A survey organised by Save the Children staff suggested widespread dissatisfaction with senior leaders during the organisation’s ongoing restructuring, according to results seen by The New Humanitarian.
Save the Children announced on 5 August that it would cut hundreds of jobs in response to a projected budget gap. The organisation is one of several aid groups to undergo staff cuts and restructurings this year in response to rising costs and reduced revenue. The International Rescue Committee announced job cuts on the same day.
More than 400 people participated in the anonymous survey about Save the Children’s restructuring, which began circulating earlier this month. The responses represent a small minority of Save the Children’s more than 25,000 staff around the world. The survey was circulated via non-work platforms, according to a staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity, allowing the possibility that many of Save the Children’s staff were unaware of it.
The survey asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with 16 positive statements about the organisation’s leadership and the restructuring, known internally as “Fit for the future”.
Most respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with every statement.
More than 85% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that the “restructure process has been fair and transparent so far, fostering trust that our input will be genuinely considered in the next consultation period”.
More than 78% of respondents said they disagreed or strongly disagreed that senior leaders are “effectively guiding the organisation through this period of change” and are able to “forecast and respond to future challenges”.
“It sucks… It really does suck. I get that. I feel the same way,” Gabriella Waaijman, Save the Children’s COO, told staff during a call on Wednesday. The New Humanitarian reviewed a recording of the call.
“Having said that… our structure is not affordable, and that is just a hard reality. So we can stamp our feet, and we can disagree with it, but ultimately, we cannot afford what we are today, and that has got to change, unfortunately,” Waaijman said.
Documents previously obtained by The New Humanitarian described plans to flatten Save the Children’s structure by merging its headquarters and regional layers.
Asked whether the proposed structure is “logical”, “more efficient”, and “more effective” for Save the Children’s work, more than 70% of respondents said they disagreed or strongly disagreed with all three statements.
More than 79% said they disagreed or strongly disagreed that staff feedback on the restructuring would be considered and acted upon by senior leaders. More than 80% said they did not feel “optimistic about the long-term direction of the organisation post-restructure”.
The survey was accompanied by an open letter expressing a loss of trust in Save the Children’s Senior Leadership Team over its decision to restructure the organisation and cut hundreds of jobs.
“[We] have decided to take the deeply uncomfortable step of writing to you to state that we have lost trust in our Senior Leadership Team,” the letter said. “We believe it is crucial for the Board, Management Committee, and Global Program Directors to be aware of the extent of the impact on staff morale along with serious concerns about our ability to deliver high-quality programmes due to [senior leaders’] decision-making.”
Nearly 350 respondents endorsed the open letter, while 32 indicated that they did not support the letter.
Almost a third of respondents were at director or manager levels. Nearly 50% indicated that their jobs were not at risk amid the restructuring, while 35% said they were at risk.
“We recognise that any major change process will face different views from staff who care deeply about this organisation and its mission,” Belinda Goldsmith, director of Save the Children’s Global Media Unit, told The New Humanitarian in response to questions about the survey. “It is essential that we maintain a culture where we can challenge each other, and we are firmly committed to the collective consultation process now underway. We will adopt any suggestions and changes to the design that will make this proposal stronger and better for our organisation.”
The problem of reduced aid funding stretches across the humanitarian sector. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is among the latest big aid groups to confirm cuts. The organisation is undergoing a “year-long process” to cut nearly $8 million of costs at its headquarters and regional levels, an official confirmed.
“There will be redundancies, but the number of staff affected has not yet been identified,” NRC’s Deputy Secretary General Geir Olav Lisle told The New Humanitarian on Thursday. “We will not reduce in any way our work with and for people in need.”
Edited by Andrew Gully.
