The recruitment of emergency personnel: different agency perspectives

Research conducted amongst a world-wide sample of organisations involved in emergency relief indicates that there has been, and will continue to be, an expansion in the numbers of locally based nationals employed in emergency operations and a raising of the field and management level at which they are being recruited. However, there are significant variations in current agency policy and practice in relation to the employment of local staff.

Fewer expatriates and more locally recruited staff working in emergencies

Findings from research presented at the Interagency Seminar on Emergency Personnel in Dublin, November 1997, suggest that overall there has been a decline in the numbers of people employed in humanitarian assistance. The research sample was composed of NGOs, the Red Cross and government and UN agencies involved in emergency operations, the majority of which are also involved in longer-term rehabilitation and development work.

In 1994, over two-fifths (43%) of these agencies employed more than 100 people in emergency relief, but by 1996 this figure had fallen to just over a third (37%). Over the same time period, the proportion of agencies said to employ between 26 and 100 people in emergency relief increased from a little over a fifth (22%) to above a quarter (26%). And the number of agencies employing under 25 people remained at about 35%.

This decline has been most pronounced amongst expatriate relief workers, whilst conversely the number of relief staff recruited locally has increased. In 1994, about a quarter (26%) of agencies employed over 100 expatriates in emergency relief and a third (33%) employed over 100 locally recruited staff. The equivalent figures in 1996 were 22% and 35% respectively.

Marked variations in agency policy

Also noticeable from the data is the sharp difference in agency profile as regards recruitment of local staff. In 1996, the majority of agencies (45%) employed less than 10 locally recruited relief workers, but about a third of organisations (35%) employed over 100 local staff. The difference in recruitment practice appears to mirror findings from in-depth interviews with agency representatives, which suggest that there are marked variations in agency policy and thinking concerning the employment of local staff.

At one end of the spectrum are agencies which have put in place plans to actively increase the numbers of local staff they employ in emergency relief programmes or are intending to do so in the near future. However, the rationale behind the introduction of these policies differs quite markedly.

The main reason given is that it enhances the effectiveness of an organisation’s response to emergencies. There is an increasing body of qualified, knowledgeable and experienced southern-based staff located in the regions where disasters arise and who speak the local languages. In many ways it is argued, it is more effective to use these personnel than to employ expatriates. Others admit that the attraction of employing greater numbers of southern nationals is their relative cheapness. Some claim there is an ethical dimension to their agency’s strategy on this issue, in particular that it is a means of enhancing local capacity.

A further argument put forward is that, given current difficulties in recruiting appropriately skilled and available expatriate personnel, broadening the potential pool of recruits to southern-based nationals, increases the likelihood of being able to fill all vacant posts.

Arguments against employing local staff

At the other end of the spectrum are agencies which are reluctant to employ locally recruited staff to work in emergencies. The rationale most frequently expressed to explain this view is that recruitment of southern nationals may compromise the independence of an organisation, particularly if it is working in conflict situations or is involved in advocacy. It is felt it can also potentially endanger the safety of locally hired staff and others working on an emergency programme.

Most of the agencies actively recruiting southern-based nationals also share the view that employing local staff to work in their home country can sometimes pose a threat to the independence and safety of a relief programme, but believe you have to be aware of the cultural context in which you are working and make sensible and sensitive individual judgements in relation to each particular programme. Many circumvent the problem of security and neutrality by recruiting local staff to work in projects in countries other than their own.

An argument frequently used against employing locally recruited staff in country programmes other than their own is that the process involves taking a valuable human resource from one country and placing it somewhere else. Consequently a country is deprived of some of its best-quality personnel.

Some would argue that this resource then returns to the home country at a later period with more knowledge and experience, but this is disputed by those who say that in practice what usually happens is that, attracted by the expatriate terms and conditions, these employees end up working for one of the large international organisations such as the UN.

The role of donors

Donors are also thought to play an active role in relation to the increased locally based recruitment of relief personnel. Some are said to be putting pressure on organisations to become more actively involved in both working with local NGOs in emergency relief and employing more local staff.

Conversely, others have a policy of only funding expatriates from their own country in order to ensure they effectively monitor how a programme is being run and funding spent, or to benefit from the good PR attached to their nationals being involved in a relief programme.

Problems experienced where expatriates report to local staff

Nonetheless, it is apparent that those agencies increasingly employing locally recruited staff are also, for many of the same reasons, more frequently recruiting these staff to higher-level positions including management roles. This has usually been done by transferring a local manager to run a relief project outside their home country, in order not to restrict their independence and modus operandi. Unfortunately, some agencies claim that they have had problems in situations where expatriates report to locally recruited managers.

The expatriates appear to have been unable or ill-prepared to accept their own position and work constructively in this context.

The implication is that there should be improvements to pre-departure training within agencies employing more locally recruited staff in management positions. In particular, it is felt more could be done to multinationalise and multiculturalise training through involving both northern- and southern-recruited staff together in training programmes.

Emergency Personnel Seminar initiatives

The potential for interagency collaboration in terms of the recruitment and training of local staff was one of the issues explored by participants at the Interagency Seminar on Emergency Personnel.

Several speakers described policies and mechanisms currently being introduced within their agencies to increase the level of North/South collaboration between themselves and partner organisations. Some agencies have already established a global pool of relief workers, for example RedR in association with CARE Atlanta, Oxfam UK and UNICEF Kenya, with communication between world-wide members being facilitated by the web. Possible means to establish common terms and conditions for the employment of local staff and to recruit local staff to more senior management positions were also discussed. These issues will be considered further within the four working groups set up to take forward a range of collaborative initiatives arising from the Seminar.

For more information, please contact:

Francesca Taylor
Research Consultant
34 Parkville Road
Fulham, London
SW6 7BX
tel: + 44 171 3853047
fax: +44 171 6102771
email: taysol@aol.com

To obtain a copy of the report or for details of any of the four working groups set up following the Seminar, dealing with training, common registers, health staff and general collaboration issues, please contact:

Bobby Lambert
Director
RedR
1 Gt George St
London
SW1P 3AA
tel: +44 171 2333116
fax: +44 171 2220564
email: bobby@redr.demon.co.uk