Management today

In relation to supplier contracts, have you identified which supplier contracts you may wish to end, renegotiate or retender over the next year? You should ensure that you make a note and diarise the date by which you must provide written notice to terminate any supplier contracts, especially if you are considering an alternative supplier due to the changing needs of your charity or because you need to save on operating costs.

You may need to seek legal advice on the implications of a service provision change, which can include changing supplier or bringing certain services in-house. A good example is changing the supplier of outsourced IT support.

Relevant transfer

You should bear in mind that the service provision change could be a relevant transfer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) which will be particularly relevant to your charity if you are outsourcing for the first time or bringing service provisions back in-house. Your existing contract with your current supplier may contain provisions confirming whether TUPE applies, but if you are unsure or need to learn more about this, you should seek appropriate advice.

Charities need to know and understand what the consequences of terminating a supplier contract are, and the terms and conditions of the contract may set this out. But certain issues such as the return or destruction of confidential information or personal data need to be carefully managed to limit your risks and ensure that your charity is adhering to its legal and regulatory obligations.

It is also prudent to ensure that you remind your charity trustees of their obligations to avoid a conflict of interest (either with the individual trustee personally, or with a person connected with them) between their duties as a trustee and any business interest they may have or are connected with.

This duty has certainly hit the headlines in recent months with several high profile charities or individuals connected to them being brought under the spotlight for failing to be transparent or declare conflicts.

A conflict of interest may arise via a contract for services, goods or professional advice from a person with whom a trustee is connected with. If the duties are not clearly understood, it would be sensible to encourage further training or for the trustee to seek independent advice on any contracts where there may be a conflict.

The governing document for your charity will set out how a conflict may be approved by the charity itself, but approval may have to be obtained from the Charity Commission, a court or a statutory provision in certain circumstances so, again, appropriate advice should be sought if the charity board and trustees are unsure of which approval is required.

Your charity may have other terms and conditions for other issues, for example fundraising, or competitions. Have these been reviewed recently to ensure they comply with current law and practice?

Data protection

Data protection policies and procedures should be on the list for review over the next year, as the Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUAB) is progressing through Parliament and it will make some modest changes to data protection law. Some changes are wider ranging than just making changes to UK GDPR, and cover issues such as smart data schemes (which can allow businesses and other entities to share aggregated data).

It is worth planning ahead to see how the changes may apply to your charity and your proposed plans for the future, especially if you are considering working with other parties or charities to share aggregated data.

The change which is likely to impact the charity sector the most will be changes to UK GDPR in relation to automated decision making, particularly if a charity is using AI. The proposed changes under DUAB reduce some of the current restrictions on the use of personal data for automatic decision making (but the changes will not remove the restriction relating to the use of special category personal data, such as data relating to health).

Given the way that regulation and use of personal data will increasingly evolve over the next few years, it is important that you consider how the implementation of new technologies or processes will impact your legal duties in relation to data protection law and seek advice if necessary.

Employment contracts

Employment contracts and policies should be reviewed periodically, and given the change of government, it would be good practice to review these documents in 2025. There may need to be changes to employee privacy notices to comply with data protection law, or additional consent obtained for any new processing of special category personal data.

Charities should also bear in mind that changes to the National Minimum Wage and National Insurance which have taken place from 1 April this year, and budget accordingly for higher payroll costs.

If you need to make changes to staffing levels, remuneration, benefits offered, or working patterns it would be worth considering seeking legal advice. Good advice will help you avoid exposing the charity to claims by considering the contractual and statutory rights of current staff, as well any protections those individuals may have.

For example, if a charity is considering making redundancies, it may wish to obtain advice about potential exits under a settlement agreement, or advice on following a fair redundancy process. If a charity wanted to explore alternatives to redundancy, such as restructuring or reducing/changing working hours, obtaining legal advice is strongly recommended, as those options would need to be handled very carefully to prevent claims, such as unfair dismissal or discrimination complaints, from arising.

Use of AI

The use of artificial intelligence is certainly a useful tool for charities, making tasks faster and allowing staff and volunteers to work more efficiently, such as using AI to analyse donor profiles, allow more targeted marketing communications and creating slide presentations in a few minutes. It is also going to be helpful to those charities in the care or hospice sector where AI can be used to tailor care and treatment of residents and carry out risk assessments.

