Diana Kamau wears two hats at Jumia Kenya. She serves as the Recruitment Manager and HR Business Partner for the Operations Team. She talks to us about how using a data-driven recruitment process has helped her save time and stay productive.
Diana graduated from Strathmore University in 2019 and shortly after, she joined Jumia as a recruiting intern. In just two years, she has grown into Jumia Kenya’s Recruiting Manager and recently got promoted to HR Business Partner for the Operations Team, a role she double-hats alongside Recruitment. I marvel at how young and talented she is. I’m not sure she even realizes this and I purpose to remind her throughout our conversation.
You’re a recruiter at one of the leading e-commerce platforms on the continent. What does a day in your life look like?
I start my days early, even when working from home. I get ready and sit at my desk. At 9:30 AM, we have a recruitment catch-up call with the team and align on the priorities for the day. We then check in on our recruitment platforms, such as Fuzu to see the candidates we have in our pipeline and in the hiring process. As the day goes by, we do follow-ups and share feedback with candidates and the hiring managers to ensure everyone is in sync. Since I double hat this role with the HR Business Partner role, my recruitment heavy days are Mondays and Fridays, so I need to be well-organized to ensure I’m productive and effective in both roles. I also check in with my team from time to time and provide support where it’s needed. After a long working day, I like to unwind by watching sitcoms, something light and funny - I’m currently watching Friends.
How has being a recruiter impacted you in your personal life?
Before I came into this role, I was an introvert - loved my personal space, being in my own little corner. But my role involves conversations with people and over time, I’ve become more comfortable with this. My role has really helped me get out of my shell. I’m also keener when I speak to people, even in social settings. I like to ask people about their careers, what they do, what they are passionate about, and at the back of my mind, I’m simply ticking boxes or analyzing whether they would be a good fit for Jumia (laughs). Recruiting has become part of everyday life, whether I’m in the office or not.
Has Fuzu played a role in helping you recruit diverse talent? How so?
Fuzu has helped us get a great pool of diverse candidates. We are able to get a good mix of both local and international candidates. We get candidates from diverse backgrounds, who have worked in other industries and would like to transition into e-commerce and also a gender-diverse set of candidates. One of the most recent hires through Fuzu was a candidate who had taken a break from work to raise her family. We believe in providing equal opportunities to both men and women. She did pretty well in the interviews and was able to come on board at Jumia.
What metrics should an HR practitioner or recruiter look out for when implementing a data-driven recruiting process?
Data is vital for a successful recruitment system. One of the metrics we track is the turnaround time. This is the time taken from the date a position opens to the date the candidate accepts the offer. The turnaround time reveals how efficient the recruitment process is and the quality of candidates that you manage to attract.
We created a funnel that helps us track how we transition candidates from one level to another. The metrics we analyze at these stages are:
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Outreach: How many candidates were we able to attract when the role was shared publicly.
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Screened candidates: This is the number of candidates shortlisted from the large pool that applied.
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Interviewed candidates: There are a couple of interview stages depending on the role but this number is a good indication of the quality of candidates you were able to attract.
The funnel helps you to quickly identify where the problem lies once you notice the numbers in the different stages aren’t adding up. It’s important to revisit the hiring brief and re-align with the hiring manager once you notice you’re not getting enough candidates trickling down to the interview stage.
The final metric we check is post-recruitment. This is done 3 months after the new hire has come onboard. At Jumia, we have a standard probation period of 3 months. Once someone is hired, we take them through a detailed onboarding process, do regular check-ins with them to ensure they have what they need to succeed in the role. These metrics help us to ensure that our entire recruitment process is air-tight from end to end.
In the past, hiring has been perceived as having lots of biases, “you need to know someone” type of mentality. How does Jumia eliminate these biases and maintain objectivity in its hiring processes?
We have a highly standardized hiring process across all our markets all over the globe. All the applicants for a particular position are assessed based on similar metrics. We do psychometric and personality tests as well as case-based questions to ensure the process is fair and objective. We also have internal mobility whereby we do level checks across our internal pool before we advertise for a role externally.
Fuzu helps to shorten our recruitment time since we get access to candidates who’ve been pre-screened through the psychometric and personality tests.
What unconventional practices have you included in your recruitment process?
We aim to ensure our candidates have a great experience. When a candidate is treated well throughout the recruitment process, they will not hesitate to reapply for another position when called upon. How you treat people matters.
There are many dynamics in the recruitment process that can be time-consuming. What productivity hack do you use that you believe could be useful to other recruiters?
It’s about using data to drive your recruitment process. It helps to save time and ensure that you stay productive. Analytical tests, especially for technical roles are a great productivity hack since they help you narrow down your pool of candidates.
You’ve risen the ranks pretty fast from intern to manager in just two years. Any tips for someone who’s just starting out in the recruiting industry?
Jumia has a great company culture and this has played a big role in my career growth. I have a sense of ownership and responsibility over my work because I came in with the intention of leaving a mark. To someone who’s just starting out, I would encourage them to be flexible and simply run with it. Don’t be afraid to take on projects outside your scope as this demonstrates the value you bring across the board. Be open to receiving feedback and never give up.
If you weren’t a recruiter, what would you be?
(Pauses). I would volunteer. It’s very fulfilling for me as I love working with people and seeing a direct impact on people’s lives.
