Human resources tech startup Enboarder announced Wednesday that it raised $32 million to double down on the growth of its “people activation platform.”
Enboarder was founded in 2015 in Sydney, Australia. After weighing several cities for its U.S. headquarters, Enboarder CEO Brent Pearson selected Austin because he felt at home here.
“It’s funky. It’s a bit rebellious. It’s smart. It’s hustling. It’s the music, the food, the culture,” he told Built In. “Austin just felt like a great place. It’s such a happening scene.”
The recent Series B round, which brings the company’s fundraising total to $50 million, comes nearly three years after it raised an $8 million Series A and opened its U.S. headquarters in Austin.
A veteran in the HR tech space, Pearson said he was inspired to develop an onboarding software after reading an academic study that found a personalized onboarding experience could reduce first-year staff turnover and increase customer satisfaction.
“If you create an engaging experience for a new hire, they’re going to stay longer, and they’re going to deliver a better service,” Pearson said.
The Enboarder platform was designed to help employers create a seamless and satisfying onboarding experience for new hires by assigning team members to set up computers, facilitate team introductions and assist with other first-day tasks through the software’s workflow journeys. Clients can either choose from templates or design their own workflow journeys.
Over time, the platform evolved to encompass other employment events. Enboarder’s new “people activation platform” is designed to help employees take action on HR programs and become more engaged with their colleagues. The software features workflow templates for parental leave, as well as training for diversity, equity and inclusion.
With parental leave, for example, HR departments can ensure that the employee is informed about the company’s parental leave policy, that they are given a gift certificate to buy baby supplies, that managers remember to send updates about what has occurred in their absence and that the team plans a welcome back celebration when the employee returns to work.
“It’s an experience-driven workflow engine that’s designed to make sure that these transition points are wonderful experiences for everyone,” Pearson said. “When you think about what’s happening with The Great Resignation, staff retention and employee experiences are becoming a really high-priority item.”
Enboarder has more than 400 clients, including Deloitte, McDonald’s and Wyndham Destinations. In the past year, the company has doubled its revenue and increased its customer base by 130 percent.
Enboarder currently employs roughly 130 people, about 40 of which are based in Austin. It plans to nearly double its staff to about 250 employees within the next year, Pearson said.
The company’s product and engineering staff are based in Australia, but corporate functions, like HR and finance, and go-to-market functions, like sales and marketing, are based out of Austin. Pearson said remote U.S. employees will also be considered for those new positions.
The Series B round was led by NewSpring, with participation from previous investors Greycroft and Next Coast Ventures, and new investors Golub Capital, Escalate Capital Partner, Alumni Ventures and Gaingels.