As a tool, AI is here to stay, but its use should be part of a careful strategy, so that charities can balance its use with their legal and regulatory obligations. Whilst there will undoubtedly be cost savings, there can be pitfalls and charities do need to take care in relation to breaches of copyright and security of personal data.

Trustees ultimately remain responsible for the decision making of the charity and it would not be advisable to rely on AI completely without independent checks by staff at present. AI can have ethical implications too, as it may have inbuilt bias and it also has an environmental impact which needs to be factored in alongside your charities’ values and ethics.

If you do plan on using AI within your charity, it is good practice to prepare an AI policy to ensure your staff are clear about how it may or may not be used as part of their day to day work responsibilities, and so you can build in appropriate checks and test its use.

The above points are just a selection of the areas you may want to consider in your “spring clean” and can be incorporated into annual reviews, or your existing auditing to ensure that your charity continues to comply with current law, regulations and best practices.

Limitations and pitfalls

At the moment, any charity considering using generative AI will need to navigate the many pitfalls it comes with, including an inability to distinguish between the reliable and unreliable content it sources and the fact that the output it produces is only as good as the input it receives from the instructing human. The current versions can’t navigate imprecision and require very exact commands to be useful.

AI can also be manipulated by the user and contains biases as a result of the original source material it has been trained on. An example of this is the chatbot Tay, created by Microsoft, which soon after its launch started to adopt racist and misogynistic “opinions” learning from the interactions it had with those that engaged with it in a more sinister way.

There is also the minefield of data protection and privacy to circumvent in light of the data that generative AI processes to function and the monitoring and surveillance algorithms it employs. All data subjects, including employees and prospective employees, have the right under current data protection legislation to be informed of automated decision making and the right (subject to certain exceptions) not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated data processing.

Concerningly for the charity sector in particular there are also environmental and sustainability fears that have been raised about the use of generative AI.

Uses for charities

That said, AI, even at its young stage of development can already perform an astonishing range of functions. For charities uses for AI include:

• Chatbots to provide online advice.
• Data processing and reporting.
• Overcoming language barriers.
• Conducting research.
• Identifying optimal grant sources.
• Unearthing patterns in beneficiary data.
• Drafting fundraising pages and marketing material.
• Assisting the recruitment process (from writing job descriptions to filtering CVs).
• Drafting letters and policies.
• Writing internal and external communications and generating audio for the same.
• Minuting meetings.

Some charities may also find ways to use generative AI to directly help those at the heart of their mission, for example by using chatbots as a companion tool to assist the elderly or disabled with their care and mental health needs.

Replacing people

The question remains, can AI develop to such an extent that it is able to provide a realistic alternative to people in charities? In the charity sector where humanity is so important it seems highly unlikely that AI can replace roles which require empathy, sensitivity, creativity and interpersonal skills. However, charities which get to grips quickly with using AI to complement the role people perform in their organisation are likely to be placed at an advantage.

Using AI to resource certain aspects of roles in charities traditionally resourced by people will provide cost efficiencies and increase productivity, provided certain checks and balances are in place. In a sector which is often chronically under resourced, generative AI could be hugely beneficial.

By using ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI as a starting point for funding applications, for research, trend spotting and story writing for marketing purposes (even if as only as a starting point), overstretched charities may be able to save precious time to focus on other duties at the heart of their mission where the AI algorithm option is not the best tool.

There is no doubt that charities will need to immerse themselves in this new wave of technological advancement to stay ahead. Funding challenges particularly for smaller charities may hinder some from keeping up with the opportunities AI can bring, potentially widening the gap. However, with the technology giants increasingly focused on developing AI for the greater good in ways that could benefit the sector there should be opportunities for all.

Ultimately, those charities which adjust quickly will reap the benefits of the capabilities of generative AI, but in equal measure there could be significant changes ahead for the traditional use of people and their duties in roles across the charity sector. Love it or loathe it, AI is going to be both a disruptor and an opportunity that is here to stay.

