HUMAN AND MATERIAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT UNIT
Sustainable development is now the foremost concern of our Diocese. However, if we want development in the concept of continuity and sustainability, we cannot conceive our action without considering the most strategic resources: Human and Material Resources.
Indeed, the development of Human and Material resources is of paramount importance in the sustainability and economic development of our Diocese. Hence, the establishment of Human and Material Resources Department (since September 2014) was an essential step in the process of resilience and transformation required for our Diocese in the concept of sustainable and integral development.
As the Diocese continues to integrate continuous improvement into mission planning, human resources will play a crucial role in ensuring that we have a high-performing and engaged workforce equipped to deliver better results. It will help the Diocese to achieve its strategic mission, while ensuring employees are engaged and motivated to help the diocese succeed.
Be it as it may, since last year, the diocese reformed its employment policy. The objective was to have highly qualified personnel remunerated in the limit of its economic capacities. To achieve this goal new qualified employees have been recruited in our institutions such as in our Guest House and Training Center, etc. Furthermore, the diocese established a clear recruitment policy based on the performance.
In this reporting period, the Office of Human Resources undertook a number of noteworthy initiatives which include:
Staff development
During the reporting period, the Diocese experienced a further increase in the number of projects, and this resulted in staff strength and increasing. The project of Anglican Integrated Polytechnic Institute gave and will give job to new employees. The new start of Cyiciro, Shaki and Gahogo Health Posts; the extension of Healthy Mum Project and the reform in Halleluiah Training Center are other initiatives which created the new jobs.
Staff trainings
To develop their capacities, regular trainings are organized for diocesan employees according to their specific needs:
– Training of more than 300 ecclesiastic and lay leaders on Tubashake Program;
– Certain employees are furthering their qualification on a high academic level;
– Selected employees attended international conferences;
– Many employees attended local training sessions: training of accountants, pastors, projects managers, etc.
Staff well-being
– In order to insure the well-being of our employees, the Diocese urged them to gather themselves in the saving and Credit Cooperatives. In this line, the Diocesan Head office created a mutual which will help them to further their wealth.
Staff relations
The HR Unit worked closely with the Staff throughout the reporting period, particularly in a series of Joint Administration and Staff meetings that sought to address staff matters in a constructive fashion. Normally the staffs meet weekly to share experiences. They look into daily activities accomplishment within the services and develop policies with respect thereto. The HR Unit plans further to enhance working conditions and hone the Diocesan ethics and values by communicating more transparently and frequently with staff on human resource matters, furthering career development and ensuring that the staff development system is applied in a systematic, fair and equitable manner throughout the Diocese to all categories of staff.
New policies
To manage the workforces in a highly productive way, new policies have been putted into place, including: recruitment policy, Staff Regulations; performance contracts guidelines; salaries scale; etc.
MATERIAL RESOURCES AND LAND MANAGEMENT
The overall objective of Material Resources and Land Management Unit is to ensure that resources are used and managed productively in support of equitable and sustained development and poverty reduction.
Indeed, Shyogwe Diocese has important resources: land, forests, houses, and other movable properties. Our intent is to well manage these resources in order to make them productive and more profitable by the Diocese. We are convinced that, if all resources we have were well exploited, the Diocese could sustain itself. It seems also very important to know exactly which resources we have, their actual situation and location. This is why, in this reporting period, the Material Resources and Land Management Unit started to inventory all diocesan lands and forests in order to know if there are well exploited and managed.
Furthermore, in order to insure good management of our land, the resources manager discussed the laws governing the land in Rwanda with the diocesan ecclesiastical employees. The aim was to sharpen them so that they can keep and manage the church’s land in good and productive way.
Be it as it may, we can rejoice that in this reporting period our resources increased: construction of church buildings & pastors’ residential houses, schools, extension of our health centers; acquisition of new big lands, etc.