This policy draft is adapted from the internal policy infrastructure applicable at One Future Collective and is made publicly accessible in the interest of our mission to build safe, just, and inclusive workplaces for all. If you are an organisation curious to know more about how to build socially just workplaces, we invite you to use and adapt these policies to make them relevant to your context. If you have used any of our policies, we request you to please credit us.
You can know more about us, our journey, how we work, and our commitment to Nurturing Radical Kindness through our internal organisational Manifesto: Sunflowers. We would also love to hear from you – if you have any feedback, questions, or comments, please feel free to use this form.
Some guidance on using this policy:
We understand that each organisation is distinctly placed, works in different contexts, and within diverse realities and organisational policies have to be resilient and responsive to these contexts. In this background, we would like to share the following guidance for your reference:
- All the segments marked in yellow and/or left blank are spaces for you to update with details which are relevant to your organisational contexts.
- The entire policy may not be applicable as it is – please treat this as an invitation to adapt parts of it to better suit your demands.
- The policies are developed in the context of the legal obligations, politics, and resources available to One Future Collective. Whenever you are developing your organisational policies, please ensure that you are conducting your own due diligence in relation to compliance and other obligations that you may have to adhere to.
- Some key identifying information and details about processes unique to our organisation are anonymised from the drafts below for reasons of privacy and confidentiality.
In case you would like to reach out to us to get to know more about a policy or are feeling a bit stuck, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@onefuturecollective.org.
Our Hiring, Onboarding, Appraisal, and Exit Policy
| Date of adoption | _____________________ |
| Date of review | _____________________ |
| Policy Holder | _____________________ |
| Queries | _____________________ |
1) Applicability
This policy applies to all full time employees, part time (project based) employees, consultants, or interns at One Future Collective (OFC), unless otherwise specified in specific sections of the policy.
2) Hiring
A. Scoping for hiring requirements
- Types of hiring needs
We undertake hiring to meet different needs and at different times in the year.
a. Anticipatory hiring
We aim to hire in a planned manner on an annual basis, in alignment with the execution of the annual plan of action of the organisation. Since One Future Collective follows the financial calendar from April of the first year to March of the following year.
Calendar for annual hiring:
| Process | Month |
| Open call for hiring | February |
| First shortlist for assignments | March |
| Second shortlist for interviews | March |
| Interview | March |
| Offers/Pre Placement Offers | March |
| Joining date / Induction | April or May |
b. Meet urgent capacity needs
To meet any urgent capacity needs at OFC over and above the anticipated hires, the reporting manager will prepare job descriptions and have a discussion with the CEO. The timeline here may vary, and may be shorter than the usual hiring process.
c. Open Hiring Form
We want to remain open to hiring great candidates at any point in the year. We will keep a form open on our website throughout the year for people to express interest in working with us. We will contact those who fill the form in the first week of every month for the past month. Form available here.
d. Consulting or project-based
We hope to work with a wide range of creators, researchers, writers, and artists outside of those on the team in a full-time capacity. This includes anyone who is working with us only on specific projects. This may be for resource creation, facilitation, research, and specific projects such as consulting and innovation lab. Hiring needs for consultants or part time (project-based) employees are mapped during development or revisions of the annual plan of action. Details of the hiring process for consultants can be found in our commissioning policy.
To express your interest in being a consultant with OFC, please fill out this form and someone from the team will be in touch with you.
3) Budgetary planning
Before we initiate any calls for hiring, we refer to our vertical-specific annual budgets to plan hiring in a way which ensures that we will be able to retain an expanded team alongside existing expenses, i.e., we will be able to pay the salaries of any new hires for at least the next 12 months.
4) Approvals for hiring internally
Requests for hiring must be initiated by the reporting managers and requires written approval by the CEO. Hiring requests should indicate the following:
- Job position title
- Job description for the position
- Salary for the position
- Reason for the job position opening
- Any specific recruitment requirements
5) Employee Referral Bonus
All employees at OFC are encouraged to share open positions at OFC within their networks and make referrals for hiring as needed to the person leading the hiring process. In the event that a team member is hired basis a specific referral made by an existing employee and successfully completes their probation the employee referring them will be eligible to receive an employee referral bonus of 2500 INR payable to them along with the salary due to be paid to them in the month following the completion of the new hire’s probationary period.
6) Hiring process
The entire hiring and exit policy will be led by the CEO along with the Vertical Leads. The respective reporting managers will be looped in to get relevant details about the role, the decision on the outcomes of the hiring process, and any other relevant details.
