Recession squeezes Not for Profits: pay survey
The latest Not for Profit Remuneration Survey from strategic remuneration and performance management company, Strategic Pay, shows that the Not For Profit sector has been hit hard by the recession.
The survey is conducted annually and this year is based on data from 282 organisations covering 8962 employees.
It says that effects of the recession were felt particularly strongly in the Not for Profit Sector with a noticeable drop in overall pay movements and some ‘rationalisation’ (read: cuts!) in staff numbers.
“The number of survey participants returning a simple data update of “no movement for anybody” was particularly sobering,” it says, adding that while unemployment rates have likely peaked “the real burden has fallen on unskilled and semi-skilled positions which are strongly represented in Not for Profit staffing.”
Strategic Pay says the Not for Profit Sector is particularly vulnerable to recessions because funding for many organisations is directly dependent upon the success of other donor organisations, whether they be government or the private sector.
This is made worse because there is no corresponding decline in demand for services or products. “On the contrary, tougher times mean an exponential increase in demand for many of the services in this sector,” the report points out.
“As a result, we are seeing long-established organisations struggling to meet the needs of a growing client base even as their financial resources are stretched thinner and thinner. Fortunately, the New Zealand spirit of giving and sharing is still strong, and in the face of the adversity faced by many, the Not for Profit Sector is proving itself a dynamic and growing component of our society.”
The survey analysed 116 job categories, providing base salary, fixed and total remuneration breakdowns by location and organisation size (employee numbers).
It found that:
- A significant number of staff in the sector (37.5 per cent) work less than a normal full-time week (37.5 or 40 hours). When factored against overall salary levels that are notably below the broader public and general employment sectors, the shorter week indicates a large part of the sector is both under paid and under employed.
- On average, the difference in the median base salaries between the Not for Profit Sector and the Public Sector at 1 May 2010 is 14.7 per cent.
- On average, the difference in the median base salaries between the Not for Profit Sector and the General Market is 15 per cent.
- Only 24.5 per cent of employees receive one or more benefits (excluding KiwiSaver) in addition to base salary. Of the benefit categories surveyed, benefits occur as follows:
| Benefit component | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| KiwiSaver | 13.1% | 19.5% |
| Motor vehicle | 5.2% | 7.8% |
| Other allowance | 7.3% | 5.9% |
| Additional leave | 3.2% | 5.8% |
| Bonus | 2.2% | 3.9% |
| Clubs/professional fees | 3.1% | 3.0% |
| Telephone allowance | 1.8% | 2.2% |
| Superannuation | 2.2% | 2.0% |
| Overtime | 3.3% | 1.5% |
| Medical insurance | 2.0% | 1.5% |
| Vehicle allowance | 0.6% | 0.7% |
- The average value of benefits for those jobs under grade 20 (up to supervisory/middle management) accounts for just 4.1 per cent of total remuneration.
Strategic Pay states that despite the many challenges faced by the sector, not least modest remuneration, “employees in this sector probably love their work more than any other”.
