HR Staff Resources
This is the home page for all of the SIL HR Polices. It provides convenient links to the administrative policies, procedures, guidelines, and other related documents. The HR Policies are a part of the SIL Administrative Policy Manual. Below are direct links to the most commonly referenced SIL HR polices and require SIL system access. If you are unable to access, please contact chro_intl@sil.org or missionhr@sil.org.
Duty of Care Policy - Policy that defines specific Duty of Care responsibilities.
Staffing and Placement Policy - Policy that defines the way in which SIL will place staff into assignments.
Care & Wellbeing Policy - Policy that defines SIL's responsibility to care for its staff.
Staff Behavior Policy - Policy that defines the conduct that SIL expects of its staff.
Response to Staff Misconduct Policy - Policy that defines SIL's commitment to fair process in responding to a breach of the staff behavior agreement.
SIL International Membership - Administration Policy and Forms - Policy that defines the purpose, responsibilities, benefits, criteria for granting, and the categories for membership in SIL.
HR Orientation - Level 1 Training
An introduction to working in HR in SIL for new HR workers:
Overarching principles of SIL HR
Ethos of HR
Our purpose is to serve. Our purpose in all levels of HR is to serve, support, and equip our staff so that they and SIL can flourish and accomplish our mission. Thank you for being willing to serve the Lord in this way!
Balance grace and truth. Often people who agree to fill HR roles have one of two tendencies - either they want to be the nice person who sympathizes with staff, or they want to be the rule enforcer. However, these need to be held in balance. When working with people and policies, we need to be always mindful to find the balance between grace and truth. Policies give us guidance, but we need to look at each case individually. God deals with us with grace and truth, and we try our best to give that to the people entrusted into our care.
Duty of Care. Duty of Care means having a moral and/or legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others. Your OU will have different levels of Duty of Care for different groups of people - including staff, visitors and users of SIL facilities and services.
Authority and responsibility go together. Your OU will have some level of responsibility for everyone under your OU’s authority. You need to know who is under your duty of care and who isn’t. There is no organizational requirement for duty of care for anyone outside of your OU’s umbrella of responsibility, but your OU leadership may occasionally decide to support a person who isn’t under your OU’s duty of care.
In or out of the home country (or passport country). We have a broader level of duty of care for staff living outside of their home country. This duty of care covers the whole person and extends to their spouse and children. Duty of care for staff living within their home country only covers the staff person, and may or may not be limited to the workplace and/or agreed upon working hours.
Scope of authority. It’s important for you to know the scope of authority for your HR role, especially if you have been tasked with enforcing organizational requirements. Scope of authority varies based on the unique responsibilities of your position and the decision-making protocols in your OU. Be sure to have this conversation with your supervisor. You might consider asking questions like this:
What authority do I have to sign HR documents (SQW/FBMB, invitation letters, etc)? What must be signed by someone else (ie, HR director or OU director)
Do I have the responsibility to enforce policy signatures and SIL trainings?
Can I require a staff person to respond to a particular request (complete training, approve an APR, etc) by a deadline I set?
Can I involve a supervisor if a staff person is not responsive?
Confidential information/legality. Be aware that you may hear confidential and/or sensitive personal information in the course of your HR work. The Confidentiality Agreement that you have signed as part of your SIL assignment is particularly relevant in HR work. Part of this agreement reads:
You may not make use of or disclose Confidential Information obtained as a result of duties as a staff member of SIL.
You are not obliged to keep in confidence, nor will you incur any liability for disclosure of Confidential Information:
Which was already in the public domain or comes into the public domain without any breach of your obligations;
Where such disclosure is required by law, court order, court proceedings or government or regulatory authority having jurisdiction in the matter as long as you promptly notify SIL so that it can legally protect its information as needed;
Where such disclosure is consented to in writing by SIL; or
Where the safety and/or security of another individual is concerned including, but not limited to, self harm, child abuse or other breaches of the staff code of conduct.
To think of it in different terms, there will be things that you:
Can’t share with others. Example: A staff member leaves the field for a moral-lapse issue but tells everyone they are being sent home because they didn’t learn the language fast enough. You know what really happened due to your HR role, but you cannot comment nor attempt to correct the narrative. Correcting the story would mean sharing confidential information; doing so violates SIL policy and could possibly set SIL up for litigation.
Must share with certain people. Example: A staff member confesses a serious breach of the SIL behavior agreement to you, but asks you to “respect confidentiality” by not telling anyone. When it comes to safety and code of conduct, you can promise discretion but not confidentiality. Some offenses even come with mandatory reporting laws. If you aren’t sure what to do with information shared with you, check with your supervisor or someone higher up in HR (Area HR, etc).
Communication in working relationships
As a part of the HR team, you will serve and interact at many levels. Maintaining and developing good relationships is crucial. It is important that you communicate clearly and in a timely manner to all levels.
When you need more time. There may be times when you are not able to solve a particular problem or give a complete answer right away. When this happens, you should at least respond and acknowledge that you are working on the request. Silence communicates lack of value, but a response - even to say, “I’m not able to solve this problem until next week” - lets people know that you are engaged and listening.
Communicating with care and sensitivity. It is important that you remember to communicate with cross-cultural sensitivity to both national and expat teammates. We all bring our own issues to communication, and HR is a field where miscommunication can happen quickly if we don’t take care with our words. Be as simple and direct as possible in your communication. Answer as kindly and completely as you can. Be willing to go the extra mile in both what you do and how you do it. This will go a long way towards creating and maintaining a good reputation for your HR team within your OU, and will likely help others respond more positively when you make a request of them.
Depending on your particular responsibilities, you may be interacting with the following groups:
With individual staff in your OU. You may have some level of responsibility for and authority over individual staff in your OU. This may include casual laborers, paid staff, volunteers, and seconded staff people. You may have different levels of responsibility to each of these groups, depending on your position. This might be as formal as actual supervision, or as general as enforcing organizational requirements, such as policy signing.
With your teams and team leaders in your OU. You may be supporting team leaders in their supervisory tasks, helping them with staff requests, and helping them navigate policy.
With your OU leadership teams. You can offer balanced and professional HR input to help your leadership in making decisions, choosing strategy, and implementing new procedures.
With Sending Organizations. For seconded staff, we share responsibility for the staff person with their Sending Organization. Therefore, it is important to keep the Sending Organization informed about things that impact their staff person as much as possible.
SIL Policies and Guidelines
Where to find them. The HR policies for personnel matters at both international and entity levels are found at the Gateway link here. We recommend adding this link to your browser bookmarks so you can find it easily when you need it. In order to access Gateway, you will need to use your SIL IdP login.
Difference between a Policy, Standard and Guideline. When looking through SIL policies, you will see three different types of documents - Policies, Standards, and Guidelines.
Policy. A policy is a set of principles to guide organizational action based on the vision and ends the organization expects to achieve. It may specify direction, scope and set limits. Policies provide empowerment by establishing a framework of acceptable action. The Policy answers the question "Why do I need to do this?"
Standard. A standard assigns quantifiable measurements to define how a policy is to be met. The Standard answers the question, "What is required?" These are the goals we are working toward, even if we don’t perfectly meet them yet.
Guideline. A guideline describes best practices and provides suggestions for the most effective ways to implement policy. Guidelines indicate flexibility, but they reflect experience and in-depth knowledge of the subject area. Thus they should be carefully considered, but are not binding and should be modified to fit the cultural context. The Guideline answers the question “How can I do this?”
Overview of policies, standards, and guidelines for personnel matters.
Duty Of Care: Topics covered include Duty of Care, Crisis Management, Sexual Assault, Child Safety, Workplace Safety.
Care & Wellbeing: Topics cover Care & Wellbeing, Absence from Spouse, Adoption, Immunization, Marriage, Education, Families and Children.
Staff Behavior: Defines the conduct that SIL expects of its staff.
Staffing and Placement: Topics include Assignments, Professional Development, Secondment, Pre-Field, Serving on Boards.
Staff Misconduct: Defines SIL's commitment to fair process in responding to a breach of the staff behavior agreement. Topics include Staff Misconduct, Workplace Inquiry, and Appeals.
HR Admin Resources: Includes a variety of topics, including Creation Care, Ethics, Data Protection, Whistleblowing, and others.
Staff Engagement: Contains Staff Engagement policy and standards, Annual Review resources, PRD resources, and more.
Whistleblowing. Each OU should clearly outline the process staff should follow to raise concerns. This will generally include a process of individual resolution, then escalating to supervisor, HR and/or OU director if resolution is not reached. However, if a staff person feels their concerns are not being taken seriously by those in positions of authority in the OU, or if they have a fear of retribution, SIL does have a whistleblower process. See website for details and reporting instructions. All reports to the hotline will be investigated, and the hotline should not be used for routine complaints that can reasonably be dealt with in the OU.
Interacting with the policies and guidelines of non-SIL organizations. Be aware that there may be different rules depending on a staff person’s passport country, and/or your particular country of assignment, and all these employment rules/laws/expectations need to be taken into account (i.e. government mandated maternity leave, working hours, vacation time, retirement, etc). SIL HR may have to be flexible to accommodate. If you are not sure how to apply, implement or accommodate these home country rules, please ask your supervisor or someone higher up in HR.
The HR Life Cycle. We care for people and complete HR tasks through all these stages. Workday is the HR Information System(HRIS) that SIL and many of our Partner Organizations use to complete these HR tasks. If an organization you are sharing staff with doesn't use Workday, you will need to connect with the Area Workday liaison for an alternate way to complete the necessary tasks.
Strategic Workforce Planning. This should be included as part of your strategic planning process. This tool will help you think through what positions and people you need in order to accomplish your strategic plans.
Seconded Staff Considerations. Staff are often hired by their sending organization and remain in membership while in their SIL assignments, so we need to be aware that there may be legal implications for the SO. When we make any potential changes in their roles these need to be discussed with their sending organization and/or sending church. (E.g. Leave, change of assignment, location, organization, etc.)
Recruitment & Screening. Finding and vetting potential SIL staff members
Posted positions. HR staff create and post positions and job requisitions on Workday or other platforms for their unit so that recruiters (often from Sending Orgs) can see them. Positions contain details about the job responsibilities and Job Requisitions contain details about the type of person needed to fill the position.
Screening candidates.
Staff seconded by a Sending Organization (SO). When recruiters of Sending Orgs contact OUs with potential candidates for secondment, candidates still need to be screened for behaviors, issues, and skill sets for the position. Quite a bit of back-and-forth communication can happen between SIL HR and Sending Org HR during this step.
Staff directly hired or recruited by your OU. Other types of staff are screened as well, but the procedures in your OU may differ from screening procedures of seconded staff, as you won’t be interacting with a SO. Ask your supervisor what the process looks like in your OU.
Placement & Onboarding. Putting staff members into an SIL assignment
Job Offer/Work Assignment. When an OU decides to offer a candidate an assignment, the OU issues a formal job offer in standard SIL format.
Pipeline Job Offer. The OU issues a job offer to a general pipeline position for seconded staff anticipating their first SIL assignment. The pipeline assignment starts immediately, and Onboarding can be launched any time after the Pipeline assignment is accepted and entered in Workday.
Work Assignment Job Offer. When a seconded staff person is near to assignment departure, or a direct hire staff person is ready to begin work, a specific Work Assignment Job Offer is issued with title, supervisor, hours expected, and start date.
Onboarding. New staff members will have to complete a set of Onboarding tasks for SIL, which includes signing documents and completing courses. Your OU will likely have additional Onboarding tasks specific to your OU. Staff members should not begin their work assignment until all of their Onboarding tasks are completed.
Additional Onboarding tasks for Seconded staff from non-Alliance sending orgs could include the signing of an individual or organizational MOU (memorandum of understanding).
Additional Onboarding tasks for Paid staff could include salary setting, contracts, labor and employment laws, probation, vacation & public holidays.
Orientation. Each OU will have a specific orientation to their particular OU and country that new staff need to complete. Language learning can also be a part of Orientation. It is often HR’s responsibility to run Orientation.
Seconded staff - pre and post arrival tasks, language and culture learning requirements, etc.
Paid staff - work contracts, probation, working for a Global NGO, cross cultural awareness, security etc)
Management & Development. HR is often responsible to support and monitor OU supervisors in specific ways as they lead their staff.
Clear Job Expectations. Clear job expectations are necessary for staff well-being so that each staff person can be confident that they are doing what is expected of them. Some instruments we use to provide this are PRDs and SMART Goals. HR staff are a support to supervisors in this task.
Performance feed-back. Regular check-ins and an annual performance review (APR) with the staff person’s supervisor are important for staff to remain motivated and on track. HR staff help remind supervisors about these expectations, especially about the APR.
Care and well-being. This applies to staff (and their families for those outside of their home country). SIL staff often work in difficult places and under stressful conditions. Being able to talk to someone is often what gives staff the hope and courage to persevere in challenging situations. HR has specific staff available to coach, counsel, debrief, consult with, offer team building, spiritual direction, family care, educational care, etc. You should learn what the working relationship in your OU is between HR and Staff Care, especially if they are in different departments. How much Staff Care is within your responsibility? How do HR and Staff Care support each other?
Professional Development. An important part of a staff person’s job satisfaction is the availability of development opportunities. Therefore the person’s personal and professional development goals need to be part of each APR. HR will support the supervisor and provide resources.
