60190 NOVEMBER 2010 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Watch Out for Potholes on the Exit Ramp! LOVEMORE MHURIYENGWE Experiences from the IFC Against AIDS (lmhuriyengwe@ifc.org) is an Operations Analyst on the Program Sustainable Business Advisory business line. Prior to joining the IFC, he worked for AMREF as a program manager and at No program or product can be expected to go on forever, but the timing and PSGSA as a regional technical manner in which IFC executes an exit can make a tremendous difference to advisor. clients, staff, and the Corporation's reputation. This SmartLesson draws on APPROVING MANAGER the experience of the IFC Against AIDS team after IFC Advisory Services Colin Shepherd, Regional Business Line Leader for the decided to exit from the HIV/AIDS space in February 2009. It shares Sustainable Business Line in Africa. observations--regarding what was done well and what could have been done better--and lessons learned about how to approach future program exits. Program Context AIDS is uniquely destructive to economies, be- The Human Immuno Virus (HIV) continues to cause it kills people in the prime of their lives. be the biggest challenge ever faced. In 2008, Especially in its early stages, the epidemic tends approximately 33.4 million people were HIV to strike urban centres, the better educated, the infected, with about 2.7 million being new elite in leadership, and the most productive infections. An estimated 67 percent of those members of society. These deaths leach profits infected live in Sub-Saharan Africa, making it out of businesses and economies.2 the epicenter of the epidemic.1 -- Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General HIV affects business and families through increased medical and death costs, resulting in inception, the program has worked with 30 dissaving. Where does a business, faced with private sector clients in Sub-Saharan Africa and infected workers, focus its efforts? On health India, spread across such sectors as mining, insurance, recruitment, training? Or on all at manufacturing, finance, tourism, and the same time? We could infer that a company agriculture. In India alone, the project had a investing in reducing transmission among its portfolio of six multinational clients. employees is impacting beneficiaries beyond its immediate employees. In the long term, In February 2009, IFC decided to exit from the reduced mortality means more people are HIV/AIDS space following a product review. available as labor and the same individuals are (See the box.) Reasons for the decision included potential markets, leading to enhanced the recognition that IFC had made its impact in private sector growth. workplace programs, and other players could continue with this work without IFC's IFC Against AIDS Program involvement. IFC launched the IFC Against AIDS (IFCAA) Lessons Learned program in 2000. The program worked primarily with IFC investment clients to 1) Formally communicate program exit mitigate the risks that HIV/AIDS presents to decisions to staff. companies. It provided guidance on the design and implementation of workplace HIV Where possible, communicate to program staff prevention and wellness programs. Since when exit discussions take place, so they are 1 AIDS Epidemic Update 2009, page 7. aware of the exit reasons and can communicate 2 World Economic Forum Report on HIV/AIDS 2004­2005. SMARTLESSONS -- NOVEMBER 2010 1 them to clients--and so they can make arrangements for 3) Have contingency plans for managing staff departures. their own next steps. After the decision to exit the product, staff understandably This consultation did not take place in the case of IFCAA. begin to look for other opportunities. Contingency plans Instead, the result of the product review came to light should be in place to make up for the reduced numbers of inadvertently when colleagues from Washington who had staff and the increased workload. Some suggestions: heard about the decision were visiting the field office in Johannesburg. One of them, who was not part of the AIDS · If possible, mobilize other resources within the team, casually mentioned the exit, thinking that the AIDS Corporationsotheprogramlegacyisnotlostdueto team already knew about it. Without formal communication, staff leaving at unpredictable times--and sometimes operations officers began the process of getting information onveryshortnotice. on this exit and how it would impact their careers. The program team had some tough decisions to make. · Managers could implement a performance plan for exiting staff where key milestones need to be A better course would have been for management to delivered--andmaybepayabonusasanincentiveto communicate to the team the basis for the exit decision so stayuntilprogramcommitmentsaremet. that one message is communicated to clients. · Continuedconsultingopportunitiescouldbeofferedto 2) Ensure that client needs are addressed during the staff who are leaving, so they could close off projects transition. evenwhentheyareemployedelsewhere. One benefit that clients have cited for partnering with IFC--in addition to the financial and technical commitments--is the attention their needs receive from IFC Advisory Services Product Reviews staff. On the IFCAA program, for example, an operations officer dedicated to four clients worked with them to Since the fourth quarter of FY07, product reviews are performed develop the project and all related reporting systems. annually on Advisory Services product offerings. The product re- view has four main objectives: However, as a result of the exit decision, officers redistributed their projects to other officers and an analyst, 1. identifying key products where IFC will invest in appropriate and due to the staff movement, the remaining staff