Making a difference in the slums of India

It never ceases to amaze me how and where people find charitable causes to support.  Some people donate time, others donate money, and some even donate blood!

Recently I attended a networking lunch and was inspired by a woman’s story about how she contributes her charitable dollars. A few years back, Cathy taught English in a slum in New Delhi for two years. She found this experience and the students she met inspiring. Most of these students paid for their own education while working seven days a week at low-paid night jobs like security guards and factory hands. But when they completed their education, they struggled to find work, since being slum-dwellers meant that employers just assumed that they were lazy and drunkards. Cathy was convinced that if they could get their first jobs, they’d be able to prove to employers that being poor didn’t make them worthless.

So Cathy arranged to get an accounting job for one of them, by paying his salary to his new employer for the first year. For about $800 she guaranteed him a job, giving him experience and training, and starting him on the path to a secure future. This was so successful that a year later he moved onto another job without her help and he is now earning a good income to support his family.

Cathy then repeated this with another former student who graduated as a qualified teacher but because of his slum background, couldn’t get work. So she paid his salary to a small school for a year.

Neither of these young men is aware that Cathy paid their salaries to their employers, although they know that she arranged their placements.

All of Cathy’s former students in the Delhi slum have access to Facebook on cheap mobile phones. She is able to chat with them a few times a week, to see how they are going, find out what they are learning, and to ensure that they are not being exploited by their bosses. She is delighted to see the progress they are making. 

Paying for a first job is such a great way to make a difference to someone’s life that she plans to continue doing it. Cathy has a pipeline of students to tap into as they complete their education and start to look for opportunities in the workforce.

Cathy knows that she can’t help every slum-dweller in India, but her small contribution can make a big difference to a small number.

What is it with older workers?

For the life of me, I just don’t understand the discrimination of older workers. This is based on my healthy respect of anyone older than me and my willingness to learn from them. I also hope that I won’t be discriminated against once I reach 50 and over!

Last year, the Federal Government offered $1,000 to employers if they hired anyone over 50 years of age. Apart from it being an insult and a disgrace, $1,000 hardly covers the cost of bringing on a new employee.

So what are some of the typical negative perceptions of older workers?

• They have limited IT knowledge;
• They are generally unwilling to accept direction from younger managers;
• They have an inability to take a company to ‘the next level’ because they are no longer hungry for success.

Really? I come across candidates in their twenties that fit this description.

It may surprise you that older workers are computer savvy, don’t always want to be the leaders anymore, and have so much life and work experience that could be utilised in your growing business.

As a business owner, it is important for you to understand the labour market issues that may impact on your hiring strategy and may encourage you to start hiring more older workers:

• Australia is getting older. In four years, 20 per cent of Australia’s population will be over age 65. The 2010 Intergenerational Report estimates 8.1 million Australians (around 26% of our population) will be over age 65 by 2050, pushing the ratio of working Australians to retirees down to just 2.7 to 1.
• Labour force participation tends to drop off as people near retirement age. In the 60-64 age group, half of women and one-third of men are not working. Over the past 5 years though, this trend has been changing due to the global financial crisis and peoples’ superannuation balances declining - more retirees are heading back to work to make up for the losses in their superannuation funds.
• Australians are living longer. Our superannuation must last for a longer period of time so people are cautious about leaving the workplace too early. Baby boomers who were 65 in 2010, can expect to live another 18.7 years (the female baby boomers are even better placed – they can expect another 21.8 years). So baby boomers who retire at 65 can expect to spend 21% of their life in retirement.
• According to Deloitte Access Economics’ “Where is your next worker” report, older Australians have the lowest turnover, the least number of sick days and the best safety record.

Are you a cranky boss?

Do you have employees that are naturally bad mannered, rude or oblivious when it comes to human emotions? Or does that sound like you?

A few weeks ago, I was tasked to recruit an administrative person for a client. The brief was reasonably straight forward. Well, sort of. The challenge was finding a suitable candidate that was going to handle one of the managers that this role reports into to. The successful candidate needed to be ‘thick-skinned’ and able to ‘cop the odd rude comment without taking offence’.

There were two things I found interesting about this brief:

• That the company puts up with the behaviour of this manager time and time again without taking action, and they have never initiated a  conflict management or ‘how to be  great team leader’ course for this person.

• I was going to have to politely let candidates know that one of their direct reports can be a bit abrasive at times. Not often a good seeling point when talking to good candidates!

The end result is that I found someone who passed the personality test and could do the job as well.

