Human communication between and among BRAC staff working at various levels and communities they are working in is an important aspect. It seems to be more important for BRAC Education Programme (BEP) when they started the process of transformation from a philanthropic mode to a cost recovery model. This study, therefore, looked at the communication process of BEP after the introduction of the cost recovery mode. Following a qualitative approach, information collection started in the head office under the process documentation exercise and continued for a couple of months. The staff of various components of BEP working at field offices were interviewed and discussion was made with the club members of the Adolescent Development Programme (ADP) and with their parents separately. Findings reveal that communication for staff mostly took place of two types– written (circular, e-mails) and verbal (phone calls, meetings, seminars, workshops). Staff were communicating among themselves and with the communities the context of taking fees and were trying to convince them why they should pay part of the operation cost to have quality education for their children. While doing so, some staff showed a lack of confidence and were ending up providing vague information to the communities about their products and services. Lack of immediate response from line managers to problems communicated by the frontline staff was also reported. It was recommended that there should be tangible efforts to energize the field staff followed by customized training to improve their marketing skills. Monitoring and follow-up of communication activities in communities and particularly with government officials need to be strengthened to ensure that the staff are doing enough to popularize the new packages and initiatives. Finally, an environment should be created so that the staff at all levels feel supported in this process of transition.
Authors: Chowdhury, Tanjeeba; Mallick, Utpal
Type: Monograph
Year: 2018
