DO WE care about professionalism in the third sector? I have heard it argued that professionalism is against an ethos that values user-involvement and volunteering. Shouldn’t anyone, anywhere, be able to establish a voluntary organisation if they think that they can change the world? But surely, whether we are providing services, campaigning, or promoting volunteering, don’t our clients and communities deserve the best? Too often the sector lets itself down by a woolly and amateurish approach to important issues.
As the third sector grows, pressures are increasing to demonstrate the effectiveness of our organisations and the quality of the work we do. As independent organisations, we must also be as commercially aware as any business, even though we will be driven by our strong values. We must also get better at embodying and projecting professionalism.
When the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo) consulted on a manifesto for third sector leaders, our members hit on the concept of being “professional and passionate”. To me this encapsulates our role. We want to drive forward our mission in a professional and commercial manner but we will be driven by the passion that motivates our staff and volunteers.
Acevo is shortly to launch a report — Doing Good and Doing Well? — on how third sector organisations define and measure success. In writing this report we surveyed 151 third sector chief executives and chairs. Only a fifth of us believe that the sector is good at measuring and reporting on its own performance.
Our research also reveals some good news: many third sector organisations are fundamentally reviewing the approach they take to performance monitoring and management. In fact, 66 per cent of respondents have made substantial changes in the past three years. A similar number say that they will take a far more robust approach to the issue in the future.
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A major public service union recently attacked our members for becoming too much like big business. The obvious response is “and why not?” The idea that you should not have a firm eye on the bottom line, or should reject a professional approach, is clearly a nonsense.
But unlike big business, our profits are invested in our causes. The more professional and commercial we are, the more we can deliver to citizens and communities. That strikes me as a good deal and the only proper approach for a 21st-century third sector.
The chief executives I know are determined to run effective and efficient organisations. They also strive to project this image externally: branding is crucial. A modern third sector needs to place a much stronger emphasis on leadership. It needs to support professional development. And it needs to stop feeling guilty about investing in its own capacity.
In Acevo we are considering how to move to an accredited membership body in which our CEO members sign up to a professional code of practice and commit to continuous professional development. We may seek to achieve chartered status so that we can emphasise the importance of high standards in the sector. Our members want our sector to embrace professionalism and effectiveness in delivering for all those it serves. Stephen Bubb is the chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations