Epn Nairobi 2008 Final Report

STAFF CARE SIMULATION March 5th to 7th, 2008 Jacaranda Hotel Nairobi, Kenya

“A practical conference with practical solutions”

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .....................................................................................................1 OPENING REMARKS SUMMARY......................................................................................3 SIMULATION ......................................................................................................................3 SIMULATION DEBRIEF......................................................................................................5 PRESENTATIONS ..............................................................................................................6 WAY FORWARD.................................................................................................................9 ANNEX 1: AGENDA..........................................................................................................14 ANNEX 2: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS................................................................................15 ANNEX 3: SIMULATION NGOS .......................................................................................16 ANNEX 4: PROBLEM TREE.............................................................................................18 ANNEX 5: FEEDBACK AND EVALUATION ....................................................................21 ANNEX 6: HUMANITARIAN STRESS AND TRAUMA RESOURCES .............................23 ANNEX 7: EPN ONLINE ...................................................................................................26

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Workshop Concept and Overview The HR in Emergencies, Staff Care Simulation conference took place in Nairobi, Kenya on March 5th – 7th, 2008. It was a joint collaboration between Emergency Personnel Network (EPN) and the Inter Agency Working Group for disaster preparedness in Central and East Africa (IAWG), with funding provided by the Emergency Capacity Building Project (ECB). The HR in Emergencies IAWG Working Group formed a Steering Committee to manage the event, working under the authority of the Inter-Agency Working Group. This committee was working under the guidance of the IAWG and People In Aid. The full agenda of the workshop is in ANNEX 1 The theme of the conference was selected as a result of the outcomes from the March 2007 workshop. The objective focused on Staff Care, on how to better prepare and train managers in Staff Care, with the aim of recognising weakness and how to empower managers in this area. The methodology of the conference was a Simulation that addressed HR issues in Staff Care, The simulation was well-received, being challenging but a very useful exercise for learning. Individuals learnt about their own capacity to work in a stressful situation as well as learning much from the approach and experiences of their peers. The final sessions, in group discussion, emerged with some highly detailed recommendations on how to better care for staff in six areas: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Staff Turnover Collaboration Staff Capacity Staff Rights Policies – a list of policies required HR Emergency Staff Care Checklist

Many resources were mentioned during the conference and these have been collated in ANNEX 6.

Participants There were 40 participants registered consisting of HR Managers, Program Managers and Field Workers. Twenty two different organisations were represented, from throughout the East Africa Region. See complete list of Participants in ANNEX 2.

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 1

Steering Group Members The steering group met a total of eight times to prepare and design the conference and simulation outline, with support from Jonathan Potter of People In Aid. NAME Heidi Anderson Florencio Marerua Dane Fredenburg Pamela Mokaya Evelyn Munyao Perpetuah Njihia Jonathan Potter Lainie Thomas Anne Awaru Martina Lordon

ORGANISATION IAWG HR in Emergencies, Kenya World Vision, Kenya CRS, Kenya IFRC, Kenya Medair, Kenya JRS, Kenya People In Aid, UK GOAL, Kenya GOAL, Kenya Merlin, Kenya

Event Support ROLE Facilitators Simulation Administrators

Event Coordinator

NAME ORGANISATION Florencio Marerua World Vision Dane Fredenburg CRS Heidi Anderson IAWG Pamela Mokaya WWF Evelyn Munyao Medair Perpetuah Njihia JRS Jonathan Potter People In Aid Lainie Thomas GOAL Wynn Flaten World Vision Events and Weddings Ltd.

Feedback and Evaluations From the evaluation the participants were highly satisfied with the overall conference. They strongly agreed that the Simulation Exercise was helpful to their work in emergencies. They were very satisfied with the mix of participants and the number of participants. They felt the workshop was well paced and the facilitation was effective. Positive Comments “A practical conference with practical solutions” “Keep it up! Have more of these kinds of conferences.” “Excellent workshop and eye open for staff care and networks.” “Excellent job creating network opportunities while disseminating information.” “Thank you for a very enjoyable learning session!” “Excellent enlightening workshop.” “Thank you so much! It was a real value to me!” “I had many AHAH moments!” “Kudos to the facilitators and organizers!” For a look at the complete evaluation ratings see ANNEX 5.

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 2

DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY MARCH 7th SIMULATION OPENING REMARKS SUMMARY Dane Fredenburg, the simulation facilitator, welcomed all the participants and introduced the steering committee and Simulation Administrators. Jonathan Potter of People In Aid welcomed everyone on behalf of EPN and the participants introduced themselves.

