MAIN Seminar Theme No. 2: Resources for What Demands? Human Resources

This paper is the case study of Centenary Rural Development Bank (CERUDEB) presented in the workshop the levers of financial sustainability at Antananarivo in October 2000. It describes the human resource policy and the constraints faced by private companies operating the microfinance sector.

The paper describes CERUDEB's human resources policy, which covers:

• Human resource management and development;
• Criteria for hiring and retaining staff;
• Criteria for evaluating operating staff, managerial staff and executives;
• Measuring staff performances.

The study also highlights some of the challenges and constraints faced by the bank in the terms of:

• Recruitment and selection;
• Motivation and retention of staff;
• Capacity building, since the internal capacity is limited;
• Performance appraisal.

The paper concludes that the bank is:

• In the process of consistently streamlining its policy framework;
• Gradually building its human resource and other capabilities to ensure profitability and sustainability.