Monday, January 4, 2010

if we don't value our people more, social enterprise will be lost...

The recently published national Careers and Salary Survey 2009/10 (regeneration & renewal 09/21/09) makes for sobering reading for the social enterprise sector:


1) future career opportunities and prospects in social enterprise are felt to be more affected and limited by changes to funding regimes than in the private and public sector;


2) social enterprise (while it may 'punch above its weight') apparently pays its people less than is fair - typical sector salaries see directors of social enterprises being paid less than managers in the public and private sectors, and officer posts in social enterprise usually offer less pay than officer assistant posts in public and private sectors...


3) and perhaps most alarming of all is that more than 60% of people currently working in social enterprise don't expect to still be working in this sector in 5 years time!


But there is a glimmer of good news: it seems that the training that social enterprises offer their employees is felt by them as being more valuable and useful than that offered by the private and public sectors.



This is surely a serious wake-up call: there are various strategies and policies around how social enterprise is going to save the world, but in all the hype and excitement we must be careful to remember that we can only do so if our people feel valued in doing so, and we can retain them for the journey.


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