[Interview] Gloria Michelle Otieno, CEO/HR Consultant Recours Four Kenya Consultants, Kenya
Gloria Michelle Otieno is the CEO/HR consultant at Recours Four Kenya Consultants, Kenya.
Her interview with Africa Business Communities:
Would you please introduce Recours Four Kenya Consultants?
Recours Four Kenya Consultants Limited is a human resources and training firm based in Nairobi, Kenya. We are ranked as one of the leading youth focused human resources and training firms in the country. We deal with recruitment, training, psychometric testing and staff outsourcing. We have also successfully made lives easier for enterprises and businesses by helping them fill vacant posts with the right mix of talent and expertise in quick time due to our large database of candidates. Our database currently holds over 100,000 young and qualified candidates.
In which industries does Recours Four Kenya Consultants operate and who are your clients?
Our clients come from the Banking and Financial Services industry, Real Estate, NGOs, Hospitality, Healthcare, Educational Institutions, Oil and Gas, Media & Communications, Information Technologies, Telecom, Agriculture and FMCG.
Some actual clients of ours are USAID Kenya, The Foschini retail group, Wuerth Kenya Ltd, Glaxosmithkline, Ufanisi trust fund, Panasonic, Tintoria Limited, Groupe Salveo Ltd, Indaba Explorations Africa Ltd, Ultraelectric Limited, Databit Limited.
Why did you start Recours Four Kenya Consultants?
I started Recours Four Kenya Consultants because there are thousands of young students who complete their high school education and join universities without making informed decisions on career choices. And there are about 500,000 youths who graduate from various tertiary institutions ready to enter the job market every year without any formal skills required to bridge the gap between employment and education. Moreover, due to the slow economic growth and several other factors, about 75% remain unemployed. This is what drove my passion to start Recours Four Kenya Consultants, as I strongly believe in empowering and advancing youth in their chosen careers.
What is your business background?
Before starting Recours Four Kenya Consultants, I worked at Kenya airways for about 2 years where I learned much about customer service and the role that a client plays for any organization.
Prior to working at Kenya Airways I worked in South Africa as a promotions/sales agent and later got the opportunity to be a recruitment officer. This job I did part time and I was able to earn an income on a weekly basis as a casual staff. I did not mind at all as I got the chance to meet people from different backgrounds and also got an insight into the human resource industry. Basic database management, interviewing and placing candidates was something that weirdly made me happy.
The human resource industry is about people and this is what I excelled in, understanding people and strategizing for organizations.
What other companies/organizations/activities have you founded?
I have founded the R4K student Ambassador program here in Kenya, which allows bright students to be mentors to students that are having problems getting through university. Our program basically empowers the student leader to motivate and inspire the group members into action and completion of university. We teach professional CV writing and interview skills to these students as well and we enable them to be able to teach other group members. So far we have this program set up and popular at Egerton University and Maseno University.
What can be done by entrepreneurs and the government to stimulate the business environment in Kenya?
The government in Kenya and entrepreneurs can adapt to an entrepreneurial ecosystem where government ministers can play a critical role in fostering enterprise and innovation. This activity should be made a priority. Their role would be to direct the government departments and agencies to focus on creating a business environment and develop effective policies. A minister who has a good understanding of what entrepreneurial ecosystems are, how they form and the role and limitations of government policy is well-placed to generate more effective outcomes in the country. To ensure all industry sectors are considered not just high-tech and encourage growth across all industry sectors including low, mid and high-tech firms.
Which African countries will perform best in 2015?
Namibia – due to their prudent macroeconomic policies, that have resulted into robust economic growth and its continued expansion of construction activity within the country.
Gabon – one of the largest oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa. The government is constantly working towards improving the economy and creating jobs for its people.
Seychelles – The country has met most of its millennium development goals. Identified as the richest country in Africa, Seychelles has great infrastructure and 14 airports.
For further business interests, contact Gloria Michelle Otieno
www.ke.linkedin.com/in/gloriamichelle
Africa Business Communities is conducting a series of interviews with CEOs and high-end professionals in Africa. Are you interested in an interview? Please send an e-mail to Trang Nguyen: trang@africabusinesscommunities.com