Keeping the Work Place Flexible

Just ask Doris Yiu, Public Relations Director with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Hong Kong (SPCA), one of the leading animal welfare organizations in Asia. The SPCA's mission includes animal rescue, investigation of cruelty, public education, veterinary care, and animal adoption. Its mission is broad: animal rescue, investigation of cruelty, public education, veterinary care, and animal adoption.

If it weren't for lateral thinking, in fact, Doris may have never joined SPCA in the first place. Before joining the organization, she held a number of positions in different industries. She once even opened her own wedding dress company. "But later I wanted to do something to contribute to society," she recalls.

'Think out of the box' to solve problems

Since joining SPCA, Doris has realized the importance of approaching challenges with a flexible and open mind. "As a charity organization we are always short of budget and manpower, which requires me to 'think out of the box' in order to solve problems," she says.

In the world of non-profits, an organization is only as healthy as its fundraising efforts. But since SPCA has only three employees in its fundraising department, Doris has had to call on her flexible problem-solving skills. "Having so few employees makes it difficult for us to organize large-scale fund raising events," she says. Not one to be easily deterred, Doris came up with an alternative solution that didn't require hiring additional employees. "We have developed a long-term volunteer project to recruit long-term helpers," she said. "We've outsourced some of the tasks to volunteer companies, and we've also assigned staff from other departments to help so that we are able to organize large-scale fundraising events."

As is the case with small and mid-size businesses (SMBs), SPCA is frequently challenged by limited resources. Again, Doris draws on flexible thinking to address issues and challenges that others would be tempted to dismiss as impossible. "If there is something we must do but find that we don't have the necessary resources, we cry out using IT tools such as SMS and our Web site to reach as many people as we can," she says. "If it's the right thing to do, people will support us by making donations."

So far, the use of IT in the organization's fundraising efforts has paid off. In 2003, SPCA received approximately HK$3 million in donations. By 2005, that figure had more than doubled to over HK$6 million.

She does caution that while it's important to be as flexible as possible, patience is also an asset. "Some things aren't as important as others and cannot be achieved right away," she says. "So sometimes we have to wait."

Using IT to bring SPCA's mission to life

Doris believes in the power of IT. "IT is a great tool that can help us reach more people and handle more data with fewer resources," she says. "As a charity organization with a limited budget, we rely on IT a lot."

The organization's usage of IT includes fairly standard approaches such as using notebooks to do PowerPoint presentations and having a centralized database that connects all four locations as well as the rescue vehicles. But the agency has also built a highly interactive Web site that's unusual for non-profit sector organizations.

The site includes a questionnaire to be filled in by prospective animal owners. The SPCA uses the completed questionnaires to match people to suitable pets. Doris says that through the site several animals have found new owners that they had previously failed to place. "It is always amazing to see cats and dogs being linked to the perfect owner, when we had begun to despair of ever finding them a home," said Doris.

The SPCA Web site, which serves approximately 8,000 visitors per day, includes news, updates on activities for animal lovers, a donation center, e-cards, merchandise for sale, information and resources regarding pet care, and detailed profiles of animals in need of temporary or permanent shelters, which serves as an excellent communication channel to convey the messages of animal protection, animal fostering and even fundraising for the organization. In the future, Doris plans to make the site more comprehensive, dividing it into a number of sub-sites that will have themes such as education.

A good Web presence, according to Doris, is an important part of good fundraising. "Our Web site has plenty of information, including our annual report, which lets the public know more about us and is helpful in fundraising," she says.

Advice from a champion of flexibility

Doris has four broad pieces of advices for those who want to be successful in today's business world – whether your business is corporate or non-profit.

First, make the most of IT.

Second, practice thinking out of the box.

Third, work with other enterprises to expand your resource.

Fourth, strive for a life that is balanced.

"People need to create balance among different parts of their lives, including their jobs, families, friends, and leisure," she says. She worries that people spend so much time interacting with IT in one form or another that stress levels are higher than they used to be. "I think many people are too 'mechanical' from using IT too much," she says.

Her remedy of choice? Give yourself a break from time to time. "When you're at your computer for a long time you tend to lose your creativity," she says. Doris' remedy for a drain in creativity isn't surprising. "Playing with pets can refresh and inspire you," she says.

(Last updated: 6th April, 2006)