New Directions

Sri Lanka Red Cross Society

Reengineering the Sri Lanka Red Cross

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Letter from IfrC PresIdent

Letter from IfrC seCretary GeneraL

Reengineering the Sri Lanka Red Cross

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Palk BayBayof BengalINDIAN OCEAN

SRI LANKA

AnuradhapuraVavuniyaMullaitivu

Kilinochchi

Mannar

Colombo

Palk BayBayof BengalINDIAN OCEAN

SRI LANKA

AnuradhapuraVavuniyaMullaitivuKilinochchi

Mannar

Colombo

AmparaBadullaMonaragalaGalleMataraHambanthotaGampahaKalutharaColombo CityRatnapuraKandyNuwara EliyaMatalePuttalamKegalleKurunegalaPolonnaruwa TrincomaleeBatticaloa

Sr Lk Mp

R Crss brcs

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I am pleased to share this booklet about the process of change that the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society(SLRCS) has undergone over the past 18 months called “Re-engineering the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society”.By no means was it an easy task and, at times, it’s hard to believe we managed to effectively navigate thiscomprehensive and quite intensive process.In many ways, it was a difficult and a painful exercise. It was also a huge challenge to get off the ground and, ifnot for the collective support given to me, would not have been a success. The central governing board’s (CGB)approval was the first landmark of success and, thereafter the support from IFRC, partner national societies,management and branches contributed greatly. Indeed the financial contribution of Movement partners was avital factor for the successful completion of the first two phases of the process.During the last 18 months, an external consultancy led the re-engineering process and that itself proved a challenge.Handing over such a sensitive, critical and people-centred assignment was a great risk for SLRCS. But we were openand transparent, allowing the consultants to be as independent as possible and at the very highest level. In no way didwe interfere nor did we reject their personalized and highly sensitive methodologies.The entire process was successfully completed by the Chief Consultant of PASS Asia, Samantha Pathiratna,and facilitated by the Advisor to the President, Gamini Pinnalawatte, on behalf of the CGB and myself.Furthermore, I would like to mention our National Secretary, Nimal Kumar, and first Vice President,Bharatha Jonikkuhewa, for their commitment to the reengineering recommendations.While the process itself is by no means over, I feel it fitting 18-months after the start to describe the journey we havetaken so far and to share the challenges and lessons learnt.Although the re-engineering process is unique to the Sri Lankan context and designed specifically for SLRCS, mymotivation to document our experience is to provide a “guide” that any sister society or, for that matter anyone with theMovement, facing a similar challenge can refer to. When I most needed it there was no reference material availablewithin the Movement, either at IFRC or other national societies, which illustrated how to deal with a situation of thisnature. I had no idea where to start.I believe some valuable and practical methodologies and tools have been developed and used over the course ofre-engineering our society. And a lot of valuable lessons learnt. It would give me great satisfaction to know that theinformation outlined here could prove in some way useful to another national society and also as a case study withinthe Movement.

MeSSage fRoM the honoRaRy PReSident

Jagath AbeysinghePresident

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In my experience, it is not uncommon for small national societies to go bankrupt and collapse after a major disaster. Most get used to the international supportthat follows large-scale disasters and are unable to continue without the same structure, benefits, and approach as before.A huge challenge presented itself to our national society after the 2004 tsunami. In the space of a few years, our staff numbers ballooned from 80 to more than1,000 people. The challenge for the Movement when a small national society artificially balloons after a disaster is how to keep it from imploding once operationsend. After the massive tsunami operation how was SLRCS going to scale down and retain its core competent, minimum structure in order to ensureimplementation of its longer-term programming? How would we restructure the national society? How could we separate management and governance roles thathad become entwined during the demands of the tsunami operation? How could we sustain and improve the services of SLRCS to the community? Finally, couldwe establish the right mindset, for change?As president wanting to uphold my small national society, I did not want SLRCS to breakdown. I thought it was essential to be prepared, and to do so at least oneyear in advance. The idea of re-engineering SLRCS – to streamline and make it more efficient, to build on learning, knowledge and experience gained during thetsunami disaster experience, and to strengthen post-disaster programming – was the result. Throughout the entire process, my sole intention was to ensure thatour national society, which found itself in a highly pressurised and demanding scenario after the tsunami, survived in a sustainable manner.Ours was a complex internal situation. After more than 70 years, changing the system of working posed a huge challenge. The most difficult part was a change inattitude. I seriously believe if you can’t change the attitude of people, then the process itself will fail. We needed our Red Cross team to have a positivemind-set and the willpower to create a change within SLRCS. The task the local consultants undertook was merely a guideline for change within the nationalsociety. Implementing that change was, and remains, the challenge and the responsibility of SLRCS.To overcome the huge challenge before us we focused on three main approaches: building an efficient branch network (chairperson and branch executive officer)that is transparent, professional and self-sustainable with the focus on improved services for the most vulnerable; creating a vibrant, transparent, accountablemanagement team, led by the director general, to support the 26 branches and provide a high quality of beneficiary services; and restructuring REDMO,the commercial arm of SLRCS, and expanding its business ventures to generate more funds for the national society to undertake more programming forvulnerable and marginalized populations in the country.Right now I think we have successfully completed 60 to 70 per cent of the re-engineering process. I can feel the difference in attitude right down to the unit(sub-branch) level. With the direction set, I’m fully confident that in the next few years we can achieve what we have set out to do and am hopeful ofa 100 per cent success in our endeavour..

Jagath AbeysinghePresidentApril 2011

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In August 2008, the president of the SriLanka Red Cross, Jagath Abeysinghe,posed two key questions to his national so-ciety. “Are we really harnessing the full po-tential of the national society?Will programmes be able to continueonce the tsunamioperations are over?” Hesensed a crisis looming in SLRCS with theending of the tsunami recoveryoperation, and in an effort to forestall it, andbuild a more sustainable national society,identified the need for radical change withinthe organisation. “There was fear theentireSLRCS system could collapse and myresponsibility was to safeguard the nationalsociety and to avert a potential crisis,” hesaid.Initial, conventional efforts by SLRCS todeal with the problem included implement-ing a change management process andadopting the IFRC-led “scale down with-out harm” approach. While useful, theseexercises did little to spur any noticeablechange within the society. The presidentrecognized that unorthodox measureswere needed if there was to be any hopeof change. He started to discuss options toaddress this with SLRCS governance andmanagement.

Partnership with PASS Asia

In 2009, with the consent of the CGB, apartnership was forged between SLRCSand PASS Asia, a consultancy group whohad previous and extensive working rela-tions with the national society.According to the ICRC cooperation coordi-nator, to get an external consult to managethe change process was a smart, but alsodifficult move on the part of SLRCS. “PASSAsia is a local business entity so this was adaring move, for a business to come in andchange a not-for-profit organisation andhelp to instil processes that were usual inthe corporate world,” he said.He went on to say that, on the downside,the consultants had little or no prior knowl-edge of the Movement and its policies,structures and programmes, “the critical in-terface between streamlining SLRCS wascounter balanced by no prior institutionalknowledge of the Movement. PASS Asiadid a tremendous job of acquiring an un-derstanding of the Movement and SLRCS.But it was a nearly impossible task”.

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Preparing for organisational change

The goal of this partnership was to prepareSLRCS for organisational change and en-able it to effectively and efficiently managethe transformational rather than incremen-tal change with completion of tsunami proj-ects, implementation of the national societyfive-year development plan, addressing thechallenges of a complex internally displacedpeople operation, and bringing together oth-er stand-alone interventions.Ultimately, the purpose of this process wasto lay the foundation for a new and innova-tive organisation – a well-functioning nationalsociety able to execute its new vision andmission to provide humanitarian services tovulnerable communities in Sri Lanka. Theconsultants called this approach “re-engi-neering the SLRCS”.

Collective effort

In-country partner, German Red Cross(GRC), contributed 50 per cent of the totalfinancial investment towards phase one ofthe re-engineering process and felt it was aworthy venture to support. As the country co-ordinator explained, “we were watching seri-ously. As a main core sponsor for phase oneI’m quite happy and satisfied with the changeand results”.As someone familiar with most IFRC refer-ences related to restructuring, downsizingand organisational re-engineering, Al Panico,Head of the IFRC Asia Pacific Zone Tsu-nami Unit, maintained that, “the SLRCS re-engineering process is a locally originated,unique process with unbelievably brilliantresults. I wouldn’t hesitate to mention thatyou [SLRCS] could sell this process to othercountries”.It is noteworthy that while the re-engineer-ing process originated from the president, itwas neither a directive by him alone nor acall from Movement partners, but a collectiveeffort by both the CGB and management toelicit change.While on an official visit to Sri Lanka in 2009the Secretary General of IFRC, Bekele Gele-ta, declared that, “[SLRCS] can become thebest national society in Asia, or perhaps inthe world, if it implements the re-engineeringprocess with genuine commitment and in aneffective manner”.This booklet summarizes the process andearly outcomes of that effort, as well as chal-lenges and lessons learnt by SLRCS in itsbid to become “the best national society inAsia”.

