At a time when mass layoffs are becoming a thing, global HR tech platform, Xref (ASX: XF1) is focusing on employee retention. The Company has announced the launch of its new Pulse Survey feature and announced updates across its subsidiaries, completing its lineup of ‘Hire to Retire’ products offered via its new Enterprise platform. 

Pulse Surveys will help organisations increase retention and reduce turnover by collecting regular employee feedback on key performance areas like diversity, leadership, career growth and more. 

It will team up with Reference Checks and Exit Surveys, so that organisations can build a single record of their talent as they move through the organisation. Thanks to these surveys, Xref is going from recruitment into core employment. 

Xref CEO and Founder, Lee-Martin Seymour, said, “We believe we have chosen the right time to invest in further development and to launch Pulse Surveys. We expect this will provide our clients and shareholders with confidence that, despite current market conditions, we will continue to deliver innovation and leadership to grow our services and business. In particular, the growth of our SaaS subscription revenues following the launch of the new Enterprise platform indicates our strategy is meeting the requirements of our market. We continue to remain focused on costs and are balancing our investment into opportunities with our expectations of performance.”

The Company will introduce Pulse Surveys to its existing client base currently comprising over 6 million employees. The surveys delivered by Pulse complement the offering of Voice Project, acquired in December 2022. Voice Project specialises in long-form engagement surveys supported by a comprehensive data and analytics platform. 

Besides migrating current clients across from the original ‘Recruiter’ platform, over 100 new clients have joined Xref since the launch of the new platform. 83% of these clients are on SaaS subscription-based agreements rather than the traditional purchasing of Xref credits. 

During this time, 78 existing Enterprise clients have also chosen to move to SaaS subscription agreements, representing an initial 7% client migration from credit-based agreements. 

Monthly Recurring Revenue from subscription agreements is $300k, representing approximately 17% of overall revenue from Xref’s platform. The Pulse Surveys and Trust Marketplace is expected to bring more profitability. 

Trust Marketplace allows Xref to provide background checking services from global vendors in addition to checks provided by RapidID. Xref has signed a partnership agreement with Certn, a global leader in background screening, which is trusted by over 10,000 clients around the globe. Certn offers background checks in over 200 countries and territories.

During Q3FY23, Xref launched its own internal employee engagement survey using the newly acquired Voice Project technology. Xref has now also launched a customer satisfaction survey to over 9,000 platform users via the Voice Project platform. 

Can employee surveys improve workplace morale and change the landscape for layoffs?