staffing, replication, knowledge management, and mesaure- members were too stretched to provide dedicated technical ment; support to each client. Out of five operations officers 2. identifying and implementing product exits; serving 15 clients, only two people were left to manage the 3. endorsing research and development efforts necessary to keep same portfolio of clients. In addition, staff took over clients the offering relevant to the changing needs of our clients; and that they were not familiar with, which in turn compromised 4. establishing a set of financial limits regarding approval values the quality of support provided to the clients. Also, some and expenditure across product categories aligned with the re- commitments made to clients could not be fulfilled due to search and development, growth, and exit targets. reduced staff numbers. During the review process, Advisory Services products are placed To mitigate these challenges, instead of having a single in one of five categories, as shown in the table below. Products officer dedicated to a project, the whole team needs to be may move from one category to another, according to specified familiar with the different clients so that, in the event of criteria.3 For project managers or implementors, exit decisions are staff movements, the clients do not suffer. (The proxy perhaps the most dreaded of all product-review decisions, since system in iDesk should be implemented, and not just be they have serious implications for staff, clients, and processes for used during reporting cycles.) This has the added advantage the program. Given the impact of such decisions, they deserve that the whole team becomes one, and transitioning to careful consideration, to avoid posing reputational risk to both another project will not be difficult. Regular team calls-- the Corporation and the client. where each person reports on the status of his or her client--helps manage the client relationship better and AS Product Categories ensures a seamless transition between officers, because the Entry In- Developed Exit Special development Initiatives person who takes over the project has an idea of what is happening on the project. New products, Growing demand, high Products replicated across Products to be transitioned out Client / market limited potential for at least three of IFC, some may driven with reach, little scaling up regions, rigourous be shifted to limited The IFCAA program had a very effective proxy system, as or no M&E, may remain across markets, measurement including other external parties; No new current application; some positive EXT ER NAL approvals except not a evidenced by officers visiting each other's projects and in this category <= results; may Evaluation with to package `dumping 24 mos remain in this positive results, lessons or finalize ground'; providing advisory services as if they were serving their own category <= highly experienced a toolkit if unlimited 36 mos senior IFC staff product is time in this clients. But the success of the system depended on the right leading, indefinite time in cagtegory transitioning to others category as long as M&E staffing levels, and the system seemed to fail in the end as is positive staff left the program. 5 Source: AS_Product_Review_Presentation.pptx, February 2009. 3 20081204T172959_Review Plan and Instructions.doc 2 SMARTLESSONS -- NOVEMBER 2010 · Advisory Services could develop a core group of staff who can move between projects, thus ensuring that staffinexitingprojectscanbeabsorbedintonewones astheyaredeveloped--insteadofthetime-consuming practiceofrecruitingnewpeoplefornewprojects. In the case of the IFC Against AIDS program, by June 30, 2010, the official exit date, 11 Project Completion Reports (PCRs) remained to be completed, with some already overdue. All officers had left the program except for one analyst, who was left to complete all PCRs for the Africa region despite the fact he had been with the organization for less than a year and was now the task team leader for all the IFCAA projects. Had opportunities been offered for exiting staff to be involved in the write-up of the PCRs, better PCRs could have been written, thereby enhancing IFC's development effectiveness ratings regionally and Presentation of MTN Program's program outline during an IFCAA globally. Client Conference, 2006. On the plus side, the recently launched project management competency--added to the core competencies of advisory To avoid such pitfalls, the project team should consult with staff--ensures that all advisory staff have a core set of skills the regional and global M&E teams regarding the correct that they can apply regardless of the program. The set of indicators, to ensure that they are all in agreement. Corporation could invest in coaching this core group of The indicators dropped by the regional M&E team (as not project managers to be more generalists than specialists, to being part of the Corporate set of indicators) had been enable officers from closing projects to be deployed to recommended by the M&E team in Washington. In manage new ones. addition, the M&E team should familiarize themselves with the project, so that recommendations they make are 4) Plan for project exit at project start-up. relevant to the program. The ideal time to develop a project exit plan is at the 6) Plan for and allocate resources for documenting project approval stage. That way, everyone knows what knowledge and lessons. to expect and how to plan for it. When exiting a program, knowledge management and Because no exit plan had been put in place at the time the dissemination are important activities to ensure that the decision was made to exit IFC Against AIDS, it was difficult operational experience, know-how, and skills are passed to explain to clients why