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When the Asian tsunami hit Sri Lanka in2004, Red Cross volunteers from all overthe country came forward to assist with theenormous operation. Together with Move-ment partners and other stakeholders, theSLRCS responded to make a major contri-bution to the tsunami-recovery programme.The massive Red Cross Red Crescentprogrammes that grew from the operationwere primarily in “non-core” (i.e. “non-tra-ditional”) areas, with special focus on 13branches located in tsunami-affected dis-tricts. Over the course of the next few years,more than 800,000 Swiss francs was spenton projects, with 35,000 houses built, infra-structure for 72 health facilities put in place,and multiple livelihood schemes and waterand sanitation systems undertaken.Five years later, with the tsunami operationnearing completion, SLRCS acknowledgedthat it was not possible to sustain their nowenlarged post-tsunami structure – not justin terms of staff numbers but also staff ca-pability.The national society needed to downsize.And it needed to do so while ensuring astronger society than pre-tsunami that re-focused on, and had built capacity in, thecore areas of programming and nationalsociety sustainability. Furthermore, duringthe early stages of the tsunami, due to thelimited number of experienced personnel atmanagement level, governance had takenan unprecedented role in running opera-tions.Now was the time to re-establish a cleardelineation of roles between managementand governance, back in line with the na-tional society’s constitution. A formal pro-cess for change was set in motion on 1 Au-gust 2009.

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Reengineering the Sri Lanka Red Cross

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Prcss

orw

The scope of re-engineering has been described by PASS Asia as “the fundamental re-thinking and radical redesign of SLRCS processes to bringabout dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as accountability, transparency, quality, professionalism, re-sponsibility, service and speed to provide humanitarian services to the vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka”.The consultants initiated change at SLRCS through a three-phased process. The first two phases were managed by PASS Asia thought a transfer-ence approach with increasingly shared roles with the national society. As per the goal, SLRCS management is leading the third phase.

Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3

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1 August 2009 – 15 February2010 (6-months)

Towards Governance andManagement Excellence

Orientation sessionsRapid performance & statusappraisal (RPSA)70% reappointment interviews completed36 draft interim recommendationsSeparation of management & governanceDevelopment of new strategies & policiesNew core structure & core positionsNew job profilesPolicy committees & monitoring panelsStaff interviews & re-appointmentsStaff training & developmentResource mobilizationPolicy orientationPerformance managementMonitoring, evaluations & reviewsLeadership & management competenciesManagement-led, governance supervisedand IFRC, ICRC & PNSs supported

16 February – 15 August2010 (6 – months)

Good to Great

16 August 2010 onward

180-day intensified capacitybuilding programme

New Era – New AttitudinalChanges

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Ps o

t Gvc  mg excllc

Managing change in a 74-year old organisa-tion is no easy task. So how did PASS Asiaintend to engage with SLRCS, a national so-ciety with an established and dedicated boardof governors, 26 distinct branch offices and,at its height after the tsunami, an expandedstructure of over 1,000 staff working alongsidevarious Movement partners, and steer themtowards change? For years, branch chairs hadbecome accustomed to running their officesautonomously. National headquarters, flushedwith cash from the tsunami operation, had be-come comfortable with an enlarged staff struc-ture. Volunteers who had previously workedpurely for charity had come to expect paymentfor their services. How would the total humanresource base of SLRCS react to change?According to Tissa Abeywickrama, directorgeneral (DG) of SLRCS, “the change wasvery much to deal with a human concern – theperception of long-serving staff in adjustingto changes that were inevitable with scalingdown of SLRCS post-tsunami operations”.The consultants aimed to set the tone of thefirst phase by fostering an environment thattook the perceptions of employees and gover-nance seriously. They began with orientationsessions to explain the process to governanceand management at headquarters and the 26branch offices. Core staff at national headquar-ters (NHQ), IFRC, ICRC, and partner nationalsocieties (PNSs) also participated in the pro-cess. A brochure that described the process,available in English, Sinhala, and Tamil, waswidely circulated within the national society,and similar information was posted on the SL-RCS website.Throughout this highly sensitive process, SL-RCS followed its guiding principles and phi-losophy of dedication, sacrifice and courage.The president, who demonstrated stability andkept the momentum going, down to top gover-nance, set a strong example. At every level,the national society was urged to cooperate inthe process to steer SLRCS towards a betterfuture.

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After intensive desk reviews, brainstormingsessions and meetings, the consultants de-signed a series of tailored questionnaires tobe used to conduct a rapid status and per-formance appraisal (RSPA) with SLRCS em-ployees and governance.The RSPA was the first major activity of there-engineering process and necessary toprovide the consultants with a clear, compre-hensive and accurate picture of the status ofSLRCS at that time. The objective was to in-vestigate the perceptions, concerns, expec-tations, and challenges of SLRCS through arandom sample of 20 people. Finally, how-ever, 302 interviews were conducted.Questions on individuals’ views of thestrengths and weakness of the organisationas well as that of governance and manage-ment were included in the questionnaires.Highly sensitive, risky and difficult questionswere identified as those relevant to the presi-dent, national secretary, vice presidents,CGB, chairman task force, chairman financecommission, DG, and branch chairpersons,secretaries and treasurers. Getting frank an-swers for this group posed a challenge.According to the advisor to the president,

Rapid status and performance appraisal

“it was difficult to know whether someonewould give wrong information due to somepersonal grudge or problem. So PASS Asiahad to be very sharp in its approach”.The consultants used various techniquesand strategies to obtain candid information,primarily by building people’s confidence inthe PASS Asia interview team and throughassuring confidentiality.Customized questionnaires were issued tothe president, national secretary, vice presi-dents, CGB, DG, core staff members, seniorbranch governance, BEOs, REDMO staff,IFRC, ICRC and PNSs. Each person wasasked to complete the questionnaires out-side the workplace and prior to attending theinterview.Along with the questionnaire packs, PASSAsia produced a seven-minute CD (in Sin-hala and Tamil) that individuals could listento en route to the interviews. The consultantsused this device to help review the objectivesof the re-engineering process and to encour-age interviewees to provide frank and openfeedback during the one-to-one sessions.

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Over a six-week period starting in August2009, in premises outside SLRCS, an inde-pendent panel comprising 19 resource per-sons carried out the one-to-one interviews.Confidentiality was ensured throughout theinterview process.During the course of the interviews, the al-ready completed questionnaires were re-written, this time without mention of the per-son’s name, and the original documents weredestroyed. Results of all 302 interviews werepresented to the president, national secre-tary, vice presidents, chairman finance com-mission, chairman task force, CGB members(as a group), deputy-DGs and executive di-rectors.Throughout the RSPA process, the functionplayed by the re-engineering progress re-view committee (RPRC) in supporting sen-sitive and demanding situations as well asexpediting approvals, was crucial.In addition to the one-on-one interviews, agroup of ten consultants conducted unan-nounced visits to the various departments ofSLRCS headquarters and assessed every-thing from the building’s location to the presi-dent’s working environment,

Interview process

from drivers’ working conditions to the clean-liness of toilets.Four groups of consultants visited sevenbranch offices around the island to carry outsimilar assessments.

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According to PASS Asia one of the best fea-tures of the interviews was that none of thecandidates was arrogant, emotional, defen-sive or unpleasant.In the final report, the consultants statedthat on the whole interviewees were open inexpressing their views. Several candidatesfound relief in being able to share and thenlet go of long-held grievances while othersmentioned that they understood and accept-ed their mistakes. Several good ideas cameout of the interviews for the benefit of the or-ganisation.While some interviewees declared they werewilling to leave SLRCS if the number of posi-tions decreased after the restructure, othersfelt that a comprehensive performance man-agement system was first needed. Overall,most believed that the timing was appropri-ate to re-engineer SLRCS. Without this push,attitudes would remain unchanged and, ulti-mately, there would be little hope for the na-tional society’s efficiency and effectiveness.

RSPA final report

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Both quantitative and qualitative data collected from the RSPA process was presented as 36 draft interim recommendations to the CGB. The recom-mendations summarized key challenges faced by the national society after the tsunami, among them the need to separate governance and man-agement roles, revise the SLRCS core structure, and develop new policies and guidelines. To ensure the re-engineering process moved forward itwas essential to first address these issues.Within weeks these recommendations were approved by the CGB, and by 15 December 2009 changes began to take place in the national society.

