As the world of business evolves and as companies look for ways to stay ahead of the curve, Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Saccos) are moving away from traditional formulae to competitive recruitment of staff.
Majority of the regulated Saccos are now advertising vacant positions in national daily newspapers, while others hire employment agencies to advertise and recruit staff on their behalf.
In the past, the majority were traditionally operated. Whenever employment vacancies arose, the board of directors or delegates proposed or hired familiar people without subjecting them to an interview for a merit check.
Florence Mutua, CEO of KTS Sacco, who has worked in the Sacco industry for more than 24 years, says that in the past, senior personnel at the Sacco hired staff who, despite being unqualified, were untouchable.
This is no longer the case as Saccos are thinking about the negative impact that such systems have on their organizations.
Mutua suggests that, for the purpose of selecting the most competent personnel, it is advisable to have the recruitment procedures carried out by recruitment agencies.
“The finance market is full of evolving needs and faced by severe competition from many players. To survive in the market and meet the needs of customers, we need to embrace practices that will give us the best workforce,” she said.
Mutua adds that the rapidly evolving financial sector, which now has digital services, calls for data protection from qualified staff that can make quick yet reliable decisions.
Luncham Mugambi, CEO Trans Nation Sacco based in Tharaka Nithi, attributes the obligatory shift to competitive recruitment to the fast-growing cooperative movement that has called for efficiency.
“Saccos nowadays control billions of money; we therefore need skilled employees to help us roll out strategic plans. Before hiring, there is a need to make sure that the candidates indeed possess the skills indicated on their CVs,” Mugambi said.
According to 2022 SASRA report, Saccos’ net savings rose to Ksh22.5 billion in 2022 and deposits reached above Ksh600 billion from Ksh540.5 billion in the previous year, with Ksh550 billion issued in loans, leaving members with an aggregate net wealth of Ksh50 billion.
The same report says that the 359 regulated Saccos employ a total of 11,188 individuals serving in various positions, with 9,209 serving on permanent and pensionable terms or long-term employment contracts of three or more years, constituting 82.31 per cent of all the employees.
The remaining 1,979 employees, or 17.69 per cent of all the employees, serve on a temporary or short-term contractual basis.
It was also noted that the majority of employees among the regulated Saccos were female and accounted for 50.61 per cent of the total, while male employees accounted for 49.39 per cent.
Within the regulated Saccos, 176 DT Saccos had the highest number of employees, which stood at 9,876, accounting for 88.27 per cent of all employees in the regulated Sacco industry; whereas NWDT Saccos had only 1,312 employees during the period, which is equivalent to 11.73 per cent of all employees within the regulated Sacco system.
The Principal Secretary (PS) in the State Department for Cooperatives Patrick Kilemi says cooperative movements bringing together farmers and other production sectors of the economy play a critical role in the government’s agenda to economically uplift Kenyans.
Daniel Marube, the CEO of the Cooperative Alliance of Kenya (CAK), says the entire cooperative sector employs 500,000 directly and provides self-employment to over 1.5 million people, both in rural agriculture and in formal and informal sectors of economic activities.
However, Albert Chebiegon, chairperson of Boresha Sacco in Baringo County, says though they haven’t hired consultants, they are working with professionals in their locality to help them hire the most qualified people.
“On our part, we have people seasoned in the human resources industry who help us hire people fit for the job,” he said.
Titus Munjuri, the CEO of Dhabiti Sacco in Meru County, says competitive recruitment is no longer an option but a must, adding that old systems allow cases of favouritism to infiltrate the human resources departments.
“In order to meet market demands, organizations need to expand their search beyond the local area, which limits access to qualified personnel who can deliver the best results,” he said.
By Amos Kerich
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