In entrepreneurship, you learn every single day. Sometimes through books, sometimes through mistakes and sometimes through HR.
Recently, I shared a reel and TikTok video about HR, and woow! The engagement was wild even on LinkedIn. My dear brothers and sisters in HR came out in full force. Some engaged professionally, some came swinging with insults but well, that’s social media for you.
Now before I continue can someone tell me why LinkedIn is full of HR people? It’s as if they own the platform. You can post about goat farming, and somehow an HR person will comment:
“Do your goats have an HR policy?”
But that’s a story for another day.
When I Discovered the Secret to a Stable HR Department
After employing a lot of HR professionals with all the right qualifications degrees, diplomas, certifications, the whole alphabet soup guess what I got? More HR problems.
Then one day, by mistake, I turned my receptionist into the HR officer. And boom the department became peaceful, staff turnover dropped, and the company started making profit. I thought it was luck.
Later, when she moved to another department, I appointed another HR this time someone with a background in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship and again, things ran smoothly!
That’s when it hit me maybe the issue wasn’t HR itself… maybe it was the HR mindset.
When HR Becomes a Workers’ Union
My experience with some professional HRs is that they often forget they are part of management. They act like the workers’ union, not business partners.
You tell them,
“Guys, I know Sunday work should be double pay, but right now we’re small. Let’s sacrifice now and grow together.”
Then the next day you’ll hear,
“Management is exploiting workers. People are working without double pay!”
But here’s the truth many of those who sacrificed with me back then are now living better lives. Because they understood the season we were in.
HR and the Zimbabwean Reality
Let’s be honest Zimbabwe’s economy requires an HR that is balanced but pro-entrepreneurship.
Some of our labour laws are perfect for Econet or Delta, but they suffocate small businesses. For example, that new maternity law that says a woman can get full maternity pay even if she joined two months ago ethically, it’s beautiful. I have daughters, a wife, and sisters I support women fully. But practically, it kills small businesses that are barely surviving.
When a small business hires you, every cent counts. If three employees go on paid leave at once, sometimes the entrepreneur has to sell their own car to pay salaries.
I’m Not Against HR Professionals I’m Challenging the Mindset
Let me be clear I’m not urging companies to stop hiring HR professionals. We need HR experts! We need structure, compliance, and systems.
What I’m saying is my brothers and sisters in HR must change their mindset. Be partners in growth, not just policy enforcers. Understand that business is a living organism sometimes it bleeds before it blossoms.
A great HR person must not only know the law they must also know the season the business is in.
The HR Africa Needs
We need HR professionals who can say:
“Boss, I hear you. Let’s follow the law, yes but let’s also be strategic so we don’t bury the business under compliance.”
HR should not just be about policies and leave forms. It should be about people, profitability, and progress.
It’s not HR versus Management. It’s HR with Management. Because if the business dies, no one gets to implement those beautiful HR policies!
So to my HR family I love you all, but let’s move from being gatekeepers to growth partners. That’s when Africa’s businesses will truly thrive
Whether you’re in HR, management, or entrepreneurship let’s start building workplaces that grow people and profit. If you’d like to connect, collaborate, or invite me to speak at your next business event, call or WhatsApp **+**263 77 961 9739 (Zimbabwe) or **+**260 972 936033 (Zambia) let’s build Africa’s next generation of growth-minded leaders together.
** By The Chartered Vendor**
#BusinessLessons #HRInsights #EntrepreneurshipAfrica #WorkCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #MindsetShift #HRZimbabwe #MAndJAfrica #BusinessGrowth #AfricanEntrepreneurs #TeamBuilding #SMEChallenges #ManagementMatters #ZimBusinessTalks #HRWithHeart #AfricanLeadership #PeopleAndProfit #WorkplaceWisdom #AfricaMustThink
