Verdant Purpose HR

Every charity wants committed, capable people.
But few stop to ask whether those people know what “good” actually means.

I’ve seen it too many times: passionate staff, dedicated volunteers, and a management team working hard — yet no one can say what success looks like beyond “we’re doing our best.”

And in one small charity shop I supported, that lack of clarity almost cost them everything.

The charity shop manager who didn’t manage

When I first got involved, the shop was barely breaking even.
Sales were inconsistent, donations were piling up unsorted, and volunteers were quietly frustrated.

The manager’s probation had already been extended. Trustees weren’t sure whether to let them go or “give them one more chance.”

On paper, the manager was polite, punctual, and experienced.

In reality, they were delegating everything upwards.

Trustees were covering their shifts. Volunteers were doing their work.

And the manager’s logic was simple: “I’m a manager. I don’t need to do the work I just oversee it.”

So they sat behind the counter, waiting for others to fill the gaps.

Why this happens more often than you think

Charities often hire on goodwill, not goals.
They assume commitment will make up for clarity.

It doesn’t.

Without structure, even good people drift. And when expectations are vague, you end up rewarding presence over performance.

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, 2023) found that only 36% of UK employees say their organisation sets clear performance objectives, and that lack of clarity is one of the biggest causes of underperformance and disengagement.

And Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report found that when employees strongly agree they know what’s expected of them, productivity rises by 22% and burnout drops by nearly half.

Three patterns show up again and again in struggling charities:

1. No defined success measures
   “Work hard” means nothing if no one knows what outcomes matter.
2. Unclear accountability
   When roles overlap, people fill the silence with assumptions. That’s how things slip through the cracks.
3. Weak probation and feedback loops
   Extending probation without clear milestones doesn’t help; it just delays the same conversation.

As Harvard Business Review (2024) notes, “Ambiguity is the enemy of accountability.” You can’t expect strong results from vague expectations.

What we did next

When the trustees asked me to step in, I started with one question: “What does success look like for this shop?”

No one had an answer.

So, we built one.

Together, we created the charity’s first ever SMART performance targets; specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

• Sales: weekly income targets with rolling averages.
• Stock: measurable turnaround time for sorting donations.
• Volunteers: rota stability, satisfaction feedback, and retention rates.
• Manager performance: leadership behaviours, planning, delegation, and communication.

The targets weren’t about pressure, they were about clarity.
Because when people know what’s expected, they can actually deliver it.

We met weekly to review progress.
The manager received direct feedback and structured support.
The trustees learned to focus on outcomes, not effort.

Within three months, the shop moved from breaking even to consistent profit.
Volunteers felt valued.
The manager finally understood what leadership meant.

For the first time, the board could see the difference between a busy shop and a performing one.

Why targets matter; even in charities

Some leaders worry that setting performance targets feels “too corporate.”
But here’s the truth: without them, you’re flying blind.

Targets don’t kill compassion.
They make it sustainable.

According to CIPD’s 2023 Good Work Index, clear objectives are one of the top three drivers of motivation in UK workplaces. Employees who understand how their goals contribute to their organisation’s purpose are twice as likely to feel engaged and three times more likely to stay.

And a McKinsey (2023) study found that mission-driven organisations with strong performance systems outperform peers by 30–40% in operational efficiency and impact delivery.

In other words, clarity doesn’t conflict with compassion; it powers it up.

Performance done right in a charity context

Performance management doesn’t mean pressure.
It means alignment.

Here’s how to make it work without turning your charity into a corporate machine:

1. Keep it simple
   One-page plans beat 10-page appraisals. Focus on what matters: impact, delivery, behaviour.
2. Make it visible
   Talk about performance openly, not as punishment, but as protection for your mission. HBR research shows that teams who review goals regularly outperform others by 31%.
3. Connect goals to purpose
   Every target should link to your charitable outcomes: more animals rehomed, more families supported, more community benefit.
4. Review little and often
   Continuous feedback works. The CIPD found that organisations using regular check-ins see a 19% rise in engagement compared with those relying on annual appraisals.
5. Reward the right things
   Recognise results and behaviours that align with your values, not just long service. As Gallup puts it: “What leaders reward becomes culture.”

The lesson that stuck

That charity shop taught everyone a lesson, including me.

People rarely fail because they don’t care.
They fail because no one told them what success looks like.

When you avoid setting targets, you don’t protect people from stress; you rob them of direction.

And when you allow poor performance to continue, you’re not being kind; you’re being negligent.

Because in a charity, every weak performer costs more than money.
They cost trust, morale, and impact.

Final thought

If you’re a charity leader and you’re starting to recognise this pattern; extended probations, unclear goals, average performance, it’s not too late to change it.

Start by setting clear expectations.
Support people properly.
And if they can’t meet the standard, act fairly but decisively.

Because great people thrive on clarity.
And the best way to protect your mission is to demand excellence in service of it.

If your charity needs help setting meaningful targets or getting a struggling team back on track, Verdant Purpose HR can help.

I’ve helped charities move from confusion to confidence, turning reactive people problems into clear, measurable progress.

Get in touch or sign up for my newsletter to receive the Charity Performance Reset Toolkit, with templates for SMART goals, probation reviews, and people plans that actually work.

Because when performance improves, your purpose grows stronger.