Winner: cranky boss!

Unfortunately for this employer, the culture of tolerating badly behaved people in management positions will continue to cause staffing issues.  So what are some suggestions to improve workplace culture?

• Buy your staff lunch, sit around the table, and talk about the type of working culture they want. If it is driven by your employees, they will own it more vigorously.

• Then put something in writing to make it official. It may be a code of conduct that sets the standards of behaviour or appearance in your workplace.  It can include how you interact with people (with respect and politeness), how to handle an issue with someone.

• Post it on the wall of your office so everyone has access to your personalised code of conduct every day.

Another great behavioural model to show-case around the office is ‘Above the line thinking’. This feeds into the expectations of behaviour in your office.

It goes like this:

What matters is how we respond to events. We can operate at a level of thinking that is either ‘above’ or ‘below’ the line.

 

Taking ownership of my response to, or my part in, this situation 

Acceptance of the aspects of this that are outside my control 

Taking responsibility for my previous and future actions

___________________________________________

Casting blame externally: ‘It’s not my fault...’ 

Making excuses: ‘I couldn’t do it differently because...’ 

Staying in denial: ‘There’s nothing I could change...’

The more time you spend above the line, the better your behaviour and treatment of others.

Are the roadblocks to flexibility really roadblocks?

This week, I delivered another Flexible Work Masterclass to a group of HR and Business Managers at schools around NSW. The message hasn’t changed; organisations know they need to become more flexible but it is the HOW that becomes the stumbling block. How to manage a flexible workplace comes down to knowledge and acceptance that things need to change. Accepting that we need to challenge our views on how we work, think and act in the workplace can be difficult for many people.

Consider the typical roadblocks to creating a more flexible workplace:

• ‘This job can’t be done flexibly.’ Why? Employees can still work full time and work flexibly.  Consider the duties of the role and what can be done inside/outside of office hours or at work/from home. It is practical and reasonable to refuse a part time (2-3 days) request for a senior level role that requires staff management, travel and other high-level duties. However 4 days per week could possibly work.

• The mindset of managers. A common perception is that flexibility is just for women with childcare needs. If you think like this, you haven’t surveyed your staff recently to find out what their needs are.

• There is no consistency when it comes to implementation. It becomes messy if you do not have s standard system/framework to follow when it comes to flexible work requests. If it is not transparent, you will create staff discontent.

• ‘We don’t have the technology to make it work.’ Really? In the last 10 years, we have seen the introduction of iphones, ipads, email, remote access, webnars, social media applications including skype and more. Imagine what the next 10 years will bring…. I can’t.

On a positive note, there are many workplaces utilising flexible work options to enhance the productivity of their business.  There is part time work, flexible hours, rostering and flex time, compressed working weeks, job sharing, job splitting, working from home, purchasing extra leave,gradual return to work, career break, phased retirement, variable year employment (e.g. work 3 days per week for 9 months and then full time for 3 months when the workload is heavier).

The Federal Government introduced the right to request flexibility back in January 2010 – view www.fairwork.gov.au to get up to speed. In February this year, Bill Shorten announced that their intention to expand the right to request flexible work arrangements to all workers with caring responsibilities, employees with disabilities, mature-age employees, and workers experiencing family violence. 

Now is the time to embrace the changing needs of our workforce.

Ever thought about a board position?

Last week, I attended the 4^th Women on Boards Conference in Sydney. CareerMums was also a sponsor. It was amazing – the networking and speakers made it a stand-out event. My favourite speaker was Dr Louise Maher. She is an expert in vocal intelligence and presentation skills. If you are looking for an entertaining and confident speaker at a conference or work event, look her up www.louisemahler.com.au

There is obviously a significant shortfall of women on boards. There has been momentum in the last few years, but there are fears that this growth is stagnating because “we now have 1-2 women so that is ok”. It is not ok. 

If you are considering a board position, these are some take-outs from the conference:

• Consider your skills. Do you have expertise in marketing, fundraising, policy development, technology strategy? Do you have exposure to business planning and good business instincts? Do you have experience overseeing budgets, funding arrangements, grants and resources? Work out what your skills and competencies are.
• What do you enjoy? Do you have a particular interest or experience in a particular sector? You need to communicate your knowledge and interest when applying for board positions so your interest makes sense.
• Don't shy away from board positions. All boards need more women with relevant competencies. And best of all, board roles are flexible.
• Seek mentors to talk you through your career moves, but don't forget to have sponsors as well. Mentors talk to you; sponsors talk about you (positively!).
• Visit www.womenonboards.org.au and www.boardlinks.gov.au for information on board positions.
• Do not think you need to have a corporate background to get board positions. In fact, small business owners may be much better equipped in these positions.

