Workers desert micro-finance in their hundreds

The Kenya Women Finance Trust has been hit by high staff turnover, barely three years after it was named the country’s best employer.

The Nation has learnt that the micro-finance bank lost about 800 employees between 2013 and 2014, mainly from the business development department. Most of those who left worked as credit officers whose main role is selling loans.

One of the company’s unit managers — who supervise credit officers — said in an interview that most staff complained of unfavourable working conditions, including being put under intense pressure to deliver on “unrealistic targets”.

Two weeks ago, the micro lender initiated a leadership training programme for its almost 200 unit mangers, during which the management expressed concerns over the high rate of staff exit.

HOW WELL WE HANDLE
“The agenda was on how well to handle employees and we were informed of the numbers for 2013 and 2014 and what is needed to reduce the exit,” a manager, who cannot be named because he is not authorised to speak on behalf of the company, told the Nation.

The company employs about 2,500 people. Attempts to get more details on the staff exit were futile, with the company only saying that the numbers were “overstated,” and that the average annual turnover has been five per cent “for the last five years since we obtained our licence”.

The bank’s communications officers insisted that information on the staff turnover could only be divulged through a face-to-face meeting with the chief executive officer.

Business development unit forms the core of the institution’s unique business model of mainly targeting women with loans.

In the statement, KWFT said the unit managers’ meeting was part of “several trainings organised to equip managerial staff with management skills” in a bid to continue providing and creating a conducive and more fulfilling work environment for employees.

Kenya Women Finance Trust is the largest micro-finance bank in the country by both branch network and client base, but competition has been growing from players who target the same segment of the market.

Last year, Old Mutual bought a controlling stake (67 per cent) in Faulu Kenya, increasing its ability to compete with Kenya Women. Kenya has nine micro-finance banks whose licensing started in 2010.

Central Bank of Kenya ranks Faulu as the second largest Deposit-Taking Micro-finance after Kenya Women Finance Trust, which has 231 branches countrywide.