Silvie Elsnerová is the deputy director of client programs at IQ Roma servis, a nonprofit organization that strives for the dignified position of Romani people in society. In addition to professional social services, they develop community work, creating a space to connect active Roma and organize their own projects. We talked to Silvia, who is also in charge of the company's HR agenda, about the specifics of HR in a non-profit and how recruitment and employee care differs from regular companies.
How long have you been working for IQ Roma servis? Why did you decide to work in the non-profit sector?
I've been working at Íkvéček since 2010. Back then, I was looking for a job that was meaningful. I have always noticed injustice and inequality in society, so I liked the idea of doing my bit to help right this injustice.
What does your day look like as Deputy Director of Client Programs? Do you also meet personally with people who use your programs?
My normal day involves supporting any colleague who asks for it - whether in the form of advice or a listening ear. I also work on service quality management and our strategies. In fact, in addition to delivering social services, we are constantly working on the strategic objectives of the organisation.
Unfortunately, I meet far fewer people who use our services than I would like. My position is focused on managing the people who oversee the quality of our services, so I mostly meet with team leaders. However, I am in frequent contact with colleagues in direct work. They are the ones who bring information directly from the clients and know what is happening in the families and households we help.
From your position, you also cover the HR agenda of the organisation. In your opinion, what is the biggest difference between HR in a non-profit organization and regular companies?
I've never worked in a similar position outside of a nonprofit, so I can't quite compare. But even in a nonprofit, performance and client focus is important. It's worse with measurability of performance and results. We're not just addressing one segment of a client's or family's life, but a complex life situation. Our clients need more guidance and care, so sometimes it takes longer to see results.
Our work is also dependent on many factors that are completely out of our control. Although social work can be carried out flawlessly, external factors have too great an impact on the lives of our clients. This is best seen in the example of housing. Roma face a high level of discrimination in the housing market, so finding a rental depends not only on having the means to pay rent and a deposit, but also on how landlords and society in general treat them.
Even in a non-profit, performance and client orientation are important.
How is recruitment and selection of candidates different in a nonprofit? What factors have the biggest impact on whether or not a candidate is successful?
There are several factors of success, depending on the positions we fill. Generally speaking, apart from the necessary education or experience, the personality of the candidate and the way he or she thinks about social exclusion and people who need help is important. It is also important to us how the candidate fits in with the members of the team to which he or she is assigned.
Are you experiencing a lot of interest in the positions advertised or vice versa?
Unfortunately, we are not meeting with much interest. This is mainly because of wages. In social services, wages are low and the requirements for education and personal maturity are high. It is a sad truth that many people simply cannot afford to work in non-profits. Most of the income we have (whether from national sources or EU funds) is strictly linked to specific items and controlled, so we cannot compare ourselves with the private sector in terms of the remuneration on offer.
Sometimes people have the idea that you don't get overworked in a nonprofit. The opposite is true, we work with people who are in very difficult life situations, and I think the pressure to perform is the same here as in commercial companies.
Sometimes people have the idea that you don't get overworked in a nonprofit. The opposite is true.
You deal with difficult and sensitive topics. At IQ Roma, do you deal with the service and mental health care of your employees?
We are trying very hard to do that with the resources we have. Employees in direct work have regular supervision and can request individual supervision. At the height of the refugee crisis in 2022, we also offered colleagues the opportunity to meet individually with a therapist.
We do our best to make our colleagues feel good at work. We are trying to build a culture where colleagues don't have to be afraid to ask for help; my office door is always open. If worse comes to worst, my colleague and I have a jar of gummy candies. 🙂
You started as an organization in 1997 with a team of five. Today, there are 60 of you, working in three different locations. What have you had to improve over the years?
This is a never-ending process that we are still working on and still learning. We took a big leap forward when we started using the PINYA HR system. Although it's not designed specifically for nonprofits, it suits us quite well and makes our colleagues' jobs easier. Before we started using it, we had many folders with different documents and shared spreadsheets, where we dealt with things like absence planning.
Today, PINYA HR (or as some colleagues affectionately call the software - Pincha) handles our leave requests and reviews, provides information on other types of absences, includes links to important pages and stores uploaded timesheets, certificates and other employee documents.
We have also created an e-learning course "I am new to Íkvék" with the help of PINYA HR, where a new colleague can get familiar with the basic guidelines and refer back to them. Thanks to the profile pictures, new colleagues can get a better idea of who is in which team, what position they work in and what they can contact them about.
Do you plan to expand the existing team for any planned projects in the near future? What are your plans for the future?
We are planning a lot of them because we want to continue to provide the most comprehensive service possible. Our current challenge is to staff the project implementation team with the goal of housing 30 homeless households in apartments in the communities where we operate. However, we are also undergoing a digital audit to help us review our internal processes and catch any bugs. So it's possible that we will move even more of our agenda to PINYA HR in the future. I would really like that.
Our biggest plan for the future is not to be here - when we are not needed, we will know that everything in society is as it should be.
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