Trends & Issues
Mission Driven:
Toward a Labour Force Strategy for Canada's Voluntary & Non-profit Sector
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Over the past three years, the HR Council has undertaken the first ever comprehensive research process to understand Canada's non-profit labour force. This important research offers everyone involved with the sector an unprecedented opportunity to understand the attitudes and experiences of people working in non-profit organization s— and the conditions under which we work. The research also sets the framework for an open dialogue about how a range of actors — employers, employees, organized labour, funders, policy makers, boards and researchers — can work together to ensure that Canada's non-profit sector continues to attract the people and skills it needs to do its vital work.
A turning point
We find ourselves at a moment of profound change, both for our sector and for our society at large. The world’s economies are in a state of upheaval; environmental issues are assuming unprecedented urgency; technology continues to reshape the way we work and relate to one another. In Canada, a large and culturally dominant generation is approaching retirement while a new generation of people, more diverse than their predecessors, enters the labour force.
The social, economic and environmental challenges that will define the next several years will demand new levels of expertise, creativity and innovation from people working in Canada’s non-profit sector. Those connected to the sector know that our people and organizations have an invaluable contribution to make. They sense that we are facing a moment of tremendous opportunity for action and impact — and a moment when Canadians will rely on non-profit organizations as never before.
A large sector…
Across Canada, nearly 1.2 million people do paid work in the non-profit sector. These people represent more than 7% of the overall Canadian workforce. Indeed, expressed as a proportion of the national labour force, Canada’s non-profit sector is the second-largest in the world.
The 1.2 million people working in our sector are people with real skills and experience. Not only do they deliver immense value through their own work, they also mobilize the millions of Canadians who perform volunteer work each year. The paid labour force of the non-profit sector is vital to the social, economic and cultural health of our whole society.
…with an important job to do
There is tremendous diversity of both missions and methods in the non-profit sector; so much so that we sometimes have trouble seeing ourselves as a sector. But when we pull back from the geographic, organizational and program boundaries that separate us, we find that the 1.2 million paid staff who drive our sector are united by a commitment to some of the most important work in our society:
- Promoting the health and wellbeing of all Canadians
- Strengthening the fabric of one of the most diverse societies on earth
- Fostering strong communities
- Promoting innovation to help our society and economy adapt to new realities
- Preparing Canadians to enter and re-enter the labour force
In discussions with the HR Council, people connected to the sector consistently express an awareness that in order to prepare for the future, we need to take a strategic approach to building our labour force. The sector’s desire to see where we are today — in order to determine the best way forward from a labour force perspective — gave rise to the first-ever comprehensive study of the employers and employees in the non-profit sector.
Where we stand today
Findings from the first ever comprehensive study of non-profit employers and employees
The HR Council undertook this research project after an extensive consultation process (which included visits to 37 communities across the country) revealed that people working in the non-profit sector were prepared to take strategic action on labour force issues, but needed information and some convening efforts before they could begin to move toward coordinated solutions. The anchor of the research process was a major quantitative study of employers and employees working for non-profit organizations. Data about the labour force practices and concerns of people in our sector has never been gathered before on this scale.
The sector is ready to talk about labour force issues
Everywhere we went, we had productive and well-attended meetings about HR issues in non-profit organizations. Executive directors in their 50s and 60s described their concern about succession plans: who would replace them and how would their knowledge and experience continue to benefit their organizations after they retired?
In these sessions, ideas and concerns about HR and labour force issues poured out. Many participants observed that although they understood very well the importance of these questions, they were seldom at the top of the agenda in any given week. Unless there was a sudden resignation or some other crisis, HR and workplace matters tended to get lost amid the competing concerns of day to day operations.
The consultations conducted in these 37 communities would lay the foundation for the formation of the HR Council, and for a three-year exploration of labour force issues in the non-profit sector.
A large sector with many small organizations — fragmentation and incubation
Nearly 1.2 million Canadians perform paid work for non-profit organizations in close to 69,000 workplaces. These organizations do important work all across Canada.
Despite the size and reach of our labour force, however, many people working in the sector do not feel strongly connected to a network of peers with whom they can share HR ideas and workplace solutions. The median number of employees working for organizations in our sector is five; three-quarters of organizations have fewer than ten employees.