The 36 recommendations that follow set out to:

oStrengthen CGB capacityoElect an independent inquiry boardoCreate new terms of reference for the presidentoRecommend set-up of advisory committeeoEstablish an international desk positionoDevelop new terms of reference for the national secretaryoEmpower the chairman finance commission (CFC) with a mechanism andstrategies to advise CGBoSet up commission to undertake independent risk management and auditactivitiesoDevelop new terms of reference for branch governanceoSet up governance rewarding committeeoRe-appoint all NHQ and branch staff within first two weeks of January 2010oDevelop new core structure for SLRCSoEstablish national policy and monitoring committee (NPMC)oSet up virtual policy and monitoring committees as CGB sub-committeesoFormulate technical committeesoSet up “Whistle-Blower” policy

Draft recommendations

oSet up independent human resources committeeoEnhance cooperation with IFRC, ICRC and PNSsoRenew relations with IFRC, ICRC, PNSs and other donorsoIntroduce new international delegates recruitment policy and systemoDevelop new policy on international visits for governance and managementoRelocate SLRCS into new premisesoEstablish new performance and reward management systemoDevelop “Decent Work for All” policy and strategyoIntroduce excellent HR environment for productivityoLaunch “5-S week” and productivity awards in 2010oDevelop and present management plans and budgetoSet up new management and supervision systemsoIntroduce beneficiary satisfaction and feedback mechanismoSet up media, communication and image building policy and strategyoIntroduce vehicle and transport policyoSet up “learning and development” deskoProduce documents in Sinhala and TamiloInitiate change management facilitation and HR developmentoDevelop volunteer incentives packageoReview and launch youth strategic planoStreamline fundraising and income generation programmes (IGP) at SLRCS

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The highlight of phase one was the formal separation in the roles and responsibilities of SLRCS governance and management.This was necessary, as roles had become complicated during the course of the tsunami operations. At that time, large numbers of staff had beenrecruited but most, from the DG down, had insufficient Red Cross experience. On the other hand, almost all governance, including the president,national secretary, CGB, branch chairmen and secretaries had been in office with SLRCS for more than 10 or 15 years.Although not their function, under these extraordinary circumstances governance immediately joined forces with management and, as a team, suc-cessfully ran the (relief and) recovery operation. The result was a doubling-up of the jobs between governance and management, an important issuethat had to be addressed.The president understood that, “It was politically threatening for SLRCS governance and some people felt they were losing power. The more trans-parent and accountable you want to be, the less the people at the top are satisfied. This posed a huge challenge for PASS and, in my opinion, theydid a very good job”.Responsibility for the management of SLRCS was completely handed over to the DG and his team. Governance involvement in management issueswas minimized and all communications from then on were directed to go through the DG. Some of the tools used for this included the circulation ofclear instructions for management not to approach governance, and the enforcement of restricted office hours. Any incidents that hindered or af-fected these instructions were discussed by the CMC and resolved by the RPRC.

Separation of governance and management

15 to 16 months back there was resistance by some branches to the [idea of a] change ofgovernance and management. Change first happened at national headquarters, with topgovernance, and then trickled down to branches. Governance has run the society for overseven decades so it’s difficult to change overnight. But branches are committed to change.

SLRCS Vice President Bharatha Jonikkuhewa

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In January 2010, a major “capacity building” workshop was arranged for all governance and senior management of SLRCS. The purpose of theworkshop was to provide a progress report on the re-engineering process, discuss the new guidelines and job descriptions, set up new mechanismsand strategies for emergencies, and discuss follow-up of the first phase. During the same period all core staff, from the DG to branch staff, wereformally informed of the staff re-appointment process, and of the interview process that would follow later the same month [this process continuedinto phase two].

Orientation for governance and management

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Reengineering the Sri Lanka Red Cross

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To ensure transparency, accountability, and regular assessments throughout the re-engi-neering process, two monitoring bodies were set up. The SLRCS national secretary said hethought “the process has been conducted in a very structured manner by putting in two highlevel independent bodies – the re-engineering progress review committee (RPRC) and theconsultancy monitoring committee (CMC). All decisions were filtered through our technicalpartners”.

Mr Prcss

The RPRC met on a monthly or bi-monthlybasis to comprehensively review progressand provided feedback and necessary ap-provals to the consultants. These meetingswere held after the CMC meetings to ensurethat any issues raised by IFRC, ICRC andPNSs could be clarified and addressed ina confidential setting. It was especially im-portant to the CMC that the president (as amember of the RPRC) be fully aware of anyconcerns of Movement partners.Having the committee in place meant deci-sions could be expedited without red tapeand having to wait for long periods beforeCGB approval. However, the CGB was no-tified of decisions through progress reportsand regular web updates. The RPRC wasalso helpful in reducing underlying tensions,misunderstandings and miscommunication

Re-engineering progress review committee

between SLRCS and the consultants; thelatter appreciated the moral support it pro-vided.The majority of committee members partici-pated in the 18 RPRC meetings that wereconducted over the course of the first andsecond phase. The committee comprisedthe SLRCS president, national secretaryand vice presidents, as well as the advisorto the SLRCS president and the PASS Asiachief consultant.

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The CMC, set up by funding partners that included IFRC, ICRC, and PNSs, was tasked to monitor the consultant’s progress during phase two. Thecommittee also provided necessary feedback and guidance to further improve the process and to achieve objectives under this phase.The CMC was composed of representatives from IFRC, ICRC and PNSs, together with the advisor to the SLRCS president and the chief consultant.Besides playing “traditional” roles as funders, advisors, motivators and guides, CMC members played an essential part as decision-makers and,consequently had ownership of the SLRCS re-engineering process.As with the RPRC, the CMC met at least bi-monthly. Attendance records indicated that most of the committee members attended the 13 meetingsheld.

(See Annexe 1 for list of RPRC and CMC members.)

In addition to the two monitoring bodies, PASS Asia set up and managed a trilingual (Sinhala/Tamil/English) hotline on 15 December 2009 for branchand NHQ employees, governance, management, and Movement partners to record any issues related to management failure, misconduct or poorperformance. The purpose of the service was to help management improve its capacity, while ensuring transparency and productivity.

Consultancy monitoring committeePASS hotline

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P o a a Glc

Core Activities

Preliminary design and approvalof process & orientation sessionsReview existing structures andset-up new structures & mecha-nisms for policy, technical andmanagement committees atbranches and NHQSet up performance managementand reward management (PMRM)systems at branch and NHQReview existing structures andset-up new core structures, corepositions and improved systemsfor branches and NHQ

1.1. Develop brochure to introduce concept (Sinhala/Tamil/English)1.2. Design and approval of RSPA questionnaire1.3. Orientation sessions1.4. RSPA with governance, management, IFRC, ICRC and PNS1.5. Develop ToRs for CMC and RPRC1.6. Produce methodology, strategies and action plan for there-engineering process2.1. Review of SLRCS constitution, policies and guidelines2.2. Streamline existing policy, technical and managementcommittees.2.3. Set up new committees with ToRs in agreement with all parties2.4. Prepare committee guidelines for governance and management4.1. Design and launch PMS at branches and NHQ together with performance appraisal tools for staff4.2. Establish performance appraisal mechanism and strategies4.3. Set-up mechanisms to continue, discontinue, reward, promote,demote etc. based on performance levels.3.1. Design and conduct HRM scoping study to finalise core positions,suitability of exiting HR systems, and new requirements forbuilding capacity at branches and NHQ3.2. Produce new version of job descriptions for all positions inbranches and NHQ• Original plan to interview random sample (20) inRSPA process. Finally 302 interviews conducted• Guidelines for president, national secretary,chairman finance commission and branch chairman completed• Rules and procedures manual completedRPRC request a trial period for implementationof draft guidelines (December 2009 to February2010)• Institute of Personnel Management (IPM)carried out activities• New systems not introduced for appraisals dueto time constraints. PASS conducted alterativeappraisal methods• Draft PMRM system completed• New JDs drafted for DG, heads of department,executive directors and BEOsInstitute of Personnel Management (IPM) carriedout activities

01020403

Key TasksRemarks

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Additional Tasks

Facilitate change managementprocess through building capaci-tiesOperational modalities and coor-dination mechanism (OMCM)Managing international affairsImprove human resource environ-mentMonitor, evaluate and report onthe reengineering processDesign, implement and report onemployee re-appointment inter-views02 Reviews and managementprogress reporting mechanismManaging communications toachieve results

5.1. Design and facilitate compulsory training and developmentschedule5.2. Development of identified training modules5.3. Deliver and evaluate training programmes5.4. Produce report on future training requirements to facilitate changemanagement process6.1. Review and introduce OMCM7.1. Introduce structures, strategies and systems for managinginternational affairs with IFRC, ICRC, PNS and other stakeholders9.1. Provide recommendations to redesign human resourceenvironment10.1. Present regular updates to RPRC and CMC10.2. Submission of final report with lessons learnt10.3. Submit report on Phase Two interventions1.1 Design employee history form and re-appointment scoring system1.2. Data analysis of re-appointment interviews1.3. Verify and submit re-appointment results1.1 Design employee history form and re-appointment scoring system1.2. Data analysis of re-appointment interviews1.3. Verify and submit re-appointment results8.1. Introduce improvements for internal and external communications8.2. Set up strategies for effective use of telephone, email, fax, internetand mobile communications• Only 1 formal training session was designed.• A number of formal and informal reviews werecompleted• This task was outside the consultants originalscope of work• This task was not achieved due to timeconstraints• ToR completed• Work still ongoing• RSPA interview findings provided thenecessary recommendations• Nine RPRC and six CMC reportsproduced• 12 monthly progress updates produced• The task started in Phase One and wascompleted in Phase Two• Top management progress reporting (PMER)mechanism in place• Communication

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From “Good to Great”… it is OUR collective choice and effort.

