Muchemi: How delayed payslip helped transform HR processes

FaidiHR founder Peter Muchemi. [File, Standard]

When Peter Muchemi was employed for the first time in 2015, it took him six months to get access to his first payslip from his employer.

This was in addition to other challenges he faced while accessing human resource (HR) services, since most of them were manual. Like most young people, it bothered him. It didn’t give him the pride and satisfaction that came with securing a job.

With a background in computer science and software engineering, he embarked on a mission to transform the HR processes.

Some of the specific challenges that Muchemi witnessed being faced by HR departments included managing various aspects of employee engagement, recruitment, performance evaluation, payroll management, leave management, employee attendance and documents management.

“I got motivated to come up with a solution that could aggregate solutions to these challenges in one platform, to help the human resource services be efficient. In 2020, I launched the FaidiHR platform,” says Muchemi.

FaidiHR is an app-based platform aimed at streamlining the HR process, offering convenience to companies. “I wanted to create a one-in-all cloud-based solution that would simplify these tasks, making HR processes more efficient and accessible for all,” he adds.

According to Muchemi, the FaidiHR Platform has unique features that make it friendly and outstanding, due to its focus on user experience and customisation. He notes that, unlike traditional software that offers rigid solutions, FaidiHR is designed to adapt to the unique needs of each organisation.

“The app is built on the principle of flexibility in that there is always room to make adjustments to ensure that an organisation gets all its human resource needs fully covered under one platform,” he adds.

Through the app, employees can update personal information, request for off time as well as important information from the management.

The employees also have the advantage of getting instant alerts on deadlines, policies, announcements and valuable insights on performance.

“Depending on the size of the company, ranging from startups to multinational corporations, FaidiHR can be tailored to suit the requirements, ensuring a seamless integration into the existing workflow. The platform also allows you to manage the entire life cycle of the employee, from entry to exit,” says Muchemi.

This, he notes, helps in solving the challenge of ghost or absentee workers which many organisations face due to manual management of employees. “With advancement in technology, managing the workers through paperwork, which is tiresome and time-consuming, is set to be a thing of the past,” he adds.

In addition, the FaidiHR Platform boasts a wide range of other features aimed at simplifying HR management. These include automated recruitment processes to performance tracking tools. The app also offers a comprehensive solution for all aspects of employee management. Key features found in the app include an Employee Management Module, which is used to streamline onboarding and onboarding of employees, employee documents and data.

The application also has Payroll Management, used to automate tax calculations and generate all payroll-compliant reports, download payslips and P9 among other reports.

Leave Management is one of the features within the app that is used to manage all leave types and get reconciled leave balances in real time for the employees. Recruitment Module is a feature used to streamline the hiring process with automated job postings, applicant tracking, and candidate evaluation tools.

Performance Management is another tool used to set goals, track progress, and conduct performance reviews seamlessly within the app. Employee Self-Service (Portal and Mobile App) is designed to empower employees to manage their own information, from updating personal details to requesting time off to downloading their pays lips, p9 and evaluation reports

Analytics Dashboard is a feature used to gain valuable insights into HR metrics with customisable reporting tools and real-time data visualisation.

FaidiHR is currently managing more than 200 companies on the platform, which use various tailor-made models.

Muchemi says the app has been made affordable by embracing a subscription model. “Unlike traditional HR software that requires hefty upfront investments, FaidiHR offers a flexible subscription model based on the size and needs of the organisation,” he adds.

He says this has been a deliberate move to ensure that businesses move away from the traditional way of managing their human resources.

“I believe that every company, regardless of size, should have access to cutting-edge HR technology as it saves time and increases productivity. That’s the reason we made FaidiHR affordable for businesses of all sizes, with transparent pricing plans that scale as you grow,” he says.

The cost for a basic plan is Sh50 per employee every month, while the standard plan costs Sh80.

While admitting the various challenges in the uptake of technology in companies across Africa, Muchemi’s dream is to ensure the app revolutionises the way organisations manage their human capital.