The cadre of operational employees is the most important link for MFIs that seek to provide financial services to the economically weak and vulnerable. Not only are they responsible for the delivery of service, they largely shape customer experience. A well-trained cadre of operational employees can greatly improve operational performance of MFIs and also help in controlling operational risks.
However, MFIs have traditionally found it difficult to provide trainings to their operational employees, particularly loan officers and branch managers. While most of them have been able to evolve a system of induction training, these are largely limited to providing information about the MFI’s products and processes. Also, these trainings take place when the field staff joins the organization, and thereafter, it is “learning by doing”. The “learning by doing” often leads to a field staff viewing himself or herself as a “Collection Agent”. This on the one hand can have disastrous consequences from a customer relationship viewpoint, it is also an opportunity lost. An adequately trained field staff can be “An Agent of Change” for the MFI’s clientele.
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