Third Sector Working Lives 

Survey helps charities and other third-sector organisations understand how staff and volunteers experience their work. 

It offers a structured, independent way to gather honest feedback and see how your results compare with other similar organisations across Scotland’s third sector.
The survey has been developed with input from a wide range of third-sector organisations and is delivered by Sirel, an independent, not-for-profit research organisation.

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Staff and Volunteers 

  • >Understand

    staff and volunteer engagement and wellbeing

  • 2Identify

    areas for improvement or additional support.

  • 3Inform

    organisational change and development.

  • 4Provide evidence

    for boards, funders and regulators.

  • 5Track process

    over time.

  • <Compare results

    with others in the sector to understand whether the results are typical.

The Third Sector Working Lives is designed
solely for charities and third-sector organisations.
The questions, reporting and benchmarking reflect the realities of working in Scotland’s third sector, including organisations with mixed paid and volunteer workforces.

The survey content has been shaped with input from organisations of different sizes, structures and areas of work. Both the questionnaire and the survey reports are flexible, allowing you to explore the topics that are most pressing for your organisation.


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charities, community groups, social enterprises, TSIs, support organisations and umbrella bodies, etc.

Benchmarking & comparison.

Participating organisations receive benchmarking data showing how their results compare with others across Scotland’s third sector.

This can help you:

  • understand whether results are typical or unusual
  • provide helpful context for boards and funders
  • support internal discussion, reflection and planning

Benchmarking is based on consistent and robust data collected across the sector.

Independence & data security.

The survey is run independently, helping staff and volunteers feel confident that their responses are anonymous and handled appropriately. 

Sirel holds Cyber Essentials certification and follows recognised standards for the secure handling of personal and confidential data.

Pricing & access.

The Third Sector Working Lives survey is delivered on a not-for-profit basis. Pricing is designed to maximise access and participation, rather than profit.

Fees are transparent and are set on a sliding scale, with lower costs for:

  • smaller organisations
  • lower income organisations
  • organisations with fewer staff and/or volunteers

Our aim is to ensure cost isn’t a barrier to understanding your workforce’s experiences.

Taking part.

If you’re considering a staff or volunteer survey and want something designed specifically for the third sector, the Third Sector Working Lives survey may be a good fit.

We recommend this survey for organisations
with 10+ staff or volunteers.

To talk it through, or to find out more about timings and costs, please get in touch.

Get in touch!