SIMULATION Dane Fredenburg was the simulation facilitator. He gave the Introduction and Overview of the Simulation. The material was derived from the Emergency Capacity Building Project’s Simulation Project. This Emergency Simulation Project was conceived as part of the ECB Project to help build NGO staff capacity to prepare for, plan and manage response to emergency situations. The intent was to provide NGOs active in emergency response, with simulation tools that could be easily adapted to the many different hazards and emergency response situations they confront around the world. The main objective for the HR in Emergencies Simulation was to use simulation tools to help agencies build staff capacity in emergency preparedness and response. The main issues were related to orientation and induction, issues related to staff in field, and program closing. After the simulation Human Resource Managers should be able to better understand the needs of staff and to ensure better staff care by being organised with clear communications and information sharing, focused meetings, proper task assignment and delegation, productive collaboration, clear and understandable policies and procedures. The simulation was divided into hours, with each hour representing a time period for an emergency crisis. Real Time 1000 – 1100 1100 – 1200 1200 – 1300 1300 – 1400 1400 – 1500 1500 – 1600 1600 – 1630 1630 – 1700

Simulation Time Welcome, Introductions, Objectives Hour 0 - The time before the crisis Hour 1 - Week 1 of the crisis Hour 2 - Month 1 of the crisis Hour 3 - Month 3 of the crisis Hour 4 - Month 6 of the crisis Break & Reflection Initial Debriefing

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 3

SIMULATION SCENARIO There has been a crisis in Somalia that requires emergency aid. Participants were divided into four groups. These four groups represented four medical NGOs. Two were larger organisations and two were faith based organisations. The groups were given their organisational information and a staff roster with a salary scale. (The salary scale at this point was confidential). For the organisation information please see ANNEX 3. The administrators played a variety of roles in the Simulation 1. Each of the four groups was given an administrator to observe their planning, discussions, and decision making. 2. Two reporters from the media 3. A UN Advisor mainly for security issues 4. A Local Government Official 5. The Somali Ministry of Health The action played out as follows: Firstly the simulation was introduced and an overview was given. The participants were assigned into groups representing four fictitious NGO’s. Hour 0 – Each group was asked to plan by creating a list of policies and procedures. Hour 1 – The crisis information was given to each group and NGO information was given to each group. There was a lot of correspondence between headquarters, regional office and the field. Also the Media was engaged at this point. Hour 2 – There were media coordination, UN meetings, and IAWG meetings. Hour 3 – Problem solving began. Staffing issues and cultural issues were the main topics. There were local government meetings and more media issues. Hour 4 – A lot of communication between field and staff on a wide range of issues. Hour 5 – End of program, handovers and exit strategies. At the end of the simulation we had a brief venting session to talk through the simulation. A full debrief would be on Day 2. The participants were asked: • What were the main emergency preparedness and response challenges? • How were these challenges addressed? • How did they feel about how their organizations, or they personally, dealt with the staff care issues? Some of the initial comments: • It was so real • There was a lot of information to digest • I felt involved and part of the decision making process • Great learning experience • Insightful and overwhelming • It was very informing. It showed how we really need to work together. • I realised the importance and the need for planning • I realised the need for policies • Frustrating but exciting

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 4

DAY 2 – THURSDAY MARCH 6TH SIMULATION DEBRIEF AND PRESENTATIONS SIMULATION DEBRIEF “Participants felt they had learned and experienced tremendous insights as well as building and increasing networks in this field.” [One speaker’s summary]. Debriefing is an essential phase in the simulation experience. Learners are encouraged to make connections between the experiences gained from the simulation and their real-life experience. In essence, this is the phase in which the lessons from the exercise are analysed, generalised, and learned. There are numerous reasons for spending the time to debrief the simulation experience fully: • To answer learners’ questions • To sort out and clarify learners’ thinking • To reinforce specific learning points • To link key simulation actions, decisions, and topics to “real life”. Dane Fredenburg and Florencio Marerua were the debrief facilitators. The debrief was focused on the simulation, but there was a lot of discussion that focused on relief organisations in general. The first issue raised during the debrief was the fact that planning needs to be a priority. Most problems arise due to the lack of planning before emergencies. Some solutions to lack of planning issues: • Create a Staff Care Checklist. (During the Way Forward one group designed a checklist.) • Organisations should have a point person that is in charge of planning for Emergency Preparedness. This planning should be reviewed quarterly. • Collaboration needs to start early between HR Managers and Program Managers. “When you sit in such teams and learn what they have managed to achieve, you learn yourself and head off to do better” [said one HR participant] Another issue is the problem that Human Resource departments are not involved with overall program design. This is usually left up to country managers, program managers and accounting, but HR is usually left out. This causes major issues in staff care. HR needs are not looked at as important. They are usually left out of budgets or, if they are given money, they are cut first if there are budget cuts.

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 5

Human Resource department should have their own budget line that includes: • Field visit by HR managers, • Staff training: such as team building, job development, resources (books, conferences, workshops), • Staff care: that includes field recreation (DVDs, music, games), trauma or stress counselling if needed, HR Manager development. The participants all agreed that Human Resources are commonly left out of a lot of things that happen in emergencies, not least candidate interviews and policy creation (particularly for regional operations squeezed between HQ and country). The question was asked on how HR Managers can lobby management on the importance of being included in emergency planning and budgeting. As one fieldworker said: “We cannot expect to transform externally if we don’t transform internally”. The participants came up with a few ideas that they can take back to their organisation. 1. Educate management on the importance of staff care and the roles HR managers should have. 2. Stop blaming management and start taking responsibility for not speaking up on HR needs. 3. Empower line managers with how to handle HR issues. 4. Make sure program managers realise that line managers need HR skills. 5. Take the initiative to learn about local policies, culture and beneficiaries of the host countries. “We are committed to taking these to our organisations: they are a challenge for us”, said one organisation’s Somalia programme.