- Selection Process and Timeline:
- Stage 1. Initial Application: All job openings will be posted concurrently on One Future Collective’s social media handles, either for an amount of time specified on the post or until the position is filled. We will use Zoho Recruit for all our hiring related needs and applicants will be directed to this portal to express their interest in the position starting July 2024 and Google forms before that. Applicants will be required to fill the Hiring form with relevant details, including the position they are applying for, their CV, their writing sample, and any other information as may be required.
- Stage 2. Assignment: The initial applications will be screened by reporting managers and all applicants for a posted job vacancy will be considered based on their responses on the Hiring form. The shortlisted applicants will receive a time-bound assignment relevant to the positions for which you applied. Applicants who are not shortlisted will be notified by the team through email.
- Stage 3. Interview: The reporting managers will assess the assignments prior to scheduling interviews. Interviews will be conducted by the respective reporting managers. In Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, we may also conduct in-person conversations with potential hires during this stage. The content of interviews generally includes discussions about expertise and experience, specific role-based questions, and questions to assess organisational culture fit. Applicants who are not shortlisted will be notified by the team through email.
- Stage 4: The shortlisted candidates will have a 20-minute conversation with the CEO before a final decision is made about their application.
- Stage 5: All prospective employees have to provide a signed self-declaration that their health status allows them to execute the job duties of their specific role and provide a written request for any physical and mental health accommodation requirements that they have at this stage itself within the letter. As a small organisation it helps us plan to meet needs and be transparent when meeting needs is not possible. Once we receive this letter we will respond with a written email on which accommodations can be met and which cannot. After this potential employees have the option of going ahead with the process or not. Once hired, we will review accommodations every quarter with scope for adjustments to the needs as required, in the months of June, September, December and March.
- Job Offer: After a decision has been made to hire an applicant, they will be provided with a final job offer. The applicant would be required to formally accept the job offer by responding to email. If an applicant fails to accept an offer of employment within 3 working days, the offer may be rescinded by One Future Collective.
- Communication: The CEO and Vertical Leads will be responsible for all internal and external communications regarding the hiring process.
- Selection Criteria:
The selection criteria for each of the roles we hire for at OFC will be communicated to the applicants in the job descriptions for the role that they are applying for. We also conduct an internal audit for diversity within the workplace and adjust our hiring practices accordingly.
Note: We are currently only able to hire Indian nationals for all roles.
7) Grievance Redressal:
For any grievances related to the hiring process, the grievance redressal policy will apply.
8) Onboarding
- Induction
- Post selection, an offer email needs to be sent to the potential employee by the Vertical Lead keeping the CEO in cc. This email will include details of the role, CTC and joining date. Template of the offer email is available here.
- On acceptance of the offer, the CEO needs to get a detailed work contract made. You can get a copy of such a contract by reaching out to the CEO at <email address of CEO>.
- The Vertical Lead needs to send the work contract to the new hire and cc the CEO in the email with details of their official email ID. The Vertical Lead can get the new email ID made by reaching out to the CEO at <email address of CEO>.
- Once the new hire signs and sends a copy of the contract, a detailed induction email needs to be sent to them [Draft induction email is here] on their official email ID. The email needs to cc the info@onefuturecollective.org (our official organizational ID) email ID.
- The Vertical Lead should ensure that the new employees are added to all relevant calendar invite and slack channels as far as possible before the first date of their joining.
- Training and induction:
- The SLT will begin the process of onboarding the new employees within OFC.
- The induction process will take place over 3 days. All days will have elements of live training and self-paced trainings to allow the new employees to understand the organisation as well as get introduced to the work environment.
- AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with Reporting Manager: After the employee has read the resources and completed self-paced courses, an AMA session will be held during the second half of Day 2. This will be a mandatory session. This session will aim to increase employee engagement by clarifying policies, addressing questions and concerns, and building trust.
- The reporting manager needs to create a work plan and set KPIs with the new employee within 1 week of them joining.
- In case of emergency hiring or hiring outside of the standard hiring cycle – the above process can be adjusted accordingly as per the discretion of the CEO.
- New employees are sent an employee goodie kit within 2 weeks of joining.
- Health insurance is activated on day one of the new employee joining.
- Probation
- We have a probation period of 3 months for each role, unless decided otherwise.
- No leaves are available during probation and neither do any organisational benefits apply unless otherwise specified.
- On the last day of probation, the reporting manager should conduct a 1:1 performance review with the new hire to decide the next course of action. The reporting manager will email the CEO with a summary of this meeting as well.
- We follow a one-week notice period during probation: in case of resignation or termination of employment.
