Nurturing a Culture of Empathy and Community Work

Leading companies understand the value of investing their time and resources in communities as a strategic tool toward sustainable growth. It pushes them towards developing solid relationships and building the resilience of the local communities in which they do business. These businesses are known for emphasizing a culture of empathy and community work. They collaborate closely with communities and local organizations to create solutions and allocate resources so that communities can profit and grow. 

These companies frequently amplify employee initiatives to support community health and well-being and provide possibilities for skills-based volunteering through training sessions, seminars, and workshops. These organizations also encourage participation outside of their own walls, attempting to include their value chain, sector, and other local organizations and governments in multi-stakeholder initiatives to optimize empathic culture and wellness outcomes.

Genetech’s Vision and Pakistan’s Tech Sector

The IT sector heralds the forefront of fast-paced development in Pakistan. Pakistan’s tech sector is relatively young and actively working towards balanced gender diversity ratios. Currently, gender diversity ratios in the IT sector of Pakistan are at a record high of 16%. Equal opportunity and non-profit training and development institutions lie at the core of successful community projects in Pakistan’s IT sector.

Since the start of our journey 17 years ago, Genetech Solutions has had the vision to have an impact on local communities. In our hiring practices, we believe that the opportunity to work in the IT sector should not be limited to any race, ethnicity, gender, or class. As an organization that promotes a learning culture, we believe that holistic inclusion can cultivate a fulfilling experience for our employees and have a lasting impact on local communities.

ConsulNet

Genetech Solutions has been ceaselessly working under the leadership of Shamim Rajani as a sponsor, execution, and technology partner for community initiatives to promote gender diversity and cultivate a learning culture. Our oldest endeavor has been to provide sponsorship and tech support to ConsulNet Corporation. 

ConsulNet is an ambitious training company that has worked for nearly two decades to provide training and education in IT to individuals and corporates. The curriculum of ConsulNet consists of rich tech stack training in MERN, PHP, Java for Android Apps, Java for ERP, Frontend Development, UI/UX, and Flutter.

Genetech’s role has been to provide ConsulNet and its various programs with full technical support, solutions for their hardware needs, trainers and subject matter experts, and physical location for their academic sessions.

CodeGirls 

Owing to the successful results of partnering with Genetech, in 2018, ConsulNet launched CodeGirls. It is an exclusive women-only boot camp with one goal: “to improve the gender parity in Pakistan’s tech industry.” CodeGirls started as a small-scale community-funded program with United Global Initiative and WomenInTechPK. CodeGirls welcomes students from diverse backgrounds, ages, fields, and abilities. 

The program consists of separate training phases and workshops that teach students the basics of Web design and Development in phase 1 and other advanced skills, like PHP, Node JS, SQA, and WordPress in Phase 2. The program also has Phase 3, which is all about freelancing skills. Besides the tech stack, students are also given a comprehensive knowledge of communication skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, internet safety, and workplace safety.

CodeGirls has experienced swift growth in these four years, and It has been able to partner with multiple international organizations successfully. CodeGirls alumni are able to find freelance, part-time, and full-time jobs in the local and global tech ecosystems. Genetech provides sponsorship to CodeGirls and is one of the primary sources of finding suitable trainers. They provide help in curriculum design and tech support. Genetech is also one of the top hiring companies for CodeGirls.

Tech4Girls

Under the umbrella of ConsulNet, CodeGirls has partnered with Tech4Girls. The program structure consists of workshops and training sessions conducted by industry experts on eCommerce and Mobile Application Development. These workshops have also been powered and supported by partners from the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication, GSMA, ITU, W4.org, and EQUALS Her Digital Skills.

Genetech has lent its help in providing space, administrative staff, trainers, social media, and outreach in the year 2020 and 2021.  

Other Projects

Besides providing sponsorship and partnering with the mentioned non-profit initiatives, Genetech Solutions has been a tech partner for WomenInTechPK, Deaf Reach, ProWomen, Impact Dynamics, and Cryptochicks and has provided curriculum and mentorship support to TechKaro. At Genetech, we believe that it is essential to be part of initiatives working for the greater good of local communities by bringing gradual social acceptance and educational reform, making IT training accessible to people from all walks of life. 

Genetech has also worked very closely with P@SHA and PSEB in being part of the national-level conversation and programs. In doing so, Genetech enjoys having an extensive network within the local and international tech ecosystems, being a prominent community member, and a frequent employer. 

How to Proceed:

If you have been thinking about how your business could positively influence your local community, the following is a list of four things to keep in mind.

Understand the Impact:

The first step is to understand your impact on the community you do business. You have to ask yourself, what is my company doing, and how can we improve its contributions to the society around us? Different communities have different contexts and challenges. You can start by locating harmful obstacles to your business and your community. For example, solving the shortage of skilled labor by training and hiring previously untrained individuals allows your company to reap community work benefits. 

Measure your Impact:

When a company does not measure its impact with appropriate tools, it risks underperforming and missing out on crucial opportunities. The Social and Human Capital Protocol provides frameworks for companies to understand the social and human impact. This, in turn, helps you make better organizational decisions, including strategic investment in community work, and create a culture of empathy at the workplace.

Relationships between your company and your community:

Companies consist of their communities. From the employee to the customer, the chain of impact can build long-lasting, accessible, and wholesome relationships for all parties involved. Engaging in relationship building creates a culture of empathy at the workplace and in your surrounding community, which can be beneficial for networking, marketing, hiring, or simply spreading awareness. 

Use Emergent Strategies:

Finally, it is crucial to understand that social change is not predictable. As such, using emergent strategies is far more flexible and adaptive than predictive strategies in response to the unpredictable nature of social systems. The improvements that your company introduces should involve a preferential look at the community’s needs over your business needs since the whole idea is to give back in order to achieve community work benefits and a certain amount of sustainability in your own ecosystem.

Need of the Hour:

This is not about just philanthropy. There is much more to it than just writing cheques for noble causes. We believe that society is demanding we go deeper and look harder for solutions to real problems by using our strengths and resources for the greater good and a sustainable future.

Companies that stick to old-school values of just making money and ignoring their corporate social responsibilities will soon find that this is a shallow and unsustainable way of working. With a global pandemic and an escalation in financial crisis and political turmoil, private business owners must also uphold the responsibility for a sustainable future.

To learn more about strategic community investment, you can visit the International Finance Corporation. To learn more about our projects and see what we have in store for the future, stay tuned to this space or drop us a line.