PRESENTATIONS Presentation 1 Staff Care - Lainie Thomas, GOAL, Kenya Lainie’s presentation was to discuss the issue of Staff Care, giving an overview of ‘What is Staff Care?” and tools on how to improve Staff Care in organizations. For organizations to ensure proper staff care they should have human resources as an integral part of strategic and operational plans. Make sure that HR policies are effective, fair and transparent. Realize that consultation and communication enhance the quality of programs. Be an organization that attracts and selects a diverse workforce and promotes learning, training and staff development. Be highly aware that security, good health and safety are a prime responsibility of organizations. She stressed that good staff care will improve program quality and output, reduce stress in our staff, which will reduce staff burnout, and improve the overall work in organizations.

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 6

One major problem in staff care is that it is overlooked because in emergencies beneficiaries are top priority. There is no time to adequately provide staff care because staff are working against the clock to save lives. Also there is no time for writing new policies and no time for building trust. Lainie provided some tools an NGO can develop to provide better staff care during an emergency. • Standard, comprehensive orientation • Complete HR manual • Clear job description • Counselling services • Regular, reliable communication systems • Tools for managing stress and trauma such as the Antares Foundation’s Guidelines for Good Practice • Other policies, such as security, procurement, finance, and vehicle • Full debriefs

Presentation 2 Review of Staff Care Outcomes from 2007 Workshop - Heidi Anderson, IAWG HR in Emergencies During the IAWG/EPN workshop held in March 2007, there was a session on Staff Care which gave short case studies on Staff Care in Emergencies. Out of this session the participants were put into six different groups and each group identified a problem relating to staff care and welfare, then the groups were asked to create a Problem Tree of problem/cause/underlying cause model. The problems that were identified were 1. Stress Management 2. Staff Wellness 3. Language/Cultural Differences 4. Terms of Employment 5. Inadequate Management Support 6. Communication For the outcomes of each problem tree see ANNEX 4. Heidi discussed the problems, causes and underlying causes for each problem, allowing the participants to discuss the problems and how the relate to their organizations now.

Presentation 3 Review of EPN Rome and Bangkok – Evelyn Munyao, Medair and Pamela Mokaya, WWF The EPN Rome conference took place in Rome, Italy on May 16-18, 2007. The theme of the conference was “Spotlight on Professionalism - the Role of Human Resources”. 82 Participants from 51 different agencies attended the conference. The main learning points from Rome: • Cultural Sensitivity – all new staff should get proper induction. • Empowering National Staff is critical – Capacity Building necessary because of high turnover of international staffs EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 7

•

HR network should be maintained for purposes of learning from each other

Presentation 4 Update on other EPN/People In Aid Staff Care conferences – Jonathan Potter, People In Aid Jonathan updated participants on some recent activities on staff care which had taken place. 1. A conference on Staff Wellness called Heart of Humanitarian Relief’: see http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/publications/heart-of-humanitarian-reliefreport(1).pdf Some key quotes from the speakers were: • Staff care needed to address the attitude of: ‘We won’t kill you, but we’ll stand by and watch you do it if you want to’. • The importance of staff care being treated holistically in the organisation: ‘It then becomes part of the overall people strategy, rather than staff care being a sticky tape to patch up, when something goes wrong.’ • A thought-provoking comment for NGOs’ motivation for looking at staff care ‘Are we making aid workers more resilient or just prolonging their shelf-life?’ Jonathan also highlighted WorldVision’s 5P model and some excellent insights into Vicarious Traumatisation (more details in the report). 2. Antares Foundation (http://www.antaresfoundation.org) have guidelines for embedding staff care at all stages of an employee’s lifecycle. Jonathan highlighted some recent work in Uganda from Antares on stressors for national staff, particularly: • Job security • Expectations of beneficiaries • Security • Health concerns • Emotional demands • Cultural differences 3. The Headington Institute’s report: “NGO Staff Wellbeing in the Darfur Region of Sudan & Eastern Chad” , November 2007 can be found at http://www.headington-institute.org and is a must-read. It lists the incidents affecting aid workers; it collates opinions from HQ and field staff on how well prepared each thought fieldworkers were for their work; it lists the main stressors (Witnessing or hearing stories of personal tragedy, suffering and devastation; Being separated from family and friends). Strong recommendations are made, including mentoring and coaching, localising the answers, focusing on national staff, watching out for short-termism (contracts/grants) dictating attitudes and ensuring the organisation is aware of the ‘employee experience’. These are the Headington Institute’s assessment of the common themes which followed their research: • Field staff in Sudan and Chad are under increased physical and emotional stress; • There is a growing awareness of the need for policies and programs to support humanitarian staff in high stress situations; • There is a wide variety of policies and programs apparent across organizations; EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 8

• • • • •

Some organizations are actively investing in strengthening their capacities, policies and programs related to staff care and staff well-being, and all organizations desire to continue to improve in these areas; Relatively few agencies have clearly articulated a commitment to staff well-being in organizational handbooks and other policy documents, or outlined proactive plans for staff support; Follow through and implementation of existing policy is often uneven; Field staff are frequently not aware of specific policies and programs that are in place to support staff; The following are seen by staff as key over-arching issues related to staff support policies and programs: o The critical role of skilled managers in effective staff support; o The equity of policies and programs as applied to national and international staff; o The availability of funding and other resources for staff support purposes; and o The complexity of the situations in Sudan and Chad, and the challenge this poses to designing and implementing relevant and appropriate policies and programs from headquarters.

