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Worker advantages platform Ben at this time introduced it has raised $16 million in a collection A spherical of funding led by European VC large Atomico.
Whereas wage is undoubtedly the primary attract an organization’s compensation supply, further “perks” can assist sweeten the deal for present or would-be staff — this may very well be something from fitness center subsidies or an ebike subscription, to meal allowances and psychological wellbeing assist. However curating and bundling all these varied advantages is a massively resource-intensive endeavor, one thing that Ben is getting down to remedy.
Based out of London in 2019, Ben is a SaaS platform that provides core employment advantages corresponding to life insurance coverage, well being, and pension, in addition to extra lifestyle-based nice-to-haves corresponding to fitness center memberships and work-from-home allowances.
Whereas Ben is aimed on the human sources (HR) realm, it basically straddles each the HR and fintech divide, integrating with techniques spanning accounting, HR, and payroll to automate lots of the onboarding and enrolment processes. Via the platform, employers can set budgets and spend controls for every employee’s perks, in addition to facilitate all the funds course of to the service supplier. On high of that, Ben may concern Credit cards that every worker can use on no matter perks they need inside the limits stipulated by the corporate.
“What was as soon as an enormous burden for HR groups to compile and handle is now collated and introduced by way of the Ben platform,” Ben cofounder and CEO Sebastian Fallert defined to TechCrunch. “This each expands selection vastly whereas additionally minimizing time-consuming admin.”
Ben’s advantages
A fast peek throughout the worker advantages’ panorama reveals quite a lot of related corporations, together with Forma which not too long ago introduced a $40 million series B round of funding back in March, whereas London-based Juno secured a $4 million round.
Ben, for its half, is pitching its “end-to-end flexibility” and comprehensiveness of its advantages as certainly one of its core differentiators, spanning regulated “core” (e.g. life insurance coverage and pensions) merchandise and life-style (e.g. gyms) perks.
“On the ‘core’ entrance, we’re capable of present country-specific protection by way of our world dealer community and enrolment know-how,” Ben cofounder and COO David Duckworth mentioned. “That is necessary, so corporations all the time get the very best mixture of protection and value. On the approach to life entrance, we’ve got relationships with advantages suppliers and might allow spend controls on the Ben Mastercard to show any service provider right into a profit, together with spending Way of life budgets on core merchandise.”
On high of that, Duckworth additionally pointed to the truth that Ben is an “open” platform that isn’t locked right into a set vary of advantages.
“Firms aren’t restricted to particular suppliers and might carry their very own suppliers and dealer relationships, whereas Ben takes over the continued administration,” he mentioned.
It’s additionally price noting {that a} key premise behind the “extensiveness” and suppleness of the advantages on supply is that completely different individuals have completely different wants, relying on a large number of things — together with their age.
“That is the primary time in historical past that 4 generations coexist within the workforce on the identical time,” Fallert added. “Child Boomers, Technology X, Millennials, and Technology Z take part in a posh world financial system, and their profit necessities fluctuate and fluctuate. Firms, a lot of whom are spending round 33% of payroll on advantages, are reassessing their conventional advantages packages to suit extra culturally and ethnically numerous groups distributed around the globe.”
Retention
In an atmosphere that features an ongoing talent shortage and the so-called great resignation, it’s clear that there’s maybe a rising demand for applied sciences that assist to draw and retain staff. And, in truth, lead investor Atomico has an honest monitor document in backing corporations aligned with the house, together with Peakon which exited to Workday in a $700 million deal final yr; JobandTalent, which attained a $2.35 valuation last December; and Gympass, which most not too long ago hit a $2.2 billion valuation.
Ben had beforehand raised a $2.5 million seed round of funding, and with one other $16 million within the financial institution the corporate is now well-financed to unravel the advantages complexity downside for SMEs and enterprise shoppers alike. And within the three years since its basis, Ben has already secured quite a lot of sizeable prospects, together with Zalando, Deliveroo, Funding Circle, and BitPanda.
“Staff are in search of extra selection in what advantages they want and it’s within the curiosity of employers to be versatile, however till now it’s been advanced and dear,” Fallert mentioned.
Except for lead backer Atomico, Ben’s collection A spherical additionally included investments from Cherry Ventures, DN Capital, Seedcamp, and founders and executives from notable fintech / HR corporations together with Peakon, Distant, and Personio.
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