A couple of years in the past, Richard Schrems was working as a human sources advisor in Riyadh, and at one level sought to implement a tech-solution for his purchasers to assist them higher their enormous groups, however couldn’t discover a localized answer.
Schrems instructed TechCrunch he wanted a system that was employee-focused, however discovered most of the HR software program he interacted with to be “very complicated”, with “a whole lot of options, a whole lot of functionalities targeted on making life simpler for HR managers”, however with little regard for ease of use by staff. “This makes adoption arduous,” he mentioned.
His findings weren’t distinctive to him as a current research confirmed an rising dissatisfaction with HR tech suppliers — half of the respondents mentioned they deliberate to alter their techniques for brand new applied sciences that supply higher consumer expertise and take distant working into consideration.
Pushed to bridge the hole, in 2019, Schrems (CEO) teamed up with Christoph Czichna (COO) and Dragan Nikolic (CPO), to launch Palm.hr, based mostly out of Riyadh and whose purchasers embrace Hala, Thmanyah, the Saudi Enterprise Capital Firm, Mozn, Jeeny, Rabbit. Schrems says the HR-tech startup has skilled nice progress since launch, doubling its annual recurring income (ARR) each six months.
Following this progress, it’s planning on increasing to Egypt and the UAE, whereas doubling down on Saudi Arabia, towards the backdrop of $5 million pre-Collection A funding it has raised, in a spherical led by Europe-based VC Speedinvest, which marked its debut into Saudi Arabia, and RAED Ventures, with participation from MENA targeted VC agency Wamda Capital.
“We’re on a mission to remodel HR tech and worker expertise throughout the Center East and North Africa, and ideally past…by making a cellular first expertise,” mentioned Schrems.
Palm.hr is a cellular first answer that automates HR administration. Picture Credit: Palm.hr
Philip Specht, companion, Speedinvest mentioned in a press release: “As EU-based buyers, we’ve got seen how corporations resembling Personio and Factorial are creating billion greenback outcomes within the HR house. With the same, however localized strategy, we imagine that Palm.hr is poised to grow to be the main participant within the MENA area, and the broader Arab world. The corporate has an impressive staff, a superior worth proposition when it comes to options, integrations and UX, and robust buyer love. We’re thrilled to again Palm.hr, which displays our pleasure in regards to the wider start-up ecosystem within the MENA.”
Palm.hr automates payrolls, tracks leaves and absences, and follows on workers efficiency, along with worker self-service options that make inside communication between workers simple. It additionally automates different workflow features associated to HR together with on or off-boarding of staff, and is configurable throughout borders, making it simple for it to match native labor legal guidelines, and worker laws in several markets.
As an example, in Saudi Arabia, Palm.hr additionally has built-in with authorities companies resembling Mudad for digital payroll and compliance, mandated by the nation’s ministry of labor; the Common Group for Social Insurance coverage (GOSI), and Muqeem, the international worker’s information platform.
“With Palm.hr, you possibly can totally course of your payroll, you possibly can really do the funds as a result of we’re built-in with the federal government payroll system; apply for visas as a result of we’re built-in with the federal government visa system, and replace individuals’s social insurance coverage as a result of we’re built-in with the social insurance coverage system,” mentioned Schrems.
The corporate can be set so as to add new options and merchandise that can, as an example, make it potential for workers to simply entry loans, asset-financing, and insurance coverage merchandise.
“We need to merge HR-tech with fintech and insurtech…for workers to have the ability to do every thing like buy or hire belongings, signal as much as well being or journey insurance coverage, inside our answer. We need to make Palm.hr a part of staff’ each day lives,” mentioned Schrems.
Because it embarks on enlargement and extra product growth, Palm.hr hopes to seize a large portion of the worldwide HR tech market, which is envisaged to develop at 9.08% CAGR to succeed in $53.3 billion by 2028.