December 2016—Low salaries, poorly equipped offices, and lack of public transportation gave civil servants at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock little inducement to come to work on time and for the required eight hours per day.

The ministry has close to 9,000 employees assigned across 34 provincial directorates and 398 district offices. Consequently, Afghan farmers were not receiving adequate service from the ministry.

USAID's Capacity Building and Change Management Program II (CBCMP-II) introduced an electronic time and attendance system to improve human resources management and workplace discipline at the ministry, starting with the headquarters in Kabul in 2012.

The system was gradually extended to all 20 provinces, but was not universally popular, even among some high-ranking officials. Attendance registration devices installed in offices were vandalized or simply “disappeared.” In addition, some officials found excuses to delay linking the e-attendance data with the payroll.

The provincial directorate in Herat adopted the new system in 2014 and linked e-attendance data with the payroll at the end of 2015, the first provincial office to do so. USAID project staff trained local employees to use the system, which was installed at the entrance to the office. That was a mistake, as the registration box was vandalized. The provincial directorate management and project staff then installed a new box in the office of the human resources manager.

“Installing the registration device in my office made me come to the office always on time, as it would not be a good example if my employees see that I am not in the office before them,” said Human Resources Manager Khalil Haidary. He said it was difficult in the beginning, but over time, everyone managed to adjust.

“This yellow box in my office improved not only my work, but also my relationship with employees. I talk to them more and we understand each other better,” added Haidary.

The Herat employees are now more accessible to farmers, they report to work on time, and submit advance requests for leave. Salaries are calculated accurately, and tensions among employees have been reduced.

USAID Herat team leader Kabir Sharifi said the project has succeeded “far beyond our expectations.”

The improvements have attracted the attention of other institutions. The Herat municipality and Ministry of Education provincial offices have expressed interest in obtaining the e-attendance system.

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