The City Hindus Network was founded in 2005. Ever since then, we have grown and grown.  A change of Chair, a committee update and a website refresh later, we thought in March 2011 it was time to ask CHN members what they really thought of us, by asking them to fill in this survey to help us shape the coming months and years. The results were encouraging. They highlighted what members thought the CHN did well, and what our key areas of development are. Read the results summary below.

We got a few dozen responses out of several hundred members, so the results may display some sampling bias. Nevertheless, there is a summary of the results:

• Most of the CHN members come from the accountancy, consulting, finance and public sector areas.
• 73% of members first heard of the CHN through word-of-mouth
• 75% of members rated their experience of the CHN ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’. Comments:
  • “Do not make use of communicating events through all media – i.e. Linkedin, Facebook, website”
  • “Bringing some religion and community spirit to the professional Hindu community is an incredible achievement.”
• Of the members that responded to these questions, 75% members thought the quality of our networking and educational events was ‘Good’ or better. 80% thought our charity events were ‘Good’ or better. Nearly 40% didn’t know what we did in terms of community and outreach work (probably because it’s almost always behind the scenes). Development points were clear: our 2008 Mentoring Scheme and website. Most of you thought our website was ‘Below average’ or worse – hopefully that was a comment directed towards our old website, which we revamped (in March 2011) with what you see right now.
• Almost a quarter of respondents said their most memorable experience with the CHN was the 2010 Barclays Capital ‘Hinduism in the City’ talk.
• Respondents said they wanted to see more of the following types of events: talks on Hindu philosophy, networking events, a 2011 Mentoring Scheme, debates on Hinduism, volunteering activities, networking dinners, black tie events, informal social events and classical music events. Good news is – we’re already doing most of these. Comments:
  • “Promotion of Hindu way of life”
  • “Something about Hindus in politics, whether in the UK or abroad. Hindu take on topical events, meaning of stories in the Hindu Scriptures, Indian history and art, foodie events from Asian celebrity chefs”
  • “Annual event of some sort”
• 85% of respondents thought the CHN was ‘Definitely’ or ‘Probably’ a valuable network for Hindu professionals. Comments:
  • “Hindus (especially learned men) have shown reluctance to acknowledge their religion in the past. It is heartening to see a network of successful professionals (both men and women) embracing, promoting Hinduism in this way. You are setting an example for the younger generation.”
  • “I’m not sure how valuable it is. Whilst it was/is a good idea, it’s only effective is momentum is maintained.”
• In particular, one respondent said:
  • “I’d like to see more social events organised by CHN. I think it can also have a more tangible impact in the following areas:
    • Career advice. This is not just senior members of the community providing advice to junior ones (mentoring scheme), but rather trying to link peers in the same industry so they can share opinions / vision, and look out for career opportunities that might interest each other. Currently, it’s all word-of-mouth. An up-to-date database maintained by CHN and queried through CHN would be a great start, such that if I ask CHN what other professionals there are in FX trading I could be put in touch with a selection of people (assuming, of course, they gave their consent when they provided their details).
    • Social networks can lead to much more. Many young city professionals have little time to socialise and meet new people outside of their own workplace. Arranging “meet-and-greet” events for single members could help young professionals find life partners. Opens one more avenue to find the perfect match.
    • Learning about Hinduism can be fun and need not involve lessons / lectures. For example, much of my understanding of Hinduism has come about through watching Ramayan / Mahabharat adaptations on television as a child. The good news is these tales have no upper age limit. Small, and possibly cheap, efforts to source such videos (either on CD or downloadable format) can do wonders and provide much enjoyment as well as education.
    • Variety of social / networking opportunities. A weekend trip to Alton Towers is always fun. Such a weekend trip also allows people to form their own mini-groups depending on their occupation, interests, etc, which has the potential to last much longer than just the weekend.”

Thank you for your comments.