Legislative protection

The threat to employees and jobs posed by AI is not a worry unique to charities. There is growing demand to legislate in this area. Current employment law has not been designed to protect workers against the intellect of generative AI but arguably provides some limited protection already.

For example, an employee who is made redundant and replaced by generative AI may be able to assert that their dismissal was not within the range of reasonable responses and, therefore, unfair.

If generative AI is used as a tool to select candidates for interview but, on account of its inherent biases, discriminates in this selection process, it is likely that the Equality Act 2010 could afford some legal recourse.

However, this is new ground and is currently untested, and whilst employment judges are adept at making decisions in cases which push the boundaries of the existing law, it is obvious that there will be a need for the government to legislate in the long term. 

The TUC has criticised the UK for falling short in preparing to protect workers from AI since some European countries are taking more interventionist approaches. A government White Paper in March 2023, AI regulation: a pro-innovation approach, sets out proposals for using existing regulations and regulators (including the ICO and ECHR) with a view to providing protection without stifling progress. 

This proposal was widely criticised, and various bodies have set out counter proposals which advocate for more regulation. Possible options for more interventionist reform are considered in a research briefing recently published by the House of Commons, Artificial intelligence and employment law – House of Commons Library.

This includes consideration of the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation and Workers’ Rights) Bill 2022-23 that was put forward as a Private Member’s Bill by a Labour MP and suggests various proposals to strengthen workers’ rights against the potentially damaging ramifications of the increased use of AI in the workplace. Inevitably, there will be more debate on this topic to come.

In the meantime, until the law catches up, developing policies, providing internal guidance and educating staff on the appropriate use of generative AI are advisable. Some larger charities are already agreeing to joint codes of practice for the use of AI for grant and funding applications.

Not that far-fetched

A future world where charitable fundraising or grant making takes place with some form of AI seems quite far-fetched right now, but not so long ago an AI generated actor replacing a real actor was also implausible. As the uptake in using generative AI in the workplace becomes more pronounced, legislating to protect the humans in the charity sector may eventually become the answer.

People aged 65 and above constitute the largest group of volunteers in the UK and make huge contributions to their communities and good causes.

But there are still many misconceptions around the sector that older volunteers are not digitally savvy, and struggle to keep up with changing technology. Despite their huge collective voluntary contributions, some charities still believe them to be a tricky age group as the charities increasingly rely on phone apps, tablets or software for their daily activities and communications with teams. I would argue this is not true at all.

This is a broad and varied demographic who have experienced the advancements in technology and are much more resilient than they are often given credit for. While many will remember how things were done manually for so long, they also recognise how much easier and quicker tech makes things and are very accustomed to adapting.

Many of them will have worked in industries where computers and laptops were used more than 20 years ago, so we shouldn’t assume that they wouldn’t be able to pick up using an app or software to log their activities or complete training as volunteers.

Charities just need to rethink and reimagine how they approach older volunteers, instead of assuming they won’t be able to adapt to new technology, and ensure the solutions which the charities implement are simple to use and easy to learn.

Strong skills set

The vast majority of people nearing retirement age or above have tablets or smartphones, and access to the internet at home. In fact, Ofcom said in 2021 that 82% of over-64s now have personal devices or the internet available in their homes.

Older volunteers can bring huge value to a charity’s fundraising efforts and operations. They have often developed many transferable skills during their careers and contribute life experiences and wisdom they can share with their younger colleagues, and can bring a different perspective to volunteer roles.

Current trends suggest that charities may need to work harder to engage with this demographic in the future. Government campaigns to keep over 65s in the workforce, or persuade those who have retired to return to the labour force, are ongoing and there are a number of other responsibilities which inhibit the time people have to volunteer. 

This suggests that, more than a simple reluctance to embrace tech which is holding back older volunteers, charities need to do more to engage and manage them effectively to reap the benefits of their contributions.

Research has shown that charities using a volunteer management system to streamline the application process have found this made it a lot easier for volunteers. It’s clear to them what charities are looking for and keeps them updated throughout the whole process. It shows them they are joining a well-structured organisation, and creates a much more rewarding and positive experience for them.