DAY 3 – FRIDAY MARCH 8th WAY FORWARD WAY FORWARD Florencio Marerua was the facilitator for the way forward discussion. He inspired participants to garner what they had learnt from the simulation and collect it for their own use, and others: “A dynamic and knowledgeable group, bringing so much knowledge into the room – together we can share this with a wider audience”. The objective for this conference was how to better prepare and train managers in Staff Care and with the aim of recognising weakness and how to empower managers in this area. Florencio asked the participants to look at the conference objective and to use the outcomes from the simulation and the simulation debrief to discuss the issues of staff care in emergencies.

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 9

The participants were asked to review the issues and to come up with a list of the top six, to discuss how to improve staff care in those areas. The top six issues were: 1. Staff Turnover 2. Collaboration 3. Staff Capacity 4. Staff Rights 5. Policies 6. HR Emergency Staff Care Checklist Issues and Solutions from the Working Groups STAFF TURNOVER Causes • Managers o Capacity o Personality o Poor skills • Availability of information sharing • Diversity • Conflict of interest/corruption • Lack of staff development plan • Lack of forums to raise/discuss issues affecting staff • Salary competitions • Separation from families • Tough working environments • Workload • Unclear job descriptions

Solutions • Proper Planning • Have Extensive Interviews • Ensure organization have the right policies in place o Complies with Code of Conduct o R&R and family leave policies • Promote transparency • Work with the IAWG with • Staff Surveys • Promote Advocacy • Establish partnerships with like organizations • Monitoring and Evaluation

COLLABORATION Internal Solutions • See people as an asset • Ensure performance management o Manager accountability o Exit interviews • Budgets for staff care • Analyze management decision making • Staff engagement/Surveys

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 10

External Solutions • • •

•

Know what resources and supports are available (i.e. IAWG, EPN, People In Aid) Educate donors in staff care Share services o Trainings o Joint briefings and discussions (i.e. labour laws) o Policy Bank o Salary and Benefits survey Debrief training for managers (have a joint register of counsellors.) STAFF CAPACITY SOLUTIONS

• Create and promote Trust Building • Management and Staff Team Building • Non-Monetary Awards • Staff Development – Acting Roles – have staff take over for supervisors • Mentoring, Peer Coaching, Supervisor Coaching • Secondment • Rotation of Duties • Performance Management • Clear Job Descriptions • Training Calendar • Careful Recruiting and Selection • Provisions of Resources • Ensure proper Orientations Note: All this is possible if top management supports ideas STAFF RIGHTS Issues •

Organizationally this is very difficult to analyze especially in areas with no governments (i.e. Sudan, Somalia) • No legal framework (Local staff usually make up the laws) • Corruptions • In South Sudan there is too many employee rights and they are not applicable Solutions • • •

• •

NGO collaboration Start local working groups Minimize organizational risks o Learn the laws o Make clear contracts o Recruit local person to be an advocate Start HR forum (already established in Juba) Consider pulling out to re-evaluate from time to time

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 11

POLICIES All policies should be: • Clear and responsible • Comprehensive • Adapted to cultural context • Provision for periodic change • Consistent with local labour laws and others This group created a list of policies that organisation should consider: Recruitment Policies Including information with: • Internal/external adverts

• •

Equal opportunity and diversity Reference checks

Induction/Orientation Clear induction systems should include: • Checklists (that need to be signed) • Organizational documents

• •

Field videos and pictures Electronic induction system

Employment Various leaves clearly explained • R&R/Per Diem • Study • Annual • TOIL

• • • •

Compassionate Sabbatical Maternity Sick/Sick-child

• • • •

Pension Gratuity Severance Comprehensive security guidelines

• • • • • •

Grievances procedures Sexual harassment Training and Development Performance Management Career Planning Career Counselling

• • •

Exit checklist Exit counselling/training Redundancy policy

Salary and Benefits • • • •

Salary Structures Clear systems of upgrading and promotion Cost of Living Adjustments All insurances

Management • Communication accessibly • Updated contact lists • Family calling • Psychosocial support • Staff and family • Stress management Exit/Transition • • •

Exit interview Debriefing Hand-over systems

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 12

STAFF CARE CHECKLIST This group put together a staff care checklist Orientation and Induction • • • • • • •

Personal information form Job description Contract Organizational Structure Staff Manual Emergency contact list Immigration documents

Security • List of dependants • Emergency contacts • Map to residences • Quick run bag • Emergency fire drills

• • • • • • •

Embassy registration Immunizations/ vaccines Policies (sign off) Waivers Benefits Welcome packet Security guidelines

• • • •

Security focal points Evacuation and relocation policy Security training UN security and safety guidelines and training (online exam)

Psychosocial • • • •

Counselling services (pre, during, post assignment) Stress management training Leave/break planning Illness support

HR Department Checklist • Strategy • Staffing (i.e. ratio of staff to HR staff) • Funds • Counselling of HR staff • Team building • HR audits

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

• • •

(chronic/medications) Working and living conditions Recreation Critical incidence management

• • • • •

Staff surveys Communications – staff meetings Networking (internal and external) Positioning Tools: HRIS

Page 13

Annex 1: Agenda DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY 5th MARCH: SIMULATION Time 0830 0900