Crises. HR involvement is crucial when a crisis occurs. Together with the OU Director and those identified as responsible for crisis management, HR will work to ensure that people are brought to safety, their physical needs are met, and that they receive emotional care and help, e.g. through a debrief after the incident.
Conflicts. Conflicts in teams are sometimes inevitable for many reasons - cultural differences, miscommunication, differing expectations, etc. HR is often asked to help support leadership and teams resolve these in a good way. Sometimes HR even hears about conflict before leadership does. (P.S.: Did you know that conflicts are a major reason why people leave their assignments and possibly SIL? HR can make a difference here!)
Accountability. Sometimes staff are not compliant to SIL policies or are not meeting performance expectations. In addition to documenting these instances, HR will make sure that measures of discipline, if needed, are graciously, consistently, and fairly administered, always with the goal of growth and restoration in mind.
Offboarding
Temporarily for home assignment. Sending organizations of seconded staff will have policies of when and for how long they want their staff to return home to their passport country after serving outside of their home country. During Home Assignment, the staff member leaves their SIL assignment but stays in their SIL Affiliation Union to keep them connected to their OU; supervision and member care responsibility return to the sending organization. If any SIL work is going to be done during Home Assignment, the Sending Organization needs to approve, and it needs to be recorded in the Home Assignment Plan (HAP).
Permanently. This can be for many reasons - retirement, resignation, termination, or reassignment to a Partner Organization.
Debrief. Encourage the provision of a final exit interview with the staff person. This helps SIL learn from the staff person, and helps provide closure and support to the staff person.
Transition. All relevant SIL work needs to be backed up/archived/passed along to the appropriate colleague.
End of sil.org email - Activating and deactivating a staff person’s SIL email account is an HR task. The staff person’s SIL email is connected to their SIL assignment, so it is created and activated when they begin their SIL assignment and is deactivated when they permanently leave their SIL assignment. Losing their SIL email address can be extremely stressful for some members, so be sure to give them plenty of warning.
Consideration for Retirement.
Seconded staff. Be careful about how you discuss retirement with staff so you are not demonstrating age discrimination.The Sending organization will be primarily responsible for the formal retirement process. It may happen that a seconded staff person is retiring (changing their status with their sending org) but still wants to remain active with SIL, or needs continued access to SIL systems to continue assisting with a translation project. In these cases, seek guidance from HR superiors and/or discuss options with the sending organization.
Direct hire. The OU will be primarily responsible for the formal retirement process. Local laws and processes will need to be followed.
Getting Organized
File Storage. The storing, organizing, and sharing of HR information, whether electronic or hard-copy (if your OU keeps physical files), is very important - both for doing your job well, as well as for data protection. Be sure to ask how your OU handles file organization.
Electronic Files. Many OUs use Google Workspace to organize their electronic files. If you are new to Google Workspace, here is a link to information and training that the GTIS team has put together.
Physical Files. If your OU has physical files, it should follow SIL policy for accessibility, distribution, and retention of files.
Data Protection. Here are two helpful links on data protection for your reference:
Checklists. Since there are many tasks in HR to keep track of, HR departments often have OU-specific checklists (e.g. what reports to run and when, etc.). Make sure you are aware of any relevant HR Checklists in your OU.
Wrap-up
Resource Pages. Here are some helpful HR resources that can be downloaded.
Be encouraged! The purpose of HR is to see our staff thriving on their field of service for the long term. It is our privilege as HR Staff to walk alongside our people as they walk through all these phases of life and service. By you being willing to take on these responsibilities, you are helping people thrive and succeed. Don’t worry if your new HR role feels overwhelming at first. There are many people in the organization who are willing and eager to support you as you grow into your new HR role.
Congratulations! You have completed Orientation to HR Level 1. There is a second course - Orientation to HR Level 2 - that builds on what was covered in Level 1. It is helpful for anyone who will be serving in an HR manager role, or anyone who wants to learn more. Level 2 digs deeper into most of the topics covered in Level 1, as well as covering additional topics such as Dealing with Difficult Cases, Strategic HR Thinking, and HR Related Domains.
HR Orientation - Level 2 Training
Further HR training for new HR managers:
Introduction. The HR manager is the advocate for the well being of the staff in his or her unit. We are hopeful that by taking this course, you will have a good foundation for your role. However, this doesn’t take the place of the people who will support you. You are not alone. In addition to your unit director, your Area HR Director is available to support you, provide advice, talk through situations, and explore solutions.
