Interviews for Recruitment: A Quality Case at British American Insurance

There is a constitution with three primary chapters, which you must adhere to in the day of interview:

Chapter 1: Arrival Time

Chapter 2: Psychological emotions

Chapter 3: Dispel Fear

I woke up at 5 am in my residence at Kahawa. My main aim was to arrive at the interview venue an hour earlier because lateness and recruitment interviews are scarce-cater cousins. It was my first time to attend an interview where I had received a personal call, in fact, through my mobile phone. The previous invitations to interviews were through a template; that message which everyone else received through “please do not reply to this, or noreply@).” With this, you cannot seek further clarification; even myself I had to call again to ask the venue location and I was received with regard; it was a case to others too. This was special for me in a way, a case of Total Quality Management.

I had to take a heavy breakfast because I feared trembling when I will be asked questions such as “tell us something about yourself or why do you think no one else can perform better than you in this job?” Though I was sure the answers were at my fingertips, I was aware that the rhyme between hunger and mental functioning breaks someone below the knee.

One thing I tried to avoid was emotions, more especially those caused by mannerless Nairobi bus conductors. I made sure that I have loose money because they usually pick up quarrels with passengers presenting two-hundred shillings notes and above. If you argue with them, mind you your day will be one of the worst in lifetime.

I realized that the interview might not begin exactly at half past eight as promised. The only way to avoid being idle in the waiting room was to buy a newspaper. This would not only dispel possible fear that might engulf me, but would also make appear organized and focused among the interviewees.

I did not know the way to Britam Insurance. I asked the officer at Kencom bus stage, who told me that there is no vehicle going that area since it at the sides of State. But, I was sure there I was not the first one to go there and not all those who work for Britam own cars. I called a friend who advised to aboard the same bus that officer had refused me. The conductor promised to drop me at the gate. And sure he did.

I expected to meet at least 2000 interviewees, slightly less than I met in the previous interview. In fact, the previous one did not succeed because the number of interviewers and space would not accommodate the number of the invited candidates. This led to some unfair businesspeople selling some forms to people at exploitative prices. It was a different case at Britam.

The first people to meet were the security officers. Even before approaching the gate, one of them was there right on time.

“Hello,” I greeted them. “I received a call to attend a recruitment interview at Britam. I hope I am in the right place.”

“Please go to that door,” he said pointing the door at the far end where a lady was just entering. “You will find another officer who will show you the waiting room.” I thanked him and walked majestically in that prestigious, calm compound. At the entrance, I was received by a lady in blue, a color similar to the color of the building; the color that I love most. I joined five other candidates seated behind the reception, expecting at least 1,995 more, which did not actually turn to be true.

Approximately twenty minutes passed. As others yawned, shivering after every time the entrance door was opened, I comfortably read the Nation newspaper, concentrating on the Westgate Mall massacre, especially on the failures of the National Intelligence: Poor Total Quality Administration. The only challenge I faced was that I was in a tie while almost all other interviewers dressed casually. As time went by, almost ten other candidates joined us.

A well-composed and courteous security officer came, sought our attention, and thanked us for coming. “There is a waiting room in the 7^th floor, kindly let us go and wait for the interviewers from there.” He said as he escorted us to the lifts. As we sat down, he showed us the directions to the toilets, pointing to both male and female toilets, which were opposite to the waiting room. I continued reading my newspaper as others watched the TV cartoons (it was on a Saturday morning).

The psychometrician came and pardoned himself for lateness. He had two boxes filled papers, I then realized that it was it was an IQ test, not the oral interview as I had thought. I loosened my tie, put my newspaper aside and gathered my deepest intelligence. I knew it would be tough the next forty-minutes (as it was the previous case), but “for the next two and half hours, we shall concentrate without moving out. If you want to visit the toilet, this is the time.” the psychometrician announced.

The friendliness of the psychometrician made the test environment relaxed for the intended purpose. Every time he read the instructions clearly, giving dramatic pauses for points’ digestion. I sometimes fear tests, but the Saturday morning at Britam was a totally different case. Tests were somehow hard, but friendly and disseminated in friendliness. I recalled my Psychology classes and remembered that the tests had all the qualities of Intelligence Tests. I was happy, and even waiting for the next test after the fourth and last test were collected.

I walked out slowly, feeling as happy as the owner of the company, sometimes even stopping to breathe the cool breeze inside the building. As we walked to town, I did not hear any complain, as it was the case in the previous interviews. It was an excellent case of Total Quality Management in interviews, which I think all other organizations should embrace. It does not mean that I am selfish, but one thing I am sure of is that the number of interviewees contributes to the quality of the test; that is what Britam embraced in its recruitment process.

