Introduction

HKCSS has conducted the Survey annually for the social service sector since 2003. Overseen by an Advisory Committee which is 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. NGOs Salary Survey has been conducted annually, while NGOs Benefit Survey has been conducted every two to three years to provide relevant information regarding benefits offered by NGOs.

In the past decades, the operating environment of the social service sector has kept on changing. The introduction of the Lump Sum Grant Subvention System (hereafter the “LSGSS”) has transformed the resources management of the NGOs, especially in human resources management. NGOs have been given the freedom to manage their employees’ structures, employees mix and the levels of salary and benefit under the LSGSS. To facilitate NGOs in determining the levels of salary and benefit with flexibility to meet their organizations’ needs, more relevant and timely reference on the salary and benefit policies and strategies of the sector are made available in the Survey.

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 whether their salary scales following the Master Pay Scale (hereafter the “MPS”) or not. Only snapshot staff’s salary data have been excluded. Information on the salary grade structure with both starting and maximum salaries, and detailed salary data for the given 72 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. In addition, the survey on benefits includes major topics such as leave entitlement, medical care benefits and Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme.

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. This year, 136 Agency Members joined the Survey.

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;
• Average percentage of overall salary adjustment awarded to eligible employees;
• Turnover data on the given benchmarked positions in different job families;
• Comparisons of turnover rate 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 categories of employees.

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 2023”. It covered 58,352 full-time employees in-post. A total of 72 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 Respondents in total confidentiality throughout the entire process.

2. Data Collection

All Agency Members (514 Members as of 31 August 2023) were invited to participate in this Survey. A total of 136 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 are 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 136 Agency Members (hereafter the “Respondents”) participated in the Survey this year, covering 58,352 full-time employees, which accounted for about 74.3% of the employees of Agency Members covered in the HKCSS membership database.

64 (or 47.1%) of the 136 Respondents reported that they employed 100 or more employees. 75 (or 55.1%) of the 136 Respondents were subvented agencies, with  74.7% of them employing 100 or more employees, covering 52,977 full-time employees. 61 (or 44.9%) of the 136 Respondents were non-subvented agencies, with a majority (86.9%) of them employing less than 100 employees, covering 1,466 full-time employees.

Analysis of Pay Management Practice

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