The conference also covered the importance of diversity in our workplace.  If you are currently researching a prospective employer, view their latest annual report. The team at Women on Boards review the annual reports of the ASX200 and rate their diversity policies in particular. Based on their criteria, only 14 got the green light, 22 got the red light and the rest received an amber light. Stockland and Caltex were two companies that received a green light. A mining company called Discovery Metals received a red light - they commented in their annual report that they had extensively searched for women with finance and mining experience to join their board but were unable to locate anyone acceptable! Imagine writing that in your annual report.

If you are interested in being represented on a board, there are positions waiting for you now.

How do you work out a feasible flexible work arrangement?

In my line of work, I am constantly asked by employers what type of flexibility they should be offering to existing or new employees. My response is consistently the following: ‘I don’t know’. The same question is asked by employees who are seeking flexible work arrangements and my answer is the same.

The secret lies in the business. Everyone needs to consider what is feasible, reasonable and practical. What are the busiest days of the week? When do customers need you the most? Is everything done between 9am-5pm? What technology do you have available to do the work offsite?

At a flexible work masterclass last week, one of the participants was very sure that her role could not be worked flexibly. She is a relationship manager looking after multiple clients’ needs. After group discussion, she realised that she never receives phone calls from these clients on Monday morning or Friday after midday so there were opportunities in her role to change the way she worked.

Last month, I spoke to a woman who was given the opportunity to work three days a week in her role and she could choose those days. We discussed the importance of her being available and present on the three most busy days of the week. For example, if Monday and Friday are typically the slow days for a business, then it is a smarter to make yourself available on the busiest days of the week (Tuesday through Thursday). It is less likely to become an issue if you are there when the business really needs you and there is a greater chance that the work arrangement will be successful in the long term.

If businesses continually monitor business activity, it becomes clearer how flexibility can be incorporated.

I recently coached a woman who was looking to work. She had been caring for her daughter for 18 months and was ready to jump back in to a senior role. The problem with this scenario was that she only wanted to work two days each week.  I explained to her that this wasn’t feasible, reasonable or practical considering that the role she was aiming for had staffing responsibilities, travel, and senior delegations. She understood the issues with her request after we worked through it and agreed that if she returned to this type of role, she would need to offer at least 4 days each week.

A simple analysis of your workplace and meaningful discussions with your employees can lead to successful flexible work arrangements.

My friend Ted and his excellent flexible adventure

I preach flexible work practices all the time. Only last week, I was delivering a flexible work masterclass to a group of small and medium sized businesses. Everyone was embracing it but the consistent stumbling block in the room was their executive management (not in the room!) not willing to change to accommodate for the future workforce.  This type of management reminds me of parents who don’t believe in homework but won’t come to a forum to express their views. It seems that every workplace has a reason not to do it rather than just getting on with it.

And then today, I heard such a wonderful story about a job share arrangement involving three old blokes! My friend’s father is Ted. He is retired. He was recently assisting his son-in-law who was doing a fit-out job for a successful catering / coffee business. Ted is very handy with tools. After a few weeks, Ted was over the physical nature of the job. The catering business owner, Simon, asked Ted if he would like to work in their business. If you met Ted, you would want him to work for you too. He is simply a great guy. Ted informed Simon that he wanted an ‘old person’s job’ – something where he could talk to people on the phone or do basic administration. Simon already had people doing that work so they left it at that.

A few weeks later, Simon calls Ted and asks him if he is interested in a delivery job that involves delivering catering orders around town. Ted was interested in this role but told Simon that he could only work on Thursday and Friday – he had to take into account his role as carer of his grandsons on one day and golf on the other two days.  Simon politely asked what he should do with Monday through Wednesday. Ted told Simon that he would talk to two of his golfing buddies and work out something. Sure enough, one of his mates does Monday and Tuesday, another does Wednesday, and Ted does Thursday and Friday. They get a great rate per hour, unlimited coffee and muffins, a fuelled van to transport the food, and an opportunity to talk to people all day. 

This job share arrangement has been working well for nearly 5 months now. They all travel abroad every 12 weeks so when one of them is travelling, the other two cover for the traveller.

Nothing is forever, but when you have some excellent candidates standing in front of you, seize the moment and see what opportunities come with it.