PeopleMatter, provider of the fastest-growing talent management solution (S) specifically designed for hourly workforces in the service industry, announced today a $14-million Series C round of venture funding led by Morgenthaler Ventures.
This financing will continue to accelerate PeopleMatter’s product-innovation and customer-acquisition strategies. Existing investors Noro-Moseley Partners, C&B Capital, Intersouth Partners, and Harbert Ventures also participated in the round.
“While other talent management companies like SuccessFactors, Taleo, and Workday focus on the white-collar, career professional, PeopleMatter is the only company that caters to hourly workers in the service industry,” says Gary Little, partner at Morgenthaler Ventures and new PeopleMatter board member. “This is a $2.5-billion market that’s underserved and rapidly growing. There is a huge opportunity here."
The funding follows a record year of sales and exponential growth for the Charleston, South Carolina-based software company. PeopleMatter also added two new modules, PeopleMatter Learn and PeopleMatter Schedule, to its Software-as-a- Service (SaaS) platform. The Platform also includes PeopleMatter Hire, which has processed more than 238,000 applicants since its September 2009 launch.
“The PeopleMatter Platform isn’t just an HR software system; it’s a way to connect and communicate with today’s mobile-social employees,” Little says. “Now, businesses like restaurants and hotels—which typically face high turnover and disengagement—can capitalize on technology to improve process efficiency and retain their top performers.”
With these integrated solutions, organizations can quickly and easily manage all of their applicant tracking, hiring, onboarding, training, and scheduling processes in one place. Powerful, easy-to-use online tools help companies increase efficiency, retention, and ROI, and ultimately improve their customer service.
A new smartphone app deployed at the Feb. 28 Schedule launch allows PeopleMatter to start directly interacting with frontline employees.
"We have high goals and are right on track for doing exactly what we’ve promised: filling a void in a niche market that no one else had comprehensively addressed,” says Nate DaPore, president and CEO of PeopleMatter. “At the end of the day, we want to be the platform of choice for the service industry. There’s still a way to go, but working with Morgenthaler is a big step in that direction.”
The service industry—previously overlooked for targeted talent management platforms—includes foodservice, convenience store, hospitality, and retail verticals.
- According the National Association of Convenience Stores, “The U.S. convenience store industry has more than 144,000 stores that account for more than $624 billion in sales.”
- The National Restaurant Association reports that, “The restaurant industry employs 12.8 million people in 960,000 U.S. locations with 2012 sales projections reaching $604 billion.”
- According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, “The travel and tourism industry pays $188 billion in travel-related wages and salaries and employs 1.76 million hotel property workers.”
- The National Retail Federation states, “Retailers operate more than 3.5 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs—42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.”
- Service industries experience higher-than-average turnover rates. The National Restaurant Association cites 75 percent employee churn, and according to the National Retail Federation, retail stores typically turn over 110 percent of their workforce each year.
“Our research shows that there is a market need for dedicated hiring and talent management systems focused on the service industry,” says Dr. Katherine Jones, director and principal analyst, HCM Technology, Bersin & Associates. “Securing this kind of financing is a major move toward addressing that market need and achieving the ambitious growth the company has put forward.”
