In 2020 the world found itself thrust into the tumultuous pages of a dystopian novel. The pandemic sent people indoors, office buildings, co-working spaces, were all rendered redundant. Large and small businesses alike scrambled to adopt and adapt to this new change. The boardroom meetings soon turned to virtual ones, and office watercooler conversations turned to WhatsApp chat groups.
Along with business continuity plans, businesses had to grapple with remote teams, systems, and onboarding of employees across different geographies. It was during this time that RemotePass decided to transition from a SaaS based business travel platform to a HR tech platform.
The startup offers an all-in-one HR platform that is designed to help remote team management. The platform helps eliminate the complexities of hiring, managing, and paying employees and contractors over 150 countries. All this while being compliant.
Founded in 2019, the team had an understanding of building SaaS platforms, and the pivot to a HR tech platform helped the company grow at 35 per cent month-on-month.
Operating a SaaS platform for remote teams
RemotePass has HR tools like multi-currency expense management, time-off tracking with multi-level approval flows, along with mass payroll processing. An organisation’s remote team gets access to the RemotePass Super App.
The app offers financial services and benefits like a USD payroll card for instant payments, seven payout methods, and health insurance options in over 90 countries. By leveraging RemotePass’s Employer of Record (EOR) and contract solutions, businesses can streamline international hiring and manage complex global employment tasks, allowing them to focus their expertise and resources on their core mission.
“Our vision is to create a world where anyone can work for anyone from anywhere while having access to compelling benefits and financial services products. By taking the complexity out of the process, we’re reinventing payroll and benefits for forward-looking companies and the international, borderless workforce in more than 150 countries.”
For teams and contractors, RemotePass ensures that they get paid on time and in a payment method and currency of their choosing. The Super App gives seamless access to leading financial services and benefits — no matter where you are in the world.
Two years ago the team transitioned from a monolithic architecture – a structure that slowed down updates – to a micro services architecture.
Making payroll and compliance easy
“This shift has enabled us to form multiple technical squads, each focused on distinct segments of the product. These squads work autonomously, enhancing our capability for rapid releases. Presently, we have six tech squads, each dedicated to different product areas, rolling out new features weekly,” added Reggad.
He explained the teams function independently, utilising varied programming/scripting languages and databases tailored to their specific product areas. Their deployment and testing methods vary; for customer-facing features, they employ A/B testing or regional rollouts to ensure a feature’s effectiveness before it’s launched broadly.
The idea is to make payroll and compliance simple, what helped RemotePass was embedding simplicity and a user-centric design at the heart of the product. The team follows a feedback loop mechanism that helps work on product improvements based on user feedback.
“Through this approach, we’ve enhanced user experiences and established a benchmark for delivering complex services in a user-friendly and efficient manner, reshaping perceptions and expectations in the digital landscape” said Reggad.
The growing HR tech market
The global HR tech market is projected to touch $39.9 billion by 2029, according to several reports. A report by iMarc Group added the GCC region specifically will see a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8 per cent during 2024 to 2032. The report added with use in the SME segments to ensure efficiency and streamlining of processes, the market will see a shift.
Apart from this Reggad believes the increased adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) will further make the space robust. “This evolution is not just about automating routine tasks but fundamentally reimagining how HR functions can enhance organisational performance and employee experience,” said Reggad.
As companies continue to embrace remote working at scale, RemotePass, streamlines and simplify remote hiring and onboarding processes, which are becoming more vital than ever.
Building in AI
This reduces time consuming, error prone and repetitive tasks for HR leaders so they can focus on strategic, value additive, and people-centric initiatives instead. This also aids in talent acquisition. These tools analyse vast amounts of data to identify the best candidates for a position, significantly reducing the time and resources spent on recruitment.
Moreover, AI-driven predictive analytics can forecast future workforce needs, helping organisations to plan their talent pipeline more effectively. To democratise access to talent and find suitable matches in an efficient and cost effective way.
In learning and development, technologies are being used to personalise employee training programmes. For example, by understanding individual learning styles and performance gaps, AI can tailor training content to meet the specific needs of each employee, thereby enhancing learning outcomes and career development opportunities.
“Incorporating AI into HR practices requires a strategic approach. It begins with identifying areas where AI can have the most significant impact, such as talent acquisition, employee engagement, or workforce planning. Organisations then need to select the right AI tools that integrate seamlessly with their existing HR systems. Training HR professionals to use these tools effectively is crucial, as is ensuring compliance with data protection regulations to safeguard employee information,” said Reggad.
Core differentiator
Currently there are several tools and companies like FreshWorks, Zoho, Darwinbox, Oyster, and Rippling competing in the same space as RemotePass.
However, Reggad adds they are different. The startup he said caters to the needs of businesses, employees, and contractors that help navigate the multiple complexities of remote employment.
RemotePass offers a streamlined and user-friendly experience, removing the challenges of global collaboration for all parties involved. The platform provides solutions that are tailored to every segment of the market, with dedicated and superior levels of customer support.
The startup has just closed a financing round and is gearing up to scale operations and serve a more diversified customer base.
“We are all set to drive the company’s market expansion, supercharge our award-winning app, scale operations, and unlock a wave of product innovation — all designed to empower businesses and unlock new opportunities for global talent,” said Raggad.
The team is now expanding to Saudi Arabia, and other territories in the GCC region.
