Introduction - NGOs Salary Survey

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (hereafter the "HKCSS") has conducted the annual NGOs Salary Survey (hereafter the "Survey") for the social service sector since 2003. Overseen by an Advisory Committee composed of representatives and experts from the social service sector, the business sector and human resources management professionals, and conducted by an independent survey consultant, the Survey aims to provide the most updated reference to assist Non-governmental Organizations (hereafter the “NGOs”) in positioning their salary and benefit practices. Starting from 2016, NGOs Salary Survey has been conducted annually while NGOs Benefit Survey has been conducted every two to three years. NGOs Benefit Survey is conducted this year.

In the past decades, the operating environment of the social service sector has kept on changing. The introduction of the Lump Sum Grant Subvention (hereafter the “LSG”) has transformed the resources management of the NGOs in the social service sector, especially in human resources management. NGOs have been given the freedom to manage their employees structures, employees-mixes and the levels of salary and benefit under the LSG funding mode. To facilitate NGOs in determining the levels of salary and benefit with flexibility to meet their organizational requirements, more relevant and timely reference on the salary and benefit policy and strategy of the sector should be made available.

The scopes of the Survey and salary data collected have been modified to cope with the changing environment and practices of the sector. Since 2018, the survey has covered the salary data of all full-time employees, disregarding their salary scales following the Master Pay Scale (MPS) or not. Only snapshot staff salary data have been excluded. Information on the salary grade structure with both starting and maximum salaries, and detailed salary data for the given 65 benchmarked positions are covered. Apart from the salary data comparisons among large-, medium- and small-sized agencies, the salary data comparisons between subvented and non-subvented agencies have also been included. Salary data of social work positions and social service project positions have been collected in more details with the comparison between subvented and non-subvented posts. The enhancement has provided an in-depth salary information of the benchmarked positions.

With the contributions from the Advisory Committee Members and the professional service rendered by the survey consultant, the Survey has been accomplished with satisfactory results. It is delighted to report that 135 Agency Members joined the Survey this year, with an increase of 1.5%.

Introduction - NGOs Benefit Survey

HKCSS has conducted the annual NGOs Salary Survey (hereafter the "Survey") for the social service sector since 2003. As a part of the Survey, the survey on benefits is conducted to provide relevant information regarding benefits offered by NGOs.

The survey on benefits is conducted every two to three years since 2012. Since the survey on benefits is an independent subject of interest to NGOs, the result is published as a separate report starting from 2016. This is to facilitate easier access and references to the result of the survey on benefits independently. The survey on benefits includes major topics such as leave entitlement, medical care benefits, Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme and other types of benefits such as life insurance and agency-sponsored education subsidy. It covers all full-time employees except snapshot staff. For medical care benefits, it looks into the provision for both full-time employees and part-time employees.

Overseen by an Advisory Committee composed of representatives and experts from the social service sector, the business sector and human resources management professionals, and conducted by an independent survey consultant, the Survey aims to provide the most updated reference information to assist NGOs in positioning their benefit strategies to attract, reward, motivate and retain their employees, and revamping the relevant human resources management practices to meet the challenging operating environment. This year, the number of participants is 135.

Introduction - Topical Study on Epidemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, many NGOs adopted new working modes in the past year to continue the provison of services. This year, topical study on epidemic is included in the survey to provide participating agency members specific information related to the changes and trend of HR policies under COVID-19.

Objective and Scope of the Survey

The objectives of the Survey are to provide the most updated reference in the following areas:
 

• A summary of salary data on the given benchmarked positions in different job families;
• Comparisons of salary levels in the past years for different categories of job positions;
• Comparisons of salary levels amongst large-, medium- and small-sized agencies, and subvented and non-subvented agencies;
• The average percentage of overall salary adjustment awarded to eligible employees;
• Employee turnover data on the given benchmarked positions in different job families;
• Comparisons of employee turnover level amongst large-, medium- and small-sized agencies, and subvented and non-subvented agencies;
• A summary of findings on human resources management practices; and
• A summary of benefits offered to different levels of staff.

In regard of the reference date of the salary data, “31 October” has been adopted, which is the same as the past surveys. Hence, the reference date in this report is “31 October 2021”. It covered 54,011 full-time employees in-post. A total of 65 benchmarked positions have been selected for the Survey.

Survey Methodology

The following methodology is deployed in the Survey.
 

1. Design of the Survey

The questionnaire and job descriptions for benchmarked positions are developed to:

• ensure adequate representations and fair interpretations of findings;
• collect empirical data and views from the Participants on their current practices in salary and benefit management; and
• identify the differences in salary and benefit management practices due to the heterogeneity of the Participants.

To facilitate the Participants to complete the questionnaire, the HKCSS handled enquiries on general and administration issues. Stat Solutions Co, as a survey consultant, was responsible for answering technical questions, conducting data analysis and maintaining all data provided by the Participants in total confidentiality throughout the entire process.
 

2. Data Collection

All Agency Members (496 Members as of 31 August 2021) were invited to participate in this Survey. A total of 135 Agency Members returned the questionnaires to Stat Solutions Co. directly.
 

3. Data Analysis and Report

Data was entered into an electronic file for tabulations and analysed by Stat Solutions Co. in a professional and strictly confidential manner. Necessary clarifications were made by Stat Solutions Co. to resolve potential data distortion to ensure completeness, accuracy, reliability and validity of the Survey. Only salary data with THREE OR ABOVE responses will be presented in the report.

Some percentages in the figures may not add up to a total of 100% because of decimal point rounding.

Profile of Participants

A total of 135 Agency Members (hereafter the “Respondents”) participated in the Survey this year, covering 54,011 full-time employees, which accounted for about 77.5% of the employees of Agency Members covered in the HKCSS membership database.

62 (or 45.9%) of the 135 Respondents reported that they employed 100 or more employees. .75 (55.6%) out of 135 Respondents were subvented agencies, with 76.0% of them employing 100 or more employees, covering 49,141 full-time employees. 60 (44.4%) out of 135 Respondents were non-subvented agencies, with a majority (91.7%) of them employing less than 100 employees, covering 1,573 full-time employees.

Analysis of Pay Management Practice

Article Sharing