SEEK just backed a $22 million Series C for people management startup Employment Hero

Employment Hero co-founder and CEO Ben Thompson. Source: supplied

• The latest raise values the 5-year-old startup at more than $100 million

• SEEK, OneVentures, and AirTree Ventures contributed once again

• The funds will help facilitate strategic integrations with SEEK, and international expansion, as well as developing the “WorkLife Passport” product, which simplifies things such as super for employees. 

Cloud-based people management platform Employment Hero has raised AU$22 million in Series C funding, with existing investor SEEK, Australia’s biggest employment website, once again leading the round.

OneVentures and AirTree Ventures also returned to invest in the latest raise, which comes 15 months after the trio were part of the $8 million in a Series B.

The latest round takes the total raised to $30.5 million and values the five-year-old startup at more than $100 million.

Employment Hero co-founder and CEO Ben Thompson said the latest funds will go towards developing strategic integrations in SEEK’s marketplace, as well as expanding internationally, with an initial focus on New Zealand, South East Asia, the UK and Ireland.

Thompson’s immediate goal is to building and expanding the new WorkLife Passport product, which lets employees to share their onboarding information via the platform for their entire career.

“This latest raise is an extraordinary opportunity to see Employment Hero’s purpose come to life at scale, fulfilling our mission to make employment easier and more rewarding for everyone,” he said.

“By working with the teams at SEEK, OneVentures and AirTree, we have a genuine opportunity to change the employment landscape, giving employers more confidence to grow their business, and helping employees to better save, manage and build their finances.”

More than 4000 small to medium-sized businesses now use the startup’s automated systems for the  management, payroll, and employee benefits of around 135,000 workers.

The business has now doubled its recurring revenue in the last 12 months and plans to increase its headcount from 134 to 162 by the end of 2019.

Thompson says SMEs report reducing the time they spend spent on managing people by up to 80% using Employment Hero, while payroll processing time is cut by up to 60%.

He’s also using the platform to negotiate discounts with major retailers to improve the benefits and savings small businesses offer staff.

“As an advanced employee management and payroll platform, working hand-in-glove with the largest employment platform, SEEK, we can offer real value to businesses anywhere on the planet,” he said.

“We not only want to help our existing businesses to grow internationally, but we want to start supporting the businesses that approach us from outside Australia.”

SEEK’s managing director of corporate development, Ronnie Fink, said HR software-as-a-service is one of three key areas his organisation is concentrating on.

“Our increased investment in Employment Hero reflects our confidence in their value proposition and their strong management team,” he said.

“We have been very pleased with their performance to-date and look forward to working with them more closely to capitalise on the growth opportunity that lies ahead.”

ASX-listed SEEK’s online employment and education businesses now include the world’s largest online employment platform, Zhaopin in China and JobSt and JobsDB through South East Asia.