Strategic HR Thinking
Transactional vs Transformational HR. Transactional HR involves performing the tasks of the HR life cycle (e.g. entering data into Workday, etc). It is the mechanical side of HR. Transformational HR is about understanding, improving, and changing the processes behind the mechanics. It is a strategic approach to HR that catalyzes change in individuals and organizational systems to better serve the staff and impact the organization. The primary responsibility of most new HR workers is to do a set of transactional tasks. However, the primary responsibility of most HR managers is to support and encourage transformational HR, in addition to some transactional tasks.
Adding value to your unit leadership team. HR managers add valuable input to their leadership teams by providing the people-perspective to meetings and strategic conversations (e.g. How will these plans impact our staff?), and also by offering their expertise directly to each leader regarding all matters of engaging with their staff. HR Managers are usually the go-to person in their units for policy guidance and compliance issues, advice on interacting with and supporting staff, and for supplying data regarding staff in their unit.
Staff Engagement. Interaction between Supervisors (Line Managers) and their staff is staff engagement. This includes planned/predictable/intentional interactions, as well as more informal/casual connections. Supervisors who invest their time in their staff and teams find that their staff are generally more content and confident that they are doing what they should be doing. HR managers are usually the ones who help the supervisors in their unit to understand the organizational expectations of supervisors for staff engagement.
Planned interactions.
Regular Check-ins. Supervisors are expected to schedule regular check-ins with their staff. The minimum expectation is once per quarter, but many choose to meet monthly or biweekly. This is expected to be a one-to-one meeting (not a team meeting) that is face-to-face if the supervisor and staff person are in the same location, or via video call (e.g. Zoom, Google Meet) if they are not in the same location. Supervisors can use this time to check on the staff person’s health and wellbeing, monitor progress on work, discuss professional development opportunities, etc. While it is a good idea to take notes during these conversations for your mutual benefit, there is nothing to submit for these conversations.
Annual Reviews. During one of the regular check-ins each year, the supervisors should conduct an annual review with each staff person and submit it to their unit HR Manager. HR will then upload it to Workday, and for seconded staff, inform their sending organization. The annual review is a good time for supervisors and staff to reflect on the past year together and prepare for the next. There should not be any negative surprises for the staff person that come up for the first time during the annual review. Areas of concern should be discussed as they happen and/or during a regular check-in.
Staff Development. Supervisors are expected to encourage learning and development in their staff and help them create an Individual Development Plan (IDP), and it is likely that they will look to their HR manager for guidance. Staff development doesn’t have to be a separate meeting. It can be accomplished during a regular check-in and progress can be reviewed during the annual review. The supervisor submits the IDP to the HR Manager, and HR uploads it to Workday.
Casual connections. HR Managers can encourage the supervisors in their units to have casual connections with their staff in addition to the planned expected interactions. These can be team activities, shared meals, etc., for teams located together, and social media chat groups, etc., for teams that are spread out.
Working relationships beyond your unit.
With Sending Organizations: Since many of your staff are likely seconded from Sending Organizations, it is essential that you build relationships with the HR staff of your Sending Organizations. Name recognition and trust are valuable. This makes it easier to liaise with the Sending Organization HR when various conversations need to take place in relation to:
Assignment
APR
Copy of current PRD
Name of supervisor
Training and Development plans
Change of assignment within entity
Assignment plans (incl. Home Assignment) for coming 3 years
Change of location
Significant change of working hours
Conflicts in assignment
Workload management
Other concerns
Living situation
Contingency plans
Name of SG Contingency officer
Events that affect living situations
Personal issues
Physical health concerns
Emotional health concerns
Family concerns (immediate)
Concerns re. extended family (elderly parents etc.)
Financial concerns
With Area HR: Each SIL Area has an Area HR Director. This person reports to their Area’s Director, but interacts with both global HR and OU HR. As an OU HR manager, your Area HR Director is your go-to person for help with HR issues and questions. Be aware of who your Area HR person is and participate in any HR CoPs or scheduled meetings that are organized. Your Area HR will cascade information to you from Global HR. Be sure to read these promptly and respond as needed.
There are twice yearly Global HR CoP meetings which your Area HR person will attend, along with representatives from Global HR & AO HR, to discuss topics of relevance to HR. You may be asked to give input to, and be expected to cascade feedback from, these meetings. There are also global HR domain-specific CoPs that you could attend, such as Workday learning, staff care, etc.
With Global. Although your Area HR person will be your primary organizational HR contact, there will be times when you will interact with those in global HR.
Chief People Officer. The Chief People Officer is the top of the HR chain in the organization. This person supports the Executive Leadership team, negotiates MOUs with Partner Organizations, manages a team of HR related domain leaders, and interacts with the Area HR Directors. The Chief People Officer can be contacted at chro_intl@sil.org.