CRC, DRC, GRC and NRCApril 2010

P tG  G

The second phase of the process can been thought of as the action and commencement ofthe implementation stage. The stated objectives were to: introduce and implement policies tofacilitate structural changes at management level; set up independent governance committeesto ensure implementation of these policies; and facilitate the re-appointment of personnel tothe newly agreed management and governance structure.At a meeting of Movement partners in April 2010, the ICRC cooperation coordinator acknowl-edged that the re-engineering process should be a collective effort and all Red Cross partnersin Sri Lanka had a responsibility to see it succeed. He highlighted that, “the discussion andnegotiation phase is now over. The real, practical work starts [now], in phase two”.

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During this phase, new policies, guidelines and strategies were developed, reviewed, and put forward to the CGB for approval. Among them werethe following:Several of the above policies and guidelines challenged long-standing practices, for instance Red Cross culture, and the traditional power base ofbranch chairmen. Even under normal circumstances some of these policies (for example, the “whistle blower” policy) are considered risky to imple-ment and are deemed a “threat”. But, of course, in the long run they benefit the organisation and require strong leadership, dedication and commit-ment for effective and efficient implementation.

New policies and guidelines

“Whistle blower” policy and guidline – under this policy any allegation or complaintmade against a member of governance or management (including the president,national secretary, CGB, branch chairmen, committee members, DG, NHQ man-agement and BEOs) will be sent to a nominated, independent, external mediator(individual or agency). The mediator first screens, verifies and, if necessary, unof-ficially investigates the matter before referring it to a board of inquiry that has beenappointed by the CGB. After that, the chairman of the inquiry board, a retired judge,investigates further and forwards recommendations to the CGB for appropriate ac-tion (suspension, police action, dismissal etc.).Human resources policy and guidline – includes transparent procedures for recruit-ment, disciplinary action, performance and target-based evaluations, and benefitand reward systems. One of the key amendments to the policy is that two personsfrom one family cannot be employed by SLRCS at the same time.Transport policy and guidline – includes amendments to the use of SLRCS vehicles.At both the national and branch level governance has the authority to use SLRCSvehicles while part of the BEOs role covers the management of vehicles.Interim branch committee guideline – according to the new guidelines, if a branchcommittee is dissolved for whatever reason, the CGB has the authority to appoint aninterim branch committee until such time a new committee is elected. The selection,composition, authority and duration that the interim committee can be in place areoutlined in the guideline.Branch grading and performance policy and guidline – this new policy states thateach branch will be graded and categorized (A, B C etc.) based on an incentivescheme. While support will be provided to develop branches, similarly action will betaken against those branches that under-perform.“Decent work for all” policy and guidline – encompasses matters related to decentbehaviour, compliance to ethics and standards, respect of Movement principles, hu-manitarian values, and human dignity, among others.International visits for governance and management policy and guidline – includesnew guidelines, and selection procedures.Media strategy – outlines new procedures and provides details related to final autho-rization for media-related matters.oooooooo

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Besides policy development, one of the most extensive changes that emerged from the 36 recommendations was in the core structure.From just 80 staff pre-tsunami, the organisation had a total of over 1,000 employees working at SLRCS national headquarters and with PNSs in morethan a dozen branch offices. With tsunami-operations winding-down, it was time to scale back and restructure the organisation.In line with revising the core structure, SLRCS had to also re-appoint its entire core staff. The latter step was to have a much wider impact on thenational society’s morale. Job descriptions and guidelines for governance and senior management had been drafted in the first phase, includingthose for branch governance and branch executive officers (BEOs).

New core structure

The reputable Institute of Personnel Management (IPM), an independent, professional body in Sri Lanka, was appointed by the RPRC and CMCand approved by CGB to devise a new core structure for SLRCS. The methodology to gather information was developed by IPM and approved by the RPRC. It provided for extensive interviews with the president, na-tional secretary, vice presidents, CGB, advisor to the president, branch chairmen and BEOs, and with senior personnel from IFRC, ICRC and PNSs.The structure was re-designed taking into account available resources, existing technical programmes and potential for future funding support frompartners. From here, IPM was able to shape the new core structure by identifying and proposing any existing positions that needed to be abolished,changed, offered a promotion (e.g. BEOs), as well as the creation of new positions. The proposed new structure, which with the availability of re-sources could be modified as and when necessary, was approved by the CGB.Understandably, as noted by the former SLRCS head of operations about staff job security, “there was a cloud of uncertainty within SLRCS with theIPM recommendations”.

(See Annexe 2 for new SLRCS organogram.)

Designed by IPM

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Staff re-appointment interviews that started in the first phase of the re-engineering process continued into the second. Between 4 January and 11March 2010, 137 staff from NHQ and 71 from branches were re-interviewed by professionals from IPM. A rigorous set of criteria was used for theinterviews, including a scoring system, professional certificate verification, and observations.Over 70 core staff eventually lost their jobs as positions were discontinued, causing an immediate drain of institutional knowledge from SLRCS.Retrenched staff were compensated using a gratuity and compensation plan developed by SLRCS, and fine-tuned by the consultants togetherwith SLRCS. Staff terminations were not based on the interview findings but on subsequent performance appraisals and the finalisation of the newcore structure. Final decisions on terminations were made by the CGB, with recommendations by the RPRC. The process and timing were, onceagain, understandably extremely challenging. The SLRCS head of HR and administration said the re-engineering process affected staff at SLRCS.“Staff reduction was too sudden, especially for administration and HR,” he said.The early outcomes of such fundamental change are impacting on different stakeholders indifferent ways. The Vavuniya branch chairman said he thought the re-engineering process wasa good idea, but he was not happy with all aspects of it. “The power pyramid structure shouldbe reversed,” he said. “The new structure has resulted in ‘powers’ being centralised, which fromour branch perspective, has slowed down the decision making process”.The IFRC disaster management (DM) delegate had a different view. According to him, “with there-engineering process there is dramatic reduction in interference by governance with opera-tional and management issues. The DG role has become stronger and each and every staffmember now knows his or her roles and responsibilities”.

Staff re-appointmentsEarly impact of change

Once the new core structure and core positions were in place, the consultants developed41 new job profiles (descriptions and specifications), introduced new employment termsand conditions, and instituted a performance appraisal guide. One significant change in thecore structure was the elevation of the BEO role, with a new job description that exercises atbranch level the same management responsibilities as the director general has at a nationallevel.

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Nevertheless, the introduction of new struc-tures and mechanisms revealed some oper-ational gaps that started to affect project im-plementation. The DM delegate noted that,“IFRC and PNS projects have been signifi-cantly hampered because of lack of author-ity of the project managers. This is frustrat-ing. The new mechanism has become morecomplex for project implementation over thepast four months though I believe it is nowbeing addressed”.The SLRCS head of operations echoedthese sentiments. “Phase two of the processwas much clearer because the core struc-ture of SLRCS was now laid out. To avoidconfusion caused by executive directorsdealing directly with PNS, all had to reportdirectly to the head of operations. Titles werechanged to technical specialists to reflectthis change in responsibilities. However, thissudden change in modality has affected pro-grammes in the field”.In Vavuniya, the senior coordinator of theIDP recovery programme, while support-ing the entire process, expressed that, “ithas not been linked closely enough to theimplementation level with the five-year de-velopment plan (FYDP). It has affected the

Operational gaps identified

implementation and monitoring of core SL-RCS activities because of lack of experienceand skills at certain levels. This has led to aslowing down of activities”.As with all change processes, the early stag-es of implementing new structures has led toa significant reduction in programme work,while SLRCS personnel have been involvedin complex internal HR processes. The Ca-nadian Red Cross (CRC) OD delegate wenton to say that, “what has worsened is theeffectiveness of programme implementation – there has been a slide downwards in pro-gramme effectiveness. Projects have beenstalled; not getting them off the ground hasimpacted service delivery. There is also nofocus on the FYDP. Resources can’t be usedbecause SLRCS [the implementing partner]is not functional”.

