Insider Brief
- Inclusively, a workforce inclusion platform, has raised $13 million in Series A funding, led by Firework Ventures, to enhance its workplace personalization product, Retain, which offers a framework for enterprises to address modern workers’ needs for personalized work experiences.
- Retain uses AI to centralize accommodation requests and automate over 60% of the process, significantly reducing overhead and saving costs for companies and addressing the needs of not only employees with disabilities but also catering to the broader workforce, including caregivers and veterans.
- The new funding will be used to expand Inclusively’s product offerings, aiming to create a more diverse, equitable, and productive workforce.
PRESS RELEASE — NEW ORLEANS/November 16, 2023/(BUSINESS WIRE) — Inclusively, the workforce inclusion platform, today announces that it has closed a $13 million Series A round to accelerate enterprise access of their new workplace personalization product, Retain. The round was led by Firework Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including Benson Capital, the venture arm of Gayle Benson, owner of the Saints and Pelicans. These NFL and NBA franchises are actively working with Inclusively, having engaged approximately 10% of their full-time employees since the beginning of the partnership.
Modern workers demand tailored work experiences, whether that’s extra time on tasks, more flexibility, or accommodations for their mental health. Retain provides a framework for enterprises and allows employers to address these requests at scale. The tool merges advanced AI with a platform that helps all employees — not just those with disabilities — learn and better tailor their work environment. Employers gather valuable feedback and data to optimize their firm’s employee experience in real-time. Designed with the future in mind, Retain not only addresses today’s accommodation needs for disability, such as neurodiversity, but also resonates with Gen Z’s demands for a more personalized and inclusive workplace.
“At Firework Ventures, we lead investments in technology that drives economic mobility,” says Ashley Bittner, General Partner of Firework. “We believe the future of work requires solutions like Inclusively — their AI-driven workplace personalization will enable all individuals to thrive at work. We are especially excited that Inclusively is expanding its offering to support caregivers, veterans and other underinvested in communities that are critical contributors to our workforce.”
Retain’s key offerings include:
- Accommodation Centralization: A clear, secure, and confidential platform for employees to learn about their accommodation needs.
- Automation: Retain is easy to implement and over 60% of the accommodation process is automated, significantly reducing overhead.
- Cost Efficiency: Every time an existing candidate or employee discloses, companies will save $4,000 on costs associated with turnover and low productivity. It only takes 1% of employees at a company with 1,000 people to self-disclose to realize $1 million in annual savings.
- Transparent Interactive Process: Inclusively allows companies to be transparent about their stances on accommodations and how they provide them.
- Data and Analytics: Companies continuously learn from their employees’ feedback and analytics.
Inclusively has over 50 enterprise clients, including Delta, Pfizer, Accenture, Charles Schwab, and Edward Jones. These clients validated the need for a solution that enables their existing employees to become more productive. They wanted a product built around a more social model, prioritizing employee experience — one that goes above and beyond basic legal requirements — instead of the traditional medical model, which is built solely around bare minimum compliance, requires self-identification, and medical documentation.
“During the pandemic, employees who worked from home had more control over their working environments than ever,” says Charlotte Dales, CEO & Co-Founder of Inclusively. “They learned exactly what they needed to be more productive and engaged, be that heads-down time for focused work, flexible schedules for childcare, or workplace accommodations like extra time to complete tasks.”
Retain brings this level of workplace personalization into the post-pandemic world, while allowing companies to scale it responsibly and measure results. Companies that adopt Retain will decrease redundant interactions across their teams, empower everyone with information at their fingertips, and become a premier employer of choice. With this funding, Inclusively will focus on expanding its product offering to enable companies to address the individual needs of its employees across multiple underserved demographics (i.e. caregivers, immigrants) to create a more diverse, equitable and productive workforce.
For more information or to request a demo, please visit Inclusively or contact us at [email protected].
About Inclusively
Inclusively takes your employee experience, productivity, and retention to the next level. We help you unearth new talent and unlock the potential of your existing employees without disruption. Starting with the disability community, our platform provides integrated access to one million diverse candidates for roles based on candidate skills, experience, and accommodations. We also support companies who are learning to adapt to the increasing demands around workplace flexibility and the personalization of existing employees. A few of Inclusively valued clients include: Delta, Lyft, Edward Jones, Accenture, Applied Systems, New York Life, Delta, UL Solutions, Applied Systems, Accesso, RAPP, WellLife Network and more.
Contacts
Maya Yeshurun
VP Marketing, Enterprise
[email protected]
