Everywhere I go, people are saying the same thing: we can’t find good people to work in our school or clinic or development centre. It’s the same all over the country – at least for the voluntary sector. The corporate world offers such a tempting array of prizes: travel abroad, plush offices, material comfort and salaries which are almost beyond belief.
But nothing comes without a price. A friend’s son just changed jobs. His salary is more than my husband’s and mine combined and he speaks proudly of the many perks of the position – his tickets are booked for him – business class, of course – a car picks him up every morning and he has full use of the company’s spa-like fitness centre. Only trouble is – he’s got no time to use the fitness equipment and not many chances to spend his fat salary.
The corporate world doesn’t pay its servants for nothing. The young man above seldom gets home before nine in the evening and his Business Class travel is a necessity because he needs the time on the flight to catch up on his sleep. Right now, he is single with no children to worry about, but once he has a family, the price he pays will be even higher.
And what’s it all for? His company will sell more computers because of him. Is that a worthy cause? Something to give your life for? Is that what he will tell his grandchildren when he is old? I worked for a company all my life. I left the house at seven in the morning and I came home at nine at night. I made this country great by selling computers, or cars or real estate.
Working in the voluntary sector offers more than just a job. Here at the Foundation, our salaries are pretty ok. You can live a decent life on what we pay. You may not be able to afford a fancy home or two cars and it’s unlikely that your vacations will be spent shopping in Singapore. But you’ll put good food on the table and be able to send your children to the best schools in Dehradun.
But more important, you will be part of something you can feel proud of.
There is no way we can ever compete with the corporate sector for salaries, benefits or lifestyle. So our appeal has to be different altogether. Our rewards are the light in a child’s eyes when he realizes how much his teacher loves him, the glow on a mother’s face when her little girl speaks for the first time, the joy in our own hearts at the end of a long day spent doing work we can be proud of, work we can tell our grandchildren about.
Re:serious stuff photo.
I think I am in love.
Signed,
a mother at home.
I would like to share my view as to why it is hard to find good people in voluntary sector. Firstly, our procurement policies should make it mandatory to include an aptitude test which to some extent would reveal the motive behind an employee’s application. It would definitely affect the selection of candidates. Secondly and most important of all is the lack of good communication between the visionary behind the organisation and employees. The shared vision explained by the founder should be so profound to give meaning to the employee’s reason for working in that organisation. Thirdly, it is high time we incorporate performance appraisals in our system and attach non-monetary recognitions to best performers and progressing performers. Dearth of good staff is also due to lack of appropriate management procedures suited to a non profit environment.
If one is committed to educating individuals with special needs and one enjoys doing the same, experiencing children achieve their potential is itself a great reward in itself.Educating special needs individuals requires us to be empathetic and very understanding when working with the many individuals on the students behalf.You need to feel that ‘you’ have the ability to work as part of the team in a cooperative and collaborative manner.You main goal is to have a positive impact and to make a positive difference in the lives of children with disabilities.
One does need gratification but more than that it is a huge committment,