Content Registration of Day Participants Introductions Opening Remarks

1000

Simulation on Staff Care

1600

Simulation Discussion

Resource Persons Events and Weddings Ltd. Dane Fredenburg, CRS and Jonathan Potter, People In Aid Facilitator / Simulation Administrators Facilitator

DAY 2 – THURSDAY 6th MARCH: SIMULATION DEBRIEF Time 0900

Content Review of Simulation

0930

Simulation Debrief

1100 1130 1300

Refreshment Break Simulation Debrief Lunch Break

1400

Presentation on Staff Care (30 mins) Review of Staff Care Outcomes from 2007 Workshop (30 mins) Refreshment Break Review of EPN Rome and Bangkok (30 mins) Update on other EPN/People in Aid Staff Care conferences (30 mins) Participants depart

1500 1600

1700

Resource Persons Florencio Maerua, World Vision/Dane Fredenburg, CRS Florencio/Dane

Florencio/Dane Lainie Thomas, Goal Heidi Anderson, Consultant

Pamela Mokaya, WWF and Evelyn Munyao, Medair Jonathan Potter

DAY 3 –FRIDAY 7th MARCH: WAY FORWARD Time 0900 0930 1100 1130 1230 1300

Content Review of Debrief and Introduction to Day 3 Group Work Session – Way Forward Refreshment Break “Way Forward” – Feedback Closing Remarks and Evaluation Lunch

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Resource Persons Facilitator Florencio Maerua Groups Jonathan Potter

Page 14

Annex 2: List of Participants Name Amar Mohammed Hussein Annabel Kogi Anne Waweru Ashraf Ahmed Abdalla Elmaghrabi Benadette Chemorei Carine Kidingwira Cynthia Labi Dane Fredenburg Diana Awino Edith Karanja Elizabeth Chebet Evelyn Munyao Florence Karoki Florencio Marerua Grace Atabo Hassan Bulle Hussein Heidi Anderson Irene Mbote Jacqueline Rugayo Jane Andanje Jonathan Potter Lainie Thomas Lilian Githuka Lilian Nyaga Martina Lordon Mary Oyieke Otieno Mercy Ringa Wanjagi Monica W. Ndungu Mumbua Kioko Naomi Mwangi Omer Moh'd Ahmed Eltahir Pamela Mokaya Pamela Mwangi Perpetua Njihia Peter Kyalo Salma Rukundo Sophie Loveday Sylvia Fernandes -Demelo Wendy Van Amerangen Wynn Flaten

Organization CRS Care International in Kenya Goal Kenya CARE International in Sudan World Vision Africa Relief ACCORD World Vision International Catholic Relief Services German Agro Action International Organization for Migration (IOM) IAWG MEDAIR - East Africa Christian Children's Fund World Vision OXFAM GB Save the Children UK, Somalia Program IAWG – HR in Emergencies World Vision - Kenya World Vision International Catholic Relief Services People In Aid GOAL Kenya Christian Aid International Aid Services MERLIN Catholic Relief Services World Vision - South Sudan Christian Mission Aid Action Against Hunger - USA World Vision - Africa CARE Sudan WWF - EARPO World Vision Kenya Jesuit Refugee Services UNICEF, Eastern & Southern Africa Reg. Office Catholic Relief Services - Uganda Programme World Vision - Africa Relief Office Childhood Voices, Iraq Medair World Vision -WVUG

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 15

Annex 3: Simulation NGOs HEALTH 4 ALL Health 4 All is a smaller faith based organization working in Medical Emergencies. They are currently working in 8 countries. In this emergency there are 3 medical teams in the field. Each team has 8 staff employed: field coordinator, doctors, nurses, logistician, driver Salaries Doctor - $3000/month with no benefits Field Coordinator - $2000/month with no benefits Nurse - $1500/month with no benefits Logistician - $1000/month with no benefits Driver - $500/month with no benefits

SCORE Intl Score is a smaller non-faith based organization working in Medical Emergencies. They are currently working in 8 countries. In this emergency there are 3 medical teams in the field. Each team has 8 staff employed: field coordinator, doctors, nurses, logistician, driver Salaries Doctor - $3000/month with no benefits Field Coordinator - $2000/month with no benefits Nurse - $1500/month with no benefits Logistician - $1000/month with no benefits Driver - $500/month with no benefits

RELIEF SERVICES Relief Services is a large international faith based organization working in every sector of Emergencies and Development. They are currently working in 80-100 countries. They have been working in the area for 15 years and have a fully staffed field office running: agriculture, education livelihood, and health programs. They have staffed up for this emergency by creating a new emergency unit. There are line managers for every sector, but the focus in this emergency is health. In this emergency there are 3 medical teams in the field. Each team has 8 staff employed. A Field Coordinator, doctors, nurses, logistician, driver. Salaries Doctor - $6000/month + benefits (Insurance including medical

ACM ACM is a large international non-faith based organization working in every sector of Emergencies and Development. They are currently working in 80-100 countries. They have been working in the area for 15 years and have a fully staffed field office running: agriculture, education livelihood, and health programs. They have staffed up for this emergency by creating a new emergency unit. There are line managers for every sector, but the focus in this emergency is health. In this emergency there are 3 medical teams in the field. Each team has 8 staff employed. A Field Coordinator, doctors, nurses, logistician, driver. Salaries Doctor - $6000/month + benefits (Insurance including medical

