Migrant domestic workers are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society.
We talked with the people behind HelperChoice, a social-oriented platform connecting employers and helpers so that each one can find the perfect match. Laurence Fauchon, Co-Founder of HelperChoice and Julie Delignon, Country Manager of HelperChoice share what they love about the social impact community in Hong Kong and what it takes to start and run a social impact business.
HelperChoice Dream team!
If I ever publish an autobiography, this would be its tagline
Julie: “Soul-searching around the world.” Anybody evolves a lot throughout one’s life and I think that the triggers for me were also linked to my trips around the world and the people I worked with in different countries. When you find yourself in a new environment, a new culture and a new team, it is the right moment to take a step back and discover what is important for you, what you achieved and what you want to do next. When I went to India last year, I thought about my previous experiences, what made me proud of myself and I decided that I wanted to work in an Asian country for a cause close to my heart. That’s how it started with HelperChoice!
You are based in Hong Kong, what do you love about the social impact community here?
Julie: Actually, the social impact community in Hong Kong is still at an early stage. Many NGOs are working towards social impact but few companies conciliate social and business, that’s why Hong Kong is very interesting for social or green entrepreneurs, you can differentiate yourself and be very innovative.
Laurence: I love how the social impact community evolved in the past 5 years. Hong Kong was a bit behind neighbouring countries and it’s great to see how the scene is changing, and how more and more people from the young generation are showing interest in social ventures.
Laurence: tell us more about your vision for HelperChoice and why you started this platform?
Laurence: I started this platform when I realised that my own Filipino domestic worker had been exploited and scammed by her employment agency. She had to pay illegal HK$9,000 placement fees to secure a job with us, and I found it super unfair. HelperChoice was initially only about helping domestic workers, and later I realised that most employers also needed help with their recruitment because it was hard for them to find the right person who could take care of their family. That’s how HelperChoice became a platform which connects both sides of the hiring equation: families and foreign domestic workers.
I believe that HelperChoice has started to change the domestic agency landscape, and I hope that we can further change societal attitudes towards foreign domestic workers.
Who inspired you personally?
Julie: I felt inspired by a friend, Bastien G., who taught me that we should always give a chance to an idea or an opportunity. We need to test and learn and test again to always improve our product, service or way of doing. Now, this test-and-learn is my way of working!
Do you measure your impact?
Julie: Our social platform connects domestic helpers and employers directly and is 100% free for helpers. This way employers and helpers can see if there is a good fit and they bypass traditional agencies that charge up to 13 times the monthly salary of the helper. We measure our impact by listing the matches between helpers and employers so that we can identify how many illegal placement fees are saved thanks to the platform.
Laurence: What do you wish you would have known before starting out?
Laurence: I wish I had known how tough it is to sustain and grow a social business. Being a business, you don’t benefit from donations or grants, but being social everybody expects you to work as an NGO. But I’m not sure I really wish I had known that, because it might have scared me away from starting the venture. Instead, once I was in the middle of it, I just had to figure it out!
Julie: What do you wish you would have known before starting working with HelperChoice?
Julie: I was previously working as a manager in consulting so I missed some skills at the beginning, like how to create a great mailing campaign or how to attract followers on our Facebook pages. I think if I had known a little bit more about it, it would have been easier but it was not essential, one can learn quite quickly in this field and again, everything is about testing and improving.
What is the craziest thing you did so far to market your business?
Laurence: I had a hard time distributing free DVDs to domestic workers in Central. That was a couple of years back, and I spent several Sundays in Central walking around in the middle of August trying to raise HelperChoice’s brand awareness with those goodies that nobody cared about.
How will you sustain your organization?
Julie: As Country Manager, I am responsible for managing the operations, developing our business mainly using digital marketing and developing our services to answer to the users’ needs.
What gives you the worst sleepless nights right now?
Julie: The recruitment of a part-time developer! We need another tech expert to join the HelperChoice team who would be in charge of the new developments of the platform but as we are looking for someone senior, part-time with good knowledge in ruby on rail this is quite complicated. But I have the feeling that a lot of start-ups struggle to find the right person in this field.
What was the most memorable moment working with HelperChoice?
Laurence: HelperChoice regularly organizes events with helpers and one of the most memorable moments at HelperChoice was when I met domestic workers at the beach and we talked about their daily life, why they do this job, what they love about Hong Kong. It was very moving and I really discovered how brave those breadwinners are. And of course, it motivating me even more to help them!
Julie: I think it was when we organised a play session with domestic workers with darts, ball games and shuffleboards. We even played twister together! This moment was just crazy because they were not used to playing those kinds of games and they were very excited, shouting and laughing in the room, it was so great to see them enjoying that moment together.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring change-makers, what would that be?
Julie: Try to innovate and find new ways of doing things, test what you think could bring high-value-added but if it does not work just drop it and move forward!
What could everyone do RIGHT NOW to make the world a better place?
Julie: Everybody should hire one’s helper without relying on unscrupulous agency so when you hire a helper please check that she does not pay any fee. She needs to keep the salary you will give her to support her family or for her personal projects.
Where can we follow you?
Julie: You can follow us on Facebook , Twitter or you can also have a look on our blog here.
