Business as usual
The better than expected unemployment figures and the Bank of England's forecast of a return to positive GDP (2 per cent) in 2010...
...has been a rather isolated tiding of great joy in an otherwise bleak 2009. Since its launch two years ago, this magazine has inevitably responded to the external marketing conditions with its choice of articles and news analysis, but I do take the point of one former charity CEO who told me at a recent conference she felt the sector didn’t need quite so much reminding…
Despite Mervyn King’s optimism in his latest Inflation Report, nobody quite knows when things will return to some form of equilibrium and charities are now operating in a very different landscape as we end the first decade of the 21st century. What is clear is that they are emerging from a period of unprecedented turbulence with a different attitude to the ongoing management of their organisations.
In the course of interviewing the ‘First Person’ candidates for page 37, I have been struck by the unique mix of grit and passion that abounds in the sector’s leaders. Changes in funding and commissioning regimes, sudden income shortfalls alongside surges in demands for services have presented huge challenges. As a result, organisation-wide reviews and ongoing monitoring programmes have been common responses.
The last thing charities want to do is add to the unemployment statistics but, despite pay levels being lower than other sectors (see page 30 of this issue), staff costs are usually the biggest overhead. Christian Aid, Cafod, and Oxfam have all recently indicated job cuts are likely once review processes are completed. Jane Cotton, HR director for Oxfam sums up the attitude adopted by many charities – that such measures are not merely reactive. ‘We are determined that these changes happen as part of our normal business cycle, so we are prepared for an economic downturn and have time to plan how to deal with it,’ she said back in August.
The balance between efficiency and caring remains very difficult – Charles Scott’s call to ‘professionalise but keep your eye on the prize’ (see this issue's Viewpoint) is spot on. It is encouraging to see how the government is seeking the opinion of third sector leaders in consultations and policy-making; more so than it has ever done before. And it is for this reason – of at last being counted (and counted upon) – the sector must retain its identity as it emerges from the recession. Looking forward to 2010, I anticipate fewer references to ‘the economic climate’. It has long ago ceased to surprise us and has become, for better or for worse, embedded in business as usual.
With all the very best for the New Year from the Caritas team.
Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from
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