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inclusion: Accommodating spouses/partners
:
Pre-appointment initiatives
1 As a general principle, potential recruits and their spouses/partners need to be provided with as much information as possible about their Center and their duty station prior to interviews. The overall objective is to:
- ensure they are as aware as possible about life at the Center and the duty station, to facilitate their decision whether to accept an offer of appointment or not, and
- to
minimize the surprises they may face on arrival at the duty station
that might undermine their enthusiasm for, and commitment to the new
role and life.
VISIT TO DUTY STATION
2 Ideally, expatriate and distant applicants
should be interviewed at the duty station. Failing that, the interview
process should include a visit to the duty station. Candidates should
be strongly encouraged to take their spouses/partners on that familiarization
visit. Otherwise the “no surprises” (on arrival) rule is
likely to be seriously violated, possibly compromising the success of
the appointment.
INFORMATION RESOURCES
3 Perhaps the single greatest resource to
a potential recruit and her/his spouse/partner is information about life
at the duty station. The Center needs to provide a comprehensive information
resource (booklet, Web site, DVD, etc.) for every
duty station covering
topics spanning:
- family issues;
- community issues;
- occupation issues; and
- recreation issues.
Carefully presented, this can be a valuable marketing tool for the Center. It can also remove unjustified concerns or prejudices that candidates and their spouses/partners might have about life at the duty station.
Family issues
4 The family issues section of the Information
Resources needs to answer questions on the following:
- climate: are there weather extremes? What type of clothing is needed?
- currency and costs of living: what is the local currency and the current conversion rate? What is the inflation rate in the country? What is the best way to handle banking? What will be the general living expenses?
- short-term housing: what is provided by the Center in the short term, for how long, and at what cost?
- ongoing housing: what options are available (apartments, houses, etc); what are the typical arrangements (length of leases, costs, etc); what are the preferred areas (if any); how does one find accommodations (direct, through agents); what assistance does the Center provide in this process?
- health care: what medical services are available (include names, locations, contact numbers, range of services offered, etc.)?
- education: how is the country’s education system structured; what schools are available (with names/locations/contact number/s, range of ages accommodated, cost of fees, etc.)?
- security: what is the personal security situation at/within the vicinity of the duty station? What precautions do staff/spouses/partners/children need to take?
- child care: what is available in terms of long-term child-care, occasional child care, etc)?
- domestic staff: is it proper to engage people to work as housekeepers, cooks, nursery-maids, porters, gardeners, housemaids, security staff, etc., and what sort of salaries and conditions do such staff expect?
- domestic services: what are the sources of services other than those provided by a landlord, such as security, electrical, plumbing, telephone, car repair and appliance repair?
- transport services: what is available in the way of buses, taxis, etc.?
- emotional support: what services or support exist for people who need professional advice on dealing with emotional issues such as loneliness? Does the Center have an employee assistance program, and does it accommodate spouses/partners/children?
Community Information
5 This section of the Information Resources
needs to cover the following issues:
- languages: what national language/s are spoken in the vicinity of the duty station? Where can one use English/French/Spanish?
- cultural issues: what are the important local cultural issues? What are the local attitudes to significant or sensitive issues?
- religions: what are the predominant religions? Where are the main places of worship?
- official identification: what official identification is needed (identity cards, driver’s license, passport, etc.,) and where should one carry them (or not)?
- personal transport: what are the local road rules (e.g. what side of the road is driven on), and to what extent are they observed/ignored? Is it preferable to have a local driver?
- community services: where are the banks, post office, police stations, etc?
- shopping: where do you go to acquire various household items? Are any items scarce or hard-to-get? What are normal shopping hours?
- national/local holidays: what are they, and when are they?
- spouse/partner committee: does one exist? What does it do, and when does it meet? How does one get involved?
Occupation Information
6 This section of the Information Resources
needs to cover the following issues:
- employment: what is the employment situation both external to and within the Center? What visas/work permits are required? What sort of work is possible at the duty station (or in high demand)? What options might be available for employment by the Center (full-time, part-time, consultancies, etc.) and how can this be pursued?
- setting up a small business/enterprise: is this possible/feasible, and what are the main issues (e.g. legal) to be considered?
- education: what institutions exist at the duty station for a spouse/partner to continue formal studies? What support does the Center provide (e.g. invitations to seminars; access to libraries, computers, etc)? How can one arrange local language training?
- volunteering: is this possible? What opportunities/needs exist? How does one pursue this interest?
Recreation Information
7 This section of the Information Resources
needs to cover the following issues:
- cultural events: what are the major events that characterize the spiritual, material and intellectual features of the society of the country where the duty station is located? When do they occur?
- entertainment: what facilities exist in terms of theatres and similar venues? What sort of entertainment do these facilities provide, and when? Are there concerts, choirs and/or orchestras? What night life exists (and is there any special care that should be taken)?
- sports: what sporting facilities and clubs exist in the vicinity of the duty station? How does one join? What other outdoors activities have been established, e.g. horse-riding, bush-walking, etc?
- travel: what are the local attractions/nearby attractions/distant attractions?
8 In some locations, the Center needs to provide everything in the way of information. In other locations, complementary guides may exist that have been prepared by such organizations as:
- nearby UN agencies, NGOs, etc.;
- nearby embassies;
- local associations (e.g. The American Women’s Association in Penang); and/or
- information available on the internet about the location.
9 Candidates and their spouses/partners also need information about their formal entitlements. Although these usually are specified in the Center’s Personnel Policy Manual (or equivalent), in this case they should also be presented in a “reader-friendly” style, rather than in bureaucratese.
Preparation
10 Typically the information guide would be produced either by Center
HR or by the spouse/partner committee (where one exists), working in
collaboration. If the former approach is used, it is essential not
only to get spouse/partner feedback on the first edition of the guide,
but also to seek spouse/partner suggestions about updating information.
Timeliness
11 This could be made available as a printed guide, Web site or a DVD.
CIAT and IRRI for example have prepared wonderful DVDs and videos that
can be shared with families in advance of their arrival. The essential
criterion is for it to have as much information as possible, as current
as possible. Therefore the guide should be regarded as a living document
and kept updated.
Personal adviser
12 It is very helpful to have someone on hand during the interview visit
to answer questions about life at the duty station. The best option
is to have someone who currently lives there and already has set up
a home at that duty station. Failing that, someone who has lived there
in the past could be a reasonable substitute.
Re-thinking recruitment expectations
13 It is common for some Centers to assume
that:
- a short-listed candidate will accept a job offer if she/he is brought to the Center for interview, and
- any unresolved spouse/partner issues can be “fixed” after the couple/family arrive at the duty station.
14 Practical experience suggests that this is not a realistic expectation. First, uncertainty about unresolved spouse/partner issues could well be the deciding factor in the preferred candidate’s decision to reject a job offer. Second, the couple’s negotiating power is significantly diminished after they arrive at the duty station. There is less pressure on the Center to go out of its way to accommodate unresolved issues to the couple’s satisfaction, particularly if the solutions might constitute a precedent. In such circumstances, the couple’s only option might be to resign the position. This would be at great cost both to themselves and the Center. The Center would not only have to recruit a replacement staff member, it would face a significant delay in proceeding with relevant projects.
Caution
Do not assume that candidates will accept job
offers before all spouse/partner issues are fully resolved.
© CGIAR Gender & Diversity
Program 2006