Profile

Sonya Turyahabwa is an UGAFODE Customer Service Officer (CSO) in the rural town of Kagadi, Western Region, Uganda. She is a busy woman, attending to customers in the branch and taking care of her children at home. She will soon be celebrating four years at UGAFODE, where she first began as a teller and recently transitioned to her new role as CSO. UGAFODE has been her first experience working directly with customers.

Change

Being a CSO is demanding, but Sonya has been working diligently to improve the care she provides for customers.

“[Transitioning from Teller to CSO] was a bit challenging. On the other side, you’re just behind the glass. You receive; you give out. Sometimes you get a few questions, but not that harsh. But when I came here, I realized that you must know the products. You have to know how to handle these people. It was a bit challenging, but now I like it. Before I was naïve, fresh from school and didn't understand clients--I thought they would always ask for what they needed. Now, I realize that I need to educate them and help them understand what they need.”

One of her duties as a CSO is to become familiar with UGAFODE’s products. Understanding the features of different savings accounts helps her match the benefits to each customer’s needs. She receives spontaneous spot checks from Stephen, her branch manager, where he tests her knowledge of all the product features. She values this accountability, because she is sometimes caught unaware of new changes. As the face of the company, it is of utmost importance that she communicates the right product information to the customer.

Her Kagadi branch is also doing product reviews with staff on a monthly basis.  Sonya said that this helped the new credit officers in her branch become familiar with the savings product information, since savings mobilization is a shared responsibility among all staff. She would even like to see more branch competitions where the branch manager rewards the person who mobilizes the most savings.

Sonya has come a long way since receiving training from UGAFODE and MEDA on customer engagement strategies. “There was one [training] we did last year in August - I think I benefited a lot. It’s actually what has taught me more about savings and what kinds of customers to target. The thing that I picked out most was how to choose the clients. I used to think you can even go up to anyone at however many kilometers, and you’ll get a client. But I was challenged to learn that it’s better to start with those that are close. Then, you keep expanding.” Working within a specific radius of a branch helps Sonya reach more clients at a lower cost, because they are nearby so she can conduct regular visits quickly and easily.  With the additional know-how of how to identify the right clients, she works more efficiently while keeping dormancy rates low.

She works closely with Emma, UGAFODE’s Sales and Marketing Officer, to reach weekly and monthly savings targets. Sonya identifies savings clients from the people that regularly visit the branch, while Emma looks for potential savers in the field. With the field-based clients, Emma makes the case for savings, and Sonya finishes the process by opening accounts. Their combined efforts and sharing of customers has enabled Sonya to mobilize much more than she could do alone.

From her training at UGAFODE, Sonya understands the value of savings to the bank and to the customer. She also now understands why some loan clients have not been saving in their accounts and encourages loan customers to start using their accounts for their personal savings goals. She has also started calling clients with low or zero balances to encourage them to save.  “When you try to explain to [loan customers] about savings, they get interested. They ask, ‘Oh, you mean I can actually use that [loan repayment] account and save?’ You tell them, ‘Yes,’ and they come and start saving.”

Sonya also receives a similar response when she engages with loan groups. She personally reaches out to the group signatories to introduce and encourage savings. “There are those I called… and they were interested. They said, ‘We are happy that you guys know about us.’ So they came and started saving.” It is clear to her that the personal recognition and customer engagement through a phone call or face-to-face meeting makes all the difference in mobilizing groups to save with UGAFODE.

That understanding has convinced Sonya that customers are never just numbers on a page, but important faces to remember. If a customer has not shown up to the bank or if their account activities have changed, she becomes concerned. “I try to assess why people are taking so long to come. These clients, most of them I know them face by face. So sometimes, I think, ‘Eh, this one has been taking so long without coming. Let me call them and see.’” Understanding the customer’s situation helps her guide them to the best solutions and reduces the number of accounts becoming dormant in UGAFODE.

Significance of change

These savings mobilization strategies combined with strong customer service and engagement has produced tangible results that makes Sonya proud.

“The savings have increased. Even as a branch, I think we are really performing very well compared to how we used to perform before we started this… We used to activate one [account] in a week, sometimes one in two weeks. But these days, we activate three accounts on a daily basis.” In fact, since the start of the project, Kagadi branch has increased its active depositors by 164%, going from 1,132 in March 2013 to 2,987 depositors in April 2016.

Personally, she feels more confident in anticipating customer needs. She has discovered that many approach the bank with a proposed solution, saying, “I need a loan.” However, with experience and training, she has learned to listen for what customers really need. She is eager to see more of what she and the branch can do, motivated as they are by the increased savings rates by their customers.

About UGAFODE

In Uganda, MicroLead has supported UGAFODE to introduce mobile banking and group savings products. UGAFODE has taken a partnership approach to group savings, working with existing Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to facilitate financial services linkages to informal groups.  It has also introduced a mobile distribution channel, AirSave, to better serve its customers.

About MEDA

Under the MicroLead project, MEDA, as the TSP for UGAFODE, has focused on connecting rural savers to the financial institution and supporting UGAFODE in its transition to a deposit taking institution. Their project work and greatest successes include: (1) using human centered design research to develop both a new savings product, GroupSave, which targets informal savings groups, and a new delivery channel, AirSave, which allows customers to check balances from their mobile phones and make deposits and withdrawals at mobile money agent locations, (2) training staff on key principles of customer segmentation, customer engagement, incentive programs, performance management and marketing and (3) helping define new strategies for better client retention and service.

About MicroLead

MicroLead is a UNCDF-managed global initiative challenging regulated FSPs to develop and roll-out deposit services which respond to the rural vacuum of services. With the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The MasterCard Foundation and the LIFT Fund in Myanmar, MicroLead works with a variety of FSPs and technical service providers to reach rural markets, particularly women, with demand-driven, responsibly priced products offered via alternative delivery channels such as rural agents, mobile phones, roving agents, point of sales devices and group linkages. This is combined with financial education, so customers not only have access but can effectively use quality services.