ServiceNow invests in performance startup 15Five

The ‘Great Resignation’ has put a focus on talent. A core cause of record-high quit rates over the past 18 months has been a lack of career development – employees don’t just want a job, they want a career, and they want their employers to support them in learning and growing.

In this context, performance management has come to the fore. It is a core part of an employee’s development, but also helps to drive higher engagement and retention at work.

So it is no surprise that 15Five, a US-based performance management tech startup, has attracted a strategic investment from the venture capital wing of HR tech giant ServiceNow. Financial details were not disclosed, but this is ServiceNow Ventures’ first investment in the talent tech space.

Other companies in ServiceNow Ventures’ portfolio are Mulesoft, VNDLY, Courseloop and Workato.

This comes within six months of 15Five closing a $52 million Series C. The round was led by Quad Partners, and existing investors (Next47, Edison Partners and Origin Ventures) also participated.

The future for 15Five

15Five is planning to use the investment from ServiceNow Ventures to accelerate its product development so it can better support HR leaders with their challenges.

The money follows two new product releases, including finding ways to segment high-potential employees and measuring their engagement levels with the organization, as well as calibrating performance reviews more effectively.

Talking about the investment, ServiceNow’s head of employee workflows strategy Melanie Lougee said: “We are more committed than ever to supporting the evolving relationship between manager and employee and finding ways to drive productivity across an enterprise, which is central to an organization’s success.

“15Five is a pioneer in the performance management category and has helped thousands of organizations thrive by building mutually supportive relationships with employees. As learning, development, and performance management become even more essential to an organization’s success, we’re excited to play a part in 15Five’s continued growth.”

David Hassell, CEO and co-founder at 15Five, added: “I’ve long been inspired by ServiceNow’s commitment to helping employees work how and where they want, a core belief that we both hold dearly.

“When employees thrive, companies thrive, and we’re thrilled to have the backing of a category leader like ServiceNow to help us deliver on this promise for HR leaders and their organizations.”

Other HR tech investment news

15Five isn’t the only HR tech startup to attract funding from singular investors this week.

HR platform HeadFirst Group announced it has received financing from IceLake Capital to help it expand its reach beyond the Benelux region in Europe – Benelux includes Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

This comes just a few months after HeadFirst acquired HR tech startup ProUnity – this helped to solidify its presence in Belgium, as well as broaden the HR tech portfolio.

Talking about the investment from IceLake, HeadFirst’s chairman of the board Han Kolff commented: “We are very pleased to welcome IceLake as a strong investor, besides our financing partner Kartesia and our founders. It confirms our employees’ achievements in professionalizing our organization’s solid growth in the past years.

“With IceLake onboard, we will be able to realize our strategic goals across Europe.”

IceLake’s Bastiaan Hagenouw added: “We are excited to back HeadFirst Group, as we appreciate their development into a company with a unique and market leading position in HR services.

“We look forward to work with their experienced board and management team to realize their ambitions and providing its innovative, value-added solutions to an even wider range of clients, suppliers, and professionals.”

Moving back to North America, Conscious Capital Growth has added Patrice & Associates, which leads the hospitality staffing sector, to its portfolio.

“Staffing at all levels in these industries is a continual hurdle for growth. You’re either doing your best to fill vacant positions or working to improve the quality of the talent you have. It never ends. That’s why Patrice & Associates is such a fantastic opportunity for both staffing professionals who want to be in this business and for our investors,” commented Conscious Capital Growth managing partner Christo Demetriades.

The partnership will help Patrice & Associates to focus on its business intelligence, marketing and sales, and therefore grow its market share in this challenging space of hospitality recruitment.

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