Human Resource Challenges and Solutions in Microfinance

This paper presents results of an online survey conducted by the magazine Microfinance Insights on human resources challenges and solutions. Ninety respondents from 31 countries participated in the survey.

The survey reveals some of the most pressing issues related to human capacity building in the sector. These include:

• Changing landscape of the sector has made it difficult to hire resources with the right combination of qualifications;
• Organizations face serious turnover issues, even though many organizations offer training and incentive schemes for their employees;
• MFIs could reconsider the ways in which they train and recruit staff in order to prevent high rates of turnover;
• Non-bank financial institutions may want to consider investing some of their newly gained capital into training and capacity building as they grow;
• Gender gap among staff causes concern, and MFIs should address it with dedicated policies to ensure balance.

Human resource challenges that MFIs face are similar to those of mainstream companies, namely, hiring the right people, finding the organizational fit, and retaining employees. Working with low-income populations in countries with vastly different cultural, political and economic climates, however, throws up unique challenges.