Our Strategy
Employee introduction
Mr. Milton Owor, Chief of People and Culture
"Our people are the heartbeat of the Fund, and every milestone in NSSF’s 40-year journey has been made possible by them. By nurturing talent, elevating our culture of excellence, and investing in growth and well-being, we are building a legacy that will power our mission for generations to come."
Talent optimisation
Our approach to talent optimisation is anchored on three pillars: Attraction & Retention, Capacity Building, and building a Learning Organisation. We have consistently attracted top-tier talent from the market through a robust recruitment process. This includes a competency-based assessment centre that immerses candidates in real job scenarios, enabling us to identify not just the most skilled, but also the most adaptable professionals. Our retention strategy has yielded exceptional results, with the Fund maintaining a staff turnover rate of just 4% in 2024, well below the 20% global benchmark (Merritt Recruitment). Employee tenure stands at an average of 10 years, more than double the 4.5-year global average reported by the ILO in 2022.
Capacity building remains central to our mission. We have invested in multiple initiatives, including self-paced online learning platforms, internal secondments, job shadowing programmes, and our female-focused leadership development initiative, Pathfinder. Over the last decade, these programmes have transformed careers within the Fund, with 10 Logistics Assistants advancing to roles such as Customer Service Officers, Compliance Associates, and Procurement Specialists. Notably, 20% of our female staff have earned promotions resulting from their learning experiences in the Pathfinder programme.
As a learning organisation, we remain adaptive and forward-looking. Our partnership with the Mastercard Foundation under the Hi-Innovator programme has provided funding and skills development for SMEs, further demonstrating our commitment to community and economic growth.
The Fund has also become a regional centre of excellence, attracting benchmarking visits from many other social security institutions seeking insights into our electronic records management, human resource practices, and investment strategies. We are also pleased to host numerous benchmark visits from local Ugandan entities, both public and private.
Elevating our culture of excellence
A thriving workplace culture is the cornerstone of sustained performance. In 2015, we set ourselves an ambitious target of 95% employee engagement. Research indicates that highly engaged employees willingly volunteer their discretionary energy and consistently deliver superior performance. In the last financial year, our employee engagement score was 91%, significantly higher than the regional benchmark of 78%. This success is underpinned by initiatives that prioritise employee well-being, such as the introduction of creche services for our female employees who make up half of our workforce.
Our recruitment practices have also played a vital role in sustaining high performance, enabling us to bring in top talent from leading employers. This culture of excellence ensures that every employee is aligned with our vision, motivated to perform at their best, and empowered to contribute to the Fund’s continued success.
Looking ahead
The People and Culture Department remains committed to building on these achievements. By optimising talent, nurturing leadership, and strengthening a culture of excellence, we will continue to shape an organisation where people thrive and, in turn, drive the Fund’s mission forward for decades to come.