LADDERS building capacity to assure business skills to secure the sustainability of community organizations business models.

LADDERS building capacity to assure business skills to secure the sustainability of community organizations business models.

HCMC, May 27-29th,

 In an effort to enhance their sales and customer service strategies, LADDERS partnered with the PACE Institute of Management to provide specialized training for DOME staff – the community one-stop shop model pioneered by LADDERS. The training aimed to equip ten DOMEs with the necessary skills and knowledge to revolutionize their approach to sales and customer service. The 3-day  training program focused on several key areas. First, trainees were introduced to the fundamental principles of sales, learning about different sales approaches, effective communication techniques, and the importance of building rapport with clients. They were taught how to identify customer needs, tailor their recommendations accordingly, and deliver persuasive sales pitches. By mastering these skills, the community-dedicated individuals would be able to provide a more personalized and engaging customer experience. They learned the importance of active listening, empathy, and problem-solving, enabling them to build trust and loyalty with customers. This emphasis on customer service aims to create a positive and memorable experience for every individual who interacts with DOME.

One critical aspect of the training was to equip the participants with the knowledge and tools to offer customer service both free-of-charge services and billable ones. The trainer, Mr. Vo Thanh Viet advised on the importance of clearly communicating the value and benefits of the billable services offered by DOME. By understanding the unique selling points and advantages of these services, the management staff of each DOME could effectively convey this information to customers, enabling them to make informed decisions to access billable services. This approach would not only prevent the loss of customers who were accustomed to free services, but also ensure that customers understand the value they would receive by utilizing the offerings at a  DOME.

LADDERS recognizes the importance of supporting community organizations to have strong business models and skills in order to remain as viable staples that can respond to community needs, independent of donor funds. This is one of many activities to achieve that goal.

 

Figure 1-5. By empowering the staff with knowledge and skills, the DOME model aims to revolutionize its approach to sales and customer service to sustain business models. With the ability to effectively advise and care for customers, DOME could successfully include billable offerings in addition to free services, maximizing customer satisfaction and ensuring long-term success and sustainable development of the community one-stop shop model- DOME.

DOMEs and CBO reach consensus on key references on code of conduct and rights and work ethnics of community outreach workers

DOMEs and CBO reach consensus on key references on code of conduct and rights and work ethnics of community outreach workers

Community-based organizations and social enterprises led by key populations have significant advantages in their capacity to reach, recruit, and support those most-at-risk of HIV. Last month, a series of 5 training workshops were successfully organized to reinforce understanding and practice of work ethics and code of conduct among community outreach workers delivered by Dr Nguyen Thanh Liem and Dr Nguyen Tan Thu. The participants were guided through the core characteristics of professionalism, work ethics and code of conduct to understand the morals and core values of their work as well as the significance of complying with procedures, respecting regulations, exercising their rights and affirming their clients’ rights. In addition, all participants took the opportunities to identify, list out and endorse the most significant traits of work ethics, prominent terms of rights for an OW and a client as well as essential qualifications of a community worker to revise existing documents and consent for consistent practice and compliance. The finalized content has been materialized into thoughtful designs of posters for DOME/CBO interior décor so that they are visible to all visitors including staff, collaborators, clients and associates for reference and practice. These posters are being disseminated to all community organizations supported by LADDERS. These reminders are a meaningful tool for OWs to relate and find their part in them. These reference tools play a significant part in improving the quality of services and enhancing the client experience. 

The code of conduct and work ethics are essential qualifications that all CBO staff should master and practice on a daily basis. These practices, particularly among vulnerable populations, aim to protect the trust and confidentiality of clients as well as strengthen the reputation of the participating CBOs. These capacities for community outreach workers are parts of USAID’s commitment to investing in sustainable and responsible systems that can provide good quality services that are respectful and reputable.

 

Figure 1. The major work ethics traits: respect, honesty, confidentiality, responsibility, accountability and transparency  are defined as essential for community outreach worker success and are listed short and sweet in the document for reference.

Figure 2. The poster speaks precisely and comprehensively of prominent rights of both client and community outreach worker in the hope that all parties strictly comply to maximize the service quality and impact.

Figure 3. The poster offers CBO and DOME workers/staff  guidance and reference to conduct their outreach and community work better. This is also the tool for the leaders to assess the performances of employees/collaboratives on regular basis.

USAID/LADDER supports social contracting pilot in Dong Nai province as a key strategy to community sustainable development

USAID/LADDER supports social contracting pilot in Dong Nai province as a key strategy to community sustainable development

After six months of implementing the pilot social contracting in Dong Nai province, LADDERS in partnership with Dong Nai Center of Disease Control (CDC) and  EpiC/FHI360 convened a meeting to review progress of the program in 2022 and plan for the year 2023. For the first social contract, Dong Nai CDC has engaged Hung Vu Social Enterprise which was grown from Full House Dong Nai CBO.

At this meeting, Hung Vu shared how they performed the contracted tasks as well as overcame the challenges in close collaboration with Long Thanh District Health Center and with strong support from Dong Nai CDC. The challenges, as cited, included the low cost norm as compared with the sub-contract norm and also the volume of financial acquittal work. At the end of the meeting, Dong Nai CDC presented their 2023 social contracting plan with specific targets and deliverables, calling for local CBOs’ engagement, adoption and proposal.

Without community-led complementarity to the national response, epidemic control in Vietnam would not be possible. Sustainable solutions including social contracting help ensure that local resources can and will sustain efforts beyond the life of donor assistance. Social contracting is one of the key solutions for sustainable financing to sustain the role of community organizations in the HIV/AIDS response. Through technical support, LADDERS helps build capacities and readiness for social contracting towards contributing to a resilient and timely response to surge public health needs where government funding is available to support community service delivery.

Figrue 1. Dr Nguyen Xuan Quang, Head of HIV/AIDS Unit, Dong Nai CDC, presented the 2023 social contracting plan

Figure 2. USAID LADDERS staff, Ms Nhung Truong, presented the TA plan to enhance community capacities for CBO participating in social contracting pilot