Conflict of Interests between the Organization’s Staff and its Clientele
It is not uncommon to find conflict of interests between an organization’s staff and its clientele. The clientele can comprise students and parents of a school, patients of a clinic or hospital, followers of a church or political party, and customers of businesses, such as bank customers, shop customers, etc. In business, particularly in investment banking, this is known as “insider trading”, where people working within the bank utilize their knowledge and positions to make money for themselves. It also is common in service industry, for example when doctors and nurses go on strike, leaving patients to suffer and even to die during the period of the strike. Another example is when the government bureaucracy becomes a self-serving bureaucracy, failing to provide the services for which it was formed, but nevertheless collecting a salary and holding a powerful position. One of the challenges of leadership is how to balance the interests of the staff versus the interests of the clients. The balance between being a good employer and being a good service provider is important.
Since the clientele is the raison d’etre or the reason for the existence of the organization, it is essential to begin by examining the clientele and its needs first. Without the clientele the organization would not exist, so treating the clientele carelessly is a recipe for an organization’s downfall. On the other hand in order to achieve what the clientele wants means having the best qualified and experienced staff available, and being able to retain these staff for reasonable periods of time. These staff need to highly motivated, dedicated and hard working. It is the staff who do the work that will satisfy the client’s needs.
In peaceful and stable situations, the needs of the clientele and the needs of the staff do not come into conflict, with a good organization being able to satisfy the needs of both. However in troubled times, and also when an organization is new and young, it is quite common to find a conflict of interests. For example the client’s needs may take precedence over the employee’s needs. This is very common in UNICEF which does a lot of work in conflict and emergency countries, such as countries at war or suffering from famine. In many of these situations staff have to work overtime, perhaps 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, to cope with the situation. Staff accept this as part of their job, but it means that they sacrifice their personal health and their family’s welfare to help those in need. Similarly when you are starting a new organization, it may be necessary to utilize volunteers who are not paid and who are prepared to work overtime because they believe the organization’s vision and mission are important, and they are prepared to work for nothing in order to achieve these important goals. New organizations may not have funds, and may not have yet attracted a clientele.
The question arises of how much can be achieved by unpaid volunteers and how far a paid staff is essential. There are many organizations which depend almost entirely on volunteers, such as young graduates and retired personnel. However the majority of organizations depend on having a stable and paid staff. This is because the amount of work and time involved cannot be catered for satisfactorily by volunteers.
In beginning an organization, volunteer and staff selection is of the utmost importance, even more so than in a well established institution. This is because the pioneer staff will establish the system and procedures for the future. Filling the positions carelessly will lead to the quick demise of the organization, as conflicting and personal ambitions can easily destroy an organization.
Exercise 5
Who are the clientele of your organization? What are their needs, and why would they choose your organization to satisfy these needs? Are there rival organizations which can do the job better? Who are the workers in your organization? Are they volunteers or are they paid staff? How do you retain volunteers? How do you retain paid staff? Who are more important in your organization, the clientele or the staff? How would you attain a good balance?