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The ICRC cooperation coordinator was more optimistic about the process. “I find the re-engineering process a fascinating project, refreshing in thesense that the Movement and IFRC OD approaches were put on hold to allow a new innovative approach to take place”. Yet, he also expressed someconcern that, “the first and second phase of the process saw a decrease in the functionality of SLRCS leading to confusion in reporting lines andan overall lack of action. Within the process we need to identify why the SLRCS exists, which is to service communities and the vulnerable peopleof Sri Lanka”.The action phase set off many questions for staff within the national society as well as Movement partners. Some change had taken place, but sys-tems were not yet properly in place and gaps existed. SLRCS was to start fine-tuning the re-engineering process.

Towards fine-tuning the process

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As with the first phase, the RPRC and CMC continued their approvaland monitoring roles. This time, the Canadian, Danish, German andNorwegian Red Cross Societies provided additional input to the CMC.While these two monitoring groups were effective, the view of the CRCOD delegate was that he would have liked to see IFRC play a strongercoordinating and leadership role with ICRC and the seven or so PNSbased in Sri Lanka. “We needed more direct involvement from IFRC forphase two in terms of coordination, which affected the effectiveness ofprocess,” he said.The process came not without major problems and struggles for thePASS Asia chief consultant and the facilitator/coordinator, who through-out the first two phases were unfairly targeted on many occasions,with unwarranted telephone calls, unjust accusations and even verbalthreats.Nonetheless, the first two phases of the re-engineering process wereoverall a success, attributed to political will, senior leadership setting anexample, and the president’s brave, down-to-earth ideas, commitmentand determination. One on the indicators of the successful completionof these two phases was the approval and payment to the consultantsby IFRC and PNS, based on the final report by PASS Asia.

Continued need for monitoring

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Ps twg  gr

Core Activities

Ensure the smooth functioning of the of independent committees (enquiry board, advi-sory committee, HR committee, CGB sub-committee, policy and monitoring committeeand national policy and monitoring committee)Implementation of new management supervision systemsBuild the capacity of sub-committees and other committeesBuild the capacity of sub-committees and other committeesBuild new mechanisms to share CGB meeting minutes, agenda, etc.Design and develop specific capacity building session for CGBFinalize the Code of Ethics and Good Governance guidelines for CGBFormulate policy and strategies on international visits for governance and managementFinalize interim branch committee guideDesign and set up performance management system for branches and NHQ

• ToRs finalized for various committees• Policy committee members selected(via newspaper ads)• President, NS, advisor and consultant begin visits to branches and provide orientation on newguidelines and job descriptions.• Orientation and induction workshop held for newcommittee members•

Confidential discussion held with top management to reviewperformance and assess progress of changes implemented

•

Complaints, concerns etc. processed and recorded. Reportspresented at RPRC meetings

•

Response letters to complaints sent to relevant parties

• Developed new formats for agenda, minutes &other documents• Drafted plan for CGB capacity building session•

Conducted capacity building session in July 2010• Drafted Code of Ethics and Good Governanceguidelines• Policy developed in August 2010• Finalized guide submitted to CGB for approval inAugust 2010• Developed performance appraisal guide• Amended existing human resources policy

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Establishment of advisory reporting mechanism for finance commission (including ad-visory services)Ensure smooth functioning of finance commissionImplementation of ‘Whistle Blower’ policy and strategyDevelopment & implementation of ‘Decent Work for All’ policy and strategyDevelopment of media policy and strategy

• Drafted ToR for finance commission• Recruitment process begins for Finance Commissionmembers• Produced awareness material (stickers, leaflets, posters)• “Whistle Blower” policy completed in August 2010• “Decent Work for All” policy completed August 2010• Media policy finalized in August 2010

07080910

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These recommendations help to move SLRCS forward…excellent recommendations!

Bekele Geleta, Secretary General IFRC

PhaSe one and tWoReCoMMendationS

At the end of phase one and two, the consultants made a series of 36 draft recommendationsto SLRCS to sustain changes that had already taken place in the national society and to initiatefuture changes.Many within SLRCS, as well as Movement partners, were unsure if these recommendationswould be approved. In particular there were doubts about how members of governance andmanagement, whose long-established roles, routines and influence would be affected bychange, would react. Finally, however, the recommendations were approved by the CGB.The former IFRC head of delegation in Sri Lanka, Paul Emes endorsed this approval, “I amprivileged to see the excellent and comprehensive recommendations of the PASS Asia re-engineering consultancy, and can assure you of IFRC’s full support for this challenging andtimely initiative”.Of the 36 recommendations, SLRCS focused on expediting 16 recommendations that wereconsidered priority including the “180-day productivity operation”. Some of these recommenda-tions had already started to be implemented in phase two.

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The 16 priority recommendations

Need for CGB to ensure the execution of roles and functions of DG;Need to speed up the new DDG recruitment process, with the involvement of IPM an independent body;Approve the finalized key policies and ensure implementation and monitoring;Independent performance appraisal for all SLRCS staff, with consultancy inputs of IPM;Implement the ‘Whistle Blower’ policy with the involvement of an independent body;Accelerate the branch orientation process, initiated during Phase Two;Draft short, medium and long-term branch capacity plans to ensure branches are in line with NHQ when it comes to the implementation of changes;Define a strong monitoring mechanism for change;Fill the existing vacancies as per the new core structure, including executive secretary, HR manager, branch accountants etc;Implement coaching and mentoring services and other capacity building initiatives for BEOs, with the support of technical specialists;Establish the independent enquiry board and other committees through an open application system (e.g. newspaper advertisements);Develop and implement a sound training and development plan, for all levels of SLRCS;Use the finalized branch grading and reward policy to implement a branch grading system;Provide mentoring and coaching services for governance and management as and when required, at least in the coming six months;Set up a 100- or 180-day productivity operation at SLRCS to create lasting change; andFinalize new operational modality for ICRC and PNSs in order to align with the SLRCS change.oooooooooooooooo

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The third and final phase of the change process is SLRCS-owned with a focus on the implementation of recommen-dations made in the two earlier phases, led by manage-ment and supervised by governance. Together with IFRC,ICRC, and partner national societies, SLRCS is set to fo-cus on training and developing of staff, resource mobili-sation, performance management, and monitoring, evalu-ation, and reviews. The goal is to inspire and cultivate aculture of independence within branches that will ensure aself-sustainable future for the national society as a whole.The advisor to the president believes that the third phaseis the most difficult part of re-engineering SLRCS and,while the process itself may be over, the national societystill has a long way to go. “We will have to work very hard.IFRC, ICRC and PNSs will have to provide support whilegovernance and management will have to change theirmindset. SLRCS must march towards sustainability andbe prepared for a new era,” he said.The newly formed re-engineering process review commit-tee (RPRC) and the CMC continue to evaluate progressand provide feedback for the last phase. An additional in-dependent group, the 180-day review committee, was alsoestablished to review the progress of branches.

PhaSe thRee

new era – new attItudInaL

ChanGes

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The most significant of the recommendations by PASS Asia was the “productivity operation” or what was termed by the president as the “180-dayintensified capacity building programme”.The SLRCS-designed programme kick-started the third phase and put new policies in place. It was geared towards preparing the network of 26branches in Sri Lanka to be self-sustaining so they could continue to undertake the vital task of providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerablecommunities. According to the president, the 180-days was the start of a long journey, where management and governance at both the national andbranch levels could “stand united on one platform in the march towards one common goal and with a strong and positive mindset”.In an overwhelming show of unity, the 26 SLRCS branches attended a two-day meeting in mid-September 2010 to discuss the new acceleratedapproach. The DG said that, “it was an emotionally charged session with sense of solidarity for SLRCS. The onus of planning and setting targets is[now] at the branch level. Whereas in the past NHQ would plan activities and train branch volunteers, now branches have taken ownership and areinvolved in planning and the sustainability of their branches”.

the 180-day

ProGramme

The 180-day programme provided branches space to re-think and re-design their future approach, with a stipulated number of days within whichto create and carry out a plan of action. It was essential that these plans considered a range of issues such as how to raise funds through incomegeneration and other fundraising activities in order to bear future administration costs, what types of service programmes were needed and how todesign and implement them for beneficiaries, and how to strengthen and develop youth and volunteer participation.In addition, plans had to focus on good governance practices including ways to strengthen branches and build up the image of Red Cross, and howto foster relationships with various stakeholders – from district health, education and disaster management authorities to the corporate sector.Prior to implementation, each branch presented its plan of action to a special panel appointed by the president, which beside himself comprised thenational secretary, advisor to the president, DG, IFRC, ICRC, PNSs and the chief consultant.

Towards fine-tuning the process

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During the two-day meeting, the president had sent another strong, clear message to the branches. “If, after the 180-day period, any branch is foundfinancially incapable of standing on its own feet or is not operating up to standard, then there is no need for such a branch to continue”. According tothe president, these branches would not be serving a purpose in the community. Thus, the 180-day programme served as a decision-making time.Branches could accept the programme or not. They could decide whether or not they wanted to implement the newly formed policies. Ultimately, thefuture of each branch would rest with itself.

