Dear
Minions…err, I mean members of the Hale & Fun community,
Happy
New Year.
I
hope everyone had a great time over the holiday break and is back and ready for
the exciting new year full of new projects, courses and programs.
I
know I say this every news letter but Hale & Fun is really hitting the
ground running this month. We already have lined up 8 new programs (plus talk
of on-line programs and DVDs) included the exciting new one- off talks as part
of our sampler/mixed bag program (can anyone think of a better name for that?,
there is an exciting stubby holder with the Hale & Fun label on it if you
can…). These one off talks are generating a lot of interest, our clients like
them because they don’t require a huge amount of commitment from their
residents and offer a lot more variety, the facilitators like them because they
are not required to plan two-three months of their lives in advance and I like
them because everyone else like them and I am just that kind of manager who
wants everyone to be happy.
So
what shall I rant about in this Newsletter. Well, actually surprisingly I do
have a topic- one near and dear to all our hearts, the pay rate for
facilitators. The other day being excited about the new year and full of beans
(coffee beans that is…man those triple espressos pack a punch) I signed up for
a business review by one of the business consulting firms in the city. Oh it
was glorious, they called me Mr. White (although technically they should have
called me Dr…but I will forgive them), they had not just coffee but also
croissants….wow! but not to get distracted they did a review of my business and
the key aspect that they felt was draining the costs was the facilitators fees.
Now, at the moment HF works on a sliding scale for payment based on the
combination of experience of the facilitator, distance and difficulty to get to
the client location and popularity of the course- what this basically equates
to is that most of us are being paid quite a bit per hour, particular after the
first one or two where many facilitators are finding their feet. Seemed pretty
reasonable, I draw a facilitator pay as well and I want to be well reimbursed
for my effort and time so why wouldn’t anyone else.
However,
they pointed out to me that most tutors get paid only 20-25 dollars an hour
(which personally I feel sucks a little, they deal with high school kids!) and
community colleges pay their lecturers only 45-50 and this is for seasoned
professionals in their field (double suck on that one…mostly because I was
thinking of teaching at some of these this year). I later did some research of
my own and frighteningly that is quite accurate, which goes to show that
Australia or at least Sydney really doesn’t respect their teaching community as
they should. I also possibly should have done more market research on how
little people are willing to work for. If I had done this I possibly wouldn’t
have to supplement Hale & Fun with weekend work as a Children
entertainer..oh who am I kidding, I love dressing up as Batman.
Your glorious
leader..From Bruce Wayne to Batman..all in a days work for the modern manager
|
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So
am I going to cut everyone’s pay rate down to the norm like some evil but
belated Scrooge?
Tempting
I have always wanted to be an evil overlord but nahhh, it may be the norm for
comparable programs but that doesn’t stop the rate being paid elsewhere from
sucking.
Besides
as I pointed out to well manicured suit wearing dude between stuffing the world’s
greatest croissants into my mouth- you want quality you need to pay for it.
If
you take a look at Hale & Fun code of ethics, our course notes and descriptions
or even peruse some of the guest blogs by some of the facilitators that have
taught with us, you don’t see comments about the pay or the ease of work. It is
damn hard to put together a good presentation, make it interesting and
entertaining. It takes guts to stand in front of a group of people. Hand outs
don’t just happen, they are more than just a summary of the power points. This
isn’t just a job for us it is a passion and that shows in the work we do. Our
presentations far surpass those you see even at universities, we engage with
our audience, talk to them, keep them animated and involved. This isn’t Hale
& Fun demanded the best from us (If I had that sort of power, I would have
you all wearing Hawaiian shirts to the presentations!), it is us demanding the
best from ourselves. When we stand in front of a group and do our
presentations, we know we are not only showing the material but also ourselves
and that is something we are damn proud of.
The
very least Hale & Fun can do is respect that effort and pay accordingly.
So
yeah, we are probably paid more than we would get elsewhere but it is worth it.
The late night revisions, last minute changes and racing from one site to
another is just part and parcel to us because we love what we do and I
personally wouldn’t have it any other way.
So
keep up the good work and I will continue to ignore the business world’s advice
no matter how many delicious croissants they try to bribe me with*.
Regards
Dangerous
Dr. D.
(does
this work as a nickname?...I like to think it does but then again, I was also
all for the idea of Hawaiian shirts being our community uniform!)
*
I do however, make no promises if they offer freshly baked donuts..I am only
human after all!
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