CEO and founder Adam Coleman. Image: HRLocker
Founded by HR veteran Adam Coleman, Clare-based HRLocker simplifies HR so teams can spend their time on ‘more people-centric, business-critical tasks’.
One of the many lessons the pandemic taught the tech world is that working remotely works.
Employees of multinationals, SMEs and fledgling start-ups, took to screens set up in their bedrooms and kitchens to complete tasks that, prior to the shift to work-from-home, would have been considered unimaginable to execute outside the confines of the office.
Naturally, therefore, while funding and investment took a hit for most sectors between 2020 and 2023, HR tech showed remarkable resilience as it proved seminal to shaping the future of work.
According to Statista, the revenue generated by the global HR-tech industry was $62bn last year. This is predicted to shoot up to nearly $100bn by 2026.
HRLocker, a company that makes HR management software for SMEs, is one such Irish business that has shown strong revenue growth spurred by increasing demand in the sector.
Rapid growth and expansion
Founded by HR veteran Adam Coleman in 2013 and based in Lahinch, Co Clare, HRLocker’s revenue grew by 139pc last year because of increased demand for HR management platforms that make flexible working easy as more and more businesses go remote or hybrid.
HRLocker manages the entire employee lifecycle with features such as an employee database, time management, performance management and HR and payroll reporting.
“We target companies with 25 to 1,000 employees looking to manage the entire employee lifecycle. However, our plans are flexible and our product is fully scalable to meet the needs of growing businesses,” said Coleman, who was the former head of HR for O2 UK before moving back to Ireland to start his own consultancy firm called HR Interventions.
“As an experienced HR professional, I know first hand the complexities and inefficiencies of HR management,” he went on.
“After a recession-induced setback for HR Interventions, I agreed to do some HR analysis for a development company. I set about researching the nuances of the HR-tech ecosystem and collaborating with other HR experts to shape a solution that would enhance the HR function and empower employees.”
This is how HRLocker was born. Today, the company offers a range of cloud-based software-as-a-service HR management systems to automate and simplify processes to free up time for professionals to spend their time on “more people-centric, business-critical tasks”.
“The HR realm has been slower to target digital transformation, so we help those organisations looking to catch up in terms of employee databases, time management, performance management, and HR and payroll reporting,” Coleman said.
The company announced plans to double its employee base in early 2021 to meet growing demand for its business during the pandemic. Earlier this year, it created 50 new jobs after raising €2m to expand its business beyond Ireland and the UK.
As of January, HRLocker had around 45,000 daily users and more than 700 customers who used its HR management platform.
Coleman is passionate about streamlining the HR process and creating a positive working environment. Earlier this year, he spoke to SiliconRepublic.com about the importance of learning and development programmes to engage and retain staff.
“If you’ve ever left the cinema halfway through a bad film, given up on a long queue or exited a slow-loading website, you’ll understand that we all need good reasons to stay in the same place,” Coleman said. “It applies to our jobs, too – because businesses that fail to provide development opportunities lose their best people.”
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