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 16

evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Field Coordinator - $4500/month + benefits (Insurance including medical evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Nurse - $4000/month + benefits (Insurance including medical evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Logistician - $2000/month + benefits (Insurance including medical evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Driver - $1000/month + Insurance

evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Field Coordinator - $4500/month + benefits (Insurance including medical evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Nurse - $4000/month + benefits (Insurance including medical evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Logistician - $2000/month + benefits (Insurance including medical evacuation, Hazard pay, and R/R pay.) Driver - $1000/month + Insurance

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 17

Annex 4: Problem Tree The participants were put into six different groups and each group identified a problem related to staff care and welfare, then the groups were asked to create a Problem Tree of problem/cause/underlying cause Model. Problems Identified 1. Stress Management 2. Staff Wellness 3. Language/Cultural Differences 4. Terms of Employment 5. Inadequate Management Support 6. Communication DISCUSSIONS AND OUTCOMES OF PROBLEM TREE 1. Stress Management Causes Bad accommodation Negative/lack of communications Negative security situation – seclusion Team cohesiveness No Personal Space/lack of privacy Poor terms of employment communication – pay, benefits Workload Poor planning of procedures

Underlying Cause Management – mgt has lack of induction into emergency setting, mgt not prepared

2. Staff Wellness Causes Lack of proper orientation No funds Emergencies have to do with hardships

Underlying Cause Management doesn’t prioritize staff wellness - Lack of organizational understanding of the importance of staff wellness

Solutions 1. Sharing with other orgs on lessons learned 2. Increase funding 3. Education donors 4. Advocacy to senior level within the org 5. Empowering HR professionals 6. Involving HR in early policy planning 7. Strong security guidelines

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 18

3. Inadequate Management Support Causes Workload Training Gap Poor organizational structures Unclear of JD, Roles, Authority Poor communications – performance feedback Poor Planning Lack of interest in non- essentials – housing, recreation

Underlying Cause Lack of holistic planning by line manager – staff dev, comms, etc

4. Language/Cultural/Religious Barriers/Differences Causes Leadership issues – poor planning Lack of professional maturity – relief cowboy mentality Insufficient staff with relevant background/knowledge Org lack of experience Lack of cultural awareness Diverse teams in diverse environments

Underlying Cause Organizational failure to accommodate diversity and plan of staff care

Solution Field contributing to procedures and policies

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 19

5. Terms of Employment Causes Level of mgt decision making where is at HQ Field, Country Rigid HR policy or lack of HR policy Unknowns of JD employment packages Poor induction Expectations not met

Underlying Causes Poor planning and preparations at all levels

Solutions 1. Mgt info systems – HR database 2. Proper inductions of staff and induction manual 3. Review lessons learned from previous emergencies 4. Proper debrief 5. Checklists for mgt and employee 6. Line mgt structures – who decides what? 7. Proper/updated JDs 8. Clear/valid policies 9. TIME TO DO Planning and Preparation 6. Communication Causes Internal Poor induction Poor funding Power struggles Cultural backgrounds External Poor infrastructure Cultural background Insecurity

Underlying causes Management Style

Solutions 1. Better Communication infrastructure 2. Clear channels of comms for staff 3. Address issue with unaccompanied posts 4. More R&R 5. Flexibility on accompanied posts or employment opportunities to families 6. Interpreters on the ground 7. Language trainings 8. Cultural communications – openness

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 20

Annex 5: Feedback and Evaluation The participants were given an evaluation form to fill out at the end of the workshop. There were 13 questions that were to be ranked into four categories 1 being strongly disagreed to 4 being strongly agreed. There were five questions that allowed for comments about the simulation, overall event and venue, where they heard about the workshop and any general comments. Of the 13 ranked questions the total average percentages were: Strongly disagreed - 0%, Disagreed - 4%, Agreed - 31%, Strongly agreed - 65%. That indicates that 96% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that the Simulation, presentations, and overall event were helpful to their work in HR in Emergencies. 1=strongly disagree; 4=strongly agree Overall Comments

