AIDSTAR-Two Project Trip Report – Malawi Dec. 10 – Dec. 14, 2012

The trip was conducted by Ummuro Adano, a Senior Technical Advisor for Capacity Building, with the objective of collaborating with the local AIDSTAR-Two team to plan and conduct a supervisory skill development workshop for CSO teams. The workshop aimed to enhance the supervisory skills of participants from 14 CSOs, focusing on effective supervision, performance management, and employee development. The workshop, which took place from November 12 to 14, 2012, at the Lilongwe Sunbird Hotel, was attended by 23 participants from 11 CSOs. The interactive workshop covered a range of topics, including effective supervision, giving and receiving feedback, manager as coach paradigm, coaching principles and techniques, developing conversation skills, and supervisor competency self-assessment inventory. On the last day of the workshop, each participant took a supervisor competency self-assessment and developed a personal development plan to work on for the next six months. The trip accomplishments included the successful delivery of the supervisory skill development workshop, which was designed to equip participants with the necessary skills to manage people more effectively, encourage self-learning and self-development, and prepare them for unexpected change. The workshop used a combination of mini-lectures, individual and group exercises, plenary discussions, and case studies to cover the broad range of topics. Each participant was assigned an AIDSTAR-Two staff member or consultant to provide follow-on support to ensure implementation. The next steps following the trip included providing on-site and/or remote follow-on support to the CSO teams with their personal supervision competency improvement plans, compiling and submitting a report on the supervision workshop, and providing ongoing support to the participants. The report highlights the importance of effective supervision and performance management in achieving the goals of the AIDSTAR-Two Project in Malawi. The AIDSTAR-Two Project has adopted a "demand-driven" approach to capacity building and organizational development for its 14 CSO clients. The project has conducted an employee satisfaction survey in all the 14 CSOs to establish a baseline and elicit staff perceptions on supervision and performance management. The Supervisory Skills Improvement Program was subsequently designed to offer the participants supervisory skills to help them develop and refine the approaches and techniques they need to manage people more effectively. The project's objectives include improving understanding of the components of HRM systems, their functions, and their interrelated nature, and developing a framework for developing and/or improving the organization's human resource management manual. The project has also conducted a Human Resource Management Workshop in Blantyre in July 2012, which was designed to improve understanding of the components of HRM systems and their interrelated nature. The workshop was attended by 23 participants from 11 CSOs, and each organization left with a draft HR manual.