Attracting a workforce when there's no salary on offer - what not-for-profits need to know

The not-for-profit sector contributes just over 4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product to the nation's economy, at around $43 billion. It's big business, and is largely supported by volunteers who contribute an additional $14.6 billion in unpaid work to the economy every year ¹.

Research conducted by SEEK Volunteer revealed that only 16 per cent of working Australians volunteer ². This leaves a large portion of our working population who are not volunteering.

These are concerning statistics given the working population across Australia has many of the skills and experience which not-for-profit organisations now require to remain competitive, explains Head of SEEK Volunteer, Amanda Robinson.

"With more than 600,000 not-for-profits operating in Australia alone, it is a highly competitive industry when it comes to attracting people into their organisation. Unless the working population really gets behind volunteering, our not-for-profits are going to find it harder and harder to deliver their services to the community," said Ms Robinson.

There are thousands of volunteer roles currently available on www.seekvolunteer.com.au, many of which require highly skilled volunteers with experience across; Governance, Accounting, IT, Counselling, Mediation, Policy Development and Marketing.

"One of the biggest challenges not-for-profits face is attracting volunteers with the specific skills they require to support day-to-day operations and growth. Without having the biggest attraction tool, financial remuneration at their disposal they need to be clear on the value and opportunities they can give back to volunteers. This all starts at the first point of contact a not-for-profit has with a potential volunteer - the role advertisement," Ms Robinson says.

Across Australia there are currently more than 12,000 volunteer opportunities available - so finding great volunteers is highly competitive.

"To help volunteer organisations find the right people, they first need to get them to feel compelled to apply for the position," explains Ms Robinson. "The best volunteer job ads are those that paint a clear picture about why someone would volunteer their time to support your cause. They speak to the impact the person will make in this role, the networks they'll get exposed to and the on-the-job skills and experience they can gain, while contributing to a cause they're passionate about. With a few simple tweaks, we usually see a vast improvement in the suitability of volunteer applications."

¹ ABS Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector, Productivity Commission Research Report, January 2010
² Independent research by GFK on behalf of SEEK (Jan 2014- March 2014). Data is weighted to be nationally representative of age, gender, location, employment status and income (combination of ABS stats)

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