One in three charity communications professionals feel “burned out”, with the same proportion planning a career change in the next year, a survey has revealed.
Charity Comms’s latest annual survey found that communications professionals’ job satisfaction was lower (48%) at larger charities than at smaller organisations (82%).
In particular, staff at charities with more than 1,000 employees cited a “lack of role definition” as a key problem.
People working at smaller charities of one to 10 employees praised “visible impact and respected expertise” as significant contributors to job satisfaction.
Middle management and senior officer roles reported the lowest job satisfaction at 40%, far below fundraisers which had the highest level at 72%, despite having the lowest annual salary.
“These roles often handle significant management stress and stretched resources without the salary compensation seen at the top levels of an organisation,” Charity Comms said.
Lack of training opportunities
Some 63% of communications staff surveyed said they had no training or development opportunities in the next year.
People with no training planned were more likely to think about a move (36%) compared with those who had training (26%).
“Ensuring everyone in the team has a development plan, with measurable targets and goals, helps them feel more connected with their work as well as more positive about their working culture,” Sarah Clarke, head of membership and insight at Charity Comms, wrote.
This marked a decrease from 2024, when 42% of communications staff said they had training and development opportunities booked in that year.
Clarke’s article also mentioned that people who felt their role was helping their long-term career were nearly three times more likely to stay.
Those who did not feel this were part of the group most likely to leave, with 51% of this cohort actively planning to depart.
Feeling misunderstood by senior managers
Some 48% of respondents said they felt that senior managers and board members did not have a good understanding of their role.
This can contribute to a sense of their expertise being undervalued, Charity Comms said, perceived as “short-sighted” and a factor damaging outlook.
“Many professionals feel that comms and marketing are often the first areas to face cuts during financial uncertainty,” the report stated.
Despite this, 68% said that communications was valued in their organisation, compared to 21% who felt it was not.
This marked a decrease from the year prior, when 76% reported they felt valued, and 17% said they did not.
Overall, 325 people responded to the latest CharityComms survey.
Some 46% worked at charities with 11 to 100 employees, while 34% worked at manager level.
