Do you have an elaborate flow of information in your Sacco? And to what extent do your members access the necessary information about their Sacco. In the 21st century people want to be informed about everything about their savings, credit performance, investment and any other thing that affect their lives.
It would be prudent to feed members in our Saccos with all the necessary information right from recruitment and registration of members. Members should never be spared any necessary information in the name of ‘they may react negatively; they may decline to join or disagree with the information’. Members should be informed of all the requirements of membership regarding their obligation, privileges and their expected responsibilities. It is very important members to have information concerning purchase of the minimum capital shares as determined by the SACCO making each member an owner of the cooperative, about member’s monthly contribution and about Loans’ eligibility, interest on loans, loan repayment periods, monthly instalments, loan security as well as consequence of default.
When the members are informed, they’re more likely to stay engaged and motivated in their responsibilities as members of saving regularly, being good ambassador who recruit other through sharing with other potential member the good news of their saccos. Educating members what is expected of them, how the Sacco is performing is key to Sacco growth, friendly atmosphere and the overall success of the Sacco. With this kind of information, it clears any confusion that members could have, give members a defined purpose to belong to a sacco, fosters a transparent Sacco culture and create accountability in the Sacco.
As the saying goes information is power, empowered members will always support all the activities undertaken by their Sacco because they already know them. Giving your members the big picture of what happen in the sacco and helping them to understand when something isn’t working will help them to feel more involved and become part of the Sacco.
Proper communication boosts members’ morale to be associated with the Sacco. It raises members Satisfaction even when the Sacco is facing any operational challenges. Keeping members informed improves Productivity as members will be encouraged to increase their businesses and transactions with the Sacco through consuming most of the products and services offered by the Sacco. There is great reduction of member dormancy and there is increased member retention.
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Communication to members is effective when the right channels are engaged. Saccos should identify the best channels of communication depending on their members. Not all channels work for every sacco. The richest communication channel around ranges from one-on-one educative meetings, often hailed as the most effective way for members to interact to personalized short messages sent to individuals. Preparations of member education forums should be encouraged in all our Kenyan Sacco, where members are given an opportunity to learn the policies, bylaws and their Sacco constitutions. With this forum we not only grow saccos but a stronger cooperative movement in the country.
Today, digital communication channels are the most popular and mostly used channels globally. Some of the most common channels includes email, social media platforms of Facebooks, WhatsApp, twitter and Instagram channels among others. These platforms are the frequently used and accessible as times are changing and availably of internet almost everywhere. Globalization has made possible all businesses are transacted online. Saccos have no choice other than ensuring they employ effective communication to their members through the up-to-date channels available.
It is worth noting the rising competition is how best the Sacco is placed in terms of keeping members informed through the social media. The more the information disseminated the more popular the Sacco is.
Lack of communication or giving half information is dangerous and can do more harm than good. Every time people are denied access to information, they feel cheated and played on. This miscommunication raises red flags of operating some illegal businesses. Ineffective communication can lead to many misunderstandings or disagreements, and invites a lot of unnecessary politicking of important matters in our Kenyan saccos. They are attracting most of irregularities in the operations of Sacco. This can include making simple mistakes like money depositing, through mobile baking platforms, noncompliance when applying for some services and products, credit applications and general uncompliant with presiding bylaws or policies.
Poor communication will lead to having unsatisfied members who will never see anything positive about the Sacco. Unsatisfied members will often create a tense environment where people are not motivated to save or access any of the services or product from the Sacco. This may lead to massive membership withdrawals and high level dormancy.
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Poor communication can ruin a Sacco reputation publicly. The members will misunderstand the operations of the saccos and work on assumption that works for the down fall of the Sacco through rumors and heresies.
Miscommunication and half-truths in our cooperative world have resulted to an unnecessary conflict between the members and the saccos. When conflict arises trust is lost and member will no longer be ready to participate in the running of the Sacco, they will no longer want to invest, save or use any of their product or service.
Saccos that are no longer attractive to their members is already wiped out in the cooperative movement.
The cooperators we have today in our saccos already know why they are members, they know what they want in these saccos, and what they require is constant information of their Sacco has for them. They need to be updated of the operations of the Sacco, any new products, any changes in policies , any amendment of their bylaws as well as any challenges if any within the operations of the Sacco. This means as minor occurrence as system downtime or a network failure in the operations. Our saccos beings such generous in effective communication will keep our Sacco members alert and confident that this is their Sacco of choice. Empower your sacco members with necessary information and they will be the saccos ambassadors. Information is power.
By CCOP Dorcas Nyambura Ndegwa
dornamvua@gmail.com
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