The research, by Henley Management College, found that although issues such as recruitment, retention, development and training took up around 80% of a budget, HR tended not to be part of the strategic development process, which it claims is a “huge source of organisational risk”.

It discovered that organisations which didn’t prioritise HR suffered from difficulties in judging performance, a lack of clear accountability and conflicts between governance structures and staff.

Stephen Lee, director of the Centre for Voluntary Sector Management at the college, said it was not surprising HR took up so many resources as not-for-profits rely on staff and volunteers to fulfil their missions. “However, organisations tend to focus on it as a functional aspect of their work instead of integrating it into their strategy,” he said.

For more information visit www.henleymc.ac.uk