The future in your hands

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Reengineering the Sri Lanka Red Cross

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During the launch of the 180-day programme, the SLRCS president had emphasised to each of the 26 branches that, “the programme is owned byyou. It is your plan of action and reflects the needs of your community”. Even though the responsibility of implementation was passed to them, thepresident believed it was also necessary to put an appraisal system in place to “keep the pressure on” and ensure branches performed. The reviewwould help monitor the pace of progress, establish the kind of support needed from national governance and management, and reveal what hindereda branch for implementing its plan of action.A professional, independent special committee was appointed mid-way though the 180-days to roll out the review process. The committee comprisedthe chief consultant, as chairman, and the two advisors to the president, one as secretary and the other as a member. A field review team visitedbranches, and consisted of the secretary of the committee as team leader, the SLRCS head of internal audit department and one assistant, and aconsultant from PASS Asia. Review methodology and tools were developed to ensure transparency and included an extensive set of questionnairesdeveloped by the consultants with inputs and final consent from of all members of the review committee.

RevieWing the180-day PRogRaMMe

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The main objective of the review team was to assess progress madeagainst the plan of action, which branches had presented some monthsearlier.As part of the review, a scoring system was developed to ascertainwhere each branch stood in the 180-day programme. According to thereview team, the purpose was not to compare one branch with the otherbut, as expected, some branches viewed it quite differently. “Now there’scompetition between branches, which I like, and we are working hard tomake sure Matara is the best branch in SLRCS,” said the general clerk.Each branch review was conducted over the course of three days. Onday one, prior to meeting with the branch, the review team conductedconfidential assessments with both Red Cross and non-Red Crossbeneficiaries without the knowledge of the branch.The branch visit started on the second day with an orientation. At thistime the team presented its scope of work and assured the branch thatits brief was to conduct the review with confidentiality, transparency, ac-countability, without bias or preferential treatment. The team stressedthat except for formal sharing at the end of the review process, monitor-ing results would not be disclosed.After the presentation, each branch was given the opportunity to sharereasons, if any, for delays in reaching set targets. This was followed byindividual interviews with a member of the branch committee, the BEOand accountant. Interviews were also conducted with volunteers andyouth members.

The review process

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A prepared questionnaire was used to conduct each interview. Forexample, in the case of the chairperson, the questionnaire aimed todetermine if s/he understood the role and responsibilities of the posi-tion and covered issues such as good governance and governmentand management synergy.During the appraisal, the team reviewed and verified various docu-ments including: branch committee meeting minutes (to ensure par-ticipation and decision making by the entire branch committee andnot just the chairperson); bank balances and statements (for finan-cial accountability); and monthly progress reports. By checking thelatter documents, the team aimed to corroborate if branch activitieshad been taking place and to ensure that the chairperson understoodand adhered to the new branch structure and its programmes. It alsoserved to check if SLRCS divisions and units were active and growing.“The review committee provides an opportunity to show our progress,”said the chairman of the Galle branch, his team prepared and fullyready to cooperate in the assessment process. “The reality is that ifwe don’t show change our branch may be dissolved or merged withanother branch”.Not all branches were as accommodating or as welcoming of the re-view team. According to the team leader, “we have encountered sen-sitivities from BEOs and chairmen who either don’t agree or are un-happy with some of the interview questions.” Nevertheless, over thecourse of three months, the team carried out its brief to visit and ap-praise each and every Red Cross branch in Sri Lanka.

Branch interview comments

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Besides Red Cross branches, interviews were conducted with gov-ernment agencies and other partners to measure cooperation andstakeholder satisfaction. Among the government representatives in-terviewed were district secretary, divisional secretary, disaster man-agement coordinator (DMC), health officials, heads of educationaland social services, and Grama Niladhari (GN). There was also aseparate questionnaire for SLRCS beneficiaries aimed to assesscommunity impact and beneficiary satisfaction.According to the divisional secretary in Galle, since tsunami relatedactivities scaled down in early 2010, he has had limited interactionwith the branch. “Between December 2004 and February 2010, I hada good working experience with the Red Cross. In the early daysthere were misunderstandings that arose from miscommunicationwith both the Red Cross and other NGOs but these were rectifiedearly on. Generally our discussions were open and transparent.”Nevertheless he was aware of some recent branch initiatives and ex-plained that, “there is a big demand for education in our area, espe-cially by middle-class families for English medium education. The setup of Victoria International School is a very positive move by the RedCross in Galle.”The vice-chairwoman of the village disaster management centre(VDMC) in Ahungalle GN division said they had strong links with thebranch from September 2007, when the Red Cross helped estab-lish the VDMC, right until early 2010. “We have noticed a reductionin activities since then. A few months ago, the branch invited us toa meeting and shared that they were going through some sort ofchange,” she said. The meeting, organised by the Galle branch, wasone of a series held in the district to explain the 180-day programmeto stakeholders.As each field review was completed, the team leader compiled a full setof documents for analysis by the review committee chairman. The reviewcommittee then prepared an evaluation and scoring report. Next, the re-view committee submitted the completed report to the president whocontacted the branch for a formal hand over of the report. Branches iden-tified with any urgent gaps for improvement were contacted straightawaywith immediate, short-term or long-term recommendations for change.Those branches identified as needing to make immediate changes wererequired to present a plan of action, with implementation expected to takeplace within one month.At the end of the 180-day period, results of all 26 confidential branchreviews were presented in a final report to the president, CGB, DG, IFRC,ICRC and PNSs and will enable them to determine how best to supportbranches with implementation of the third and last phase of the re-engi-neering process. Specifically, the report will enable the DG to design amaster plan for SLRCS with short, medium and long term interventions,for at least three to five years, with the support of IFRC, ICRC, and PNSs.

Results of review

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According to the branch executive officer of Gampaha district, a lowland area in western Sri Lanka, the branch had no plans to increase its mainactivities under the 180-day initiative but instead wanted to focus on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of ongoing programmes.For the branch, this entailed improving existing capacities, systems and processes including human resources, logistics, systems development,monitoring and sustainability. The ultimate goal, once the 180-day programme ends, is to ensure Gampaha branch has a standardised system inplace, publicly recognised through ISO 9000 accreditation. Improved systems means the branch can aim for highly trained volunteers, which in theend will help with efficiency at the community level.By early 2011, the branch was well on its way to achieving its goals under the 180-day programme and had formulated human resources, equipmentuse, measurement, and systems and procedures development plans.For several years the branch has also run a high profile water safety programme, primarily in the densely populated divisions of Wattala and Ne-gambo where a considerable number of water related accidents occur annually. High on the agenda of the branch during the 180-day period was toincorporate its water safety programme into the NHQ plan, hopeful that it would eventually feed into the Government of Sri Lanka’s community baseddisaster risk management (CBDRM) programme.

Standardizing systems in Gampaha

Re-engineeRing

fRoM the BRanCh PeRSPeCtive

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The BEO shared how polices developed underthe re-engineering process have impacted onhis role at the branch, “we now have guidelinesand policies that have empowered me as BEOand given me the recognition and authority Ineed to carry out our work. Still, there is needfor more to change and for policies to be imple-mented.”In a bid to strengthen his team, the BEO haspassed the same system of recognition on tobranch governance and volunteers. One ex-ample he shared was that between 2007 and2010, Red Cross branch volunteers had saved249 people from drowning in Wattala andNegombo. The retention rate of these highlytrained volunteers, however, was low as mostwent on to better paid opportunities elsewhere.Under the 180-day programme the branch in-cluded a volunteer appreciation component toencourage these highly marketable volunteersto commit their skill and time to the Red Cross.Within months, this small step has had the ef-fect of improving the numbers of volunteersthat remain with the branch.

New role for BEO

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One legacy of the Asian tsunami for the Red Cross in Galle is a three-story building ideally located a few kilometres from the prominent seaport andfortified city.Initially the branch had ambitious plans to set up a hotel and restaurant on the premises and, as in the past, expected NHQ to provide financialbacking. However, with the launch of the 180-day programme responsibility quickly shifted. As the branch chairman said, “before the re-engineeringprocess the attitude of the branch was to depend on NHQ for its future direction and funding. We quickly realised we needed to change our attitudeif we were to survive and I believe we have”.

Financial independence for Galle

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The branch explored various business options that didn’t require NHQ intervention. Within three-months a joint venture agreement was signed withthe education institution The Victoria International College (TVIC) to set up a franchise in Galle. The partnership is on a profit sharing basis, with a60 per cent share going to TVIC and the remaining 40 per cent to the Galle branch. Investment for the infrastructure was borne by the branch whilethe education and marketing aspects are handled by TVIC. Classes in the pre-school section began in January 2011. Plans are underway to openthe primary school in 2012 with the secondary section proposed for 2013.According to the BEO, the branch is already thinking about expanding. “In the future we’d like to be able to purchase the adjacent land so we can builda badminton court and swimming pool for the college. This will increase our income and enable us to run bigger Red Cross programmes,” he said.The RIMES (regional integrated, multi-hazard early warning system) project is another direct result of the branch taking the initiative to seek externaldonors to fund projects, in this case the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP). With its focus onearly warning systems for tsunamis, cyclones and other hazards in Asia and Africa, the five-year project between RIMES and the Galle branch willconcentrate on five communities in flood prone areas.The chairman explained that, “in the first six months RIMES and the branch will carry out assessments, with one coordinator, two field officers andone volunteer from each division; activities will be developed subsequently”. This is a collaborative project between the Red Cross and local govern-ment authorities in Galle including the meteorological, geological and agricultural departments. The DMC is set to come on board once the projectbegins later in 2011.