HR Related Domains. SIL Global HR has five HR domains - Workforce Management, Staff Care, TCK Care & Education, Security Risk Management, and Learning & Development. However, some units organize their departments differently, so in your unit you may find that some of these domains are not under your HR department and your HR department may have additional domains not listed. In larger units, you may have one or more staff serving in an HR domain, whereas in very small units there may be one person responsible for more than one HR domain.
Workforce Management. This domain encompasses all of the processes and procedures of the HR Life Cycle including recruitment, screening, placement, onboarding, policy development, workflow processes, Workday maintenance and development, and complexities such as workplace inquiries and child safeguarding investigations.
Staff Care. This domain encompasses a range of practices offering holistic organizational support to staff and their family members. This support is both proactive and responsive, and is focused on individual, community and workplace wellbeing and resilience.
TCK Care & Education. This domain encompasses the care, well-being, and educational needs of the children of the staff in our organization that are not living in their home country. TCK stands for third culture kids.
Security Risk Management Services. This domain encompasses the safety and security of our staff. This support is proactive (crisis preparedness), reactive (responding to a crisis), and reflective (evaluating the effectiveness of a crisis response).
Learning & Development. This domain encompasses the professional development of our staff. This support includes creating courses, championing individual development, and promoting learning opportunities. A major part of this is leadership development.
Dealing with difficult situations.
Principles:
Grace and Restoration: Remember how God deals with people. Our intent should always be to help the person grow and be restored.
Duty of Care: Our Duty of Care is twofold: On the one hand to the person themselves and on the other hand to their colleagues or other people involved in the case.
No situation is truly ‘black and white’ - look for and assess
What are the person’s motives in noncompliance?
Has something like this happened before?
What are the person’s expectations and are they reasonable or not?
Multiple perspectives
Not any one person will have all the sides to a story/narrative/situation
Evaluate a situation from all perspectives
Continue to seek, ask questions to understand the full perspective(s)
Policies - Familiarize yourself with the SIL policies and the levels of severity
Process:
When encountering any difficult personnel situation, your first step should be to contact your Area HR Director for advice. Your Area HR Director can guide you to the relevant policies and offer advice on what to do next.
A Workplace Inquiry is an investigation of a complaint or of possible wrongful behavior. You will find SIL resources on this Gateway page, and your Area HR Director can help you find the specific resources you need. It may be helpful to know that workplace inquiries are separated into three categories: minor breach, major breach, and child-related major breach.
Begin documenting early - concerns and conversations, both with the person and with others about the person. Follow up on any verbal conversations with a written summary or email. Make sure everything is documented with dates. Good documentation makes a clear statement of the situation: What happened? Who was involved? When? Where? What was the impact?
Inform and consult with leadership depending on the severity of the case, e.g. with your OU Director and Area HR Director. (Child Safety allegations go directly to your OU Director.)
In consultation with Area HR and OU Director, communicate with partners (i.e. Sending orgs):
Control the narrative
Be proactive
Communicate how you are responding
Mediation/Conflict resolution. Keep it informal as long as possible.
Conflict is normal! Whenever people work and live together there will be conflict. Sometimes it can damage teams and dramatically lower morale. Yet, the fact that conflict exists is not necessarily a bad thing. It can also lead to productive change. Knowing how to manage and resolve conflict successfully can increase understanding within your team, and improve people’s relationships with one another.
Possible sources of conflict: different priorities and competing interests, lack of clarity about goals, misunderstandings due to lack of communication or miscommunication, stress, different cultural working styles, distrust and jealousy due to bad relationships
Benefits of conflict: learning new ways of doing things, reaching better conclusions/results, better understanding and stronger relationships after conflict, improved self-knowledge
Levels of conflict: Conflicts can be less or more severe. They can range from just a problem to solve, over disagreements and contests to fights and even to being unresolvable. Depending on the level, you may be able to resolve the conflict yourself, have to engage outside help (e.g. a mediator) or just debrief the conflicting parties and provide a healing process. Before trying to help solve a conflict, assess what level the conflict has reached and then decide whether you can help yourself, need outside help or can only pick up the pieces.
What to keep in mind: Listen first, talk second. Keep people and problems separate. Relationships take priority.
Preventing conflict from escalating: Teams need to develop ways of preventing conflict from becoming damaging. Here are some tips:
Deal with conflict immediately – avoid the temptation to ignore it.
Be open – issues should not be allowed to fester. Practice clear communication – articulate thoughts and ideas clearly.
Practice active listening – paraphrasing, clarifying, asking questions.
