Troubling reports have emerged regarding recruitment methods at CCI Kenya’s state-of-the-art call centre in Tatu City, which has been hailed as Africa’s largest and most advanced business process outsourcing (BPO) facility.
Despite the company’s reputation for modern design, employee-focused operations, and its role in creating thousands of job opportunities, reports from individuals who have attended interviews indicate dissatisfaction with the selection process.
According to those familiar with the matter, the company frequently invites hundreds of job seekers, sometimes close to 300, while seeking to recruit only a handful of candidates, raising questions over the fairness and efficiency of its mass interview approach.
The first stage of recruitment reportedly involves group interviews where candidates introduce themselves before a panel, after which only selected individuals are allowed to proceed to subsequent stages.
Concerns have been expressed over what appears to be unclear or inconsistent selection criteria, with claims that individuals who demonstrate strong communication skills are sometimes overlooked, while candidates perceived to fit a certain physical profile are advanced regardless of their performance in the interviews.
This has fuelled perceptions among some attendees that factors unrelated to merit, such as favoritism or superficial judgments, may be influencing recruitment decisions.
Observers argue that such practices, if left unchecked, could undermine the credibility of a facility positioned as a flagship of Kenya’s growing BPO sector.
“Hi Cyprian. Hide my identity. I’m just concerned about this call centre called CCI Kenya at Tatu City. Why do they invite almost 300 people for interviews na wanataka ku recruit watu kumi.. is that fair? And I’m also concerned about the first stage of interviews which is group interview where you are divided into groups then you are told to introduce yourself… once you have introduced yourself they inform you that if you don’t hear your name you leave the room. Yesterday I was there and I wonder which criteria did they use to select people because those individuals who spoke well were not given a chance to proceed to the next stage, instead they just chose girls with nyash and beauty yet hata wengine hawajui kuongea.. I cannot encourage anyone to go for interviews at CCI Kenya kama huna connections baki tu kwa nyumba.”
With CCI Kenya having been commissioned in May 2024 as a $50 million investment into the industry and lauded for creating over 5,000 jobs with plans to double its workforce, transparency and fairness in hiring will be critical to sustaining public confidence and ensuring equitable access to employment opportunities at this landmark site.
Some of the affected candidates are now calling on labour regulators, industry stakeholders, and the company’s leadership to review the recruitment process and establish clear, merit-based criteria to ensure fairness, transparency, and equal opportunity for all job seekers.
They are urging oversight from institutions such as the Ministry of Labour, the Public Service Commission, and the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), as well as engagement from employment rights groups, to ensure that hiring practices at such high‑profile facilities adhere to national labour laws and uphold Kenya’s standards for equitable employment.
