At IT for Change, we have made several efforts to improve upon our human resource policies, practices, and processes in 2020-21.

We engaged in a critical review and re-haul of our employee induction process, with a view to enhance engagement, retention, and understanding of organizational policies and procedures. Employee induction was transitioned into a course on a learning management system platform with due checkpoints and evaluations. We plan to formalize a ‘buddy’ system in the induction process for facilitating peer-mentoring within the organization for new joinees.

We translated the organizational policy on sexual harassment into the local language, Kannada, and will be making efforts to translate other policies in due course as well. Further, a child protection and welfare policy is being developed this year, recognizing the increasing organizational work with children.

Our reliance on cloud-based infrastructure has significantly increased over the past year. At the administrative level, we undertook a consultative process among various teams to migrate to new free and open source software (FOSS) for knowledge management, collaborative working, employee induction, leave management, and financial accounting. We are happy to report that these FOSS tools have increased efficiency in output delivery.

The year of Covid-19 also challenged IT for Change’s operations in many ways and necessitated adaptations to not only our research, advocacy, and field work strategies but also to our work arrangements. To account for working in the changed context of the pandemic, we focused on enhancing internal resilience around people and processes in several ways.

Prioritizing the safety and well-being of our team, we have temporarily transitioned to a work from home arrangement for all staff, except a skeletal administrative team on site. Our field operations have followed a hybrid method, maximizing remote modalities to the extent possible. All recruitment was also done on remote basis through a robust online interface that allowed us to on-board new hires in a seamless manner, with the relocation for out of-town hires left to the employees’ discretion.

Medical health coverage for staff members was trebled in the year to extend health coverage for Covid-19 for employees, with an opt-in option made available for family members. Vaccination for staff members was also covered.

Lastly, employee well-being was a key focus area this year. We took steps towards addressing the challenges of working in a remote environment by organizing weekly water cooler sessions. Wellness resources are also being curated and will be included in the induction process.