MMU Webinar: Agent Training - Oct 9, 2012

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Designing & Delivering

Effective Agent Training

M. Yasmina McCarty & Gerald Rasugu

October 9, 2012

GSMA Global Mobile Money Adoption Survey 2011

Mobile money is a three tiered landscape

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State of the industry


GSMA Global Mobile Money Adoption Survey 2011

Mobile money “sprinters” have high performing agents

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Benefits of training an agent network

Fastest growing mobile money

services enjoy up to 65 trnx

per active agent per day (avg.

of 29)

Other services have avg. of 4

trnx per active agent per day


Agent training is a

to drive agent performance

powerful lever



“I am worried that

agent training is time

consuming & resource

intensive …


…do I have to invest to

train my channel?”

…how can I keep

training costs low and

still have high agent

performance?”


Guiding principles to agent training


1. All members of the channel require training

2. Offsite training course for new agents

3. Agent training is not a onetime event

4. Effective training is best done by dedicated

trainers managed against clear KPIs

5. Training must go beyond the practical “how

to” and cover the business case

Guiding principles


All members of the channel require trainingMaster Agents, foot soldiers, agents, etc. are all important members of the distribution team and

need a complete understanding of mobile money


#1Business Owners who invests capital in mobile money

Ensure business owner…• Sees the value of mobile money i.e. increased foot traffic, incremental sales, etc • Understands how to manage handlers, basic book keeping, daily reconciliations

Handlers who conducts customer transactions

To avoid poor customer experience & increased incidence of fraud…• Rigorous and practical training for handlers• Pass/fail exam

Foot Soldiers/MobileAgents who register customers & first cash-in

Train foot soldiers …• To explain to a new customer the key benefits of using mobile money• How to register customers and answer FAQs• Teach customers the interface, taking special care with illiterate clients

Agent Network Management Teams

Should have exceptional knowledge• Expected to know the functional “how to” • Benefits of mobile money i.e. the business case for doing mobile money

Master Agents, aggregators, distributors

Channel will need to know…• How to recruit quality agents• Liquidity management


Offsite training course is advisable for new agents

• Pre-launch training is best

done as centralised, group

training, to build a sense of

belonging and ensure buy-in

• Post-launch new agent

training typically moves to a

decentralised approach to

facilitate faster growth of the

agent footprint


#2Cost-effective regional training hub examples

• One MNO tried agent training in the capital city with follow-up visits to the shop, but could not sustain it as the agent footprint grew. Two years after launch, they set up regional training centres with standing training sessions, so that both new and old agents can come for trainings at any time. Former teachers from that locality were trained up to become local trainers.

• One MNO uses space available at its retail centres/shops as a training centre, by installing the necessary training tools. With this, there is no extra overhead in terms of rental payments, which is a huge cost saving.

• Another mobile money service provider entered into an agreement with an MFI with a national infrastructural presence to use its centres for training agents. They have gone even further to identify champions within the MFI responsible for delivering the training.

Subsequent model for agent training depends on the maturity of the deployment


Agent training is not a onetime event Agents will need refresher courses on a periodic basis and new product training


#3• Initial training should be compulsory – This will reduce agent infractions and give

the operator recourse against agents when they are in breach of guidelines

• Ongoing training options must be available

• Refresher trainings - Agents should always have the option to get access to refresher

trainings centrally or onsite

• Ongoing training at shops – Onsite agent visits can be exploited to (a) enhance the

agents’ business through re-training; (b) identifying further training needs; (c) motivate

the agent on the business case of mobile money

• Trainings for new services - As the service develops and new features are added, agents

need to be kept informed and up-skilled. Where possible, a technical simulation of using

the new service should be done.


Effective training is best done by dedicated

trainers who are managed against clear KPIs

• Master Agents and Agent Network Management Teams are not adequate resources

for training agents

• Dedicated trainers with clear KPIs for performance management is necessary to

deliver effective agent training

– In house resources or outsourced training vendors can both be effective

– Choose the option which has qualified talent, is cost effective and gives the mobile money

manager greatest oversight

• Well designed KPIs and incentives are essential to high quality training

– Training outputs i.e. number of agents/handlers trained

– Training outcomes i.e. agents providing high level of customer experience thanks to the

training


#4


Training must go beyond the practical “how to”It must also cover the business case for how to make money on mobile money, the company

guidelines for agent behaviour and regulatory compliance requirements.


#5• Expect four to six hours for training

sessions

• The training must include practice

handsets for the agents

• Low agent to trainer ratio is

advisable i.e. 25 agents to 1 trainer

• Training should conclude with

meaningful pass/fail assessment


Training must go beyond the practical “how to”It must also cover the business case for how to make money on mobile money, the company

guidelines for agent behaviour and regulatory compliance requirements.


#51. What is mobile money?

2. How to make money on mobile

money - the business case, sample

monthly commissions, product mix

3. The mobile money ecosystem and the

roles of each player - distributors,

agents, aggregators, super agents,

master agents, etc.

4. How mobile money works - Step by

step guide on how mobile money

works for agents and customers

5. Liquidity management – upfront

capital, float balancing, float planning

6. Security for mobile money – agent

pin, log book, wrong transactions,

fraudsters, etc.

7. Customer service – customer

education, customer help line,

customer recourse for errors

8. Agent obligations – shop

merchandising, record keeping, T&C

9. KYC / AML / CFT

Sample curriculum


[email protected]

MMU Webinar: Agent Training - Oct 9, 2012

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Transcript of MMU Webinar: Agent Training - Oct 9, 2012