The fifth cooperative principle of education, training and information encourages Cooperative societies to hold education days through which members, stakeholders and the public are made to understand their operations.
Staff training is an important strategy for any Sacco that wants to achieve its set goals. There might be a possibility that the staff hired in our Saccos have studied totally different professional courses and have no idea what a Sacco is, hence the need for training.
There are different departments in our Saccos and each staff has to understand their duties thoroughly through guidance from professionals who understand the Sacco set-up.
The basic reason why every Sacco should train their staff is to improve ‘knowledge’ and ‘knowhow’. Offering this knowledge is important because it enables them to do their jobs effectively and have equal access to the information they need to do their jobs.
Training the staff can help build their confidence in their abilities and increase job satisfaction. It will motivate them to put greater efforts in their performance since they will offer quality and improved customer service. The staff will be able to set goals and achieve them without any supervision.
Frequent trainings improve skills of problem solving and reasoning.
Once a Sacco commits to training its staff, the retention level will be high. Retaining staff improves customer relationships. Members will feel secure to stick in a Sacco that retains their staff. Staff retention reduces operational costs like recruitment and training.
When a Sacco invests in staff training, it has a defined work culture that builds better work environments and member relationships. Members of staff who serve long happen to be the best advocates of the Sacco.
A culture of excellence is created in a Sacco where staff and leaders are trained regularly. Increased productivity can translate to higher wages for the staff themselves, plus high returns on deposits and dividends.
Facilitating training for Sacco staff boosts their morale, translating to improved teamwork, greater commitment to duty, as well as inculcating a sense of belonging. They will feel part and parcel of the Sacco’s core values, objectives and own the Sacco mission.
Every staff wants to feel they are productive; they want to know that they are doing a good job and that they have added value to the Sacco.
When the staff know what they are meant to do, they learn to become responsible in their scope of work and accountable for the outcome of what they do.
When a Sacco trains its staff, it will engage in internal promotions that are less expensive. This means that the Sacco grows as it develops individuals, which is a great contribution to the community at large.
Our Saccos should invest in training their staff and sit back to see the magic it can have in their overall performance.
Apparently, the only thing worse than training employees and losing them is to not train them and keep them.
By CCOP Dorcas Nyambura Ndegwa
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