HR tech start-up finalists announced before UNLEASH show

The finalists for the HR technology start-up competition soon to be held at UNLEASH (formerly known as HR Tech) have now been announced.

The six companies operate in a range of areas from mixed-reality assessments to technology that enables employees to report sexual harassment incidents.

Three of the finalists have produced chatbots or other automation platforms for use in the recruitment process, reflecting a growing appetite within HR to use AI to reduce time spent on manual tasks.

Last year, an AI recruitment programme known as Robot Vera took the coveted prize.

Delegates at this month’s UNLEASH, which takes place at London’s ExCeL on 20 and 21 March, will be able to see more than 30 start-up exhibitors at the event, with the finalists taking to the stage to deliver their pitches to a panel of industry leaders.

The six nominees this year are:

Actiview – Actiview has produced a mixed-reality assessment platform so recruiters can see the behavioral and cognitive profile of candidates in real-life simulations and predict whether they will fit the specific team and position in question.

Coorpacademy – Coorpacademy specialises in corporate digital learning via a cutting-edge platform that converts any content into an engaging online learning experience. It was developed by and instructional design team from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, a leader on Moocs in Europe.

Vault – Vault is a counter-harassment platform powered by blockchain technology. It was created as a direct response to the recent public and media outcry against harassment, and aims to fix the recording and reporting problems by creating a safe, encrypted and immutable digital space to record harassment incidents.

JobPal – JobPal builds chatbots that automate the communication between employers and candidates. This means companies can build higher engagement and automate many recruitment-related tasks.

RoboRecruiter – RoboRecruiter uses messaging automation via a chatbot platform, saving recruiters time on the more repetitive and mundane aspects of the recruitment process. At the same time, chatbots dramatically increase candidate experience and engagement levels.

JennaAI – Jenna is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that transforms the process of candidate screening. With Jenna, recruiters can create their own smart “recruiter” that will ask the candidates the important questions, filter and score them. It can also be used for onboarding.

Anna Ott, head of start-up ecosystem at UNLEASH, said: “Over the last six years, nearly 200 startups had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the UNLEASH community.

“Most have had remarkable success – with an overall investment of nearly €900million being raised by them in total so far.

“These startups are shaking up the HR industry as we speak and I can’t wait to see them on stage in London in a couple of weeks.”