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inclusion: Accommodating spouses/partners
:
Role of HR
1 A Center’s HR group has a key role in developing, introducing and sustaining policies, practices and services for accommodating spouses/partners. This role includes:
- supporting management in the development of Center policy and practices for accommodating spouses/partners;
- advising job applicants and their spouses/partners about the availability and application of these practices;
- exercising initiative, as much as possible, to accommodate spouses’/partners’ needs prior to their move to the duty station;
- ensuring that high-quality advice and assistance is available to spouses/partners during their settling in to the duty station;
- monitoring the needs of spouses/partners actively after they settle in, and acting expeditiously to meet those needs where possible;
- providing a range of support services to spouses/partners, particularly in publicizing employment and consultancy opportunities;
- providing support and guidance to spouse/partner committees;
- reviewing the impact and effectiveness of the Center’s policy and practices periodically, and reporting to senior management with options for future refinements.
2 Some of the points above may not be recognized, either by HR or by senior management. Consequently HR may not have sufficient resources to support spouses/partners effectively. There is also the risk that spouses/partners are seen as “low-priority” clients of HR. Therefore HR must take the initiative to advise senior management of the resources required to support spouses/partners properly.
supporting management in the development of Center policy and practices
3 HR plays a key role in assisting senior management in developing policies
and practices to accommodate spouses/partners.
4 HR is the linchpin for policy in this area. HR staff members should be aware of specific problems faced by specific spouses/partners in specific locations, either from direct communication or via the spouse/partner committee. HR, as steward of the Center’s personnel policy manual, is more aware than others both of its formal provisions and the policy gaps. HR is most likely to be aware of good practice.
5 In addition to its policy development role, HR has responsibility for periodically reviewing the impact and effectiveness of the Center’s policy and practices, and reporting to senior management with options for future refinements.
advising job applicants and their spouses/partners about RELEVANT POLICIES
AND practices
6 During the recruitment phase, HR is responsible
for ensuring that all candidates (particularly the short-listed candidates)
and, where appropriate, their spouses/partners are familiar with relevant
Center policies and practices. These range from general employment policies
focused on the candidate – including services provided, entitlements
and benefits – to
policies and services focused on the spouse/partner.
accommodating spouses’/partners’ needs
prior to their move to the duty station and during their settling in
period
7 Ideally, one HR staff member should be
the designated “case manager” for
each appointment. The case manager assumes responsibility for ensuring
that each appointee and her/his spouse/partner receive all necessary
advice and assistance to move to the duty station and settle in effectively.
8 This is a task that requires considerable initiative, for example forecasting issues/potential problems that the newcomers may not yet have confronted. The designated HR member should be the spouse’s/partner’s first point of contact. In some cases this may involve redirecting the spouse/partner to another member of the administration, but the designated HR staff member should always follow up afterward to make sure the issue was properly resolved.
9 In some cases, the Center may have established alternative sources of advice for the spouse/partner, e.g. a buddy or a member of the spouse/partner committee, information bulletins, guidebooks, Web sites, etc. Nevertheless, the designated HR case manager must always be available to the spouse/partner for advice/assistance that no one else can provide.
10 The case manager is responsible for timely delivery of any required
advice or assistance. Spouses/partners should be regarded as high-priority
customers of HR, particularly during the settling-in period.
Good practice
Information about handling minor medical
emergencies
Information provided to spouses/partners for dealing with
minor medical emergencies should be sufficiently explanatory for spouses/partners
to act independently, for example if their spouse/partner (the staff
member) is away on duty travel.
It should answer these questions:
• What do I do if my child needs first aid?
• Is there a physician/nurse on-site?
• Where do I go?
• How do I get there? (Is there a driver? Is there a map?)
• Whom do I ask for/speak
to when I get there?
• What identification do I need to carry?
• What medical insurance documentation
do I need?
• What should I avoid?
Good practice
Information about handling major medical
emergencies
Information provided to spouses/partners for dealing with major medical
emergencies should answer these questions.
• What do I do if my child needs immediate hospital treatment?
• Who should I notify at Center headquarters? Is there a crisis number?
• Where do I go?
• How do I get there? (Is there a driver? Is there a map? Is there an ambulance
service?)
• How will I find the emergency department? Whom do I ask for/speak to
when I get there?
• What identification do I need to carry?
• What medical insurance documentation do I need?
• What should I do if the hospital seems unable to cope? Or if I have to
arrange specialist treatment?
Good practice
Information about finding schooling
for children
Information provided to spouses/partners for finding schooling
for their children should answer these questions:
• What local schools are available?
• How good are they?
• How do the children get there? And get home?
• Whom do I speak to about enrollment?
• Are there any particular sensitivities that I need to be aware of?
• What documents do I need from my
child’s previous school?
Good practice
Information about handling personal
security issues
The advice provided to spouses/partners for
dealing with personal security issues should answer these
questions.
What do I do if:
• I see someone breaking into my car?
• I see someone strange in my yard?
• I get car-jacked?
• I get mugged?
• I am involved in a car accident and someone is injured?
11 A more comprehensive structure for Information Resources is presented in the Sample Practice “Pre-appointment Initiatives”.
providing a range of support services to spouses/partners
12 In addition to the general support provided
by HR to spouses/partners, HR should also provide specialist services,
particularly for:
- facilitating the acquisition of visas/work permits;
- providing advice on potential employers in the district; and
- publicizing employment and
consultancy opportunities within the Center.
providing support and guidance to spouse/partner
committees
13 The role of spouse/partner
committees is explained in the Sample Practice “Spouse/Partner
Committees”. As the sample practice explains, there has to be a
strong, interactive relationship between this committee (or committees)
and HR.
© CGIAR Gender & Diversity
Program 2006