1

2

3

4

Simulation Overview and Introduction

0%

5%

35%

60%

Simulation Exercise

0%

0%

20%

80%

Simulation Debrief

0%

5%

25%

70%

Staff Care Presentation

0%

5%

45%

50%

Updates/Reviews

0%

0%

53%

47%

Way Forward Discussion

0%

5%

33%

62%

3. The mix of participants was good

0%

5%

38%

57%

4. The number of participants was good

0%

5%

24%

71%

5. The programme was well-paced

0%

0%

24%

76%

6. The invitation information was effective

0%

19%

43%

38%

7. The facilitation was effective

0%

0%

33%

67%

8. The workshop has been of significant help to me

0%

0%

24%

76%

9. The networking provided was effective

0%

5%

35%

60%

10. The location was appropriate

0%

0%

24%

76%

11. The accommodation was comfortable

0%

13%

38%

50%

12. The workshop facilities were appropriate

0%

5%

29%

67%

13. Overall rating of workshop

0%

0%

5%

95%

0%

4%

31%

65%

1. Day 1

2. Day 2 & 3

TOTALS

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 21

Your comments on the simulation. 1. The Simulation went so well giving us the feeling of being in a real emergency. 2. It was great. I really learned a lot. 3. A very new and exciting experience. Very Stimulating. 4. Staff Care is so important, it was interesting to share in the experience. 5. Very realistic. Best learning tool! How could the content have been improved? 1. Make it 3 full days. 2. Better introductions, expectations and procedures 3. More time 4. More time to discuss lessons learned or similar things that happen in their work place. 5. More field based participants or more time to brief regional staff on field issues. How could the venue services have been improved? 1. Venue was good 2. Venue was perfect. 3. Possible location could be in the outskirts of Nairobi city How did you hear about the Workshop? 1. HR Director 2. Email 3. IAWG Annual General Meeting 4. IAWG member/committee member 5. Regional office Any other comments you wish to make. 1. More of these kind of workshops (Simulations) should go on. 2. It was wonderful. I would like to request IAWG plans for a Stress Management workshop. 3. It would be helpful to have a timetable/schedule of IAWG/EPN activities for the year. 4. Have more of these workshops. Very Good. 5. I had many "AHAH" moments. I learned something very important on what to do with staff when programs close.

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 22

Annex 6: Humanitarian Stress and Trauma Resources Below are a number of links to articles and resources addressing stress and trauma in humanitarian settings. This list is a mixture of a resource sheet from Antares, which was handed out at the event, and other materials which were referenced during the event. Websites of the conference organisers •

All EPN conference outcomes are to be found on http://www.epn.peopleinaid.org, containing summaries, searchable by issue, of all previous EPN conferences]

•

Inter-Agency Working Group - http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iawg-nairobi

•

People In Aid - http://www.peopleinaid.org Information and materials on better HR and people management in the sector. Some free for download, some for members of People In Aid only. Consult list of members to see if your head office is a member.

•

The Emergency Capacity Building Project (ECB) - http://www.ecbproject.org

•

The website contains updates and output from the work of the ECB project including the Staff Capacity Project.

•

Managing People In Emergencies – http://www.managing.peopleinaid.org

•

A guide to managing people for line managers involved in emergencies

•

At the request of the IAWG People In Aid prepared a Staff Manual for East Africa in advance of the conference. This covers a wide range of topics (from diversity to insurance, from career planning to pensions and whistle blowing to objectivesetting). This free material was handed out at the conference and is available at http://www.peopleinaid.org/resources/publications.aspx

Other resources: •

Church World Service Staff Self Care Learning Centre -

•

Humanitarian involvement in armed conflicts: the stress factor -

•

http://www.dartcenter.org/articles/headlines/2000/2000_09_18.html

Humanitarian Aid & Disaster Relief Personnel: Vicarious Trauma and Relief Work -

•

http://forum.aidworkers.net/messages/140/21.html

Stress in Humanitarian Emergencies -

•

http://www.mhwwb.org/Literature%20Review%20(rev.%2011-19-02).htm

Supporting front line staff: stress and trauma management -

•

http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList301/7B3AC4F0BC166806C 1256C06004F8863

Managing Stress in Humanitarian, Health Care, and Human Rights Workers -

•

http://www.churchworldservice.org/hr/self-care/stress-trauma/index.html

http://www.headington-institute.org/learning/vicarious_trauma.htm

Stress and Trauma Handbook: Strategies for Flourishing in Demanding Environments

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 23

•

Article: Like troops, aid workers suffer stress syndrome -

•

http://www.peopleinaid.org/download/Newsletter%20Jan%202002.pdf

UNHCR Guide: Managing the Stress of Humanitarian Emergencies -

•

http://www.idealist.org/conferences/psychosocial/links.html

Article: Cut your stress levels with People In Aid -

•

http://scoop.agonist.org/story/2004/7/3/43116/89295

Idealist: Links and resources -

•

https://www.worldvisionresources.com/product_info.php?products_id=218

http://www.the-ecentre.net/resources/e_library/doc/managingStress.pdf

Article: Selection, training, and support of relief workers: an occupational health issue -

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/318/7176/113

•

McCammon, S. L. & Allison, E. J., Jr. (1995). Debriefing and Treating Emergency Workers. In Figley, C. R. (Ed.). (1995). Compassion Fatigue, Coping With Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized (pp. 115-129). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

•

Managing Stress in Humanitarian Aid Workers: The Role of the Organization A PowerPoint presentation given at the USAID OFDA, Humanitarian Debate Series, Washington, D.C. on July 27, 2004 by Dr. John Ehrenreich of the State University of New York ([email protected]).

