By Emmanuel Mutuma
HR often finds itself wedged between two opposing perceptions. To executives, it can seem
overly procedural, while to employees, it’s often reduced to policy enforcement. Neither view
truly reflects the strategic value HR can bring to an organisation. Yet, across industries,
talent management remains a top-three priority for CEOs. Paradoxically, confidence in HR’s
ability to deliver on that priority remains low. This is the gap that data can close.

We, the HR professionals, are no longer just caretakers of processes. HR leaders have
access to insights few other functions do: data on absenteeism, internal mobility, training
outcomes, engagement, and attrition patterns. When used correctly, this data can be a
strategic asset. It can influence decisions around cost, culture, productivity, and
performance, giving HR a seat at the strategy table where growth is negotiated. In times of
uncertainty, the teams with people insights are the ones influencing strategy. Companies
that embed HR into decision-making and empower it with workforce data are, therefore,
better positioned to weather disruption successfully.

Kenya is no exception. The post-COVID workplace, economic strain, and a rising Gen Z
workforce demand faster and more human-centred responses. This is HR’s moment to not
only support strategy but to lead it as well.
Data Is the New Influence
The most forward-thinking HR teams no longer wait to be invited into strategic
conversations. Remember, a large number of businesses still view HR as an administrative
and procedural function. In the Kenyan context, for many businesses, HR is not seen as a
revenue-generating department. That can change when HR shows up with data.
Google is an excellent example of what’s possible when HR uses data as a strategic lever.
In the early 2000s, Google operated with a famously flat structure. Engineers ruled the roost
and managers were almost an afterthought. Then, employee exit interviews raised a red
flag: people were leaving because their managers weren’t supporting them. This led the
people operations team to dig into the data, an initiative named Project Oxygen.
They collected over 10,000 observations across performance reviews, upward feedback,
engagement survey scores, and cross-referenced these with productivity metrics to answer
one question: Do managers really matter? Data showed they did. Next, they wanted to know
what differentiates a great manager. The people ops team reviewed qualitative feedback,
identified top-performing managers, and conducted double-blind interviews. They extracted
eight core behaviours, including listening, coaching, and empowerment, and later refined
them into eight actionable leadership traits.

Using that data, Google trained managers on those eight behaviours, integrated the criteria
into performance reviews, and incorporated them into hiring and promotion decisions.
Google saw statistically significant improvements in managerial quality across the board.
The credibility Project Oxygen earned opened doors, and people operations became a
trusted advisor at Google. That trust led to initiatives like Project Aristotle (to decode team
effectiveness), algorithms predicting flight risk, and workplace design tweaks such as
adjusting plate sizes to nudge healthier habits. Because they were able to link managerial
performance, retention, and culture, people operations earned a seat at the executive table
and redefined what HR could achieve in times of disruption.

Kenyan HR teams will most likely not have the budget or the bandwidth that can match
Silicon Valley’s. But, on the flip side, you already sit on rich sources of workforce data:
absenteeism trends, turnover patterns, internal movement, training effectiveness, and more.
When HR uses such data to speak the language of the business – risk, cost, performance –
it stops being a support function and becomes a strategic partner.

Going from Admin to Strategy Architect
HR leaders today work with businesses plagued by disruption. Budgets are tighter,
organisations are under pressure to become more agile, and Gen Z is bringing new
expectations to the workplace. This generation wants more than a paycheck; they’re asking
for purposeful work, flexibility, accountability, and psychological safety. Employee
experience will be drastically different from what organisations are used to. Data, specifically
data in the hands of HR, will have one of the biggest influences on whether organisations
move at the pace of these changes or not.

According to a McKinsey report, future-ready companies share three traits: “clarity about
what they stand for, a bias for speed and simplicity, and the capacity to continuously learn.”
For HR, enabling those traits will require data.

Emmanuel Mutuma is the Founder and CEO of Bridge Talent Management, a leading HR and payroll
solutions firm based in Nairobi. With over a decade of experience shaping East Africa’s talent
landscape, he is known for building high-performing teams, streamlining workforce operations, and
driving strategic partnerships across the continent.

Where Should HR Start?
Gaining executive buy-in to ensure you’re at the strategy table won’t be easy. However, you
can use the data you already have at hand to start building your case. First, change the
team’s mindset from reporting to diagnosing. Instead of asking, “How many people left?”
ask, “Why are they leaving, and how soon did we replace them?” More importantly,
collaborate with finance, operations, or IT to validate and strengthen these insights.
Equally important is knowing how to communicate findings. Show what the issue is, what the
data says, and what action it supports. This ability to connect data to decisions is what can
transform HR into a strategic function. HR is uniquely positioned to lead. However, that
leadership won’t come from compliance checklists or performance templates. It will come
from HR stepping forward with insights that position the organisation to increase revenue
and maintain its greatest asset: its people!