By Annabel Khouri | MWB Volunteer with OAF
Since my last update, things have moved very quickly on my project. In the span of a week (and with the assistance, patience, and encouragement from the Kenyan staff), I was able to develop a 4-day program for the selection of new staff. The position that One Acre Fund is currently recruiting and hiring is that of a Field Officer (to complete the roll out of a new program). This is the most critical role in the organization since the Field Officers work directly with OAF customers (the farmers). In order for OAF programs to be successful, the Field Officers need to be of the highest caliber. Consequently, this selection process is crucial to finding the best people to fill this role. This week we implemented the selection process, a 4-day interview process that involved 37 candidates, from which we have selected 12. The week went incredibly smoothly (much better than expected given the short time to develop and prepare staff to deliver), with only a few minor scheduling hiccups. The candidates were recruited using referrals from trusted leaders within the community and did not disappoint. They really worked hard and continued to come back day after day to go through a series of exercises and activities. This persistence partly reflects the economic situation in Kenya, unemployment rate is high, but also demonstrates the quality of the candidates and their willingness to work hard in order to be part of OAF.
The pace does not let up, since we have to now train these new hires to go to the field as quickly as possible. My next project is developing a 3-day orientation and training for these new hires. The training takes place next week, so I have gone through a crash course with some of the managers to understand what is already in existence and learn the recommended changes. It is now my job to take all this information and develop a comprehensive program that is simple enough to scale to other areas where OAF works.
It’s very exciting to create these tools and then see them in action the very next week. After it’s been implemented, we review, gather feedback, and make any necessary changes in order to improve the process for next time.
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