During his time as a human resources consultant in Riyadh a few years ago, Richard Schrems looked for a tech solution to assist his customers in improving their large teams but was still looking for one tailored to the region.
In a statement, Schrems revealed that he required an employee-centric HR tech platform since the HR software he had engaged with was "extremely sophisticated," with "a lot of features, a lot of functionality focused on making life simpler for HR managers," but little thought given to the simplicity of use for workers. He said, "This makes adoption difficult."
Other researchers shared his observations; a recent survey found that an increasing number of businesses are dissatisfied with their HR technology providers, with half of those polled saying they intend to switch to new systems that provide a better user experience and account for remote work.
Schrems (CEO), Christoph Czichna (COO), and Dragan Nikolic (CPO) founded Palm.hr in 2019 in Riyadh to fill this need. The company's customers include Hala, Thmanyah, the Saudi Venture Capital Company, Mozn, Jeeny, and Rabbit. Schrems claims that the HR technology company has had exponential growth since its inception, with ARR doubling every six months.
Against the background of this expansion, the company has secured $5 million in pre-Series A fundraising from investors, including Europe-based VC Speedinvest (making its debut in Saudi Arabia) and RAED Ventures, as well as MENA-focused VC firm Wamda Capital.
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Palm.hr’s Mission
With a focus on mobile, "we are on a mission to improve HR IT and employee experience throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and preferably beyond," said Schrems.
Partner at Speedinvest Philip Specht stated, "As EU-based investors, we have witnessed how firms like Personio and Factorial deliver billion-dollar results in the HR field. Since Palm.hr takes a similar but more regionally specific strategy, we expect it will quickly get to the top of the heap in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENA) market. They have a fantastic staff, a great value offer regarding features, integrations, and UX, and many satisfied customers. We're happy to support Palm. hr, and it reflects how enthusiastic we are about the MENA region's start-up scene.
In addition to facilitating internal communication between employees, Palm.hr automates payrolls, records leaves and absences, and monitors employee performance. It is easily customizable across borders to meet the needs of various markets and local labor laws and employment regulations. It automates other HR-related workflow processes, including the on-boarding and off-boarding of workers.
In Saudi Arabia, for instance, Palm.hr has linked with government systems, including Mudad for digital payroll and compliance, required by the country's ministry of labor; the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI); and Muqeem, the foreign employee's data portal.
According to Schrems, "with Palm.hr, you can fully process your payroll, make the payments because we are integrated with the government payroll system, apply for visas because we are integrated with the government visa system, and update people's social insurance because we are integrated with the government social insurance system."
Future Plans
The business plans to roll out additional services and solutions, some of which would facilitate workers' access to loans, asset finance, and insurance.
The company wants to combine HR technology with financial technology and insurance services so that workers can do anything from paying bills to buying a car or signing up for health and travel insurance without leaving our platform. Schrems said widespread adoption of Palm.hr among staff members was a priority to initiate effective workforce planning in HRM.
With its newfound focus on growth and product innovation, Palm.hr intends to carve out a large share of the HR technology industry, which is projected to increase by 9.08% CAGR to $53.3 billion by 2028.
Featured image: Palm.hr
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