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RSPB going to have 300 less staff in the next 3 years. (1 Viewer)

IAN JAMES THOMPSON

IAN JAMES THOMPSON

Well-known member
In a blog by the Director of Conservation on the RSPB Forums, a Member came on and claimed that 10% of RSPB staff where going to be made redundant and the Director of Conservation came on to say that the RSPB would have to have 300 less staff working for the RSPB during the next 3 years and the reason was he said was for various reasons. I can have a good guess why, but I won’t say why I think it’s happening, on these forums.
Ian.
 
In all sectors of the UK economy the trend is to have less staff and do more of your work with the use of sub-contractors. Staff leave and you replace their efforts without replacing them. Charities are no exception to this. In fact given the lower wages in the charity sector and the higher proportion of entry-level jobs there is a higher staff churn. This makes it easier to reduce payrolled staff without redundancies.

If the work is still done, does it matter?
 
Looking at the financial figures in the annual report - and projecting the reductions in grants forward to take account of any potential effects from Brexit, it would seem sensible to reduce costs. Added to this is the perennial bugbear of pension liabilities. Any sensible organisation would be looking to reduce costs under these circumstances.
 
stuartvine said:
Looking at the financial figures in the annual report - and projecting the reductions in grants forward to take account of any potential effects from Brexit, it would seem sensible to reduce costs. Added to this is the perennial bugbear of pension liabilities. Any sensible organisation would be looking to reduce costs under these circumstances.
Click to expand...

They already take advantage of a large number of unpaid volunteers. It's been neccessary it seems, that anyone looking for a job with them, that they build a backround of volunteering.
 
I’ve found out quite a lot more why these cuts are happening, but it’s something I wouldn’t dare mention publicly. I just hope the RSPB publicly say why these cuts are being made, as the reason would shock a lot of people why this is going to happen.
Ian.
 
Ian, I cannot understand why you don't just say what the reason is behind these cuts. It's not as if the RSPB are going to take you to court over announcing something that you guessed at and now know the reason why.
All the other responses are on lines that modern day businesses would follow to stay profitable and efficient. This is no different.
Thank you.
 
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And then John can tell us!

Actually it would be much more fun to continue and try guessing.


Bitterns? The RSPB has decided that there are too many Bitterns in the UK, and so no longer need so many staff.
 
IAN JAMES THOMPSON said:
PM me John and I will tell you.
Ian.
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I strongly recommend that in future you do not announce that you know something and then in the next breath explain that its too sensitive to be put in the public domain. That is infantile. I know a secret but I'm not going to tell you....

I'm interested in your reasoning, but not so much as to deprive the rest of the forum of it, or you of the credit. Come on, Holmes. You've told us the game is afoot. Dazzle us with your logic. 3:)

John
 
Farnboro John said:
I strongly recommend that in future you do not announce that you know something and then in the next breath explain that its too sensitive to be put in the public domain. That is infantile. I know a secret but I'm not going to tell you....

I'm interested in your reasoning, but not so much as to deprive the rest of the forum of it, or you of the credit. Come on, Holmes. You've told us the game is afoot. Dazzle us with your logic. 3:)

John
Click to expand...
You say it’s infantile. Well it’s quite simple to PM me. Unless you think that’s to infantile for you do.
Ian. And it’s always been infantile for you to be sarcastic by taking the mikey.
 
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I will happily guess. If it is head office/fundraising staff, I would guess that the changes to guidance on charity fundraising, EU GDPR, etc, mean that they anticipate being able to undertake far less direct fundraising:-

https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/o...we-are-asking-you-to-say-yes-to-the-rspb.aspx

I suppose anticipated saturation point may also be a possibility particularly within an older demographic?

Alternatively turning Minsmere into a golf course or stopping selling fluffy bird toys in the gift shops.

It will make no difference to me. Member for 35 years and will continue to be so.

All the best
 
Paul Chapman said:
I will happily guess. If it is head office/fundraising staff, I would guess that the changes to guidance on charity fundraising, EU GDPR, etc, mean that they anticipate being able to undertake far less direct fundraising:-

https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/o...we-are-asking-you-to-say-yes-to-the-rspb.aspx

I suppose anticipated saturation point may also be a possibility particularly within an older demographic?