As I researched the online history and development of Britam in the evening, I found out that all queries were responded to, especially in Facebook. That attitude that I developed towards Britam in the morning 28^th September, 2013 made me realize that the recruitment process is another way of creating market empires, whether one is recruited or not. As I wait for the response, it does not matter whether I will qualify or not, what I know (I belief this could be the case with three or more others too) is that I belong to Britam.   

The Philosophy of Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility means “operate for the good or ill of those who live within the business environment.” If you were a businessperson and you want to grow, which one would you choose? On my side, I would choose to operate for the ill of those who live within the environment of the business. before I choose to operate for the ill, I need to ask myself, “how long will I operate for the ill of the people?” and the answer is: I will be demolished even before I begin. Business corporations should know that the eye of the public is keener than theirs.

There are two philosophies I have come to identify underlying Corporate Social Responsibility: do me as you want me to do you, and you cannot teach a hungry dog new tricks. In fact, a hungry dog ate its owner at around 1:30 pm.

Businesses need customers for their goods and services so that they can get money from them, and customers need the products of businesses to meet their needs. Both must be socially responsible to one another for mutual survival. In this transaction, the customer is the king and must be treated like a king. In the olden days, no villager was allowed to consult the king in West Africa without a plate of food and crawling on his/her stomach to the King’s table. I cannot explain how it was, but that is what history has for us. The belief was “thou shall not speak to a hungry king.”

The competitive nature of the modern business arena requires businesses to do extensive advertising. This must involve directly talking to the community of interest. You cannot advertise your products to a hungry community; you must feed it first. Feeding includes giving goodies to the poor, supporting community projects, funding educational institutions, supporting the old and cleaning the environment to create a friendly relationship between the customer and the business. This is the philosophy of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Effective Marketing-The Road Map to Corporate Prosperity

Ability to market effectively a product is very crucial in any business success. No one can buy a commodity which he or she has no information about its existence. Just passing information to prospective consumers is not very helpful; the message should be passed using the right media, at the right time, directed to the right audience. The effectiveness of your marketing campaign is determined by how well the advertisements and promotions draw customers' attention. Going out to tell people about the product may not make any difference unless highly qualified people with convincing power do it. Therefore, consider effectiveness of your marketing before going out to talk to customers, otherwise, it may lead to bad public image of the company.

Bad public image arises from giving false messages and using the wrong symbols or figures for advertisement. I do not want to talk about Unilever’s Vaseline advertisement on billboards by Sheila because most people have spoken about it; let us look at Johnson Mwakazi’s Tecno Phantom. The public described it as the worst TV advertisement ever! I watched it myself; it was actually not the worst according to me. The advertisement passed the message using the right person and media; however, it was wrongly structured. Consider the Achluophobic people (those who fear darkness): it was unfair to them. Customers enjoy an entertaining advertisement: Mwakazi was talking to himself in the dark. Short but clear messages are effective: Johnson seemed to have prepared a 40-minute lesson plan, which might have been interrupted by an unknown intruder.   

Total quality managers in marketing should understand the Fundamentals of Branding, Marketing, and Advertising. If marketing managers do not comprehend the processes and composition of the above elements, they are bound to fail. Most advertisements in Kenya fail due to lack of an artistic eye, strong ego and visionary management. Successful advertisements understand the current and prospective customers of the business and tailor their message to satisfy their needs. This is where the idea of marketing segmentation comes in! Quality managers understand that different customers access the marketing information through diverse media. Use of integrated media can enable them access all customers. As usual, I repeat that Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the cheapest forms of marketing.

Businesses such as Wall-mart and Starbucks have grown to high heights, not because they have money, but because they understanding the deeper definition of advertisement. When I read the story of Sam Walton, I realize that he had a strong ego in advertising and was always impervious to failure. Starbucks prospers through ensuring that they have branches everywhere. In fact, branch presence is the second cheapest form of advertisement since it avails itself for people to see it. Customer resistance may arise at some points, or the company fails to access sufficient capital for branch operations; however, in the long-run customers will trust what they can easily access.

Poor marketing has slowed down the Kenyan economy. There are several businesses that people are not aware that they exist. I am not complaining, but I am talking of a small business recreational centre named Lake Side. The facility has lake-like dam that you cannot see its end leftwards. It is similar to a beach, and offers a wide variety of foods and drinks. There are children’s recreational facilities, surfing boats and fishing activities. This excellent recreational facility is located in a place called Toll along Thika Superhighway, a few miles from Ruiru town. I attended a public university along the same Superhighway. I never found a place where I could take my friends for a soft drink after classes during the four years. Yet, the place would have provided an excellent rendezvous for the same if the management had done proper advertisement. I went there on Wednesday 21^st august, 2013; there were no customers except a few attendants. I walked around the compound and thought that the facility is underutilised. Most people in the institutions and organisations around the area do not know of its existence. I confirm this because I just knew the facility in May 2013. This is after unsuccessfully looking for venues for university club parties and private recreation for more than four years.