The Centre for Ageing Better further identified five action points for charities to take in its report Engaging older volunteers to ensure an age-friendly and inclusive approach on recruiting and retaining volunteers over 50. It said charities need to:

• Connect and listen.
• Focus on what matters to people.
• Play to people’s strengths.
• Remove barriers.
• Be flexible.

Each of these pointers outlines how charities can engage more effectively with volunteers - whatever their demographic - but also ensures that older volunteers feel included and appreciated. It helps them to know that their contribution is not going to be in vain and they will be supported when they need it.

Offering extra support

Volunteers at all levels are busy and usually don’t have a lot of time for training. They don’t have hours to spend learning and picking up new technology or systems, often because they have full or part-time jobs or other commitments. They also don’t use it every day depending on how many hours they volunteer, so anything a charity can implement which is uncomplicated and easy to use is a bonus.

Having simple software can help charities make the onboarding process easier and manage volunteers much better. In turn, it can engage volunteers for longer because once they get stuck into the roles they signed up for, they don’t want to spend all their time figuring out the software and devices they need to use.

Offering a little extra digital support to people when they need it or regularly checking in to see if they need any refresher sessions is useful. Sometimes older volunteers might not reach out for extra help, especially if they don’t fully understand an app or functions of a tablet. Trying to understand what their barriers might be if they’re not connecting with the tech or software could prove beneficial to charities in the long run.

Better engagement

Over 65s may be the UK’s largest and most dedicated group of volunteers but where they might lack in tech skills, they instead bring a wealth of experience from years in the workplace and specialist expertise in a field that they can put to good use in a charity. This should never be ignored.

Volunteer managers who find ways to develop the processes around their older volunteers, and put in a little extra support for them, could see them feeling more included, better engaged and having an increased pride in what they do. Over time this means your volunteers could stay with you for longer.

There are four key reasons why charities should build a culture that prioritises leadership development:

Mission effectiveness

The reason that charities exist is to address and alleviate societal issues. Without effective leadership to drive the mission forward, charities find it harder to ensure that the organisation's efforts are impactful and sustainable.

This is especially true when we consider that we are living in an uncertain world, where the environment is constantly shifting. The global scale of change is fuelling micro changes within countries and communities, which means that charities need agile managers and leaders who can adapt to change quickly.

When there is a culture of leadership development you make it possible to have equipped leaders who have the right skills to navigate change, innovate and respond to issues as they emerge.

Managing your resources

Most charities have limited resources (human or otherwise), requiring them to be creative with how these resources are deployed. This is especially pertinent in this era of public scrutiny and expectation. When charities take the time to develop leadership teams who are objective and innovative, who are strong and effective decision makers, there is an increased likelihood that the limited resources you have are fully optimised.

When a charity chooses to invest in the professional growth of its workers it contributes to a positive work environment. This increases employee retention and attracts volunteers to devote their time to helping the charity meet its mission. Poor leadership is the number one reason why employees leave, and volunteers are likely to work at another similar charity if their work isn’t recognised and appreciated.

Furthermore, for charities to succeed they must consider how they conduct their succession planning process. This process is easier and less complex if they have already prioritised leadership development. This would mean that there is a pipeline of potential leaders available, which would make transitions easier and less likely to derail the charity from its primary focus.

Resilience and stakeholders

The world is changing at a remarkable pace, which can mean that strategic plans of three years or more are no longer reliable. It is inevitable there will be setbacks and challenges at a pace that is unusual in the charity sector. This increased pace requires robust leaders who can lead their teams through these challenges whilst ensuring that the charity is stable and able to adapt. Good leadership development enables leaders to become strategic thinkers who can develop emergent strategies that are effective and keep their teams aligned to the mission.

This is one of the areas that leads to increased stakeholder confidence; donors and volunteers for example are more likely to support a charity which has robust leadership. When you have a culture of leadership development that is observable to others it signals a commitment to excellence and a belief in your longevity. The charity’s impact on the communities which it serves can be enhanced as its leaders continue to build relationships, communicate effectively and mobilise resources. Strong leaders who have been developed effectively makes all this possible.