Don’t let conflict get personal – stick to facts and issues, not personalities. Don’t look for blame – encourage ownership of the problem and solution. Demonstrate respect.
Practice identifying assumptions – asking yourself "why" on a regular basis. Encourage different points of view – insist on honest dialogue and expressing feelings.
Focus on actionable solutions – don't belabor what can't be changed.
Process for solving conflict:
Set the scene: Make sure people understand that this problem will best be resolved through discussion and negotiation.
Gather information: Agree on the observable facts that might impact your decision together. Ask for each person's viewpoint and respect their opinion.
Agree on the problem: This might sound obvious, but it's important that everybody understands what needs to be resolved.
Brainstorm solutions: By asking each team member to help generate solutions, you ensure that everyone feels included and that they're more likely to be satisfied with the outcome. Be open to all suggestions.
Negotiate a solution: At this stage, the conflict might already be resolved if both sides understand the other side’s position.
Child safeguarding training and cases. There are two aspects of Child safeguarding that you will be engaging with, and it is important for you to know who is responsible for each in your unit.
Child safeguarding training. It is mandatory for each staff person in your unit to remain current in their SIL child safeguarding training. For seconded staff, this is in addition to whatever child safeguarding training is required by their sending organization. SIL is working with our primary sending organizations to try to combine these when possible, but different countries can have different laws and training expectations, so it isn’t always possible. SIL International will notify staff (via Workday) when they are due to renew their child safeguarding training, though it is often HR’s practical responsibility to encourage members toward completion. Training can be completed either online or in person; HR will often arrange for in-person training (like at their group conference) if large groups of their staff are due for the refresher course at the same time or if it needs to be offered in a local language for local staff. The contact for the Child Safeguarding training office is cstraining_mgr@sil.org.
Child safeguarding cases. Unlike a regular workplace inquiry, a child safeguarding inquiry in your unit will be handled primarily by the global Child Safeguarding team. If someone in your unit brings a child safeguarding concern to you, immediately contact your unit director and the unit director needs to immediately contact the global Child Safeguarding team at child-safety_intl@sil.org. Although Global HR will take the lead in the investigation, OU HR may have some input and involvement in the case.
Child safeguarding investigators. SIL needs to have trained child safeguarding investigators available, preferably in different parts of the world, and these people usually come from OU HR input. You may be asked to identify potential child safeguarding investigators to be trained from among your unit’s staff.
Crises. You will likely be involved in working though crisis and contingency issues alongside your OU director and OU security officer. Know your OU’s evacuation plans. Be prepared in a crisis situation to take instructions from your OU Director and Crisis/Security officer for new responsibilities you may need to take on; be prepared to help in any way asked. One step of preparation is to ensure that staff contact information is kept up to date. The major contribution of HR in a crisis is making sure all staff (and families) are taken care of - physically and emotionally. This could include offering debriefs, trauma healing, and more. Be sure to involve your Area HR director. They will support and advise you as you support and advise your staff.
Other things to know
Legal potential awareness/issues
i. SIL adheres to the highest level available which is currently GDPR (European General Data Protection Regulation)
Principles of GDPR:
Informed consent: People should know in advance what you plan to do with their information and agree to it.
Portability: A person has the right to demand a copy of their data.
Right to be forgotten: People can request to have their data deleted.
Information security: You are responsible for the safekeeping of any personal information you’ve gathered.
ii. Make sure you are aware of any local labor/employment laws in consultation with your leadership or Area HR.
Continuing HR training education:
SIL Identity account help site
Avado Learning Free Training
Wrap-up
Resource Pages. Here are some helpful HR resources:
Preventiveness & Proactiveness: Best Practices for working with People
Addressing Unhelpful Behavior slide-deck (internal)
Data Protection and Confidentiality slide-deck (internal)
Preventing and Managing Conflict slide-deck (internal)
Be encouraged! The purpose of HR is to see our staff thriving on their field of service for the long term. It is our privilege as HR Staff to walk alongside our people as they walk through all these phases of life and service. By you being willing to take on these responsibilities, you are helping people thrive and succeed. Don’t worry if your new HR management role feels overwhelming at first. There are many people in the organization who are willing and eager to support you as you grow into your role.
Congratulations! You have completed Orientation to HR Level 2.
Forms and Templates
Job Offers, Annual Reviews, and more
Workplace Inquiry/Investigation
A Workplace Inquiry is an investigation of a complaint or of possible wrongful behavior. If you find yourself needing to do a Workplace Inquiry, contact your Area HR Director to help you find the specific resources you need. If someone reports bullying, harassment or discrimination to you, please respond promptly.
