People Count™ Voluntary Sector is a human resource benchmarking tool tailored to the specific needs of the voluntary and community sector, and is endorsed by NCVO, People in Aid, SHARE, and the Mental Health Providers Forum.

By taking part in People Count™ Voluntary Sector, you will get a clear picture of how the HR processes in your organisation compare with those in other voluntary and community organisations.

Participation in the study involves filling out a questionnaire, and on completion you will receive a series of detailed reports, including an organisational scorecard which sets out how your organisation’s performance compares with 10-20 of your chosen peers and with the sector as a whole. This provides a powerful, tailor-made tool which you can use to contribute to performance improvement. The reports also contain case studies of good practice from high performing organisations involved in the study.

Services as part of your Subscription:

• Volumes 1 and 2 will be supplied printed and on CD-ROM. Volume 3 will be supplied on CD-ROM only. 
• Understanding your results' telephone based consultation with a Senior Consultant
• Password protected access to your reports online
• Invitation to launch events across the UK
• Access to www.PeopleCount.com/Voluntary

Over 155 organisations of different sizes and sub sectors have been involved over the past 2 years so there is already a wide range on our database for you to choose from when selecting your peer organisations.

The study is run annually. People Count 2007 was published in September, and the reports are now available to participants to download from the client section of this website. The next study will run in Spring 2008. If you would like more information please register your interest.

Benefits experienced by participants:

• Provides early warning signs of potential issues
• Gives reassurance for what is already working well
• Helps determine priorities for action
• Useful in setting meaningful and realistic targets
• Provides an opportunity to gain new insights on good practice and how to achieve it
• Enhances your ability to report back to management and trustees.

Previous participants have said that the study provides‘valuable information’‘that is not available through any other route’. To see more from our previous participants, please go to therecommendations page.

Key topics covered include:

• Composition of workforce, including diversity issues
• Recruitment and selection
• Staff retention, including turnover and length of service
• Learning and development
• Appraisal and performance management
• Absence management
• Employee relations, including discipline, grievance and employment tribunals
• Cost and role of the HR function, including staffing levels, outsourcing, split of time, and plans for future development
• Reward strategy