Standards and ethics

It’s important that leaders understand and adhere to governance and compliance standards whilst dealing with sensitive and ethical issues. Principled leaders maintain the trust that stakeholders have in the charity, and trained leaders find it easier to make the right decisions in a timely manner.

Cementing leadership development

Whilst the benefits of building a culture that prioritises leadership development are clear, effectively building this culture in practice can be where leaders struggle.

There are a number of fundamental components required to be a build a leadership centric culture:

Aligning with the mission and values

One of the first things that the charity must establish is alignment with its mission and values and the type and theme of its leadership development. There also needs to be clear recognition that its charitable status means that “off-the-shelf” development initiatives designed for the commercial sector may not fit the charity’s culture or needs.

It is important to have the mission and values embedded into all leadership development interventions so that there is a deeper understanding and connection to the charity’s purpose, a shared commitment to its aims and all stakeholders can see this demonstrated by everyone who works with the charity. Regardless of whether they are employed or volunteers.

Learning and skill development

If a charity wants to build a culture that prioritises leadership development, it needs to recognise that leadership development is not a “done and dusted” one-off event. Developing a culture which has learning at the heart of it means that the charity is able to adapt effectively to the changing mores of the sector. Learning should not be not restricted to formalised in-person training. It should include, for example, podcasts, articles, TED (technology, entertainment and design) talks, workshops, conferences and relevant online courses.

The key is to treat ongoing education as a way to acquire new skills that align with the charity’s mission and values. This ongoing learning can be supported by enabling employees to have a mentor or “buddy” who can share insights and support their professional growth.

This approach has the potential to establish the charity as a “learning organisation”, which prioritises personal and professional growth through knowledge transfer. These organisations encourage learning as part of their fundamental culture and overall vision for long term success. Learning organisations tend to avoid having a blame culture, celebrate mistakes or failures as learning opportunities and allow growth to occur in a psychologically safe environment.

This makes the charity more resilient and able to adapt to challenges, encouraging innovation and creativity.

Inclusivity and diversity

Many charities continue to have a homogeneous make-up, despite the reality that the communities they serve are of a heterogeneous nature. This can have a significant impact on how effective they are in their ability to carry out the charity’s mission and vision. It could also lead to increasing distrust from the very community the charity wishes to serve.

Leaders need to be inclusive and diverse, able to see and understand the different perspectives of their workers and communities. Only then will the charity be sure that there is true alignment with stakeholders of its vision and mission.

Inclusive leadership training can create and nurture an environment where there is innovation and better decision making, because diverse voices are valued and lived experience is being shared in a psychologically safe environment. This fosters a sense of belonging and increases engagement and collaboration.

Supportive leadership ecosystem

To ensure charities have a culture which prioritises leadership development requires more than a suite of courses. It can mean celebrating successes, recognising the contributions of others, and having a succession plan where you are regularly developing an engaged and effective pipeline of talent. When the charity identifies and develops potential successors, it can begin to mitigate the impact of leadership transition and stabilise the organisation.

The charity’s ecosystem should support open, honest and transparent communication, which has robust feedback mechanisms that enable collaboration and innovation.

The right ecosystem prioritises trust and empowers leaders to work with autonomy and a sense of responsibility. This could mean providing stretch projects to work on and delegating tasks and decision making to all. This allows the workforce to grow and develop through challenges and opportunities.

Leadership development is a continuous process of aligning to the charity’s mission and vision, and a willingness to be open, transparent and inclusive of differing perspectives and needs. The world that charities are working in is increasingly complex and fast moving. Having a culture which prioritises leadership development is one of the most effective ways to ensure charities have the tools to face an unpredictable future with increased certainty.

Embracing virtual learning

The rise of virtual learning is an exciting development in the L&D space. One major advantage this creates is flexibility. It enables employees who work remotely to access training materials wherever they are in the world, rather than travelling to a physical office or classroom.

One of the virtual L&D tools that we have rolled out across the charity is LinkedIn Learning, an online educational platform that helps our employees discover and develop new workplace, technology, soft and creative skills by accessing over 20,000 video courses hosted by expert instructors. Materials can be downloaded and accessed offline, along with accompanying exercise files and assessments.

