The WisdomCircle platform has been operational for more than two years now. In this brief time, approximately 40% of the organisations that we have worked with are NGOs and Social Enterprises. WisdomCircle proves to be the perfect platform from which social impact organisations can hire senior citizens who have immense experience and expertise, at relatively cheaper costs. One such organisation that we have had the pleasure of working with since the beginning of our journey is The Association of People with Disability (APD, India).

About APD, India:

They are a Bengaluru-based NGO established in 1959. Over the course of sixty-five years, they have done exceptional work for the differently-abled community and helped more than 700,000 adults and children with disabilities across Karnataka. They have a lifecycle approach starting from early intervention, education, livelihood, rehabilitation, capacity building, and employment. They also work with the government on multiple levels to influence public policy regarding people with disabilities.

The Need:

They approached WisdomCircle to find an experienced consultant who could understand, analyse and streamline their internal processes. They were looking specifically for people who had experience in change management, operations, and people management. The ideal candidate was someone who would have experience working in the BPO industry and could bring that knowledge to the organisation. They needed someone for the period of six months who could streamline the process which others could follow to help the organisation work more efficiently.  

How WisdomCircle helped:

APD, India has a long-standing relationship with WisdomCircle and knows of the vast variety of WisGen that we have on the platform, across sectors and industries. WisdomCircle has an execution team that has a combined search experience of 75+ years. They do multi-channel sourcing if the role is niche and/or requires to be filled immediately. We got relevant applications organically and through the efforts of the execution team. We shared them with the organisation within ten days of the job being posted on the platform. After looking at the first set of profiles that we shared with APD, they found a very strong candidate in Mrs. Sujatha Harishchandra Ajila who seemed like the perfect for the role and the organisation. 

The Expert:

Mrs. Sujatha Harishchandra Ajila is a recently retired Business Manager at HSBC Bank with 16 years of experience in Project Management, Business Management, People Management and Operations. She was certified as a Yellow Belt Six Sigma at HSBC and had worked extensively in Continuous Process Improvement Projects in her tenure there. Having worked in the corporate sector since the beginning of her professional journey she wanted to work in the social impact sector post-retirement, and give back to society. Another strong driver for her to work with an NGO, particularly APD was her recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. She wanted to work with organisations that were passionate about working for and with people with disabilities and advocating for them. 

The Closure:

APD was impressed by Mrs. Sujatha’s unique value proposition, skills, and passion to work in the social sector. They were enthusiastic to go ahead with her candidature. However, they wanted to test how well she would be able to translate her skills in the social impact space, her experience having been mainly in the corporate world. She worked on a trial project for a few months and proved her mettle, after which APD hired her as a consultant to streamline their processes. 

The following testimonials, both from the recruiter and the placed WisGen, showcase how WisdomCircle has made a positive impact, both in the functioning of the organisation and the life of a WisGen. 

Testimonial by APD for WisdomCircle:

“WisdomCircle has been our partner in trying to identify the right talent for each role or assignment. They have been proactive and enthusiastic in trying to balance the needs of the candidate with that of the NGO. There is a wealth of experience and capability in the over 50 population – with better compensation and improved health, most people retire too early and now have the desire to contribute back. WisdomCircle had been our bridge to that community.”

Mrs. Sujatha’s experience at APD:

“Working in the social sector with APD has been rewarding, and I thank WisdomCircle for presenting me with this opportunity.”

Conclusion: This is just one of the many ways in which WisdomCircle has helped organisations with their staffing and recruiting needs, and helped WisGen in finding good job opportunities which are tailor-made for them. We want to revolutionise the way organisations think about recruitment, raise awareness about age diversity in the workplace and how it can be a catalyst to growth. We are disrupting the traditional recruitment industry and creating vacancy for retired person, whose experience and skills will be invaluable to organisations. You can read about more success stories where we have placed WisGen for diverse needs that organisation’s had.