A profitable joint ventureWorking with external donors

With the branch quickly moving towards financial independence, it is important to note that change hasn’t come without its challenges. Nonethelessthe branch chairman champions most of the changes in SLRCS over the course of the past 18 months and believes the re-engineering process wasparticularly necessary to simplify and clarify the roles and responsibilities of management and governance.It also helped separate these roles at NHQ by empowering the DG and BEO. “I’m trying to be a good member of governance and appreciate theprocess and its systematic approach”, he said.The newly introduced policies and guidelines have provided the branch with a methodical approach to its work. “The various policies such as thefinancial manual, and whistleblower policy developed under the process are excellent,” said the BEO. “I only wish they had been available earlierso that the branch had guidelines by which to operate. In the past this was often a point of conflict with PNS because there were no clear policies,procedures and guidelines in place. It also makes it easier for a new or incoming BEO to understand the role.”

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The Red Cross branch in the busy commercial and transport hub of Kurunegala focuses itswork primarily in the areas of health and first aid, dissemination and humanitarian values, andyouth development. Disaster management activities are limited. The 180-day programme hasalready started to bring about noticeable changes within the branch and some of its divisions.The Kurunegala branch chairman said that he thought, “this is just the warming up phaseof the 180-day programme. We shared the idea with our units and divisions. Not long after,Mawatagama and Pulpitigama divisions decided to start producing women’s shoes [as anincome generating activity]. Sales have already started, through village fairs, and so far aregoing well. We are also expecting to generate income by providing commercial first aid to gov-ernment institutions and companies and from rental of the main hall of our branch building”.The executive officer of the branch said that she thought that, “the difference between the180-day programme and what we were doing before is that previously we were working inan ad hoc way. Now we have developed a plan and set up targets and deadlines. As part ofour plan, the branch intends to strengthen its five divisions and introduce income generationplans”.Significantly, the re-engineering process has promoted the use of an integrated approach forSLRCS programming that aims to make processes efficient and more effective. This concep-tual change is a move from sectoral to multi-sectoral, multi-year plans. The integrated pro-gramme approach (IPA) at In Kurunegala branch has been implemented in two stages – firstby building the foundation and then though the mobilization of three divisions.The OD officer of the Kurunegala branch said she thought that, “there are now visible chang-es in the IPA running at the three divisions supported by CRC. Establishment of units and di-visions are strong and they are planning programmes together. In the past, each programmewould plan separately with technical units at NHQ”.

Integrated programmes in Kurunegala

New approach leads to change

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She shared her recent experience with the Polpitigama, Mawathgama, and Ibbagamuwa divisions, which conducted a joint needs assessment in Pol-tigama. For the first time, new activities were planned together that included establishing medical camps, maternal and child health projects, upgrad-ing wells in drought-affected areas, providing psychosocial support to women who work abroad (as domestic workers), and setting up a children’slibrary and club as well as youth circles.The efficient results of the assessment can be attributed to the ability of BEOs who now make decisions themselves, without having to go throughthe process of first getting approvals from each of the specialists at NHQ. There are obviously issues that need to be addressed to ensure this newapproach works fully, but as the DG said, “this process will take time as the various technical specialists need time to become proficient in areasoutside their expertise”.

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One of the main products of the sprawlingcoconut plantations found along the coastin the southern district of Matara is “coir”,a coarse fibrous yarn made from coconuthusk. Extracting the fibre is a laboriousprocess that requires soaking the husks inwater-filled tanks for days, or up to severalmonths. These water tanks provide an idealbreeding ground for mosquitoes.Matara district has been identified as anarea in the country with relatively high ratesof filaria (a lymphatic disease commonlyknown as elephantiasis). Here, the RedCross branch works closely with the healthdepartment to conduct regular awarenessprogrammes on water-borne diseases suchas dengue and, in coastal areas, filaria.Among its other core programmes, the branchfocuses on providing disaster preparednesstraining and materials, strengthening divi-sional disaster response teams (DDRT), andraising awareness on the prevention of do-mestic violence. Additionally, the branch hasambitious plans to expand existing servicesto become the main blood donor recruitmentagency and to provide “first aid for all” in thedistrict.For these programmes to continue andgrow the branch first needs to be self-suffi-cient and Matara Red Cross have made bigstrides in this regard. According to BharataJonikkuhewa, branch chairman since 2008,“the most important aspect of the reengi-neering process was having specific targetsand goals to achieve under the 180-day pro-gramme of branch self-sustainability”.As a means of income generation, the branchinvested 250,000 Sri Lankan rupees to setup a grocery shop (covering rental, equip-ment, and goods) in Weligama division. Anagreement was made with the shopkeeperto pay 5,000 rupees monthly to the branchand 500 rupees per month to the division,with the shopkeeper keeping all additionalincome. The venture is already off to a goodstart. Business commenced in December2010 and since then both the branch anddivision have been receiving their monthlyrevenue regularly.In March 2011, the branch started a small-scale sewing business manufacturing clothbags to be used for first aid kits. Inspirationfor the scheme came from 25 second-handsewing machines that had been handed

Embracing a goalorientated approachSuccessful incomegeneration activities

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over to the branch by beneficiaries of the tsunami who no longer had use for them. The plan is for these cloth bag kits to be sold house-to-house byRed Cross volunteers and at commercial first aid courses. The aim is to reach a monthly sales target of 100,000 rupees and eventually to expandbusiness to other Red Cross branches across the country.Spurred on by the challenge of long-term targets and goals, the branch expanded into other project areas identified under its 2010 plan. The mostsuccessful of these has been the establishment of micro-finance groups in all ten Matara Red Cross divisions. To oversee the entire process, onequalified micro-finance manager has been appointed at the branch and one at the community level. The project launched in January 2011 and theidentification of vulnerable people to participate in the project is well under way at the Red Cross divisional units.The chairman believes that the introduction of new systems, policies and guidelines under the re-engineering process has provided room for all26 Red Cross branches in Sri Lanka to function equally. “We now have a clear policy for the separation of governance and management. Staff andvolunteers have their own policies to adhere to and this makes it much easier to function smoothly,” he said.While recognising the re-engineering process had many positives, he had issue with recommendations regarding staff retrenchments. “Managementdidn’t consider the capacity and resources of each of the branches before embarking on the retrenchment exercise, which led to difficulties for somebranches as key staff were laid off.”One casualty of the re-engineering staff cutbacks who continues to work at the branch agreed. “The general clerk is an essential position in thebranch”, he said. “We handle everything from payroll and logistics to administrative functions. Fortunately for me, Matara branch had the financialresources to re-employ me [after the job was officially terminated]. Not all branches were able to do so”.

Adopting new policies and systems

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When the re-engineering process started in 2009, the Red Cross branch in the central hill district of Nuwara Eliya had already started to re-think itsfuture and to plan towards self-sufficiency. According to the branch secretary, the branch explored opportunities to raise funds from its existing com-mercial first aid programme and “within three months [of the start of the 180-day programme] our income more than tripled”.“Setting targets and giving incentives to first aid coordinators to seek out new business opportunities helped achieve this,” he said. Encouraged bythe 180-day programme, the branch appointed commercial first aid coordinators and started marketing its services to the hundreds of tea estatesand tourist hotels in the district. Business soared. By March 2011, the branch was already generating sufficient income to cover all its administrativecosts achieving its target of financial self-sustainability.The most important aspect of the re-engineering process, according to the BEO, was that it gave them the impetus and confidence to move towardsself-reliance. He explained that, “the branch merely took a new approach to raising money in a traditional service and made it more profitable. Wehave become very successful at it. Now we only wonder why we didn’t do this before”.This new found independence means that Red Cross activities in tea plantations can continue as before with its focus on raising awareness on is-sues of alcohol and drugs, child abuse, hygiene (linked to building latrines and water sanitation), improving the nutritional status of pregnant andlactating mothers to boost mortality rates, and dengue related clean-up campaigns. Activities are now operated on minimal funds as the branch hasstreamlined its services to further reduce costs.Besides commercial first aid training, the Red Cross branch started collaborating with donor agencies, working on a climate change project with theUnited Nations and providing first aid training for 400 pre-schools teachers with the World Health Organisation. Under the latter project, the branchhas also made and sold 400 first aid boxes.

