CAC General Secretariat staff hold One Day Capacity Development Training

Some participants of the programme from Admin Department

By 'Gbenga Bankole

As part of the three-point agenda of the present administration, Christ Apostolic Church General Secretariat staff on Saturday December 4, 2021 held one day human-capacity development training.

The well-attended training programme with the theme "Capacity Building for Service Excellence" was held at CAC All Saints' Chapel, CAC General Secretariat, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The well-packaged training was an eye opener to each participant.

The training had four different educating and informative lectures which were handled by experienced resource persons led by the General Secretary of CAC Nigeria and Overseas, Pastor Emmanuel E. Mapur who lectured on "CAC Organogram and Administrative Structure; the Registrar, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Elder Femi Ogunwomoju lectured on "Organisational Behaviour", CAC Music Director, Pastor Tope Dada lectured on "Customer Service Excellence"  and Special Assistant to CAC President (who is a Human Development Expert), Pastor T. D. Asokeji lectured on "Work Ethics."

While delivering his Keynote Address, the President of CAC Nigeria and Overseas, Pastor Samuel O. Oladele said organisation operates on the tripod of people, policy and process.

He further said that organization objectives are attainable only when the people are trained to appreciate and appropriate other resources properly.

The President added that; "as the saying rightly goes, 'you don't blame a people when you have not trained them.' Hence, this training is considered crucial to the success of a service-oriented organisation like ours. It shall be periodic, God willing."

Organizational structure is a key element in the functioning of an effective organization- Pastor Mapur

While delivering the first lecture on "CAC Organogram and Administrative Structure", General Secretary of the church, Pastor Mapur revealed that organisational structure simply means structuring an organization for the purpose of achieving its set goals and objectives.

He noted that every organization must have a structure, saying that organizational structure tells about the level of hierarchy that shows who is responsible to whom and positions.

Pastor Mapur further explained that;"organizational structure displays how information, flows from level to level within the company. Organizational structure consists of vital pillars of an organization which the organization is composed of.Organizational structure can also be defined as a system that outlines how certain activities are directed in order to achieve the goals of an organization. These activities can include rules, roles, and responsibilities.

"Organizational structure also determines how information flows between levels within the company. It refers to both the formal and informal frameworks that shape how a business is operated.An organization's structure determines how employees are grouped together and plays a large role in a firm's success. Choosing a structure is not a one-size-fits-all decision, and business owners must select the model that best suits the needs of their organization.Every organization has a hierarchy of people and job functions whether it is organic or intentional. For a business to operate efficiently and systematically, it needs a planned structure that fits the style, size and operations of the organization."

He unveiled the newly structured organogram for the CAC Nigeria and Overseas, regional and offices of the Principal Officers.

Pastor Mapur concluded that;"organizational structure is a key element in the functioning of an effective organization. It is also a common lever that many executives "pull" in the attempt to increase the efficiency of their companies.

If an organization's structure does not fit well with its environment and internal systems, it will be unable to function at high levels of effectiveness and efficiency. It is on this basis that the Authority of the Church constitute a 4-Man committee to come out with a functional organogram for the Church as you have seen."

If you don't have the right type of manager, you can't have the right type of staff- OOU Registrar

The Registrar, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Elder Ogunwomoju while delivering lecture on "Organisational Behavior" advised that CAC General Secretariat should have its own vision and mission statements and this should also be applicable to each department of the Secretariat which should be pasted on the wall for everyone to see. 

When the staffs are not aware of the vision and mission statements of the organization they work for, according to him, the staffs won't know they have a target which will affect the optimal behavior.

He also said that it is the body language of the heads of departments that will determine the performance of of its staff, noting that if the manager seals, there is a possibility that staff working in such department would replicate same thing. 

He added that;"if you don't have the right type of manager, you can't have the right type of staff."

According to him, process of recruiting has a long role to play in the performance and behavior of staff, stating that if you recruit a wrong set of people you can't expect them to behave in a right way.

"What we find out in most Christians organization is that they employ wrong set of people. They employ them because they are Christians. If that has happened, you have to train, retrain and drop some people so that they don't keep corrupting the organization," he said.

Elder Ogunwomoju who attends CAC Oke Ibukun, English Assembly, Ososami,Ibadan, said the organization must give its staff the right atmosphere, motivation and technology to perform, adding that the staff you do not train will give you wrong result.

