Are South African NGOs Employers of Choice or Necessity?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 – 12:29

In this article the author argues that CSOs, just like the private sector, should reflect on their people management practices, offer competitive salaries, hire and retain talent from other sectors, and also become ‘employers of choice’

Comments

By Anonymous

Tue 24 Jan, 2012 – 09:15

Thank very much Simone for your article. I am also a graduate in the Humanities and have always enjoyed working in the NGO sector, I volunteered at several NGOs when I as in school and loved it. Reality struck when i finished college and got a job within the sector only to realize im earning half as much as I could be earning in corporate with added benefits. However, in as much as NGOs come across as lacking investment in their human capital, as a fundraiser in NGO sector I would say funding does not necessarily permit for splashy salaries and endless benefits for employees. Funding trends have changed and most NGOs are struggling. We are a non profit making sector and 100% of the budget of the organisation is on money from donors which is year by year not guaranteed. This forces NGOs to give one-year contracts on very little salary which is unattractive to a graduate. Secondly funding received by NGOs is moistly restricted. Most donors only require you to add not more than 15% of your ask to administration costs. Some donors especially CSI will note: WE DO NOT FUND SALARIES, sad but real. Looking at most NGOs the salaries budget suffers the most deficits. Therefore it seems as an elusive but most needed situation where the CSO sector are at par with corporate in terms of attracting and retaining their employees since the funding environment seems to be against them.

By Anonymous

Fri 20 Jan, 2012 – 11:02

Thanks Simone, as an organisation established by NGOs to support them in improving their people management practices we at People In Aid very much support your position. Your readers will find some useful free tools and materials on our website www.peopleinaid.org. Picking up on particular points you make I could point to: – an interesting presentation on employer value proposition http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/Presentations/4.%20Charlotte%20Housden%20Geneva%207thFeb2007(1).ppt – motivating staff without money http://www.peopleinaid.org/publications/MotivatingNGOSouth.aspx – Rewards policy and practice http://www.peopleinaid.org/publications/Reward.aspx and this one on total reward, which will I’m afraid cost you some money to download: http://www.peopleinaid.org/publications/RewardStrategyandPolicy.aspx Good luck to all Jonathan Potter, Director, People In Aid

By Anonymous

Wed 18 Jan, 2012 – 10:42

Thank you for compiling this interesting read. You raise important points about the need for NGOs to better position themselves to attract and retain talented candidates from university and the corporate sector. The question is how to do so efficiently and effectively. As you rightly point out, the current economic climate has made it increasingly difficult for CSOs to secure long-term donor funding and even in the best of circumstances, NGOs cannot offer the kind of lucrative salary packages that are the norm in the corporate sector. Of course civil society should not be treated as a homogeneous group as there are some organisations such as international charities that are able to offer better salary packages than their local counterparts. However, I think there are other ways to make an NGO employer more attractive than its peers e.g. flexible hours, generous maternity benefits, further study and learning opportunities etc

By Anonymous

Mon 16 Jan, 2012 – 14:13

Thanks for the insightful article Simone! As a recent MA Psychology [Research Consultation] graduate, I am facing many of the same dilemma’s pointed out in the article. Two years ago, I decided to leave my corporate job and embark on furthering my studies with the hopes to contributing to civil society and organizations. Needless to say, this did not go as planned. I am now being recruited by market researchers and corporate companies. Yes, they certainly are a ‘stable’ source of income, but my passions are not aligned with this work. I now work for a reputable NGO as a researcher however, the salary will not sustain me long-term. I love what I do, but I cannot survive on just a passion forever. NGO’s should start investing in their most valuable asset, their employees. They have to recognize that even though we love what we do, at least be ‘market related’. Be the employee of choice. I believe if NGO’s are market related, coupled with the passion that their employees bestow, funder’s will certainly invest more. Retention of staff will be unlike any other sector.

By Anonymous

Sat 14 Jan, 2012 – 00:54

Hi Simone, I had a similar experience to your friend, admittedly I’m trying to apply from the UK with the ambitious aim of landing with a job in part because I don’t have a big cash buffer to allow me to coast into a return. However the responses I have received have not inspired confidence,the agencies I have tried have failed to follow up unless I chased them then, when I made a quick return to Cape Town and called the charity to which I had applied directly, I had just missed a reapplication date for a similar role. On another occasion the HR representative at a major national institution said and I quote ‘I am so confused.. there are so many applications.. were you the one who sent your passport?’ This in view of the fact that there had been no feedback either to myself or an agent who was acting as a consultant. None of this inspires confidence but that has not yet dampened my interest in returning. Lets hope more employers read your article.

