The acquisition of Voice Project will be earnings accretive – that is, it will increase the company’s profits – and allows Xref to achieve its goal of offering a complete hire-to-retire solution for employers worldwide.

 Global HR tech platform Xref (ASX:XF1) has completed the final step in its long-term strategy to offer a comprehensive hire-to-retire solution for its employer customers in 95 countries across the globe by announcing the acquisition of employee engagement platform, Voice Project.

This acquisition will create opportunities for cross-selling by giving Voice Project’s 944 clients access to Xref’s complementary services.

Conversely, the deal will also offer Xref’s 1,300 enterprise clients and 15,000 users access to Voice Project’s services.

Xref will pay $2m cash from its existing cash reserves at completion, plus up to $2m in script on the first and second anniversaries following completion, conditional on performance.

The acquisition is expected to add approximately $4 million to Xref’s revenues, and increase its staff from 85 to 100.

Xref says Voice Project is profitable and is forecast to be EPS profitable to Xref. Completion of the deal is expected to take place in the current quarter.

“Completing this acquisition is an important step towards Xref’s goal of becoming the leading global hire-to-retire employee feedback platform as soon as the Voice Project technology has been integrated into our own platform,” said Xref CEO and founder, Lee-Martin Seymour.

“It is a great example of two profitable and credible Australian technology businesses uniting to be more competitive in the global market. “It is a true win-win for all involved.”

World-first end-to-end employer solution

Over the last decade, Voice Project has become highly respected for its comprehensive suite of data-driven workplace surveys.

These surveys include Leadership 360, onboarding, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, exit, and pulse surveys.

During this period, the company has also developed a series of industry benchmarks that allow organisations to compare their service quality to their peers –  driving continuous business improvement to both the organisation and the broader sector.

Voice Project’s customers include household names such as Mike Baird-led HammondCare, Hungry Jacks, and 236 community service organisations and 70 universities and research institutes.

Since establishment, Voice Project has engaged with over 3.75 million people via its surveys, and conducted over 3,070 projects facilitated by its experienced workplace psychologists.

Voice Project also has a 99% client satisfaction rating on a rolling five-year average, and it enjoys a +78 net promoter score –  well above the +62 industry average.

Voice Project founder and Director, Dr Peter Langford, said: “We are so excited to see the value of our survey technology and client base being recognised by a global leader like Xref.”

Building on employee data

Langford said that employers build up a plethora of important staffing information right from the moment an applicant contacts them, all the way through to that employee retiring or moving on.

But until now, the solutions for harnessing that data have been fragmented, and have almost always resulted in lost or incomplete employee information.

“Not anymore. We couldn’t be happier to help create the world’s only complete end-to-end solution for employers,” said Langford.

Langford will join Xref along with his team of 14, and will assume the role of General Manager, Xref Engage.

Global markets

Xref believes the acquisition will accelerate its product strategy and growth potential and will immediately integrate the Voice Project portal into Xref’s platform.

This will enable employers  to view every single piece of information about a candidate, employee, or ex-employee in one place, and identify actionable insights.

“The complementary nature of the two firms and the huge value in the resulting end-to-end product for employers will allow Xref to compete alongside other leading global players in the engagement survey category,” said Seymour.

Seymour added that Xref will now offer a complete hire-to-retire engagement service for employers that is more comprehensive than most other well-known brands like Culture Amp or Qualtrics, and will be the only one covering 195 countries.

“Voice Project’s IP, database and technology are second to none, and its senior management has remained at the helm for decades,” said Seymour.

“It is a profitable and highly credible business, with particular strengths in benchmarking, survey design and reporting and a number of other great technology assets that will now be integrated into the Xref platform.”

Xref will use its own cash surplus to fund the acquisition, and sees this as a significant investment into growth and increased profitability.

This article was developed in collaboration with Xref, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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