HEAR and third sector employers

This briefing addresses the following question: how will third sector employers engage with the HEAR? The third, or voluntary, sector is large and diverse. Thousands of these organisations undertake work in pursuit of social goals, as opposed to profit, across the UK. A number of general observations have been drawn from discussions with large and small employers, about how they might use the information contained in the HEAR. Despite their different sizes and aims, there were many congruent points. Many third sector employers consciously and explicitly consider their staff an asset to be developed. In common with many such employers (with the exception of professional and specialist posts), neither employer interviewed seeks formal educational requirements stating that ‘we’re interested in the person in the round’. This is a typical disposition in the third sector characterised as ‘it’s about them [their staff] as well as the organisation’. The HEAR has the potential to add value to recruitment processes in the third sector.