And We Are Off.
Work Update Part 2.
This is week four of the LRC. Things have picked up recently. To date, we’ve enrolled 30 students and signed up 3 employers who will pay us for each mid-level placement. We are preparing for the graduation of the next Behrampura batch (Behrampura is a slum area where SAATH has an UMEED center and our LRC is located). We are hoping to get 50% of these current students to enroll. I thought I’d include some pictures and details of the LRC below.
Monil.
LRC Staff. Monil is a former UMEED student who was looking for a job with higher pay and more responsibility. He is officially our data manager which unofficially means he does just about everything and is a one person marketing machine. Chaitali: Our counselor. She is patient, smart and very hardworking. She wants to come work in America. James currently oversees UMEED’s placement program. He and I are working to secure employer partnerships. Nitesh: SAATH’s Systems Manager (systems = everything that make SAATH operational). The idea is to expand the LRC to all existing UMEED centers and Nitesh is to oversee the growth. Like me, Nitesh is anxiety prone but he is also hilarious, hard working and passionate.
Nitesh Oza!
Marketing / Enrollment. We first targeted former students from previous batches. Chaitali and Monil literally made over over 1,000 phone calls. We then brainstormed for new ideas and came up with mass texting (see: Cameron). This proved much more effective and walk-ins are regular now. And now, we are preparing for the existing Behrampura batch to graduate. If we can get 50% of each batch (batches graduate every 3 months) to enroll, we will have a membership of 400+ students by the end of the year – allowing us to help that many more students negotiate the professional world, track their progress and finally, providing us the supply to be a legitimate staffing agency.
My Role. Given that we sort of a start-up, each day is very different. We are constantly thinking of new ways to increase enrollment and effectiveness. Last week we had a call center come in and conduct interviews. We noticed that some of our candidates weren’t adequately prepared, so we have added “mock interviews” to our services. We are creating templates to make resume building easier and are making industry specific interview cheat sheets.
Chaitali and James prepping a student for an interview.
In addition to managing the LRC, I’ve been moving around Ahmedabad on motorcycles (unfortunately, not on my own. I’m all talk and I’m riding on the back of James’ bike) meeting with employers. I drafted a contract that stipulates our services, our guarantees and our fees. At each meeting, I introduce SAATH, UMEED and the potential LRC relationship. In return, I get two cups of tea, thereby doubling my regular intake. It is impolite to say no and everyone working in India needs their own Chai story. Plus, I get to speak directly to HR heads of prominent retailers and call centers and learn about new business models.
Employers. Late last week, we signed up a new call center that needs 100 people immediately, supporting the demand dynamics that the LRC is modeled on. Their immediate interest in us was surprising, though. Usually, there is a hesitation to employ slum labor, but this company is a proponent of “developing India’s youth”. It was refreshing.
Ribbon Cutting.
Opening Ceremony. The UMEED faculty, who were vital in setting up the LRC, asked Nitesh and I if they could plan a “ribbon cutting & coconut smashing (Indian / Hindu blessing tradition) ceremony for the LRC. We hesitated given that this is just a pilot and didn’t want unnecessary attention, but they insisted and promised it would be small. I guess what I’ve come to learn that nothing is as expected in India. The coconut smashing and ribbon cutting turned into an hour long ceremony in which senior SAATH employees were invited, students dressed up and danced, and speeches were given. Nitesh so appropriately asked, “If this was small, I can’t even imagine what they would have done for a big ceremony?”
Monil and Me.
The ceremony was similar to that of a new UMEED center – a center which is ready to teach and place 250 students. So, we felt that was unwarranted as we hadn’t (at the time) even enrolled one student. And moreover, we thought we were patting ourselves on the back before we accomplished anything, with veteran SAATH employees present. It was overwhelming and made Nitesh and I worrisome.
Looking back on it, I realize that the ceremony highlighted the enthusiasm and support of the faculty and students. The faculty are the backbone of SAATH and they wanted to stress the imporatnce of our services to their students. They spent an entire Saturday preparing and feel (rightfully so) that the LRC is very much theirs. Since the first day, many of the students have asked to join before they even finish their training. The love the idea of new computers and constant support. The ceremony built much needed awareness for our center, proving that sometimes you just have to let things work itself out. Worry is a wasted emotion anyway…
UMEED students.
finding rickshaw. 