In the previous post I said something to the extent of “I don’t have any suggestions,” which, as you
might expect, is a bit of a lie. I don’t have a silver bullet but here are some
ideas I think would help people stay in the field we (all) love
- Please pay us a livable wage, where we can live
in dignity while paying our own rent and school loans. We established already - we are
not in the conservation field for the money, but we also would like to feel
appreciated. You expect someone with a higher degree and decent experience but
are willing to pay us $12/h? Or someone with 7 years of management experience
with professional certifications and designations and are willing to pay $40K/year?
Really? (and yes those were actual jobs I either saw ads for or interviewed for, or
talked to someone in the company about)
- We (as in Royal We - the professionals, academics, managers etc) have to start working with funding agencies
and foundations all together. They should see value in retaining and paying for
someone’s expertise when they found a project. "The sponsors" should also insist that all
employees paid for with a given grant actually make a decent wage
- There should be no unpaid internships in a
consulting business, or internships at a consulting, for-profit company that
has interns paid by an external foundation. Those students could have been place in a non-profit. Internships
are a vital source of experience but only a limited amount of population can
afford a non-paid experience. Although I don't like it, I understand that non-profits with limited budgets
might have to defer to this option at times. If so, please do teach the intern the inner
workings of your professions, introduce them to people, take them to meetings and be a good reference afterwards; don't just use them as a work horse.
- We should really press for diversity, in age,
gender and race. If you do not see someone who looks like you doing something it
is waaay harder for you to imagine yourself doing it.
- Please do not shut down someone bc they are a
non-traditional student, come from the inner city, are changing careers or
sound different than what you are used to.
-Managers/Supervisors/Crew Leaders really listen
to people’s concerns while working, especially in the first two weeks. Your new
employee might have not been exposed to the elements before, or maybe you’re so
used to what you do, you are explaining it using jargon. Many of us use
assumptions. I remember one person starting a sentence explaining how to use
equipment with “now, I don’t want to insult your intelligence
but if you really don’t know this is how this works….” Yeah, not many questions
after that.
-Please be flexible if the schedule allows it. If
someone is working in the office do they really have to be there 8-5? Maybe earlier time
is more convenient to them. Granted, ofcourse, thereare no meetings etc.
- Do invest in employee’s education. And I don’t
only mean conferences, although those are great, but do take the time to
explain how things work, why a certain person is admired in the community, show them a successful and a failed projects and explain why, etc.
- If you have a valuable employee who is unable to
work full time (childcare, parents, disability) do invest the time and effort
to allow them to work part time. Believe me, they will be so thankful for the
opportunity that will work more hours than you pay them for. Loyalty and appreciation
are great things in an employee
- Do mentor people. It does not have to be something structured, official. Soon you will learn from the other person as they might have different points of view, pick up on something quicker or have other experiences. The lack of experience they have allows them to ask questions which can be very useful and game changing but which you - through all your experience - would not have thought of.
It is understood business is business but all in all try to be a humane person to your employees. If not because it is the right thing to do, they are your colleagues and one day might be in a position to hire/fire you.
*The rant is over, a least for now*
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