By Anonymous

Fri 13 Jan, 2012 – 11:04

Dear Simone, thank you so much for this very interesting article. I cannot agree with you more. Employing skilled, graduates will increase the quality of services and add value, freshness and newness to approaches and how we are doing things to bring about change. No need to feel threatened by graduates since their skills and the experience of practisioners in the field can compliment each other to bring about the much needed social change in our communities. Great topic for discussion within NGOs. Yolandi Valentyn, Mfesane

By Anonymous

Thu 12 Jan, 2012 – 15:32

Thanks Simone! I agree with you completely. My goal has always been to work in the NGO sector, however, I’ve found it very difficult to find a position. I have a degree in Social Anthropology and like many, my values do not depend on having the biggest pay check, but on contributing to social change and giving something back. Instead of entering the NGO sector as a graduate, I have been working in the private sector as a social researcher for the last two and a half years. It has been said that even now, the only way for me to get into the NGO sector is to take a voluntary position. Whilst I appreciate that NGOs run on lower budgets than private companies, this is not a feasible long-term option for many as life repsonsibilities do not disappear. The result is that companies hire short-term staff who are not able to commit to long-term projects and provide the support development needs. In general, I find that NGO sector positions are not as well advertised and that companies are not as willing to take on graduates, or those with less experience, with the aim of growing their skills and developing them. There’s no doubt that NGOs need qualified staff; there is a difference between someone who just wants to ‘do good’, and someone who is able to actively contribute to an organisation. However, this should not rule out graduates who are cheaper resources and often willing to learn quickly. I consider myself to be flexible in that I’d move to most countries within Africa (I moved to SA from the UK) and would work under most conditions – something that is very desirable to private sector companies. Feedback from NGOs is also almost non-existant. I hope that NGOs can listen to what you’re highlighting and recognise the value of investing in people. Why is it so difficult for people with much-needed skills to use them and contribute to society? Alex

By Anonymous

Thu 12 Jan, 2012 – 13:08

excellent article indeed.most ngos even otside of SA rely too much on networks.They avoid the open market fpr recruiting purposes.Often you find jobd being advertised merely for formality.With years and years of public and private sector experience i struggle for a while to break into an NGO set up, had to take a fairly low job to breakthrough only to discover when inside that most NGOs employ the least qualified, which really affects delivery of services. NGOs to move away fron the ringfencing approach to recruitment and be competitive. excellent article.

By mischasurber

Wed 11 Jan, 2012 – 21:46

An excellent article! Congrats to the author. I am in a similar situation as the Chartered Accountant mentioned in the article. With 23 years of progressively responsible experience and after 15 years in management roles both in Switzerland and South Africa I am trying to move from private sector employment to a more meaningful setting in an NGO in SA. In my mind, most NGO's could only benefit from the broad knowledge of anybody "from the other side of the fence". However, this does not seem to be the prevalent opinion among hiring managers in most NGO's…Often the best thing for growth and development of any organization is to bring in outsiders. Very strange, that this does not happen here.

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.

With the onslaught of ‘Eurogeddon’ coupled with the United States economic slowdown, the donor environment has become increasingly competitive and donor requirements increasingly stringent. Donors want to see more bang for their buck and are channelling funds to organisations with consistent track records of delivery. Typically, these are organisations who have low levels of underspending and overspending, efficient internal controls, relevant monitoring and evaluation indicators with evidence of impact and competent, motivated staff who are able to deliver on their commitments.

In October 2011, Deloitte published their list of Best Companies to Work for in South Africa. This is a highly sought after accolade and many private sector organisations compete for the top spot. The survey measures a range of people management dimensions and solicits feedback from all levels in the organisation. For some organisations the element of staff participation is common practice. What was missing on the Deloitte list is civil society organisations. McDonalds, Old Mutual and even small companies like Strate were ‘top of the pops’ but it really got me thinking about whether the people management strategies in civil society organisations are comparable to these corporate entities. How are civil society organisations attracting and retaining good people?

Working in civil society organisations is viewed as conscientised work and is based on the premise that those involved in civil society professions are motivated by more than just a salary, performance bonus and cellphone allowance. For many people working in the development sector the opportunity to contribute to social change is far more rewarding than being able to buy the latest Audi Q1, but are our NGOs willing and able to reflect on their people management practices to ensure that they are able to hire and retain the talent both from the corporate and development sectors?

I bumped into an ex-colleague recently, an experienced Chartered Accountant who had worked in private sector but decided to take a leap of faith and find work in the development sector. She struggled to find an organisation willing to employ her and she was willing to take a substantial cut in salary to make the move. After months of not hearing back from agencies and sending out her CV with no response, she was snapped up by a local brewery. It was a moment of truth and I think reflects that there are a growing number of professionals willing to make the move into more conscionable employment. Isn’t it time that our civil society organisations saddle up and mobilise their employer value propositions and strive towards becoming employers of choice?

A visit to any campus during their graduate placement weeks reveals a noticeable absence of civil society organisations. All the top private sector organisations are there; cheek by jowl competing for all the fresh young graduate talent. But who is there from civil society to recruit the graduates who want to contribute to social change?

Why shouldn’t development sector organisations hire more marketers and chartered accountants who want to sign up for conscientised work? Why shouldn’t our NGOs pay competitive salaries and invest in the development of people who work for them. Paying competitive salaries doesn’t mean competing with corporate profit-driven salaries, but assessing salaries in the development sector and offering a fair ‘market-related’ salary. The ‘save and score’ mentality of hiring for less or skimping on working conditions just because people want to work to make a difference is archaic and perhaps more relevant in organisations operating in the 80s. It’s time for NGOs to formalise, develop their employer value proposition and go to market. Hit the campuses, recruit our fresh young graduates and start competing with the private sector organisations. NGOs have something that no private sector organisation can offer; the opportunity to contribute to social change. They have niche which they need to exploit and become employers of choice in their own right. At the end of the day, it’s less about becoming the Best Company to Work for in South Africa and more about taking stock and reflecting on people management practices.

– Simone Brandi is a freelance Human Resources Consultant working with non-profit organisations in Cape Town.

Author(s):

Simone Brandi