Maureen Juma, human resources and admin manager at Flex Money Transfer, explains why taking care of employees is closely linked to the success of a business.
Speaking to CHRO East Africa, she also talks about managing employee performance, working with teams across different countries, and creating a workplace where people can grow, follow rules, and contribute to the success of the business.
Q: Please walk us through your career journey and what led you into human resources, particularly within the financial services sector?
My career in HR has been shaped by hands-on experience in building people practices within a growing and regulated financial services environment. I progressed from an HR internship into broader HR leadership responsibilities, gaining exposure across talent, performance, employee relations, compliance and organisational development.
Financial services particularly appealed to me because people decisions directly influence trust, risk, customer experience and business performance. This has shaped my view of HR as more than a support function; it is a strategic function that builds organisational capability and enables sustainable growth.
Q: You started by building HR structures from the ground up before moving into a broader HR leadership role. What lessons have shaped your approach to building effective people functions?
Building the HR function at Flex Money Transfer from the ground up taught me that HR strategy must begin with a deep understanding of the business.
A particularly valuable part of that journey has been the hands-on support and engagement of the board of directors in both people matters and broader business decisions. It has shown me how closely people strategy, governance, risk and business performance are interconnected.
My approach is therefore to build HR functions that provide structure and accountability while remaining agile enough to respond to business growth and changing organisational needs.
Q: Working in money transfer requires a strong balance between people, operations and regulatory compliance. How do you ensure HR supports business growth while maintaining the discipline required in a regulated financial environment?
In regulated financial services, people risk is business risk. HR therefore has to embed compliance, accountability and ethical behavior throughout the employee lifecycle.
This becomes even more important as fintech and digital financial services expand across markets. Organisations need to innovate quickly while maintaining strong governance, customer protection and regulatory discipline.
I see HR's role as creating the capability and culture that allow organisations to grow responsibly, ensuring that compliance becomes an enabler of sustainable growth rather than a barrier to innovation.
Q: You oversee HR operations across multiple branches and markets, including Kenya and Uganda. What are some of the challenges of managing people practices across different locations, and how have you created consistency?
The strategic challenge is balancing standardisation with localisation. Organisations need common principles around culture, performance, conduct and talent, while recognising differences in legislation, labor markets and operating environments.
I focus on establishing clear organisational standards while allowing implementation to adapt to local requirements. Consistency is not about identical processes; it is about ensuring the same standards of fairness, accountability and performance across different markets.
Q: Performance management has been a key part of your role, from setting KPIs to supporting performance improvement. How do you help organisations build a culture where performance conversations are continuous rather than only happening during appraisal periods?
I view performance management as a continuous business discipline, not an annual HR exercise. It starts with clear expectations and measurable outcomes, followed by regular feedback, recognition and timely intervention.
In a fast-moving fintech environment, performance expectations can also evolve quickly. Managers therefore need to continuously realign teams as priorities, technology and customer needs change.
I also believe HR must be approachable enough for employees to seek guidance early, creating openness while helping managers address performance issues constructively.
