Employment Services Cambodia
Neth and I have been blessed to receive our first "intern" at Employment Services Cambodia. His name is Ryan. He is a very talented, kind man who has done an incredible job leading and developing a business in Phnom Penh called Punlak Thmey. Ryan will be donating 3 months of his skills in service to ESC. This is a big step for ESC; literally a BIG step as Ryan is about 6' 6" tall (i.e. just a little bit shorter than the combined heights of Neth and I). ESC will look very different now with Ryan's blond hair towering above Neth's and my dark locks. But all physical appearance discussions aside we are very excited to have Ryan join us for the next three months. He is an expert in business planning and feasibility analysis and he will help us to learn and grow.
ESC continues to be blessed with new clients (employees, employer recruitments, consultations, and trainings). It is exciting and challenging. I look back on the past 6 months and am kind of amazed that I have held the following titles/roles: Country Director for an NGO, Communications Specialist for an International School, Career Counselor for an International School, Co-Founder of an employment services company, trainer and HR consultant. That is really one of the nice benefits to living in a developing country like Cambodia; one can have so many diverse work experiences in a very short period of time. I am learning so much and growing in my professional development in ways that would take many years longer to experience and grow in the States.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
First Concern
In Matthew 14 we learn that Jesus’ disciples were in a boat, crossing a lake during a strong storm. As the sun began to dawn they saw Jesus walking toward them on the surface of the lake and they were terrified, thinking Jesus to be a ghost. But Jesus said to them, “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
Peter then replied, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus told Peter to come to Him and Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But then Peter’s attention was diverted to the wind and he became afraid and began to sink into the stormy waters. Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” and immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.
This week I have been thinking a lot about the last three verses
of Matthew 6. In these verses Jesus instructs us not to worry about what we
will eat, drink, or wear (this not being an exhaustive list, but representative
of the things of this world that may concern us). Jesus says we should not worry
about these things because our God knows what is best for us. Then Jesus
concludes by saying that we should seek first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these other things will be added unto us. So, in the
midst of struggles with finances, in an argument with a friend, when I am sick
or injured, unemployed or homeless, I must always make my primary concern
the relationship I have with God.
How might the passage of the disciples in the boat be different if
Peter’s focus never left Jesus and he didn't wander into fear of the storm and
rough waters? But even if we, like Peter, become distracted by the storms of
this world we can cry out to God to save us and He will reach out His hand to
catch us.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
6 Month Review
On 11-12-13, Neth Kong and I opened the business Employment Services Cambodia. www.ES-Cambodia.com
Our vision is a healthy economy and healthy workforce in Cambodia.
As we approach our six month anniversary I have been thinking of how God has blessed us in this work. We are a business with a mission. In other words, we feel called and led to this work, but it is not the work that is our primary focus; that primary focus is on seeking and serving God. Neth and I both agree that should the day ever come when we do not feel God leading us and calling us to this work then that is the day that we will close up shop.
Every morning Neth and I begin our business day together in fellowship, worship, and prayer. This is the foundation of our business and it is a blessing beyond description to start our work day like this.
Our fees have been set intentionally low to support achieving our vision. We do not want to take money from Cambodian workers because we want them to be healthy and able to support themselves and their families. So, we do not charge a fee to Cambodian workers for any of our services. We also provide ongoing supports to Cambodian employee clients once they have started their new job. We want to ensure that they are successful in their employment.
For businesses who hire ESC to recruit for them we charge a very low fee of $100 per recruitment no matter if that position is a senior management position or entry level position. This fee includes the ongoing supports to the employee. ESC also provides consultation and training supports for businesses.
ESC has established partnerships with other organizations to secure discounts for our clients (especially expat clients) in areas such as learning Khmer language and touring Phnom Penh and other parts of Cambodia. We also offer a free workshop on Cambodian history and culture for our expat clients (and other expats). Our goal being to enrich the experience that expats have in Cambodia and to assist them to develop an understanding and respect for the county in which we, as expats are guests, and for the beautiful people here. I have found that the culture here is very different than in the United States and it can be very difficult to live and work amidst these differences, but that the more I understand how the culture here has been influenced and shaped through history the better I am able to respect the culture and function amidst the differences.
Neth and I want to thank our friends and family who have contributed financially and through prayers and encouragement to support our business.
Here are some of the accomplishments from our first 6 months of work:
Our vision is a healthy economy and healthy workforce in Cambodia.
As we approach our six month anniversary I have been thinking of how God has blessed us in this work. We are a business with a mission. In other words, we feel called and led to this work, but it is not the work that is our primary focus; that primary focus is on seeking and serving God. Neth and I both agree that should the day ever come when we do not feel God leading us and calling us to this work then that is the day that we will close up shop.
Every morning Neth and I begin our business day together in fellowship, worship, and prayer. This is the foundation of our business and it is a blessing beyond description to start our work day like this.
Our fees have been set intentionally low to support achieving our vision. We do not want to take money from Cambodian workers because we want them to be healthy and able to support themselves and their families. So, we do not charge a fee to Cambodian workers for any of our services. We also provide ongoing supports to Cambodian employee clients once they have started their new job. We want to ensure that they are successful in their employment.
For businesses who hire ESC to recruit for them we charge a very low fee of $100 per recruitment no matter if that position is a senior management position or entry level position. This fee includes the ongoing supports to the employee. ESC also provides consultation and training supports for businesses.
ESC has established partnerships with other organizations to secure discounts for our clients (especially expat clients) in areas such as learning Khmer language and touring Phnom Penh and other parts of Cambodia. We also offer a free workshop on Cambodian history and culture for our expat clients (and other expats). Our goal being to enrich the experience that expats have in Cambodia and to assist them to develop an understanding and respect for the county in which we, as expats are guests, and for the beautiful people here. I have found that the culture here is very different than in the United States and it can be very difficult to live and work amidst these differences, but that the more I understand how the culture here has been influenced and shaped through history the better I am able to respect the culture and function amidst the differences.
Neth and I want to thank our friends and family who have contributed financially and through prayers and encouragement to support our business.
Here are some of the accomplishments from our first 6 months of work:
- Developed Website and Facebook Page (Please visit our website, visit us and "like" us on Facebook.)
- Secured 7 expat employee clients
- Hired by 11 businesses to recruit for 34 positions (22 positions just this week)
- Hired by 3 businesses for training and/or consultation
- Represented and assisted more than 20 Khmer employee clients
- Established partnerships with three other organizations
- Six job placements completed; another three very close to completion; and two jobs secured by clients outside of our referrals
- One of the values of ESC is to be charitable. We believe that to accomplish the vision we have we will need to support others who are doing good work in Cambodia and so 10% of our income we give to the church and 20% of everything that is received by ESC (donations and income) we give to other organizations that are doing work that supports Cambodia's economy and workforce in a healthy way. In the past 6 months we have been blessed to give over $1,000 to other organizations.
- Developing Cambodian Labour Law training
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