Do not dismiss the report but follow the steps identified in inquiry guidelines and the Workplace Inquiry Public version. Other information related to Staff Misconduct can be found here.
It may be helpful to know that workplace inquiries are separated into three categories: minor breach, major breach, and child-related major breach.
Helpful Links and Resources
Advisory Notices, HR and Domain Contacts, Partner links, and links to Outside HR Organizations
SIL HR and Domain Contacts coming soon
Partner HR Links:
AO HR Contacts coming soon
AO HR Policy links coming soon
Globalization Partners coming soon
Outside HR Organizations:
SHRM - From the SHRM website: The Society for Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. With nearly 325,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 235 million workers and families globally.
CIPD (UK) - From their website: A globally-respected designation. A vibrant, almost 160,000-strong community. And access to a wealth of tools and resources.
HRM (Australia) - From their website: A website and magazine owned by the Australian HR Institute and managed by publishing agency Mahlab. The site contains essential news, resources and information for human resource professionals and workplace leaders in particular. You can find articles featuring the latest developments in HR and career management or search the site to find an article of interest for your organisation or for your own professional interests.
HCI -. From the Human Capital Institute website: HCI enables high-performing HR professionals to build new skills and tackle new challenges. We do the same for HR teams with our Corporate Solutions.
HRCI - From their website: The premier credentialing and learning organization for the human resources profession. HRCI develops and offers world-class learning, as well as the administration of eight global certifications and is dedicated to helping professionals achieve new competencies that drive business results.
Nonprofit Ready - From their website: We support nonprofit professionals and organizations by providing access to free sector-specific learning so that they have the knowledge and resources to create transformative impact in their own communities.
MissioNexus - From their website: Catalyzing relationships, collaboration and ideas within the Great Commission community.
Commonly Used HR Acronyms and Definitions
We love our acronyms in SIL, and they often change! Here is a list of common HR ones.
People Strategies - Global team...
International Administration (IA) HR...
International Language Services (ILS) HR...
What are they? How do they differ?
How does HR fit into the SIL reporting structure?
Many times people in SIL get these teams confused since they all are globally-based and HR-related. Hopefully this will help you to understand the differences and know who to go to when you need HR input.
Firstly - An Overview of the SIL Reporting Structure and how HR fits into it:
SIL is basically divided into three reporting-level tiers:
Organizational Units - these are the on-the-ground groups that do the language-related work of SIL. Each of these has a Unit Director, and as part of their team, an HR Manager. HR managers in a Unit report directly to their Unit Director (or designate), NOT to a higher-up HR person. However, when the HR Manager has questions and needs support or training, they consult the next level up - their Area HR Director.
Areas - Organizational Units are grouped into Areas, mostly (but not always) by geographical location. Areas have an Area Director, and as part of their team, an Area HR Director. The Area Director and team lead and support the Organizational Units under them. The Area HR Director reports to their Area Director (or designate), NOT to a higher-up HR person. However, when the Area HR Director has questions and needs support or training, they consult the next level up - the People Strategies - Global team.
Global - Areas are grouped into Zones as part of the global structure. Area Directors report to a Zonal AED. The Chief People Officer is the top of the HR chain in the organization. This person supports the Executive Leadership team, negotiates MOUs with Partner Organizations, manages a team of HR related domain leaders, and interacts with the Area HR Directors. The Chief People Officer (sometimes referred to as the Chief Human Resources Officer, or CHRO) reports to the AED of International Operations.
Now that we have a framework to fit them into, let’s look more specifically at the three globally-based HR-related teams:
The People Strategies - Global team - This is the top-tier of SIL HR. It prioritizes strategic thinking in all aspects of HR throughout the organization. It's also the highest level in SIL to consult with on staffing issues. This team focuses on transformational HR rather than transactional HR (which is provided by IA HR). Transactional HR functions for staff who are assigned to an International Administrative role are provided by IA or ILS HR departments.
International Administration (IA) HR - IA HR provides HR services for anyone employed by SIL in the US, or seconded to SIL into a Global (but not ILS) assignment. The IA HR Director reports to the AED of International Operations. International Administration HR, due to its size and position in the organization, basically operates like an Area and as such, the IA HR Director interacts with the other Area HR Directors.
International Language Services (ILS) HR - ILS HR provides HR services for SIL staff assigned to the ILS team. ILS provides language-related services globally. The ILS HR Director reports to the AED of Language Services. International Language Services HR, due to its size and position in the organization, basically operates like an Area and as such, the ILS HR Director interacts with the other Area HR Directors.