Mentoring of Ground Staff
Field staff behavior is the main point repeatedly discussed in the meetings of senior professionals. The field staffs are not efficient, they are unable to conveying the message in field and they are not visiting in field and making bluffs etc etc. But seeing this I thought it is not just behavioral fault, it is not happening because staff doesn’t want to work, but some time staff not heeding his job responsibilities properly because he is loosing interest from his job. When ground field staff loose interests from work, I think the senior professional is purely responsible for that.
Mostly the senior professional thought they have more knowledge and the ground staff should have only followed their orders/ instructions, they wants layman. If some staff wants to something, he express S/he curiosity, then they get angry. It was noticed that staff carry out certain work and if someone asked them why you are doing this work? What is purpose and benefit of this work? They have no answers, they found completely blank about the situation. The main reason Why ground staff loosing their interest from their job? Because they were completely unaware about aim of the work they were doing. They are feeling neglected and simply they loose their interest from their job. Keep space for rewarding the personnel who are doing well for organization and for community, it is essential for creating role model for other respective staff. At the same time there should be punishment and dismissal system for ineffective staff. S/he should not be saved because of her/his linkages with higher authority.
In one training program during delivering training to field staff I asked, why you we are constructing small dams at village level the simple answer from participant was ‘ to conserve the water. But when I explain them in brief that we construct dam to develop the skill of people in construction technology, to conserve water, to fulfill domestic water usage need of people, by proper management of water irrigating the fields and to improve agro based livelihood. To maintain the livestock through water security and to get additional income. To increase the green cover by allowing green vegetation on open land and thereby improve the ecology and upgrading the environment. By listening the whole interrelated chain issues the participant were very much excited they told that no one taught us before in this way that’s why we just looking it as a construction activity. We have never vision that we are doing this kind of big work. One person explain that now I really feeling that I am doing some great work and not merely construction, now I will try to do my work more efficiently. Thus most of participants explained that they are loosing their interest from their job because most of the time they were used as layman from senior officials, we just carried out work without knowing its purpose, aim and objectives.
In any project ground level staff are proved as backbone of the project when anywhere these backbone get fragile the project get spoiled, so if you want to make your project success then make this backbone strong by sensitizing them about the aim and objectives of work, importance of their job and their place in project. Assure them that they are main component of project and because of their irresponsible behavior if project will suffer then they will not be responsible merely for project, organization but for the whole community for which they are working.
Sharad Pant
Director
Human & Environment Care Association
AMRAVATI
INDIA
|
|