•

USAID-OFDA presentation on Managing Stress - revised.ppt

•

Work undertaken by People In Aid, for the ECB, on turnover and retention in the sector : -

•

http://www.metrics.peopleinaid.org

http://www.odihpn.org/documents/networkpaper055.pdf

The People In Aid -

Code of Good Practice: http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/code/codeen.pdf

-

Surge capacity in the humanitarian relief and development sector http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/publications/surge-capacity-final.pdf

-

Understanding and addressing staff turnover in the humanitarian sector http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/publications/networkpaper55-final.pdf

-

Behaviours which lead to effect performance http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/publications/competencies-reportfinal.pdf

-

The conference in November 2007 run by People In Aid and the Headington Institute was called ‘The Heart of Humanitarian Relief’ and the report is available on http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/publications/heart-of-

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 24

humanitarian-relief-report(1).pdf. •

The important research undertaken by the Headington Institute into staff wellbeing issues in Darfur “NGO Staff Wellbeing in the Darfur Region of Sudan & Eastern Chad” is to be found on: http://www.headington-institute.org

•

The collection of staff care ideas from a buzz group at the InterAction Forum in 2004 was as follows: - Peer group – pairing for new arrivals - Inventory of resources – musical talents, interests, etc - Listing of important details for each employee like blood type, medical insurance numbers, contact details for families etc - Mandatory exit interviews - Team building activities like bowling - Debriefing brown bag after tour or assignment - Telephone contact with loves ones (phone cards for staff or telephone chip that only works for home) - Use returning staff to brief outgoing ones - Regular gatherings of field staff - Share the values of the organization, repeat them over and over again in different forums. - Have a designated focus point for support - Regular frequent communication with management - Satellite TV for remote offices included in budget to help staff stay in contact with the rest of the world - Internet hook up and email a priority - Be clear about organizational policies around vehicle use, radio protocols and rest and relaxation. - Integrate with the local community to a certain extent.

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 25

Annex 7: EPN Online A few days before the start of the conference we had launched EPN Online. Questions and answers were already being swapped between continents and we felt it important to add daily updates on our conference to the log, here they are: DAY ONE Greetings Today in Nairobi, Kenya we had the first day of the HR and Emergencies Staff Care Simulation Conference. A joint collaboration between Emergency Personnel Network and the Inter Agency Working Group. The conference will be for three days ending Friday March 7th. We had about 35 participants from multiple NGOs in the East African Region. The emergency simulation was framed around issues in Human Resource and Administration and how HR professionals in regional offices deal with staff care and staff issues in emergencies. After the simulation we had a brief debrief. Some of the initial comments about the simulation were: I have learned a lot! It was overwhelming but so real! It was very informative! It makes me realize we need to do a lot work in preparations! Tomorrow we will have a full debrief to talk about lessons learned from the simulation. We will send another email about tomorrow's events. Heidi Anderson For the Inter-Agency Working Group HR and Emergencies DAY TWO “Hi all I’ve enjoyed many an EPN Conference but I’m not sure I’ve had so many laughs during a day of intense learning and sharing! Greetings from Nairobi where our conference in association with the local Inter-Agency Working Group has reached the end of Day 2 and I await my appointment with a cold bottle of Tusker. One of the encouraging outcomes, during Heidi’s recap session on last year’s EPN Nairobi, has been changes in agency practice directly resulting from things learnt then: e.g. new performance appraisal processes which include staff care issues, a staff wellness policy, along with 4 trainings in field locations, for an INGO’s Sudan programme – and more. Yesterday’s simulation triggered an enormous amount of discussion – and I think Florencio got every single participant to contribute! We covered many many areas including the need for teamwork in responding to an emergency, the clear role HR needs to take and the time which any staff member needs to sit back, reflect and relax. By the end of the day people had understood stress! Some choice quotes to reflect on over your Tuskers, Singhas, Amstels, London Prides or Sam Adams’:

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 26

‘Improving staff care makes us do a better job and improve our programme quality and output’. ‘Staff are more effective if they know how to access the information the need’ (Orientation, briefing, digestible staff manuals etc.) And Pamela half said something as she summarised her experience at EPN Bangkok. Africans, she said, are shy, don’t show the knowledge they have. She went on to talk about recruitment and how to assess ‘shy’ interviewees. I THOUGHT she’d been going on to say something else so I’m going to say it for her. Of course Africans have immense knowledge and maybe they do hide that experience under a bushel, but part of the purpose of EPN-online, and of People In Aid’s partnership with the IAWG here in East Africa, is to ensure that the rest of the world can tap into our African colleagues’ experiences. Watch out: every single participant has ticked the ‘yes’ box saying they want to join our discussions here. Wonderful. Cheers. Jonathan People In Aid” DAY THREE Today was the final day of the HR and Emergencies workshop. The day started with a review of Day 2. There was good feedback on yesterday's discussions, particularly the sharing on learning's that most of the challenges faced were not peculiar to organizations but noticing that these were global challenges. Today, participants were divided into five groups discussing further some points brought out the previous day: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Retention Collaboration (internally and externally) Organizations rights Staff capacity A staff needs "check list" Policies

Different groups deliberated on these issues and came up with different recommendations, which you should be able to read on the EPN report, which will definitely be on line. The way forward was the challenge to each organisation represented in the workshop to take back what they had learned in their respective organisation, and begin discussions on how they can improve staff care. HR practitioners were also challenged to take their rightful role and influence change in their organizations by incorporating a model that was shared by WVI, "HR as a business partner" Jonathan Potter closed the conference by thanking the participants, and then handed the Staff Care Template that EPN had created for agencies to use as appropriate. One of the participants also thanked Jonathan and EPN, People In Aid for facilitating this exciting workshop, where participants felt they had learned and experienced tremendous insights as well as building and increasing networks in this field. EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 27

As one of the participants, I was thrilled to be a part of this learning, I look forward to the next meeting where we will be meeting as HR people to take the discussions further. Evelyn, Medair

EPN Nairobi 2008 - STAFF CARE SIMULATION

Page 28