of charity jobs in Scotland just kept rising!
While it was fantastic to see the sector making a strong come back, recruiters were faced with a new problem. Recruitment surged as restrictions were lifted, we were able to leave our local area again, see faces we had only seen on screen for a year and generally feel some normality. But this, along with a lingering feeling of uncertainty, impacted on application rates as job hunting seemed to be put on the back-burner and many organisations were struggling to recruit.
A month into 2022 things are looking up for recruiter. The number of job seekers accessing www.goodmoves.com is up 25% on last year to over 100,000 people per month and we are receiving positive feedback from our customers on the level and quality of applications. It is still a competitive market for recruiters with the ONS reporting that job vacancies across all sectors hit a new record in October to December 2021. So what can you do to stand out from the crowd?
- Do you offer flexible or hybrid working?
Whether people are happiest working from home, in the buzz of the office environment or a mix of both, the pandemic has paved the way for a more flexible work life. Research suggests that some value flexible working over salary so if your organisation offers flexible working culture make this clear on your advert.
2. Sell what is unique about the role and your organisation
Are you recruiting for a new role where candidates can really make their mark? Perhaps you can offer great learning and progression opportunities? Do you think your team is fun and supportive or is Cake Friday one of your selling points? Information on the role and responsibilities is important but try to open your advert with some narrative about what makes your opportunity stand out from the rest!
Remember to promote your benefits, the pandemic has brought many to re-evaluate their priorities so benefits such as generous holiday allowance, carers leave or childcare vouchers can all help turn the advert views to applications.
3. Be open
In a competitive market it can pay to be flexible with your requirements. If your dream candidate doesn’t apply look at transferable skills and commitment to your organisations values. Is there any wiggle room on qualifications, does your new Treasurer have to be a qualified accountant or does experience in a charity finance role help them fit the bill?
4. Show the salary!
Recruiters are facing increasing calls from job seekers to be open and transparent about pay. Showing the salary on your recruitment adverts will help your organisation be viewed as fair, open and equality driven. Nobody wants to spend time applying and interviewing for jobs to find out the salary doesn’t meet expectations or a tricky negotiation is involved. Simply put, pay transparency will result in more applications.
The goodmoves team are always happy to chat (it’s one of our core skills) so don’t hesitate to get in touch.