Xref obtains Voice Project in a bid to expand

HR tech platform Xref has announced it will be obtaining employee engagement tech company Voice Project. Xref sees this move as a way to compete in a fast-growing market.

Xref CEO and founder, Lee-Martin Seymour, commented on the announcement: “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.”

“This acquisition is an important step towards Xref’s goal of becoming the leading global hire-to-retire employee feedback platform and is a great example of two profitable and credible Australian technology businesses uniting to be more competitive in the global market,” said Mr Seymour.

Xref will be taking on an additional 15 employees in the acquisition, bringing their headcount from 85 to 100. It will also bump Xref’s revenue up by $4 million.

Mr Seymour continued: “This is a true win-win for all involved. Xref will now offer a complete hire-to-retire engagement service for employers that is more comprehensive than most other well-known brands, and we 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.

“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 merge the services offered by Voice Project into its own software, bolstering capabilities.

Dr Peter Langford, Voice Project founder and director, said: “We are so excited to see the value of our survey technology and client base being recognised by a global leader like Xref. We couldn’t be happier to help create the world’s only complete end-to-end solution for employers.

“Employers develop such 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. Until now, the solutions for harnessing this data have been fragmented and have almost always resulted in lost or incomplete employee information. Not anymore.” 

The acquisition cost of $4 million: $2 million up front and another $2 million after the company is properly transferred, providing performance is adequate.

Xref chairman, Tom Stianos, said: “While the Voice Project acquisition is forecast to be EPS accretive to our shareholders, the more significant benefits are that it completes our product portfolio (hire-to-retire strategy), provides cross-sell opportunities, and accelerates our growth. I look forward to Peter Langford joining the Xref leadership team.”