High levels of personal dedication unite people working in our sector —
but there’s more to the story
For most people working in our sector, their work is more than just a job: it’s a mission. This kind of commitment is a source of pride and satisfaction in the non-profit sector. It can also be a double-edged sword. A strong sense of mission is extremely valuable in addressing labour force issues because people who are committed to the work of their organizations are motivated to ensure that those organizations are able to attract the best talent and do excellent work in the future. At the same time, there is sometimes an assumption that because our sense of mission drives us, HR issues such as compensation, benefits and professional development are not as crucial for us as they are for others.
The sector is diverse but many characteristics and concerns cut across it
Our sector is united by some important characteristics, and a number of these shared traits have implications for labour force and HR issues. As a result, many people working in our sector have found that it makes sense to work together on HR matters, pooling ideas and tools, and jointly considering strategic approaches to our labour force needs.
The path forward
Momentum is building across the country for new strategic approaches to our sector's labour force. If you are involved with the sector — as an employer, an employee, a funder, a policy maker or a researcher — and you want to be part of the growing conversation about the changes we need to make, the HR Council is a hub through which you can connect to others who are engaged with these issues.
Change is happening
A number of initiatives are already underway across the country:
- Quebec’s Comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre – Économie sociale, Action communautaire (CSMO-ÉSAC), has worked since 1997 to promote and consolidate joint action on sector work force issues
- In 2007, sector stakeholders and government partners developed “A Workforce Strategy for Alberta’s Non-Profitand Voluntary Sector”
- Recent joint sector-government initiatives in other provinces have included a focus on human resources
- Change is also happening within organizations with regard to their focus on governance, budgeting and operational decisions that affect human resource planning and management
These efforts indicate that people working in different parts of the sector understand the need for coordinated action on labour force issues, and are ready to take part.
The HR Council is a catalyst
The HR Council is ready to play an active role in this process as a convenor, coordinator, research instigator and information-sharing mechanism. We are pleased to offer the Labour Force Study described herein as a foundation for dialogue and a tool to help people and organizations in the sector formulate plans of action.
The HR Council is a forum for discussions on workplace and labour force issues. The sector itself is moving toward strategic change; the HR Council is here to encourage and connect the people and organizations at work on solutions.
Strategic directions for the sector to discuss and pursue
Based on the findings of the quantitative study, as well as extensive consultation with people in different parts of the non-profit sector, the HR Council has crystallized five broad strategic directions for action on HR and labour force issues:
1. Attracting and developing the people organizations need
2. Benefiting from the full range of talent
3. Focusing on research and development
4. Promoting the value of work in the sector
5. Ensuring financial resources to sustain the sector's labour force
A more detailed discussion of these recommendations is available in the Labour Force Study's final report.
What can I do?
In your own organization you can:
- Raise HR practices at your next staff meeting – gauge your colleagues’ level of engagement with HR issues and discuss practical ways you might begin to learn about and act on them.
- Make sure your board sees this article – keep board members informed about HR issues in your organization, and about the changes that are underway in the broader sector.
- Talk to people in your network – if you have a formal or informal network of colleagues who discuss issues related to your mission, organizational issues, fundraising, or other matters, add labour force and HR issues to the agenda; consider how you might share information and best practices.
These concrete actions are the first steps toward creating conditions for strategic labour force growth and renewal in our sector.
“I don’t have time today”
You’re in good company. A labour force strategy that will enable our sector to thrive in the years to come is a large and complex undertaking. From any one perspective—governmental, organizational, individual—it is a daunting task, especially given that everyone in the sector has an important job with its own demands. Today, we hope you come away from this knowing that:
- Change is happening in our sector on labour force issues
- Because of the important research conducted in the past few years, the sector is now able to see itself and its labour force needs more clearly than ever
- There are easy, practical ways for you to stay informed and participate in HR and labour force changes that will make our whole sector more effective over time
- hrcouncil.ca is your link to HR and labour force issues; we want to know what issues you think need attention; we also want to know about changes you are making and changes you see happening in your area
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