Annual Report 2007

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 0 7
Organisation, Staff and Staff Development
From the beginning of the project to create a
ProCredit bank in Honduras, the recruitment and
training of local staff has been a key component
of our work. The greatest challenge was to create
a firm commitment on the part of the staff to a
new bank with a new type of institutional culture.
Throughout the year, in addition to induction
and technical training courses, “extracurricular”
activities took place. These activities included
group discussions, off-site events designed to
promote a team spirit, and gatherings with the
families of staff to help them understand the nature
of our institution and its business. Providing
training on the ethical values of the company
and the practical implications of those values
was, and still is, an integral part of our day-today
tasks at Banco ProCredit. In our view, this is
just as important as ensuring that our employees
carry out their responsibilities correctly and in a
professional manner.
A specific feature of the Honduran banking system
is that despite the long history of banking in
the country, the system had no culture of serving
small and very small enterprises, or of working
“in the street” to approach potential customers.
This tradition caused many potential employees
to change their minds when they realised that
they would be expected to do promotional work
in local neighbourhoods and to visit members
of our target group in their homes and places of
business. Other candidates withdrew as a result
of unrealistic salary and professional advance-
Number of Staff and Staff Turnover
Number of staff
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
07
g
g
Hired
Left
g
Active
Turnover rate (in %)
Turnover
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
ment expectations. Local universities, in particular
the private institutions, encourage students
to believe that they will be department managers
within three years of graduation, and earning
salaries which far exceed what local firms
are willing to pay young, relatively inexperienced
graduates.
Despite these constraints, the bank successfully
recruited an excellent team of qualified Hondurans;
99% of the staff is local. Banco ProCredit
is fortunate to have highly dedicated employees,
committed to the bank and its values, and eager
to help improve the country’s economic situation.
The state and private schools in Honduras provide
bilingual instruction, and the employees of
Banco ProCredit Honduras generally have a good
command of English. As at other ProCredit institutions,
the recruitment strategy in Honduas was
to identify young people – often recent graduates
or individuals who were still at university – who
had the right attitude and a willingness and ability
to acquire the necessary skills, and to provide
them with professional training. At 29, the average
age of our employees is quite low. The bank
has a 50:50 split between men and women. The
head office employs 48 people, and the majority
of our staff (70%) work in the branches.
Banco ProCredit has a transparent recruitment
policy based on the following hiring criteria: the
ability to master the required technical skills, a
proactive approach, a commitment to the values
Training Expenditure and Hours of Training Provided
Hours
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
07
g Expenditures Hours
USD
210,000
180,000
150,000
120,000
90,000
60,000
30,000
0