Alternatively turning Minsmere into a golf course or stopping selling fluffy bird toys in the gift shops.

It will make no difference to me. Member for 35 years and will continue to be so.

All the best
Click to expand...

'It will make no difference to me. Member for 35 years and will continue to be so.'
Brilliant!
As long as we are supporting some organisation which do something for nature then at least we are putting something back to help wildlife.
No charity is perfect and we can always find fault with something they do and find reasons not to support them. They are, after all, run by flawed human beings.
One of the nature charities I support carries out some questionable projects but, by and large, they do a great job for nature.
I recently posted a thread about the great work the RSPB have done at Hodbarrow to boost Sandwich Tern breeding numbers. No tea shop selling Lemon Drizzle cakes there. It's an out of the way, unfashionable reserve, which attracts few visitors, but they've put in resources and labour to help the Terns and it's paid off handsomely.The number of Sandwich Tern has increased from almost nothing to 3100 with 1800 nests in 2018
[ there were record numbers of Common Terns too].This represents 15% of the UK population
 
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So here is the great secret...
IAN JAMES THOMPSON said:
.Someone said that there had been an article on the internet that the RSPB only have monetary reserves for a couple of months and cuts must happen or the RSPB could face administration. How true this is I don’t know. Apparanty some bird magazine or possibly on the internet called bird guides mentioned that. It was from a friend from my local RSPB Group who told me this.
Ian.
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Basically "someone told me that he had heard somewhere, maybe in a magazine or on the internet, that apparently ..."

Idle gossip.
 
According to its 17-18 annual report the RSPB has 14 weeks of free reserves. This is well within charity guidelines.
 
Ian - presumably this is your post on the RSPB website in response to an article re the AGM:

"22 Oct 2018 12:57 PM
I have heard about the situation the RSPB is in financially from a friend and someone who knows about the RSPB financially and it’s so shocking. But what is so annoying very little news publicly about this, which I think is very bad by the RSPB"

You go on to state that you are truly shocked that staff are being made redundant but then castigate them for not livestreaming the AGM. Money doesn't grow on trees and expenditure needs to be prioritised; I know which is higher up my list.
 
Mono said:
According to its 17-18 annual report the RSPB has 14 weeks of free reserves. This is well within charity guidelines.
Click to expand...


Many thanks.

Ian - I have attached the report with the figures in case you are interested. Page 52 onwards.

All the best
 

Attachments

  • annual-review-17-18.pdf
    2.7 MB · Views: 23
There are elements in the Financial Report that do make grim reading and no doubt that the RSPB will have to change. Some items for interpretation.......
1. Membership static
2. Trading down £1.5 million
3. Other income down £5 million
4. Volunteer hours nearly 1 million

Challenging times indeed for the charity which may explain the rebranding and mission statement in an effort to reach out for families, younger members ( the hope for the future ) and support through volunteers.
 
PYRTLE said:
There are elements in the Financial Report that do make grim reading and no doubt that the RSPB will have to change. Some items for interpretation.......
1. Membership static
2. Trading down £1.5 million
3. Other income down £5 million
4. Volunteer hours nearly 1 million

Challenging times indeed for the charity which may explain the rebranding and mission statement in an effort to reach out for families, younger members ( the hope for the future ) and support through volunteers.
Click to expand...

Yes hard times indeed. Much income is derived from additional voluntary contributions on top of the minimum membership fees and other miscellaneous donations etc. It is not surprising, that whilst membership remains static many will have cut back their contributions to the basic membership fee. This along with falling shop sales is hardly likely to come as a shock following years of austerity and an uncertain economic future with Brexit etc. looming.

RSPB is competing for an ever diminishing pool of available donations along with all the other charities out there, and must respond in the same way as any other organization when faced with falling income. Ie make cost savings to maintain profits (or "surplus" as it is called in charities) to reinvest in its projects.

Whilst shop (and online) sales and voluntary donations will always ebb and flow with the changing economic fortunes of the country as a whole, the most worrying aspect would be the static membership. If they cannot attract new, younger members then, not only will this ultimately lead to a decline in numbers, it should be borne in mind that the younger generations (ie those with more earning potential) are those most likely to spend more and be more active.
 
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