Performance technology specialist 15Five has announced the acquisition of AI-powered assistant and coach for remote managers, Kona, for an undisclosed sum.

Sitting within existing workflows, Kona’s tool provides remote-based managers with tailored and privacy-conscious coaching and enablement in virtual meetings on platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet.

The tool uses AI to build context over time to aid managers consistently develop skills in areas such as leading more effective meetings to navigating difficult performance conversations.

Kona represents the second acquisition by 15Five, having completed the acquisition of employee engagement software provider, Emplify, for $50 million in April 2021.

In July 2022, 15Five secured $52 million in Series C funding, followed by strategic investment from the venture capital wing of HR tech giant ServiceNow in December the same year.

Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH about what the acquisition means for 15Five, CEO Jim Morrisroe said the acquisition represents a “big leap” in the areas the company “have long been focused on: Helping HR leaders target and resolve their costly employee performance, engagement and retention problems.”

Improving the ‘critical lynchpins’ of organizations

Morrisroe explained that the rise of remote working following the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a proliferation of virtual meetings – as much as 60% between 2020 and 2022 alone according to Harvard Business Review.

This, in turn, makes it harder for HR to identify and address where skills gaps exist among managers.

“Our customers that analyze their people data in 15Five realize that improving their people managers is the critical lynchpin for making a real, hard dollar business impact – HR simply cannot make progress without managers,” Morrisroe comments.

The rise of virtual working, meetings and communications channels means that people management too is becoming a virtual craft. As such, tools are required to help managers where they are working.

“The acquisition of Kona allows us to empower people managers with real-time, AI-powered coaching and guidance in their flow of work, including Zoom, Slack and Google Apps,” Morrisroe tells UNLEASH. 

That’s what makes this so powerful – giving HR leaders an entirely new way to pinpoint and resolve the manager skill gaps with the greatest business impact.”