Case Study: How a Kenyan SME Streamlined Payroll & HR Processes with ElevateHR

In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies are constantly seeking ways to optimize their internal processes to remain competitive. One of the most critical areas is payroll and HR management. Jaza Discounter, a fast-growing retail chain, recognized the need for a comprehensive solution that would streamline its payroll, leave management, and performance reviews. Enter ElevateHR, an all-in-one HR platform that became a game-changer for their operations.

The Challenge: Managing a Growing Workforce

Jaza Discounter experienced rapid expansion, opening new stores and increasing its workforce significantly. This growth brought several challenges:

• Manual Payroll Processing: With multiple employees across various locations, the HR team struggled with errors and delays in salary disbursement.
• Inefficient Leave Management: Tracking leave requests and approvals became tedious, especially during peak business periods for our different clients
• Performance Management: Companies have lacked a structured system for evaluating employee performance, leading to inconsistencies in promotions and bonuses.

These inefficiencies affected employee satisfaction and wasted valuable time that could have been used for strategic HR planning.

The Solution: Implementing ElevateHR Software

Recognizing the need for automation, Jaza Discounter adopted ElevateHR to overhaul one of its HR processes. Here’s how ElevateHR helped:

1. Automated Payroll

ElevateHR’s payroll module allowed Jaza Discounter to automate salary calculations and disbursements. The software:

• Integrated employee data with tax compliance and benefits, ensuring that payroll was processed accurately and on time.
• Minimized errors in salary calculations by automatically factoring in overtime, leave, and statutory deductions.
• Enabled self-service for employees, allowing them to view and download payslips through the Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal.

With the payroll automation in place, Jaza Discounter’s HR team reduced processing time by over 50%, eliminating delays and boosting employee morale.
 

2. Leave Management Simplified for SMEs

Managing leave requests manually was a daunting task, especially with a workforce spread across different locations. ElevateHR’s leave management module provided a centralized platform where:

• Employees could apply for leave digitally from any location. 
• HR could track leave balances and ensure compliance with leave policies.
• Managers had real-time visibility into team availability, making scheduling easier.

This system reduced the back-and-forth communication between employees and HR, streamlining the approval process and ensuring transparency in leave management.

3. Performance Management Revamped

When it comes to managing teams, using the ElevateHR platform proves to help different SMEs. A business may lack when it comes to its performance evaluations structure, making it hard to reward high performers consistently. With ElevateHR’s performance module:

• The company can implement 360-degree reviews, allowing for comprehensive feedback from peers, supervisors, and subordinates.
• Customizable performance metrics aligned with  the company's business goals, enabling targeted evaluations.
• Employees had clear visibility into their performance metrics, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

The structured approach to performance management resulted in more equitable promotions and bonuses, increasing employee engagement and retention.

The Results: A New Era of HR Efficiency

Since implementing ElevateHR, some of SME clients have seen remarkable improvements in its HR operations:

• Payroll accuracy increased by 95%, significantly reducing errors and complaints.
• Leave management became 100% automated, cutting down manual tracking and improving employee satisfaction.
• The structured performance evaluations led to a 20% increase in employee productivity, as staff were motivated by clear goals and fair assessments.
   

Conclusion: The ElevateHR Advantage

Jaza Discounter’s journey is just one example of how ElevateHR showcases the power of automation in transforming HR processes. By streamlining payroll, leave management, and performance reviews, the company saved time, reduced errors, and boosted employee satisfaction.

At ElevateHR, we’re honored to have supported Jaza Discounter’s immense growth. Our platform is designed to help companies like yours achieve operational efficiency and focus on what truly matters—your people.

👉 Want to learn more? Check out our platform demo here.