Organisations Urged To Embrace Technology To Simplify Payroll

Kenyan organisations have been urged to adopt technology-enabled solutions, such as embedded finance, to enhance workforce productivity, operational efficiency, and employee well-being.

Embedded finance has been used widely by organisations in more advanced economies to offer emergency support to their staff. Before the adoption of embedded finance, organisations primarily relied on financiers such as banks, SACCOs, and third-party lenders to offer emergency liquidity to their staff, whether in the form of salary advances or short-term loans.

While these lenders helped the borrowers to pay for medical emergencies for school fees and other crucial bills, some loans obtained from predatory third-party lenders left the borrowers grappling with huge debts that have affected their productivity at work.

“Embedded finance delivers tangible value across the employee–employer relationship. For employees, it provides timely access to financial tools that reduce stress and improve financial stability,” said Bryan Kariuki, Regional Vice President, East Africa, SeamlessHR.

Kariuki, who was speaking during a high-level executive roundtable in Nairobi, added that for employers, embedded finance can help enhance workforce productivity, strengthen retention, and build a more resilient, engaged organisation.

Present at the meeting, themed ‘Scaling business performance, operational sustainability and workforce productivity’, was Kris Senanu, Founder and Chairman, Blackrock Capital, who emphasized the importance of embedding technology in core business processes.

“The companies that lead tomorrow will be those investing in agile, integrated solutions today. When thoughtfully integrated, embedded finance becomes a strategic asset for sustainable business growth,” said Senanu.

Victor Komu, Human Resources Director, Gardaworld Africa (formerly KK Security), highlighted the role of embedded finance in supporting blue-collar and contract workers, to whom access to conventional finance is limited or non-existent.

“For low-margin, labour-intensive organizations, employee emergencies cause an increase in absenteeism, which in turn is a cost for the organisation as the role has to be fulfilled by a temporary replacement,” said Victor Komu.

According to a Harvard study, companies that allow employees to access the amount of money they have worked for before the month ends reduced employee attrition by 23 percent.

Lynn Eisenhart, Deputy Director, Strategic Investment Fund, Gates Foundation, said that embedded finance solutions can help employees show up better at work, reduce stress, and improve their financial stability.

“Our partnership with SeamlessHR is helping us extend financial services to the blue-collar workers whom we call Business Critical Workers in different organisations,” said Eisenhart.

Deji Lana, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder, SeamlessHR, called on business leaders to think beyond traditional systems and embrace technology as a driver of workforce performance and engagement.

“With tools like Earned Wage Access and digital savings built directly into payroll systems, employers gain the ability to provide real financial inclusion at scale and improve workforce productivity,” said Lana.