the Corporation was exiting. This on, and to establish a legacy for the program and IFC. situation improved, however, when officers sat with their Management and staff must keep in mind that, to get the clients and designed exit plans for each client. If an exit maximum return on IFC's investment in a product, they plan had been agreed upon with the client at project must develop, implement, and support a strategic plan of design, the client would have been prepared for such an activities and concordant budget. Effective and professional eventuality, and implementing the plan would not have knowledge management enables IFC to gracefully exit a been difficult. particular space while ensuring that the experience and lessons learned on the program continue to inform other 5) Indicators should remain constant when programs are players in the field. Ways to capture and perpetuate such exiting. knowledge include, among others, partnerships, internal sharing, and use of the Intranet. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is essential to the project. Since indicators are used to assess project impact, Partnerships. Partners established during the life of the changing them alters the project scope. Project exit is not program, as well as new partners, can be effective actors the time to change indicators, because at that point there in the program's exit strategy--and can ensure that the is not sufficient attention and time to absorb and catalytic efforts of IFC continue and become mainstreamed implement the new indicators. into other organizations. For example, partnerships with umbrella organizations such as business coalitions allow On the HIV/AIDS program, indicators were changed partners to familiarize themselves with the program's approximately 15 months before the exit date, despite the approaches and tools as it is being implemented. Then fact that the program had designed systems and they can disseminate that knowledge to their member instruments to measure the old set of indicators. In the organizations. end, the project reported in the PCR was not the one that had been envisaged by the project team. This resulted in After the HIV/AIDS program exit, some partners continued most projects being rated as unsuccessful under the new to work with the clients that IFC was working with, so the indicators, even though the original set of indicators program's tools and approaches were not lost. This pointed to a successful project. effective transition was possible because the partners had SMARTLESSONS -- NOVEMBER 2010 3 been involved in the implementation of the key lessons from how the HIV/AIDS program program with IFC and were familiar with exited--lessons that other programs that IFC's approaches. Furthermore, since partners have been exited from the recent product were there when the tools were designed, review may want to consider before they there was little need to train them in the use wind down in June 2011. of tools, manuals, and program methodology. Intranet. To ensure a program's legacy, it is Internal sharing. Investments should be made important that its Intranet site be kept for to capture and disseminate what has been future reference within the Corporation. learned on every IFC program, irrespective of During the winding-down phases of IFCAA, whether it was successful or not. Brown bag we suggested that the communication team lunches and SmartLessons, for example, in Washington keep the Intranet site (IFC should be encouraged for both successful Against AIDS) running for at least a year after and unsuccessful programs. Lessons from the program exit--to ensure that partners unsuccessful programs can alert us to things and interested parties not be cut off from to avoid, or do better, when designing new IFC's knowledge after the exit. This strategy programs. In addition, program evaluations has been effective, since partners are still should document program and client able to access the site for reference documents perceptions of the intervention, as well as on the program. In addition, since the site what the program achieved. contains background information on the rationale for the program, clients and service No program evaluation was conducted for providers can find reference material and the HIV/AIDS program, due to the reduced guides that they can use to replicate the staff levels to oversee the process. As a result, program, thereby ensuring that IFC's valuable lessons on the project's achievements knowledge continues to influence program and failures were missed. In future, these development. evaluations efforts could be done under the results measurement unit so that IFC can Conclusion draw lessons from its projects. IFC's ultimate exit from any program is a given. However, plans are in place for a brown bag However, exits that come through product lunch to disseminate the key lessons that IFC review should be properly managed so as not learned from implementing the program. to affect clients and staff negatively. With The lunch will present highlights from all the adequate preparation, a program should be programs that were implemented in Africa able to exit gracefully, capture all its and India, as well as presenting some of the achievements, and preserve its program legacy. DISCLAIMER IFC SmartLessons is an awards program to share lessons learned in development-oriented advisory services and investment operations. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of IFC or its partner organizations, the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. IFC does not assume any responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this document. Please see the terms and conditions at www.ifc.org/ smartlessons or contact the program at smartlessons@ifc.org. 4 SMARTLESSONS -- NOVEMBER 2010