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Free White paper for Charities

Managing Employee Activism

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Overview

Employee activism is a growing phenomenon across all sectors, with employees increasingly vocal about what they expect from their employers when it comes to action on political and social issues.

At Alder, our charity practice has seen a significant rise in charity leaders managing employee activism, particularly where employees demand action that senior leadership cannot deliver without exposing the charity to serious legal or regulatory risk.

Alder conducted research among chief executives of UK charities to understand their experiences with employee activism, the issues they were most concerned about, and the extent of their crisis management preparation.

Our white paper ‘Managing Employee Activism’ explores strategies for charity leaders to manage and mitigate risks arising from employee activism.

This white paper covers:

  • Overview of the reputational risk landscape and key vulnerabilities for charity leaders;
  • Key aspects of employee activism, including causes and attributes;
  • Practical recommendations for managing employee activism, risk mitigation strategies and crisis handling protocols.

Download our free white paper to equip your leadership team with the insights needed to navigate this complex landscape effectively.

The fieldwork was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Alder. The survey polled 100 UK charity leaders (including CEO and Chairperson roles) with 40+ employees, with a minimum of 30 responses from social justice/campaigning charities between 29th May 2024 and 7th June 2024. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.

Alder also carried out Freedom of Information Act requests to the Charity Commission for data concerning serious incident reports (SIRs) for the reporting years April 2021 to April 2024 in order to understand the reputational risk landscape and crisis management preparation of regulated charities.





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    What are the unique challenges that charities face when dealing with employee activism compared to other sectors?

    Jack Myers Account Director

    “Managing employee activism can be a real test of leadership, which means leaders need to communicate with employees early the legal and regulatory constraints in order to set clear boundaries and remove any excuse for misapprehension down the line.”

    Jack Myers – Account Director






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      As a crisis PR firm specialising in reputation management for charities, clients come to us at various stages of their crisis: some require urgent crisis PR support, while others are looking to mitigate against reputational risks with crisis preparation plans or training. Whatever your issue, our issues management services empower leaders to confidently identify and address internal challenges that may cause reputational difficulties.

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      Our services include:

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      Crisis Media Training

      Training is an essential part of crisis preparation, embedding core communications principles and stress-testing your team’s ability to respond to multiple competing demands at pace. We offer a range of training courses designed to address your charity’s risk profile and meet your teams' specific needs. Alder can support with broadcast media training, print media training and crisis simulations to test your team's ability to respond effectively in a crisis.

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      Ad hoc and Retained Crisis PR Support

      Our expertise is what separates us from other charity PR agencies – our specialists have years of experience tackling crises of all shapes and sizes, helping organisations to minimise reputational damage. We help in-house PR teams and senior management at a broad range of charities to communicate quickly, fluently and empathetically at such difficult times. We offer both ad hoc crisis PR services and retained support to manage longer term issues.

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      Workplace Culture Audit

      If there are problems with the dynamics of a charity’s working environment – e.g., lacking mutual respect, inclusive and non-discriminatory cultures, or complaints processes that employees trust – then this not only will increase an organisation’s risk of negative media coverage but will also risk compromising stakeholder relationships and public confidence. Our workplace culture audit analyses a range of indicators to identify and resolve behavioural and cultural problems and your reputational risk profile.

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      Diagnostic Review

      Our diagnostic review analyses the underlying issues that can stand between your charity and effective communication and media performance. Our comprehensive approach begins with conducting primary research, which includes interviews with senior leadership, in-house communication teams, and key stakeholders. By examining existing communication protocols and procedures within your organisation, we can identify your specific vulnerabilities and provide practical guidance on best practices and improvement strategies.

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      Reputation Audit

      A reputation audit is a crucial part of our issues management services and one of the fundamentals of proactive crisis prevention. It enables charities to assess the scope and nature of any recent reputational damage and provides valuable insights into the impact on both stakeholder and media relationships.

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      Frequently Asked Questions

      What is employee activism?

      Employee activism is when employees call on leadership to take action on social, cultural or political issues.

      Employee activism can be a useful vehicle for organisational change and there are issues that leaders should expect to have to negotiate on, such as industrial relations and workplace culture concerns.

      However, many instances of employee activism will involve an expectations gap between what employees want and what leaders can deliver. The reason employee activism raises unique problems for charities is that, unlike most employers, charities are governed by legal and regulatory frameworks which restrict, if not prohibit entirely, political and campaigning activities outside the charitable mission.

      If you are a charity concerned about mitigating risks and protecting your reputation, contact our specialist charities team to find out more at [email protected].

      Download our charities brochure to find out more.