A purpose-driven workforce lifts engagement, but leaner budgets and heavier emotional loads change how HR operates, say two sector leaders
Purpose, not profit, drives decision-making in not-for-profit HR. Yet the core disciplines of the profession barely change when practitioners move across from the corporate world, according to senior people leaders on both sides of the Tasman.
Stacey Dawes, director of people and culture at the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), and Jeremy Caird, director of people and capability at Kia Puāwai, a New Zealand social services charity, built much of their careers in the private sector before moving into for-purpose organisations. Their experience points to a workforce that is more intrinsically motivated, but one that has to be supported with fewer resources and closer attention to wellbeing.
The sector is large. According to the 12th edition of the Australian Charities Report, published by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) in 2026, charities employed 1.6 million people, or 11 per cent of Australia’s workforce.
The same report found employee expenses rose by roughly 10 per cent to $128 billion as wages, insurance and utility costs increased. Around 53 per cent of charities had no paid staff at all, a dependence on volunteers that came under scrutiny in a school inquiry that put volunteer classification back on the HR agenda.
Why purpose shapes not-for-profit HR strategy
Dawes, who is speaking at this year’s HRFest, said the starting point for people decisions is different in the two sectors.
“In corporate settings, HR strategy is typically aligned to commercial outcomes such as growth, profitability and shareholder value. In the non-profit sector, the anchor is purpose and impact,” she said.
“At NBCF, every people decision is guided by our mission to fund world-class breast cancer research, ensuring we have the people, culture and capability needed to achieve our vision of Zero Deaths from breast cancer.”
Caird has more than 30 years in HR. He spent the past nine years in not-for-profit and public health roles, most of them with Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, where he said 95 per cent of staff were clinicians. He sees the same pattern.
“It’s not unique to the not-for-profit area, but I think it’s probably more prevalent than in the private sector, because I’ve worked for some private sector organisations which everyone loved working there,” he said.
Leaner budgets, different trade-offs
Both leaders said resourcing is the most obvious difference.
“Usually there’s less resources, it’s just a fact, less money to go around,” Caird said.
He said training and development feels the squeeze first, and a strong return on investment (ROI) case does not guarantee funding. “There might be great ROI, but if you don’t have the dollars, you don’t have the dollars.”
Dawes said leaner structures also change how careers develop. “Career progression can look different to corporate environments, often with flatter and more agile structures, but this presents unique advantages,” she said. “Employees are exposed to cross-functional work, innovation initiatives and strategic projects, enabling broader capability development and earlier opportunities to contribute at a strategic level.”
Roles are often multi-disciplinary by design, which reflects the wider debate on how HR leaders can make the global workforce revolution work. On pay, Dawes was direct: “Remuneration remains competitive and while benefits may not always match large corporates, the overall value proposition is compelling, underpinned by flexibility, autonomy, an inclusive culture and the ability to see the tangible impact of one’s work.”
Why does a purpose-driven workforce need more wellbeing support?
“A deeply purpose driven workforce can carry a higher emotional load, so creating an environment that supports resiliency, psychosocial safety and sustainable ways of working is essential,” Dawes said.
Psychosocial safety means managing workplace hazards that can harm mental health, such as excessive workload, poor support or exposure to distressing work. The issue has gained weight as new psychosocial safety rules put pressure on Australian HR teams.
Caird’s organisation works with rangatahi, or young people, who need social support. Its services include therapy, foster care coordination and three short-term residential houses for young people whose family circumstances have broken down.
Dawes said the core challenge is prioritisation. “Organisations are often balancing significant ambition with more constrained resources, requiring HR leaders to be highly strategic and disciplined in prioritising initiatives that will deliver the greatest impact for both people and mission outcomes.” She added that the sector’s growing sophistication brings more focus on governance, risk, compliance and people metrics.
The fundamentals of HR remain universal
For all the differences, both leaders said the craft is the same.
“It’s all about people when working in HR,” Caird said. He described his health sector role as “helping people, help people, help people”. In practice, HR supported managers, who supported clinicians, who supported patients.
He said pay alone does not drive engagement. “You don’t have to be the best payer to have the most, to use the jargon, most engaged employees, you don’t for sure, but you need to do a bunch of stuff really well.”
Caird admitted he once wrote off public and for-purpose work. “I always thought I probably wouldn’t want to work in government, I certainly wouldn’t want to work in health,” he said. “I didn’t have to learn a new trade going into the not-for-profit.”
Dawes agreed. “The fundamentals of high performing HR remain consistent across industry – clear strategy, strong leadership capability, effective workforce planning and a deliberate focus on culture. What differs is how these elements are applied,” she said. “The opportunity for HR in the non-profit sector lies in applying strong commercial capability in a way that is deeply connected to purpose, culture and impact.”
To hear more from Dawes and plenty of other industry experts, secure your spot at this year's HRFest.