9) Appraisal
- KPIs for each financial year will be added in the month of March of the previous financial year. In the event that you are a new hire, your KPIs will be developed within 1 week of the new hire starting their role at OFC.
- Appraisals happen in April of every year or 1 year after joining, whichever is later.
- Reviews will either be by the reporting manager or the CEO, or both.
- Process for appraisal:
- A copy of the KPIs are reshared with every employee in the first week of March. The employee and their reporting manager rate the employee’s performance, as per this template.
- Once both parties have completed the performance against KPIs, they share it with each other.
- After the final decisions are made regarding performance review, it is communicated via email along with any decisions on promotions and salary or benefit changes and the date from which they come into effect.
- Generally, changes will come into effect from April of any year or from the month immediately after 1 year of hiring of the employee in question.
- Variable Pay Calculation: Variable pay is only paid out once all KPIs are met, no exceptions are allowed.
- Increment Calculation: increment is calculated based on your performance against your KPIs. While variable pay is provided only if you meet all KPIs, this is not a necessary condition for increment.
| Increment % | Performance |
| 0% | Poor Performance |
| 5 – 7% | Below expectations |
| 7.1 -10% | Met expectations |
| 10 – 15% | Exceeded expectations |
- Promotion Qualification and Process:
- Promotions are only offered to candidates who have ‘met expectations’ or ‘exceeded expectations’ if the reporting manager believes the candidate has the skills to meet the promotion-related change in job qualifications. Candidates can opt out of promotions and retain their existing role if they think they are not ready for a promotion or they can also request a promotion if not offered.
- If a promotion is either requested or offered and accepted, the candidate will mandatorily be offered the promotion on a probationary basis only for a period of 3-months, after which a final decision will be made.
- Upon the completion of the probationary period, the reporting manager will conduct a performance review of the candidate. In the event of successful performance, the candidate’s promotion will be confirmed. If the probationary period is unsuccessful, the candidate will be retained in the pre-promotion role with any changes to pay structure as required.
- Additionally, those who exceed expectations will be provided other opportunities in the course of the year, for example through training programs and international travel.
10) Termination of Employment
We are invested in the growth of the people we work with and will strive to ensure all possible support before a team member has to be terminated from their employment. The following steps will apply before termination decisions in all situations except where harm, violence, bullying, or any serious violation of our values has occurred or where termination is during the probation period:
- On the first warning via email regarding continued low work quality after feedback, workplace behaviour concerns and other related issues, you will have a scheduled conversation with your reporting manager to discuss the issue and next steps.
- On the second warning for the same or similar issues, you will be placed on a performance improvement plan for a set duration of time, not exceeding one month, which will be tracked by your reporting manager.
- On the third warning, you will be asked to leave. In certain cases you may be allowed to serve a notice period at the discretion of the employer.
In cases where your behaviour has caused harm to an individual or led to the creation of a harmful environment at work, your employment may be terminated without any warning, and due legal action may be taken.
11) Resigning
Resignation is a voluntary act by a team member for termination of their role with OFC.
- If you decide to leave the organisation, you need to send a formal email to your reporting manager and the CEO with the subject line ‘Letter of Resignation | <Job role>’.
- You will be asked to serve a notice period as per your contract.
- You can opt out of the notice period but may be asked to pay related damages to the organisation, including but not limited to the wages payable for a month and any training and knowledge transfer costs, at the discretion of the employer.
12) Exit
People’s work paths and careers evolve and this may mean people exiting OFC, we need to strive to ensure that this is done in a manner that is comfortable for both parties.
- The reporting manager, along with a member of the team, if required, will conduct a conversation with the person leaving. Responses can be captured here: http://bit.ly/ofc_exit
- All people exiting will be provided a letter of acknowledgement that states clearly the work they undertook while at OFC within a month of their exit, except in special circumstances. No letter of acknowledgement will be provided if you exit during the probation period, unless in exceptional circumstances.
- Full and final settlement of finances will happen by the 7th of the month after the month in which they have exited their role, only after all pending dues have been cleared and if all financial information has been adequately provided as per timelines.
- Provision of the letter of acknowledgement and the full and final settlement will only happen once all work-related handover has been completed and the work due within the notice period is completed.
- We do not provide general letters of recommendations but do provide them on request for specific opportunities. Providing a letter of recommendation is at the discretion of the person the letter is requested from. General letter of recommendation must be requested for at least a week in advance.
As a reminder: We understand that several of us will continue to work in the same areas of work, however there is a binding non-compete and confidentiality clause in the contractual work agreements — to have this adjusted, please request so during the exit interview and in your resignation email. There is also a Non Disclosure Agreement in your work contracts.