First aid in tea estates and tourist hotelsNew approach boosts

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As the IDP operation began to scale down, the branch started to developand focus its resources on the 180-day programme. While continuing torun its regular activities that bring in a good source of income, the branchcreated new plans to expand income generation including a model farmproject in Cheddikulum, on land provided by the government.The branch chairman explained, “our aim is to increase our volunteernumbers by 50 per cent and to focus on professionals and SinhalaBy January 2011, the branch had made noticeable progress towardsachieving its action plan under the180-day programme notably with theformation of the Vavuniya South division and 11 units. Moreover, with 93per cent of its administrative costs covered through income generationactivities at the branch and divisional levels, its long-term financial sus-tainability appears set.Membership recruitment had also successfully expanded to 80 per cent.Change is apparent in other aspects of the programme including imple-mentation of good governance practices and the synergy maintained be-tween governance and management. On a scale of 1-10, the branch nowalso rates its relationship with stakeholders at 8 and continues to makestrides in nurturing relationships with other groups in the district.speakers. The branch has four divisions but only two are fully functionalso we want to address this; we also aim to establish a fourth divisionin Vavuniya South, a predominantly Sinhala community. We are not in-dependent as a branch so the 180-day programme is useful to help usdevelop ourselves. We will need financial and professional support in thebeginning but after that, we can look after our branch on our own”.In May 2009, the 30-year conflict in the Northern Province of Sri Lankawas formally declared over and, just over one year later, resettlement ofmore than a quarter of a million people forced to flee the armed conflictstarted.With a team of experienced volunteers, the Red Cross branch in Vavuni-ya was granted access by the military to work in the resettlement areas.By November 2010, roughly 20,000 internally displaced people (IDP)remained in the government camp where SLRCS works.According to the branch chairman, “the function of our branch has beenaffected by the re-engineering process because NHQ has not been func-tioning properly. Before the process started it was fine. Now it is slow adno one wants to or is allowed to make decisions. Fund transfers havebeen delayed and this has affected our work. Most embarrassing is the10-month delay in the implementation of a community-based health careproject in one of the northern resettlement areas. We have no ownershipof our projects now. There should be a trouble shooting mechanism todeal with urgent issues so that the Red Cross can continue its humani-tarian work”.

Clear plan of actionTangible progress

Changing directions in Vavuniya

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As a result, REDMO underwent a restructure.With the approval of the CGB, a new boardwas established and the SLRCS national sec-retary appointed chairman. While REDMObelongs to SLRCS, and members of its boardcomprise members of the CGB, the companyhas a separate management team. The chair-man of REDMO reports directly to the CGB.The main undertaking of the newly-estab-lished board was to streamline processes,systems and procedures, update audits, initi-ate the reallocation of staff tasks, oversee therecruitment of new staff, and ensure mainte-nance of proper accounts and bookkeeping.This was carried out after a thorough assess-ment of the business, by identifying compa-ny debts, appraising the condition of existingheavy equipment and consulting with legaladvisors. Only then did the board start to dis-cuss plans with its advisors and consultants tomove the company forward into new ventures.Red Cross machinery organization (REDMO)was established during the tsunami-recoveryperiod in order to make use of heavy equip-ment, primarily trucks and excavators, do-nated by the Korean Red Cross Society afterfield operations ended. The business wasregistered under Sri Lankan law as a limited-by-guarantee company with tax-free benefits.Initially SLRCS set aside some funds to op-erate the company, which functioned solelyon hiring out its heavy equipment.While REDMO was established with muchoptimism, both SLRCS governance andmanagement were unable to focus much at-tention or time on the venture due to the pri-orities of the tsunami operation. Before long,complicated management issues togetherwith little experience of running a big busi-ness drove the company into debt.During this period, the re-engineering pro-cess at SLRCS was underway and throughits connection to SLRCS, REDMO was alsoidentified for change. Recognizing that rais-ing funds in an efficient way was integral tothe future of the national society, the presi-dent sought to convert REDMO into the of-ficial business arm of SLRCS.

New board,new beginning

RedMo

Even as the president was encouraging districtbranches to raise funds for their administrativecosts and other humanitarian services, he alsocharged REDMO to seek other avenues forraising funds to cover NHQ expenses. The newboard focused on insurance, travel and tours,vehicle rental, hotel reservations, and confer-ence management, all businesses previouslyoperated by third parties for SLRCS for morethan seven decades.Today, the company continues to further de-velop its various enterprises. In addition toREDMO Travel and Tours, REDMO Insurance,and REDMO Heavy Machinery, the new boardresumed formalities to begin operations of apetrol station (a business proposed under theprevious board that had come to a standstill)and has other ventures in the pipeline. RED-MO has re-emerged as a result of the re-engi-neering process and aims to become a solid,viable, commercial funding arm of Sri LankaRed Cross Society within the next three years.

Growing businessenterprise

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The re-engineering process at the SLRCS continues today. Plenty has been achieved in just over 18 months; some of it has gone well, some notso well. But a profound change has occurred, nonetheless. Governance and the management team clearly own the process and culture of changewithin the society, making the RPRC, CMC, and consultants’ involvement minimal and SLRCS’ involvement very high.Critical processes are ongoing and it is difficult to measure impact and make conclusions while procedures are still in transition. Even though the180-day programme has ended, realistically many of the 36 recommendations that emerged from phase one and two may take SLRCS anotherthree to five years to complete.Certainly some key recommendations including a clear delineation of roles between management and governance, the establishment of a new corestructure and development of essential policies and guidelines, have been realised. Furthermore, REDMO had been restructured and expanded togenerate more funds for the future financial sustainability of SLRCS. However, major challenges still lay ahead for the national society. Some of thenew and amended policies, such as the “whistle blower”, “decent work for all”, beneficiary satisfaction, and transport policy, are embedded in theongoing third (implementation) phase and branches, governance and management are expected to adhere and comply with these policies.As part of the process, an independent inquiry board, new finance commission, and independent mediator (to handle grievances against membersof SLRCS governance including the president) will shortly be appointed.Clearly, there is a continued and strong need for monitoring and supervision of phase three of the re-engineering process. The president and CGBhave an enormous task on their hands as does the DG and management, who must be given a free rein to organise the national society.There is a need for the DG and management team to develop a solid, long-term plan to support implementation of the third phase. This includescapacity building of branch governance, as well as staff at NHQ and branches, to enhance performance, and designing new projects and raisingfunds for the benefit of vulnerable people at the village level. One of the challenges for SLRCS is to remain true to the recommendations of the re-engineering process, for instance in the separation of governance and management, and by maintaining accountability, integrity and transparency.

Ccluss

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So is the re-engineering process a success? According to the former IFRC head of core programmes in Sri Lanka, “we did not believe that changeat this stage could happen (particularly a separation of governance and management) but it has”. She believes that it is the Movement’s responsibil-ity to assist SLRCS sustain the change and deepen the impact of its work with vulnerable communities and there is “a lot that can be learnt fromthe re-engineering process”.The ICRC cooperation coordinator recognized that the achievements to date are very significant but they have taken place with the undertone ofcrisis and anxiety. He qualified the process as, “leaning towards success, but it’s too early to see if it will end successfully”. Change is taking placeat SLRCS but the challenge is how the national society will manage under this new change, especially when a new crisis arises. “There is no otherchoice for the SLRCS than for the re-engineering process to succeed. But it entails no one letting down their guard,” he said.From the perspective of the CRC country coordinator, while the overall process has been quite positive with many lessons learnt, it has been difficultfor Movement partners. He believes the impact of change will only be seen in 6 to 12 months from now and that meanwhile, “there needs to be atransition period that’s acceptable between partners and SLRCS with PNS taking the lead in the implementation of new projects”.The SLRCS national secretary said he believes that, “we are on the right track and 100 per cent happy with the process. By mid-2011 we will clearlyknow if [re-engineering] has worked. At programme level the changes will take time to happen. Tangible results will not be immediately visible”.

Learning from re-engineering

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At times it was thought that the process wasa near impossible undertaking, overly ambi-tious and with too much to achieve. With hisfar-sighted vision, the president relied on “threeforces” (the branch network, the DG and hismanagement team, and REDMO), to achievehis plan to re-engineer SLRCS, hopeful that itwould also be the vision of his national society.Working hand-in-hand as one team, with dedi-cation, commitment, and a sense of responsi-bility while adhering to the Movement’s sevenprinciples and the president’s “three forces”, hasenabled SLRCS to stay the course. Eventuallythis will lead the national society to achieve itsdream of successfully re-engineering SLRCS.The SLRCS re-engineering process chal-lenged traditional methods and policies of gov-ernance and management in the Red CrossRed Crescent Movement. Ultimately, the rea-son for its accomplishments and the buy-in bythe national society can be credited to the factthat it did so without challenging the core prin-ciples of the Red Cross.

A team achievement