human resources

The importance of Human Resources (HR) in a non-governmental organisation (NGO) as a means of ensuring sustainable growth for an organisation cannot be overemphasised, as it is the fundamental strength upon which people, strategies, processes and operations are based. Effective employee management should be on top of the list of priorities for progressive improvement of an organisation. A NGO must strive to attract, develop and retain qualified and enthusiastic employees as they are the key to the success of one’s business.

As a Human Resources professional working in the development sector, I always keep an eagle eye on trends and practices in private sector organisations who have the resources and capacity to invest in their people management practices. Having worked in the private sector for most of my career, I recently transitioned to civil society organisations and recognised a need for these organisations to reflect on their people management practices and develop strategies for attracting, retaining and developing their employees.

Very few social development practitioners would argue that one of the main obstacles to quality service delivery is the lack of staff skills and capacity within organisations. The reality we face is that there are currently not enough individuals with key knowledge, skills and competencies to staff all of South Africa’s nonprofit organisations, which means that many organisations are staffed by individuals who are not sufficiently qualified to perform their jobs effectively.

High staff turnover due to a lack of adequate subsidisation by Government, plagues many South African NGOs, that struggle to provide the necessary services to communities in need.

In the Eastern Cape subsidies used to pay social workers have not been increased in two years, while social auxiliary workers are subsidised on the Department of Social Development’s 2002 scales.