Domestic Staff Welfare is one of the most overlooked activities in communities because many don’t realise that in the case of communities, the association is the employer and the staffs are the employees. We, at ADDA, believe that people responsible for cleaning and upkeeping the community environment deserve more importance and should be one of the main topics to be discussed during the MC meetings. That is the major reason why this is one the most important categories at the prestigious Rise High Awards.
However, some communities understand and have taken extraordinary initiatives and here’s the story of the winners under the category – Domestic Staff Welfare.
Oceanus Heights, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala feel that staff inclusiveness in the overall community living is very important and once they feel like a part of the community, they will contribute 100% for the well being of the society.
The One problem they noticed was that the caretaker was collecting brokerage from both the owners and the tenants, which caused inconvenience to both the parties. So the association started collecting brokerage of Rs.5000/- per every rental that is done through the staff ( security, caretaker or facility manager) and Also Rs, 10000/- per every resale of an apartment.
The wonderful idea behind this that the collected money is distributed equally once a year during Onam, thereby making everyone feel valued and a part of the functions.
The Society always includes the staff members in all their celebrations and clicks photos with them to give them an at-home feeling. Also, they had a recent case where the spouse of one of the cleaners was diagnosed with Cancer and a substantial amount was collected within a week from the very small community.
All these small things go a long way and create a major impact on the relationship between the residents and the staffs.
Shriram Spurthi, Bangalore is another community who took up exemplary initiatives for their staffs and is doing it since 2014.
Firstly, they make sure the staffs are aware of the importance of having a healthy body, posture as well as a healthy mind. They do regular health check-up including blood tests, general consultation with a physician, Cervical Cancer screening for their Domestic staff. Along with it they also conduct activities to demonstrate about correct spine postures through spine care consultants.
A psychiatrist from the apartment conducts interactive sessions and showed them videos on stress management. Another important activity the Association has done is sessions on Financial Education – Interactive sessions with videos on correct investments, personalised help in opening bank accounts, introducing health insurance schemes, pension schemes etc.
They have also held a Breast and throat cancer awareness, preventive measures videos and interactive sessions with medical practitioners. Also, some regular sessions on simple yoga, pranayama, meditation sessions with them for relaxation are conducted regularly.
The residents have lunch twice a year with them for better bonding and also the Management Committee team is available for the domestic staff welfare in any area and they are free to contact anytime.
Neighborhoods of Tomorrow is the platform for sharing amazing initiatives like these. Because these are small steps which helps in leaps and bounds to shape a beautiful community.