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.

USAID/LADDERS assesses the performance and initial results of the DOME model on a six-month review meeting

USAID/LADDERS assesses the performance and initial results of the DOME model on a six-month review meeting

HCMC – May, 11,2023

USAID Local Assistance to Develop and Deliver Excellence, Resilience, and Sustainability in Vietnam (LADDERS) assesses the performance and initial results of the DOME model on a six-month review meeting. DOME, a community one stop shop model developed under the LADDERS project, offers an optimized approach to bolster the capacity of community-based organizations to offer clients the best experience and services as well as ensure their sustainable development. Over the last 6 months, the model has been piloted in Ho Chi Minh City with 8 DOMEs as LADDERS has supported and committed to building and enhancing DOME capacities to deliver HIV services and beyond. Last week, an internal meeting was convened to review and assess the performance and key initial results of all DOMEs with 70 participants from USAID, LADDERS team, mentors, the original 8 DOMEs, 2 newly joined DOMEs and all LADDERS-supporting CBOs from Dong Nai, Ha Noi, Can Tho and Kien Giang. The 1-day agenda offered a deep dive into the model itself to facilitate and motivate comprehensive understanding among community leaders; a meticulous analysis of DOME 6-month performances and a practical discussion  with DOME leaders on development strategies in the future.

The figures and trends might vary from DOMEs yet  the 8 community-led health facilities all showed necessary capacities in generating revenues from additional services beyond core funding along with significant determination as they all see values and potential of the model. In the event, an open forum enabled questions and comments to share and pass around the room so that the non-DOME CBOs learnt a great deal by example in the hope of strengthening their governance, capacities and enhancing the quality and sustaining their service delivery.  With extra assistance of the Business Development expert team, LADDERS commits to offering continuous mentorship, capacity building and a variety of technical and financial support to ensure each facility develops its strengths  in compliance with given standards to maximize its impact and appeal to community, generate more revenues towards self-efficiency while being periodically monitored and evaluated. 

In order to sustain themselves, DOMEs will need to make profit by expanding current services to include SOPs for various fee-for-services, harnessing utilization of technologies for management, M&E and client outreach with D.Health integration, continuing to work with business development experts to transition revenue to be more resilient and less donor dependent as mentorship is critical in the hope of guiding community-based organizations out of the dependency/grant funding mindset that is ever shrinking and limited to a self-sufficient model that supports alternative revenue streams. And the DOMEs will be a case study for self-sufficiency that can be helpful to inform future moves for independence.

Refer to event pictures here

Figure 1. In reviewing the key initial results of the DOME model, meeting attendants celebrated the achievements against adversities and challenges as well as getting excited about development prospects and upscale applicability of the model.