2020: the year HR took the wheel

COVID-19 highlighted the importance of powerful, skilled HR leadership, and there’s no better time than now to begin transforming the HR function. As we navigate unprecedented times and transitions, HR’s role has proven itself to be mission-critical for business success. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, we had to rely on HR tech tools to pivot once-colocated teams to fully-distributed teams over the course of a few days, or even overnight. 

We’re excited to announce our $70 million Series B round led by investors SEEK and IGP, bringing us to a total of $124 million raised after a $54 million Series A. We see this investment as a signal not only of our potential as a company but of the importance of the HR function in companies and HR tech as a platform for HR leaders.

Revolutionizing HR using Bob

HiBob’s mission ever since we started (in late 2015) is to modernize HR tech. Bob, our platform, is a mission-critical people management platform built for the way people work today.

We provide access to data insights, empower managers to work more closely with their people, and scale culture across sites (and now, homes). Our intuitive data-driven platform was built for the way people work today: globally, remotely, and collaboratively. Bob was designed to be an HR tech tool that’s enjoyable to use for HR teams, managers, and employees. We believe that the HR tools of the future will not resemble the clunky systems of the past. 

We support modern, fast-growing, industry-defining companies who want to develop their people at the same speed as their product by meeting them in their flow of work, easing adoption with countless integrations and shortcuts, and providing value at every step. We make data accessible and easy to understand, making it easy to get buy-in and prove big wins.

Since we launched Bob, we have achieved amazing growth and adoption and become the people management platform of choice for nearly 1,000 modern, midsize and multinational companies, who understand that a powerful, agile HR tech suite is mission critical and a key driver of organizational success.  Fast-growing companies worldwide, such as Monzo, Cazoo, Happy Socks, Fiverr and VaynerMedia, rely on Bob to help HR leaders and teams, C-suite executives, and managers connect, engage, develop, and retain top talent. 

What makes Bob so unique and exciting?

Bob is a system of engagement for the company, and not the old school system of record. The platform was designed with amazing UI and UX, so it’s beautiful, simple, easy to use, and intuitive. It allows HR leaders to manage modern organizations in their flow of work.

Bob is easy to implement and adopt by HR teams, managers, and employees. HR can streamline core HR processes, talent, time management, and compensation management.

Most importantly Bob helps HR drive social engagement, and collaboration through a robust culture feature set and various integration capabilities, all in one platform suite.

The COVID-19 pandemic: HR’s moment of truth

These five years of work culminated in an unexpected moment of HR need: COVID-19. In the aftermath of those difficult first few months—and in anticipation of the unpredictable months ahead of us—we need to be able to rely on HR leadership to define our “new normal.” The market in 2020 has proven that HR tech tools are critical to today’s work tech stack. 

HiBob’s platform, Bob, was built to help companies thrive through these unforeseen challenges. In working with the world’s most modern, forward-thinking companies, the ideas of remote work, remote onboarding, and engaging top talent digitally were becoming the normal way of work on our platform. The pandemic just accelerated these trends.

According to a study conducted by Josh Bersin and IBM, seven out of ten HR leaders say the field is ready for transformation. Talent executives are planning to double skills training for HR in the next two years. The new world of HR is holistic, from process management to performance management, from talent management to compensation management from benefits to wellbeing.

IBM writes, “According to emerging evidence, [skilled HR leadership] is a critical need, not optional. Our monthly COVID-19 consumer surveys have shown that employees now expect their employers to take an active role in supporting their physical and emotional health, in addition to the skills they need to work in new ways. At the same time, business leaders call out organizational complexity, inadequate skills, and employee burnout as their biggest hurdles to progress.”

The report supports what we already know: companies succeed when their people succeed, and people succeed when HR succeeds. Strong companies need equally strong HR leadership, HR teams, HR professionals, and the tools that support them.

Powerful HR will lead the future of work

We believe in the power of HR; of culture; of engagement, collaboration, and communication. We know the value of diverse and inclusive teams, high retention, and thoughtful recruitment. We know that to build a sustainable future for our organizations, we need to invest in skilled HR leadership to light the way.

The future of work is remote, distributed, and hybrid. The future of work is compassionate, goal-oriented, and people-first. The future of work is being determined every day by talented HR leaders across the world. We’re proud to be pioneering that revolution. Bob is one of few products in the market designed for the way people work today: globally, remotely, and collaboratively. 

This $70 million investment isn’t just for us at HiBob—it’s for HR as an industry. Now is the time to invest in HR as a discipline and a function. In HR tech tools and education. In growing and specializing our teams, elevating individual voices, and valuing HR contributions.

This is a great opportunity to thank our 1,000 customers for trusting Bob. Thank you for your feedback, your out-of-the-box ideas, and your thought leadership. Thank you for helping us build the best people management platform to support your growth.

Welcome to the future of HR. We’re proud to build it with you.