Recruiting and retaining staff in small charities: A strategic guide

Getting recruitment right is vital to the smooth running and long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized charities, where knowledge, continuity and specialist expertise matter enormously. Focused advertising, strong networks, clear messaging, inclusive approaches and thoughtful selection processes all play a role in finding the right people. So, too, does staying informed about employment legislation and understanding where, and how, to look for talented, committed candidates to join your team.

  

Understanding recruitment needs in small charities

   

Charities and grant makers come in all shapes and sizes, and a significant amount of, particularly family and corporate grant makers, can often comprise of only one or two to seven or eight staff.  Therefore, when recruiting new members to the team, it is essential to be clear on the needs in terms of skills and experience which will not only do the job in hand but will also be able to transfer across the business.

In small teams, an "all hands-on deck" approach is often required.  All recruitment and job descriptions need to reflect this.  As do interview questions and final selections.

We often advise on job descriptions, and our top tip – less is more.  Use carefully crafted and clear bullet points which hit the essential needs of the specific role in question, but also indicate the need for collaboration, flexibility and cross-discipline working at busy times.

  

DEI and inclusive recruitment

  

Inclusive recruitment works on so many levels, aside from being absolutely the right thing to do, it pays dividends in accessing wider skill sets and new approaches to existing issues in addition to allowing for greater loyalty and sustainability of your workforce.  Always prioritise internal development for existing staff through effective training and encouragement to take up new learning connected to the work your organisation does.  This solves many recruitment issues before they even occur.

  

  

When vacancies do come up, you are ready to spread the net as wide as possible and have the workforce ready to welcome people from a wide range of different experiences and points of view.

Removing barriers to entry is key.  This can be reflected in job descriptions by only listing absolutely essential experience, both in terms of academic achievement, where the equivalent work experience would suffice, and specialist technology requirements could be covered by a 'training can be given wherever necessary'.  Disclaimers can prove useful and embracing.  Be realistic though, if a specific skill is needed for the role, then feel free to state so.

  

Recruiting across disciplines

   

Most charities will have the need for multi-disciplinary roles, but this need is even greater in small, tightly run organisations.  Maintaining and cultivating connections across the sector in all areas, such as HR, Finance, Admin, Communications and Operations, ensure that you are always keeping in touch with people who can make valuable contributions.  This is relevant to a permanent or temporary contract, or indeed on a consultancy or more ad-hoc basis when specific needs arise.  This includes grant making (assessment) and fundraising expertise when needed.

Maintaining these connections when you are not recruiting is the name of the game, so that when you come to recruit, you already have the relevant networks to mobilise and dip into.  It is also a valuable tool for publicising the work of your organisation across the sector you work in and beyond.

We have two distinct specialist departments at Prospectus, one in grant making and a busy fundraising department, which are both thriving areas of the charity sector.

We have found that some grant makers feel it is essential to have grant-making experience to move into a grants-related role, when others feel it is actually an advantage to have sector thematic expertise to bring to the table, and that grant-making processes can be trained on the job.  This, again, also removes barriers to entry from a DEI perspective and brings added valuable specialist knowledge into the charity.

The same applies to fundraising.  Some organisations value the fact that candidates have an insight into grant-making processes which can enable them to navigate funding applications.  They recognise the importance of relationships and effective and structured reporting when it comes to developing longer-term involvement with trusts, foundations and other funding bodies.

Fundraising is arguably one of the hardest areas to recruit to.  Whilst grant making roles often receive high volumes of applications where the challenge is to narrow down to the best talent, fundraising roles usually have lower volumes of interest.  Fundraising roles will often require some active head hunting and an assumption that the best actively looking candidates will have other competing roles they might also be in process for.  Many fundraisers are eager to broaden their experience into grant making, therefore roles that offer both fundraising and grant-making tasks could be an interesting way to get great fundraisers to join your organisation – provided that you can offer training in grant making.

This is an example of how multi-disciplinary approaches to recruitment can pay real dividends, and have a beneficial effect on the long-term organic resilience and robust nature of your team.

  

Leveraging digital tools: LinkedIn and beyond

  

For small charities, local advertising platforms can be incredibly useful.  Community hubs, college or university campuses, community groups and service delivery charities – who specialise in employability for diverse communities – can allow you to access a wider workforce.  On a national basis, the likes of Reed and Total Jobs can be useful but can be quite time consuming in managing large numbers of respondents.  CharityJob is also a good option for charities to post on, particularly as they offer free postings for volunteering roles and are a popular search site specifically for charity sector positions.  Local job bulletins, social media outlets and newspapers can all play their part, of course.

Natasha Pearson, Account Manager within Prospectus’ Recruitment Advertising team adds:

“While these channels all have their place, LinkedIn remains one of the most impactful tools for smaller organisations, not just for advertising roles, but for building a recognisable and trusted brand.  Having a strong LinkedIn presence is vitally important, but this goes far beyond simply posting vacancies.  It pays to fully complete your LinkedIn profile, starting with claiming your organisation page, ensuring the ‘About Us’ section clearly communicates who you are as an employer and what you do, as well as sharing regular content that showcases your mission, impact and organisational culture.

“By doing this, you create ongoing visibility with potential candidates, partners and supporters.  People can gain insight into your work before you begin recruiting, which means that when you do advertise roles, applicants already have a sense of your values and the type of organisation they’d be joining.  LinkedIn’s paid advertising services can enhance this further with sponsored posts, as you can reach passive candidates who may not be scanning job boards but would be open to the right opportunity.  For specialist roles such as those in grants or funding, organisations can also make use of the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) job board, which is free for members and available to non‑members at £300 plus VAT, with reach across the UK.”

   

Regionality, hybrid working and accessing wider talent

   

It is always important, especially when recruiting regionally, to carry out some salary benchmarking with similar sized and located organisations so that you can offer a sensible, sustainable and attractive salary package.  Salary ranges or "circa" salaries can be useful to give you the flexibility you need to attract the right people.

  

  

Be clear on hybrid working.  Most candidates seem to be attracted to 2 or 3 days in the office and the rest working from home in the current climate.  If you need to have members of staff in the office five days per week, be very clear about this from the point of advertising and do be aware that this will be a significant barrier for most candidates.  Be clear and firm, as candidates will sometimes assume that if they are offered the role, there can be some negotiation on this further down the line.

If your charity is situated in, or close to a big city, the salary needs to be broad and attractive enough to attract candidates with the right experience but also in keeping with your existing salary levels.

Salary is not the only thing that will attract candidates to your role.  Be sure to advertise other benefits.  There are a whole host of free or low-cost benefits that small organisations can add to really boost their candidate offering.

  

Plan, prioritise and commit

  

In short, successful recruitment sits in having a permanent, consistent and ongoing strategy for attracting people to work for your organisation. Present and prepare your organisation as ready for any recruitment needs or opportunities that come up, from periodic cover over busy periods or maternity or paternity leave to times when new projects or funding opportunities arise.  This will help you to act quickly when you require a speedy and effective increase in the size of your team.

The key principles are clear: understand your organisation's unique needs, prioritise inclusive practices, maintain strong networks (even when you're not hiring), leverage both digital and local platforms strategically, and embrace multi-disciplinary approaches that build resilience into your team.  This might seem like a lot on the side, but essentially, strengthening platforms like LinkedIn and your website are beneficial to your whole organisation, not just the recruitment side.

By investing in these areas consistently, small charities can compete effectively for talent and build teams that are not only skilled and diverse, but committed to your mission for the long term.