Indlovu Project Hiring Concerns

Indlovu Project Hiring Concerns

As part of considering how to make the Indlovu Project sustainable, our group thought about how hiring practices could be improved to avoid community tensions and political influences. These ideas were developed when our team was making plans for a proposed sewing centre, but could be applied to hiring practices for many community positions that may need to be filled.

Employee Hiring Options

Option 1

The first option we came up with for hiring, which we considered to be the best and most feasible way of hiring was to ask the street committees and other groups within the park, potentially SNAC, to form a hiring committee comprised of their members. Comprising a hiring committee from groups who are already in good standing in the park and are trusted to make major community decisions gives the process more validity. The hiring committee should also have equal representation from each section of the park to avoid bias towards any particular section of the park. Using a hiring committee would mean that everyone on the committee would have to decide on which person would be most qualified for a job which could be difficult. The benefit to having a hiring committee made up of community members is that the hiring committee members know the people within the community and are more capable than an outsider at judging whether or not a certain person would be good for a position.

Option 2

A second method of hiring employees we discussed was the creation of a hiring committee that would be made up of randomly selected members of the community to represent each section of the park in the decision making process. This hiring committee would have all the same benefits as the first option, except the members would not already be part of an established group. The community may not be as keen on this idea since a random selection of people may not be seen as fair as a committee made up of respected community decision makers.

Option 3

A third option our team discussed was the creation of an unemployment office within the Indlovu Project. There were many pros to this idea, but also a number of cons, which made it the least practical option. Our initial idea was to have everyone in the park register their skills with the unemployment office so that when an employment opportunity was available, a random person that was qualified would be selected for the position. The theme of selecting a person at random was one that we explored deeply, since it would be a way to eliminate any bias. A completely random system would be difficult to establish and there is no space for an employment office at this time so this was not a very practical option.

Option 4

The last hiring option we discussed is a very common method, which has interested candidates for a job write a resume followed by conducting an interview process. If done correctly, this process could help eliminate bias in hiring. For this option, all jobs available in the Indlovu Project would need to be well advertised to all different sections of the park. Everyone should be well aware of the job and have the opportunity to apply and interview for it. If chosen as a hiring method, resume writing workshops could be offered to community members so they can write basic resumes of skills they have to offer and past employment experiences.  A member of the Indlovu Project could sift through the resumes, and based solely on their qualifications, choose several candidates for an interview. After the interviews, the Indlovu Project can choose who they believe would be the most valuable person for the job.

Management Hiring Options

Option 1

The first option for hiring managers would be to have the hiring body choose two people as management for the sewing centre before all other employees so that the hiring body can choose the two people who are most deserving and qualified for the position. If the managers are chosen before the employees there will be no question as to why certain workers were not promoted to managing positions.

Option 2

A second option would be to promote managers within the sewing centre (or other operation). The sewing centre could start by hiring regular employees and observe them during training and first few weeks. Those that have the best attendance, determination to learn and overall devotion to the project are those that should be managers. The question that arises with this method is who would overlook this process and choose the managers. The hiring committee could assign two people from the committee for this task, or if there another overseeing board, they could take on this task. The advantage to this option is that employees would be motivated to prove themselves and work hard for a better position but it could cause resentment between the employees and those chosen as managers.