In a world where our teams are used to consuming snackable content and short-form reels (vertical videos) on their personal devices, bite-sized training videos are particularly effective at encouraging them to dip in and out of learning.

Expanding your L&D curriculum

We are passionate about providing our employees with 360-degree learning and development. Online learning platforms make this easier, by providing access to thousands of hours of material on a wide variety of subjects.

According to our platform data, softer skills like “interpersonal communications and public speaking” and “personal development and career management” are in the top five most popular learning categories. These insights show that we are succeeding in encouraging our teams to acquire those broader soft skills required to thrive throughout their careers.

In addition, the data shows there is also high demand for more practical skills like “time management and hybrid working” and IT systems such as Excel and CRM, which enable teams to boost their efficiency and productivity in pursuit of our big, important, strategic goals.

Once employees have completed a course, they receive tailored, personalised recommendations for the next stage of their learning journey.

Breaking down learning silos

Prior to the introduction of online learning at Alzheimer’s Research UK, the process of creating, developing and implementing new L&D programs could often be time consuming and resource- heavy.

However, after investing in an online learning platform, we are now able to build consolidated L&D content hubs that bring video content, exercises and resources together in one place around specific subjects and training categories. These hubs can be quickly and easily scaled across the charity.

I have found it to be like having an extra member of the team, working alongside me to deliver fit for purpose content, which can be built into personalised individual learning paths. Over 95% of our LinkedIn licences have been activated, illustrating the popularity of the platform internally. Learners typically engage for an average of one hour per month.

Building engagement through advocacy

As with all workplace technology, it is critical that online learning platforms are rolled out thoughtfully. Certain internal processes must evolve to unlock the benefits, and internal champions must actively encourage employee engagement.

An approach that has worked effectively for us at Alzheimer's Research UK has been encouraging employees to participate in community learning - sharing their L&D updates in team meetings and on internal communication platforms. We have found this to be a quick and effective way of sparking interest across the wider team and getting more people actively engaged.

As a platform, LinkedIn Learning lends itself well to this style of L&D, as it encourages employees to post about their completed training courses and share certificates and achievements. We also leverage additional tools such as enterprise social networking site Viva Engage to encourage inspiration sharing, and also book summary service Blinkist to help succinctly explain and digest information.

In a similar vein, asking our leadership team to openly engage in L&D programs and share their experiences has also supercharged on-platform engagement. Many of our leaders go a step further and actively recommend courses to their direct reports or members of their wider team. In short, top down role modelling pays dividends for all learning initiatives.

Using data to demonstrate ROI

Data that proves a charity is putting donor funds to the best possible use is a powerful tool. Online learning platforms generate a significant amount of data that can be used to evolve and optimise L&D programmes and demonstrate the value of our investment in them.

It enables us to analyse KPIs such as the most popular courses and how many hours of training different teams are putting in. In addition, at the end of each year we send out an internal survey inviting team members to request and recommend training materials or courses that would be beneficial to them.

We regularly review this data against our overall priorities as a charity to ensure we are tackling our skills gaps and prioritising critical capabilities. We package this information up into dashboards for our leadership team to demonstrate our progress against L&D objectives, inform our next set of priorities at operational planning and, if needed, secure additional funding.

Skilling up for the journey

Finding a cure for dementia is a journey, and we must ensure our charity has the skills required to thrive over the next decade and beyond. With this in mind, we set our L&D priorities with a three to five year time horizon firmly in mind.

Looking ahead, the progress that we have made in implementing online learning systems, processes and behaviours will serve us well as digital and AI become even more pervasive. Tech platform partners like LinkedIn will continue to equip us with the cutting edge technology and functionality we need to succeed.

Our online learning platforms will enable us to offer tailored, personalised training journeys more cost effectively than before, lowering costs, and allowing us to maximise time spent in in-person workshops, reducing costs and freeing up more resources to deploy in the right places.

Finally, the data we are creating through our L&D programs will enable us to “test and learn”, experimenting with new curricula as we look to identify, grow and embed the skills needed to thrive tomorrow in our workforce today.

Equipped with the right passion, direction and skills, I firmly believe small teams can achieve big things – and for us, there’s nothing bigger than stopping the heartbreak of dementia.