Designing a Better Way to Work: How The Design Gallery Built a Single Source of Truth for HR
The Design Gallery is East Africa’s premier destination for luxury interior design, representing an exclusive portfolio of premium European brands including Poliform, Scavolini and Porcelanosa. From its Nairobi showroom, the team manages complex residential and commercial projects from concept through to installation.
As the business scaled, its Chief Operations Officer knew people operations needed to catch up.
The challenge: Fragmented systems, fragmented truth
Before Factorial, HR data lived in as many places as the business had systems: attendance in one tool, performance conversations in spreadsheets and email threads, and employee records split between paper files and scattered folders.
Without a single source of truth, every gap had to be plugged with manual administrative work. Leave and engagement followed the same pattern, leaving no clear way to tie daily HR work to the business's wider strategy.
Fragmented systems
Attendance, performance and records lived in disconnected tools and files, with no single source of truth.
Manual performance management
Performance conversations weren’t documented seamlessly, making it hard to link results to company strategy.
High cost of disconnected tools
Running several separate systems meant manual work absorbed 30–50% of the People & Culture team’s budget.
The solution: One home for the whole employee lifecycle
The Design Gallery needed an end-to-end HRMIS to digitise its entire employee lifecycle. They chose Factorial for being cost-friendly compared to other options on the market, with features the team found genuinely easy to use. Time & Attendance, Performance, Employee Self-Service and Documents now all run from one platform.
Time & Attendance
Attendance is tracked automatically, replacing scattered spreadsheets with one accurate, real-time record.
Performance management
Performance conversations and documentation now live in one place, linked directly to company goals.
Employee self-service
Staff access records and requests via web, Android and iOS, cutting back-and-forth with HR.
Digital document management
Contracts and records are filed digitally with e-signatures, replacing paper and scattered folders.
The results: Less admin, more time for people
Since implementing Factorial, The Design Gallery has digitised employee records, leave management and performance documentation, replacing fragmented processes with one connected platform. Administrative workload has dropped significantly, data accuracy has improved, and employees and managers now have real-time visibility and self-service.
Turnaround time for leave approvals and employee requests has shortened, and compliance has improved through centralised document management, automated reminders and e-signature requests. Factorial has become an integral part of how the People & Culture team operates, and rivals other HRMIS platforms on ease of use.
“Factorial has transformed the way HR operates by replacing manual processes with a digital platform. We now make decisions using real-time employee data, with access to personal files, performance records, absence records and engagement in one place.”
Build your business from the ground up
Grow your team like Design Gallery by utilising Factorial