This is just one example. I am sure you have searched for a computer accessory in the whole of the town, but you failed to acquire it if you did not know a specific provider. I am talking about quality managers committed to effective marketing for business success.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Have you ever asked yourself why companies continue giving us free goods? Have you ever received any free good or service from a company? I cannot deny that everyone has received a free commodity either directly or indirectly. This is what the business world refers to as “Corporate Social Responsibility”.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a form of corporate self-regulation, which the businesses integrate within their operations models for sustainable growth. CSR policy functions as self-regulating mechanism whereby businesses monitor and ensure their active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and international norms.

Most companies in Kenya actively participate in CSR initiatives. The primary objective of these corporations is to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions and encourage positive impact through its activities in the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and members of the public. CSR is not one-shilling activity, but an activity that consumes millions of money. I remember one day reading an article that Tuzo has supported a football club in Kenya with Sh 20 million. Similarly, Equity Bank Foundation, Kenol Kobil and KCB foundation spend a better amount of money to pay school fees for bright and needy students. And more other companies…. Why should businesses spent such huge sums of money to implement CSR?

CSR could appear expensive in the short-run, but it leads to increased profits in the long-run. Proponents of CSR argue that corporations that actively implement CSR make more long-term profits than those that do not. Have you ever asked yourself how these profits come about?

Let us consider Arial detergent production company, which currently has a market share of 25% in Kenya.  First, let us ignore the fact that Arial and Omo are at loggerheads regarding the former’s compliance with the Competition Act, Code of Advertisement Practice and Direct Marketing Rules in regard to its innovative advertisement.  Procter & Gamble spent sh 360 million to prepare and air the Arial advertisement. We know the media is very fair, it charges only sh 179,000 per 30 seconds to buy airtime during prime hours (7:00 pm-10:00pm) when the televisions have the largest number of viewers. Ignoring complains that the Arial advertisements are characterized by untruthfulness, the company repeats several slots on various TV stations; the amount can sum up to sh 1 million every evening. This is just one example of a company; there are others that spend more than this!

One of the demerits of this advertisements is that not all people can access them. People in rural areas do not have any idea about these products. Sometimes they see the washing powders on the shelves, but no force has ever been applied to help people identify the products. This is why I am talking about Corporate Social Responsibility, rather than just advertising in the media.

Procter & Gamble could be forgetting that excessive advertising would miss essential category of buyers that have to be nudged or need little persuasion to make purchases. CSR would provide the best cure to this since it would enable consumers to identify themselves with the product and build loyalty with the company. CSR also gives both present and prospective customer an opportunity to interact with the company in a non-business environment, which encourages the public to seek its business interactions. If I belonged to the company’s board, I would suggest at least some form community service, perhaps to the jigger stricken area or give some sachets to schoolchildren from poor communities to wash their clothes with Aerial. The smell alone would make these children company’s loyal customers when they grow up. Let me not attack Colgate because people in remote areas do not even know that their teeth need to brushed, and it is the responsibility of the toothpaste manufacturing companies to enlighten these locals so that they can begin using and buying toothpastes. But toothpaste companies have left people suffer with teeth problems due to non-cleanliness. This is what I call “LACK OF AN EYE TO IDENTIFY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES”

I watched the second day of the Westgate Mall Siege with my seven friends. We were all worried about the plight that people outside were undergoing as they waited for their family members who were still hostages. A canter came with several dozens of plastic-bottled Fanta, obviously from coca-cola company. I heard one of my friends say, “At least coca-cola can see.” As we went out for a drink, almost everyone left their preferred drinks and “wanted to test whatever coca-cola had offered to the hostages’ next of kin.” I think this is how a consumer community begins to develop.

Equity Bank has grown rapidly due to increased involvement in CSR. Everywhere in the villages, people of all walks are talking of Wings to Fly. Children are encouraged to work hard so that they can be supported by the bank. Teachers are also aware of the same since they talk about the sponsorships to the children. Children grow up while the word “Equity Bank” is ringing in their minds. Even if they miss the chance, they already know about the bank very well. When they want to open accounts, there is no halt that can prevent them from Equity Bank even, if it means queuing for three consecutive days. This is the power of Corporate Social Responsibility.

It is crucial that companies comply with the CSR requirements. CSR contradicts the economic role of the business, but it recovers all the profits in the long-run. The members of the public should also take seriously and exploit all opportunities that present themselves in the name of CSR to augment their socioeconomic development.