“Human Resources” – sounds so elegant, right? Like a department full of wise sages sipping green tea and making strategic decisions. But let’s be honest – most days, it feels like you’re a glorified firefighter running around with a leaky hose.
Let’s not pretend — this is just chaos in corporate clothing.
Being in HR in a Kenyan company today is like starring in a local drama series — only this one features missing payrolls, ghost employees, and team leaders who think "employee engagement" means starting a WhatsApp group with good morning memes.
You didn’t sign up for this madness. You thought HR was about driving company culture, shaping policies, and leading growth. Instead, you’re stuck printing contracts for interns, reminding people to request leave like it’s a visa, and chasing down signatures like you’re in a scavenger hunt.
Payroll: The Monthly Trauma Series
Ah, payroll. Or as it should be called — Maisha na Machozi: The End Month Saga.
It’s the 28th, and Finance is still “waiting for approvals.” Meanwhile, employees are circling your desk like vultures, throwing shade and side-eyes. "HR, mbona mshahara bado?" they ask with the intensity of an NTV investigative report. As if you’re hiding their money in your top drawer.
Leave Management: Mission Impossible IV
You created a clear leave policy. You trained people. You even made a colorful Google Sheet. But what do they do? They vanish like a magician in a KICC show and submit leave forms after they return. “It was an emergency,” they say. “My aunt’s neighbor’s goat gave birth.”
And you? You just nod and record it, pretending your soul didn’t just roll its eyes.
Disciplinary Cases: HR or Therapist?
“HR, I need to talk to you. It's private.”
That statement alone should qualify for hazard pay. You already know it's either about someone's lunch getting stolen or a colleague giving them "bad vibes." You sit through awkward confessions, play mediator, write reports — only for the same issue to resurface next week. HR is not a soap opera, but here we are.
So, What's the Solution?
If you’re always putting out fires, maybe it’s time to fireproof the building.
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Automate the mundane. Payroll, leave requests, and performance reviews should not be Excel-based spiritual warfare. Use a system that works. Jifunze kutumia system ya ukweli.
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Educate your people. If staff don’t understand your policies, stop forwarding 15-page PDFs. Host a session. Make it interactive. Explain like they’re five.
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Take care of HR too. You are not a robot. HR is human. Prioritize your own wellbeing — because burnout doesn’t write performance reviews.
Parting Shot
To all HR professionals: You are not the department janitor for people problems. You are the culture builder, the people strategist, the pulse of the organization. But you need the right tools, support, and mindset to stop reacting and start leading.
HR si kazi ya mzaha. But it doesn’t have to feel like punishment either.
Ready to stop the chaos and reclaim your sanity?
Get started with an HR and payroll system built for real Kenyan challenges — not guesswork.
Sales: +254 702 339 699
Email: sales@faidihr.com