Full Answer Section

• Screening: There’s no application form, no resume, no formal check of qualifications. A candidate is usually just brought to Mama Atieno by a referrer. She might have a brief, informal chat with them while serving customers.
• Interviewing: The “interview” is an unstructured conversation. Mama Atieno might ask, “Are you hardworking?” or “Can you peel matoke quickly?” or “Do you need the money?” There are no pre-set questions, no comparison points, and no notes taken. It’s a spontaneous assessment of personality and perceived willingness to work.
• Assessment (Informal Trial): There are no skills tests. Instead, Mama Atieno might say, “Come work for a day, and we’ll see.” The candidate works a trial shift, performing tasks like peeling vegetables, washing dishes, or serving ugali. Mama Atieno observes their speed, cleanliness, and attitude. Her observation is purely subjective – “They felt right,” or “They seemed lazy.”
• Decision-Making: The decision is based purely on this gut feeling from the trial day and the strength of the referral. “My cousin said he’s good,” or “They were polite,” might be the only reasons. There are no objective criteria, no documented comparisons between candidates.
• Onboarding/Training: Training is entirely informal, with Mama Atieno or an existing assistant showing the new person “how we do things here.” There are no manuals, checklists, or performance goals.

Consequences of this No-Measurement System:

• Inconsistent Quality of Hires: Success is highly variable, depending on luck and Mama Atieno’s intuition.
• High Risk of Bias: Decisions are prone to personal biases (e.g., preference for someone from a certain tribe or who speaks a particular dialect, hiring someone who is simply “likable” rather than competent).
• Poor Job Fit: Often results in hiring individuals who lack the necessary speed, hygiene standards, or customer service skills crucial for a busy kibanda.
• High Turnover: Dissatisfaction from both the owner (poor performance) and the employee (unclear expectations, lack of support) leading to frequent departures.
• Operational Inefficiency: Constant rehiring and retraining, inconsistent service, and potential food safety issues due to inadequate skills.
• Lack of Growth: Inability to scale or standardize processes due to inconsistent human capital.

2. Determining Scores for Applicant Responses (for the Cook/Server Assistant Role)

To introduce measurement to Mama Atieno’s kibanda for the Cook/Server Assistant role, I would propose the following:

a. Interview Questions:

I would implement a structured interview with behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS).

• Process:

  1. Develop Key Competencies: Based on a quick job analysis (observing Mama Atieno and existing assistants), identify 3-4 critical competencies (e.g., Speed/Efficiency, Cleanliness/Hygiene, Customer Interaction, Teamwork).
  2. Formulate Standardized Questions: For each competency, create 1-2 behavioral or situational questions.
  3. Develop BARS: For each question, define what a 1-5 (or 1-3, for simplicity) rating looks like, with concrete examples.

• Example Question (Competency: Speed/Efficiency): “Tell me about a time you had to prepare a large order quickly during a busy period. What did you do?”

  • Score 5 (Excellent): “I immediately prioritized tasks, delegated specific roles to others (e.g., someone for ugali, someone for soup), and kept track of time. We managed to serve everyone within 10 minutes, even with a queue.” (Shows planning, delegation, time management, positive outcome).
  • Score 3 (Average): “I just worked faster. I tried to focus on one thing at a time until it was done. It took a while, but we got there.” (Shows effort, but lacks strategy or clear outcome).
  • Score 1 (Poor): “I get flustered when it’s busy. I tend to slow down or need help from others.” (Indicates difficulty with speed under pressure).

• Scoring: Each answer is rated immediately after the response. Total scores across all questions provide a comparative metric.