He stressed that there should be yearly appraisal of staff to ensure optimal behavior

While laying emphasis on the need for good behavior from staff of CAC General Secretariat using a staff of the Secretarariat as a case study, Elder Ogunwomoju said;"disciples of Christ were named Christians because they portray Christ like behaviors, does any staff of the Secretarariat portray Christ like behaviors? do they know the 13 tenets of CAC? As leaders can our staff or workers freely come to us to advise us? All organisations operate within internal and external environment. The existence, structure design, work performance, mutual relations and behavioral pattern are duly influenced by the internal and external environment factors."

Church must begin to place value on customer service- Pastor Tope Dada

CAC Music Director, Pastor Tope Dada who lectured on "Customer Service Excellence" said every organization is influenced by the quality of its customer service and due to rising customer expectations, delivering excellent service is no longer a choice but a necessity especially for the contemporary church. 

He noted that when you equip your frontline staff with the skills to create a quality experience for your customers, you differentiate your organization from the competition, enhance customer satisfaction and your organization's image.

Customer Service, according to him is the quality of what you deliver, and how well you deliver it and it is a one-on-one communication. 

He further said that Customer service is an attribute of God because He relates with other Persons of the Trinity, adding that "God relates with spiritual beings and with humans. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, Paul, etc. (Genesis 3:8; Genesis 18:7; Genesis 37:5; Exodus 3:2ff; 1Sam 3:4-15; 2Corinthians 12:1; Romans 8:16).

Identifying who the customers are, the Cleric said customers  are recipient of a product or service. "People who need your assistance, people who walk in, phone, write letters, emails or relate with our organization and they are NOT interruptions to our job; they are the REASONS why we have our job, he explained.

Pastor Tope Dada who told General Secretariat staff that those (ministers, members, visitors etc.) who come to the Secretariat are part of the typical examples of customers said we have two major forms of customers which are internal and external customers. 

"You cannot strive for service excellence without your internal customers. Internal customers are all interdependent to work effectively. Every employee must see customers as theirs' and not just "yours'. Leaders must measure internal customers' satisfaction at regular intervals.

"Most churches shy away from their customers because they do not see the church as God's primary business. Billboards, Sunday bulletins, radio jingles, or slogans are not the only basis of the churches' relationship with their external customers. Each of these can play a key role, but to walk into a church organization and not well received gives customers an immediate impression that can be very difficult to overcome. For those who are not already loyal to your church, a sloppy or unattractive welcome provides serious demotivation to connect. How you communicate with any person who might potentially enter your doors would contribute to the overall growth of the church. Such poor relationship happens in the church where members are not seen as volunteers who can move to other denominations without your permission.

"The question is "What is the purpose of the church?" God created the church for a purpose. There must be an understanding of the reason for the church's being to place value on customer service. Research shows that 68% of customers leave your organization because of discourteous service. 14% dissatisfied with the product. 9% because of competitors. 5% develop other relationships, 3% due to relocation, and 1% because of death.

"Customer service in the Church is much different in today's culture than what it was some twenty or ten years ago. Certain basic principles remain timeless, but with new advances in technology, as a living organization, our customer service excellence must be changing as society is emerging. Our approach must be with open, managed interaction, embracing the 4 service dimensions of job knowledge, flexibility, people and self management," he said.

While calling for positive change in the way staff of CAC General Secretariat render customer service, the Cleric said our external customers come to us because they have no choice, not because of excellence customer service.

Everybody has a price, but it is you that will say 'you can't pay my price'- Pastor Asokeji

The Special Assistant to CAC President (who is a Human Development Expert), Pastor T.D. Asokeji while lecturing on the topic "Work Ethics" said work ethics is about the values that operate in an organization.

He noted that work is a gift from God to man, given before the fall of man, it confers responsibility on man, not a punishment for the sin of man but a blessing.

While urging the workers to disassociate themselves from gifts that the giver gives with wrong motive or impression, the Cleric said,"everybody has a price, but it is you that will say you can't pay my price."

He added that;"many people indulge in unethical things because they are afraid they will lose opportunities, but as a child of God you need to trust God for everything. There will always be test of your faith. You must know that you're in ministry irrespective of the work you do here. If you embrace ethics, people will know you for what you stand for."

The Cleric noted that the examples of good ethical behavior qualities are good appearance, discipline, honesty, integrity, impartiality, fairness, loyalty, confidentiality, mutual respect for your colleagues at work, professionalism, diligence, dedication, excellence, responsibility, productivity and accountability.

Pastor Asokeji told the staffs that;" if you don't like this organization, resign. You are not force to work here. God will find a new job for you. You are a risk to the organization if you don't resign. It is a sin if you're getting salary here and you are not loyal. Confidentiality must be part of you. Information management is very important."

There was questions and answers session at the programme where people asked questions and were answered to the best of their satisfaction.The training ended with group photograph and refreshment.

Photo speaks !