Executives find their calling in NGOs

Experts say the segment is now seeing a lot of young corporate talent willing to join 'meaningful' roles, even with a pay cut

Suited young individuals are stepping out of a strategy meeting only for a half-an-hour break before their next video conference with the top management abroad. This might appear to be a scene out of a corporate house, but it is, in fact, the India headquarters of a global civil society organisation.

Today, it is not just the jhola-carrying (cotton sling bag), bearded, middle-aged individuals who are joining civil society organisations. Human resource (HR) experts said this segment was now seeing a lot of young corporate talent willing to join ‘meaningful’ roles, even with a pay cut.

“In an aspirational era, exploding with diverse career opportunities and choices, more youngsters today are seeking opportunities where they can earn and build a career, one where they can balance work-life priorities, where they feel that they matter and can make a difference,” said G Ananthapadmanabhan, chief executive, Amnesty International, India.

He added these individuals proactively and consciously chose to shun the rat race for a more holistic life with a career in non-profit organisations.

Experts say the reason young executives were joining non-governmental organisations (NGOs) was also because the sector had moved beyond just collecting donations to advocacy and specialised services. This, according to them, involves a lot of strategy and planning, and corporate executives can offer valuable insights. Chandrashekhar Ponda, general manager, HR and  business support, Child Rights and You, said civil society today and the development sector had so evolved that it offered people the opportunity to become involved in a cause after their own heart.

“More young professionals — having achieved early success in their corporate careers — experience the urge to do more. They are seeking to do something meaningful with their lives — a purpose, or means, to give back to the society,” he added. Ponda said a decade ago, this might have been limited to merely financially supporting their favourite charity. But today, they have more opportunity to take a more ‘hands-on’ approach.

HR consultants agree. Jyorden T Misra, founder member and managing director, Spearhead InterSearch, explained there was more visibility, stability and diversity in the development sector than ever before. “It is not just driven or dominated by government- or public-sector-supported/-sponsored establishments, but has a far more inclusive character which cuts across the public-private spectrum,” he said.

Misra said professionals from the corporate sector across functions such as finance, legal, HR and business had made successful transitions into this sector. “For professionals with background in profiteering organisations, the only difference is that the return on investments is measured here, not in rupee or dollar terms, but on the value of ‘social impact’,” he said.

Executives are also ready to take a pay cut to follow their passion.

Ananthapadmanabhan said salaries would never be on a par with the for-profit sector and that was not the aim. “Overall compensation structures and benefits packages in the non-profit sector, particularly in international NGOs, are beginning to mirror industry standard practices practised in the for-profit sector. This is reflected not just with regard to compensation and benefits, but in the broader area of HR practices as well,” he said.

Industry players opined the most important differentiators in favour of the NGOs today were probably the flexible working hours and a say in decision-making. Ponda said there was usually a more egalitarian salary structure because of the nature of the work. He added the difference in an NGO between the mid-level employees and upper management was many times less than in a corporate.

But the situation is changing, as Misra added, in well-established, large and securely funded organisations, remuneration was more or less comparable with corporates. However, he added, in smaller and lesser-known organisations, though salary packages had improved, there was a gap. This would be closer to the third quartile of the corporate compensation structure.

While attrition is an issue which even civil society organisations have to face, HR experts said the rate of attrition was in single digits and comparatively lower than corporate jobs. Ananthapadmanabhan admitted that attrition is something that NGOs have to deal with just as much as companies in the corporate sector.

“It is not a given that employees will remain loyal to an organisation simply because they are involved in a great cause,” he said, adding that people in the NGO sector will vote with their feet just as much in a corporate firm, if they are not treated fairly and properly.

While young workers are ready to join NGOs, Ponda said it was not always easy for an individual used to the corporate world to acclimatise himself in the development sector. “While most NGOs have a work culture and professionalism to rival any leading corporate entity, the sheer paucity of resources leads to individuals having to take on more work and more responsibility while working for an NGO. People also tend to have difficulties with the time is takes for results to be visible,” he said.

As more opportunities have emerged, HR officials said there had been active movements in this sector. With more executives coming in, they expect not just salary structures to improve, but areas like talent development and career growth to also be integrated within small NGOs as well.

A CAREER FOR A CAUSE

• NGOs today don’t just collect money but are involved in advocacy and decision-making. All this needs strategy and planning, offering opportunities for corporate executives
• Professionals from sectors such as finance and HR looking for a work-life balance are taking up jobs with NGOs even after a pay cut
• Though in well-established large NGOs remuneration is comparable with the corporate sector, salaries in smaller NGOs are still far less