Deal activity in HR tech has increased steadily since 2012 as new startups have emerged aiming to disrupt all aspects of HR functions. We constructed a periodic table to highlight 131 privately held HR tech companies. The table also highlights the most active HR tech investors and the top 10 exits since 2012.
Companies in the periodic table were chosen based on CB Insights data on total funding, recency of funding, quality of investors, and strength of Mosaic score — CB Insights’ predictive algorithm for measuring the health of companies using financial and non-financial signals.
We define the HR tech category broadly to include software in workforce management, payroll, and benefits administration. We also include employee development, along with recruiting and staffing platforms. We exclude staffing agencies, event and office space management software, and operations companies that provide office cleaning and management.
Categories within the periodic table
Flexible Hiring: These companies provide a centralized platform for on-demand workers, part-time freelancers or consultants, and part-time jobs. This category reflects the growing gig-economy and employee’s desire for flexible work arrangements. These companies include consultant marketplace Catalant and SnagAJob, a marketplace for part-time hires in the hospitality industry.
Candidate Management: This category includes applicant tracking system (ATS) and candidate relationship management (CRM) software. ATS and CRM tools centralize candidate information and provide a platform for companies to collaborate and holistically review applicants. This includes ATS software companies Greenhouse Software and Lever as well as CRM software companies PeopleAdmin and SmartRecruiters.
Staffing / Scheduling: These companies provide software that helps manage staff scheduling, optimize headcount and expenses, and plan for human capital needs. This includes scheduling tool Planday and Homebase, a platform to manage time sheets and schedules.
Tech Hiring: These companies provide a centralized platform for on-demand technology talent for part-time, freelance, and full-time jobs as well as tools to help screen tech talent. This category appeals to the growing demand for technology talent and includes tech talent vetting marketplaces HackerRank and source{d}.
Job Board / Resources: These companies provide a centralized platform for companies to post openings and a marketplace to attract a continuous funnel of talent to fill openings. This includes companies like Glassdoor, which allows candidates to post feedback on companies and openings, and Jobandtalent, which matches candidates with openings that they are pre-qualified for.
HR Automation: These software companies provide a platform to centralize and bring consistency to onboarding, manage employee profiles, manage employee assessments and time reporting, and provide engagement analytics. This includes workforce analytics platform FXiaoKe and OneSource Virtual, a Workday optimization tool.
Compensation / Benefits: These companies create software that allows other companies to manage payroll, benefits, compliance, and insurance administration. Companies include Paycor, a payroll software provider, Jiff, a benefits software provider, and companies that offer all-in-one HR administration platforms such as Gusto, Justworks, Namely, and Zenefits.
Workplace Culture: These companies help promote workplace goodwill and culture, and administer perks and rewards. The category includes perks marketplace Perkbox and grant management suite CyberGrants.
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Track HR tech companiesScreening / Vetting: These companies provide recruitment tools that help vet applicants for companies in advance of an interview. This includes companies that administer background checks, tests, and assessments to gauge candidate quality and skills, such as HunterOn, used to vet C-suite candidates and Checkr, used to screen candidate backgrounds.
Career Development: These tools help employees reach development goals and provide employers with feedback through a learning management system (LMS). Companies include Everwise, a LMS and talent development software company, and Uniquedu, provider of training software for technical professionals.
College / Graduate Hiring: These companies provide a centralized platform for job postings and internships that target college students and recent graduates. Select companies include Handshake, Studitemps, and 100Kuai.
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