Middle Management Training Course: Effective Supervision
Course Description
This course contains four modules that focus on effective supervision. Required reading prior to taking the course are the following:
Working Together as a Microfinance Unit
Working as a team is very important in the microfinance unit. The voluminous transactions involved in microfinance operation also require a good number of manpower who work and coordinate closely to achieve the objectives of the unit. This material intends to clarify the roles of every staff in the microfinance unit. This helps participants understand the role of each staff, from Branch Managers to Supervisors to Account Officers.
Basic Concepts of Financial Intermediation and Microfinance
This material teaches the meaning of financial intermediation and shows the different services that financial intermediaries provide to the community. This will make the participants appreciate the role of rural banks as financial intermediaries.
This material also teaches the meaning of microfinance and describes the profile of its target market – the micro entrepreneur. It also explains the kind of environment a microenteprise borrower moves in. At the end of the course, the participants are expected to have an understanding of what microfinance is, and the differences between the two popular credit methodologies in microfinance lending.
Module 1: Reading and Analyzing the MIS Report
This module reviews the 11 microfinance reports. The focus of this session is on reports frequently use by management and MF staff. The participants will be taught how to read, analyze and determine the relationships across reports. This session is a pre-requisite to the session on loan portfolio analysis.
Module 2: Effective Supervision: Loan Portfolio Analysis
Portfolio analysis requires little time yet this is one of the most neglected duties of a middle manager. It is not enough that middle managers regularly read the reports. To be able to appreciate the reports, a manager must know how to analyze them.
This module teaches managers and supervisors to identify and assess the quality and risks in their loan portfolio, and teach them the skills on how to analyze microfinance reports, and effectively supervise accounts officers and branches through the use of the Portfolio At Risk report.
Module 3: Effective Supervision: Compliance with Policies
One of the major causes of PAR is non-compliance with product policies and procedures. In order to understand the compliance tendencies of Account Officers, a middle manager requires thorough familiarity and understanding of the policies. This helps a lot in reviewing and spotting the weaknesses of Account Officers in terms of compliance with policies.
Module 4: Loan Approval Techniques
Risk is inherent in every new or repeat loan application. This module provides the techniques and tools middle managers can use in approving loans. This teaches managers and supervisors the skills needed to review and analyze loan applications by looking at the potential risks and performance of each application as well as the performance of the microfinance unit and/or account officers.
This module teaches managers and supervisors how to effectively supervise accounts officers, and teach trainees the skills needed to prevent delinquency through a monitoring tool that tracks AO compliance with MF loan policies and procedures.
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