Employment Hero gained unicorn status after closing a US$130 million funding round, led by return investor SEEK Investments along with OneVentures, AirTree Ventures and other shareholders.
This fresh funding support from investors has helped the Australia-based HR, payroll and benefits platform to reach reach a valuation of A$1.25 billion.
Also, this development comes on the heels of Employment Hero’s acquisition of workforce management and payroll solution KeyPay.
As Employment Hero continues to push towards its goal of becoming a leading Employment-as-a-Service provider, KeyPay will be retained as an independent brand and receive ongoing investment to grow its team.
Also, KeyPay will still serve the broader industry and its partners, as Employment Hero commits to powering its purpose through all channels — whether directly through its platform or via a myriad of different partners, from other HR providers to accountants in public practice to financial institutions.
With KeyPay in its portfolio, Employment Hero now has over 80,000 SMEs that are collectively managing over 750,000 employees using its platform, and a team of over 500 FTEs globally.
KeyPay’s footprint covers Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. This will allow Employment Hero to further accelerate its growth initiatives in these markets.
Together with KeyPay, Employment Hero now offers a suite of total employment management solutions that covers four key pillars — Talent Solutions; Core HR; Payroll; eBenefits.
This solution suite will offer SMEs and their employees a seamless employment management experience and specifically help SMEs grow their engagement and work relationships with employees.
Ben Thompson, co-founder and CEO at Employment Hero, said that 70% of all jobs in the world are provided by SMEs — which represent 99% of all businesses — but most business owners still feel anxious, under-qualified and under-resourced as employers.
“Employment Hero’s four pillars allow us to deliver a complete employment platform and service that people can use to find work, manage work, get paid, spend and save,” said Thompson.
“This, combined with KeyPay joining the Employment Hero family, will set a new bar for what people expect from employment,” he added.
KeyPay managing director Phil Bernie said that becoming part of the Employment Hero team while maintaining independence as a brand opens up opportunities for KeyPay’s staff, customers and partners by adding greater capability and capacity to all areas of the business.
