Tim Fenton, Zurich's UK Life Tax Director, returns from his month assignment in Chennai working with the management team of The Banyan, a non governmental organisation specialising in the care of the destitute mentally ill. Building the capacity of our partners is a key component of as part of the Zurich Community Trust's India Programme. Tim shares his reflections on the experience from the comfort of being back in Blighty...
So, back in the UK now and returning to the realities of cold, dark mornings, Swindon traffic and the clocks going back. My last few days in India flew past with a variety of meetings and closing sessions, the primary aim of which was to leave something concrete that can actually be followed up by David Nash and the senior management team - as the proof around the usefulness of an assignment such as this will be what happens over the coming days, weeks and months.
Tuesday morning (25th) also brought the start of the (long awaited as they are several weeks later than normal) monsoon rains – wow, thunder and lightning like I have never seen or heard before. And the torrential rain combined with poor roads and totally inadequate drainage meant that the roads were flooded within minutes. But everything seemed to go on, despite the entire population being truly soaked to the skin. I managed to get an auto but, as these are open-sided, every passing bus, truck or car sent a wave of water over me.
The monsoons are generally welcomed for the water and power they bring, but also create real difficulties for the city – and they will be around on and off now until December. Some areas become virtually impossible to get to and the slum areas really suffer. Drains don’t cope and the waters just mix with all the rotting garbage around the place – then when there is a respite from the rain the waters are just a breeding ground for some pretty nasty stuff. On the roads, potholes become even bigger, and they are invisible once the surface is flooded so driving, in whatever type of vehicle, become even more dangerous – although at least things do low down a little.
So what have I learned from this assignment? Some of this will no doubt evolve after further reflection but my initial thoughts include that:-
• Team performance issues cross both national and cultural boundaries;
• Some of the tools and concepts that we, as Zurich managers, take for granted and so perhaps grumble about (9 box grids, development plans, employee engagement etc) are, when applied to a less developed organisation, really powerful and can really boost thinking;
• India is a land of huge contrasts and the gap between rich and poor is both immense, and widening – in its rush to embrace Western capitalist values India risks leaving behind a growing underclass and within that underclass the mentally ill are possibly the most invisible
• what you first see in many situations is not the whole truth – and it can take some time for these truths to emerge
• we really are incredibly lucky in the UK with the level of healthcare available to all
Any highlights? For me it was:-
• Having made a contribution that has the potential to make a real difference to the organisation, not least by acting as a catalyst for much of the CEO’s thinking around his team. Any organisation delivers through its people and if these dynamics are not right then the team will fail
• The madness – the colours, sights, sounds and smells that make up Chennai – the sheer “difference” between life here and life in the UK
• Being right in thick of the sweaty cauldron that was the Twenty/20 cricket final
• Walking the streets of Chennai to feel its pulse and to take what I hope are some decent enough photos – I’ll send one or two off to Lonely Planet magazine and see what they think
• Getting to work in the monsoon - a truly memorable experience
• Father Joseph – not “PC” to say so but she really is as nutty as a fruitcake
And the lows?
• Dealing, both intellectually and emotionally, and not always very well, with the mind-numbing poverty that was all around, and not really getting why the people involved seem to feel “its OK, that’s just the way it is, the way its meant to be”.
• The cloying, sickening smell bubbling up from the “rivers” that flow through the city - truly hellish
• The litter, just about everywhere – we’re not talking about the odd bit of paper but huge piles of rotting, stinking garbage – as if whole dustbin lorries had been picked up by some giant and just randomly emptied out all over the city
Would I recommend an assignment to others? Absolutely – but it’s not something to be undertaken lightly and you do need to be prepared to get stuck in from Day 1. I think we should recognise how progressive Zurich is as an organisation to offer staff development opportunities such as these. Oh, and try to avoid the monsoon season – great to experience for a day or two but I think a month of it would be tough.
