The rising sum

But there are shortages across the sector and this, along with competition from the private sector, is forcing registered social landlords to dig ever deeper into their pockets to retain talented staff.

Average salaries in the sector have risen by 4.1%, according to the largest annual survey of RSL pay by Incubon, which covered 7757 employees from 78 housing associations. This means salary growth was slightly ahead of last year's increase of 3.9% (HT 28 March 2003, page 26) – but way ahead of inflation, which fluttered at around 3% during 2003.

As a general rule, the higher up you are, the bigger increase you can expect. The deputy prime minister, who wrote to the Housing Corporation in January asking it to look into excessive hikes for chief executives, will no doubt be interested to learn that the sector's top bods enjoyed the highest increase of any level: 4.5%.

But for some employees, salaries have grown by even plumper percentages. Heads of function in finance, IT and customer services enjoyed average wage growth of more than 8%, while personnel officers bagged pay increases of more than 12%.

The missing specialists
"There is a shortage among certain skill groups, and organisations are having to compete very hard for high-calibre employees," says Terrie Hughes, Incubon's pay and benefits specialist. Groups in short supply include individuals with transferable skills in finance, personnel, business development and property development, who are also sought after by the private sector, and maintenance, regeneration managers and surveyors, who have highly specialised knowledge.

There is particular pressure for housing associations hoping to diversify. Circle 33, for instance, is planning to increase its market rent business, but Howard Cresswell, deputy group chief executive, says it has had to re-advertise jobs in this field and look outside the sector for candidates with the suitable commercial experience. "It's a pressure, but in the end we get the person we want," says Cresswell.

There are also shortages lower down the ranks. Mark Grove, senior consultant at recruitment company BRC Social Housing, says housing officers are in hot demand. "They have more bargaining power over their pay, and hourly rates for temporary officers have gone up," says Grove. According to the survey, housing officers' average wages have increased by more than 8%.

Recruiting quality care workers is a perennial problem. The survey's sample of care managers was relatively small but those who were surveyed earned significantly more than those surveyed last year; the national median wage has gone up by a whopping 17% (from £21,701 to £25,701).

Organisations are having to compete very hard for high-calibre employees 

Terrie Hughes

"Recruiting sufficient care workers with the right experience and the right approach to work with older people is one of the biggest challenges facing residential care," says Barbara Laing, director of Anchor Homes. In response, Anchor has set up an agency to recruit freelance care workers.

Shortages are partly down to the lack of new blood coming into the industry. Grove says fewer graduates appear to be choosing social housing as a career. "Our local university, the University of the West of England, always had a strong housing course and a few years ago 15 people graduated from it," says Grove. "This year, the course has just four students."

Some housing associations are trying to find ways to woo young people. Walsall Housing Group has set up a one-year apprenticeship programme to increase the number of tradespeople joining its maintenance department.

"There is a real need to encourage more tradespeople into the sector, if we are to properly maintain our stock," explains Geoffrey Kennedy, head of human resources at Walsall Housing Group. "Our apprenticeship scheme should help bring new faces into the sector; as yet it's hard to say how successful the scheme is."

Other associations have responded to the lack of surveyors working in the sector. Several London-based RSLs – East Thames Housing, Peabody, Asra, Horizon, Ujima and Genesis – have joined to form G Plus, a two-year programme available to six graduates a year to enable them to attain Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors status, during which they are encouraged to enter a career in social housing.

To fill gaps higher up the organisation, more and more RSLs are looking to "grow their own" specialists. Both Circle 33 and Walsall Housing Group groom existing employees for challenging roles that will be needed in the future. Both like to promote from within the organisation.

"For senior jobs, we like to re-deploy existing staff. We want to keep them interested in their career with us," says Kennedy. Circle 33's Cresswell agrees: "Our staff surveys show that employees value the chance to progress and develop their careers."