hSenid Business Solutions aims for IPO to strengthen its global presence

hSenid Business Solutions is a Sri Lanka-based premier HRIS solutions provider operating from Australia, Singapore, Kenya, India, and Bangladesh. The company specialises in Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO), and Access Control and Employee Tracking Solutions, serving over 1,300 clients in more than 40 countries.

During a recent interview, hSenid Business Solutions Chief Executive Officer Sampath Jayasundara, looked back at the company’s, as well as his personal journey so far, and provided insights on what lies ahead for the award-winning company as it attempts to leverage its position as one of the market leaders in Sri Lanka’s HRIS industry to make inroads into key global markets. Below are excerpts of an interview with him:

Q: What can you tell us about hSenid Business Solutions’ primary products?

Currently, our key product is PeoplesHR, under which we have three offerings: Cloud, On-Premise and Turbo. PeoplesHR Cloud is our cloud-based HR platform that covers day-to-day tasks with added features to help improve high-impact strategic decision-making for companies of any size. PeoplesHR On-Premise is a people-centric, customisable, enterprise HR solution that aligns with technological and workplace requirements to provide a unique user experience. PeoplesHR Turbo is our do-it-yourself (DIY) HR solution that allows clients to configure the product to suit their needs and provides employees with detailed information and various reporting tools. We also provide human resource outsourcing services to our customers that allow them to focus on their core business while we improve the quality and flexibility of their workforce. We also provide tracking solutions to track employee movements and provide Internet of Things (IOT) solutions for customer-specific problems.

Q: Since hSenid Business Solutions was spun out, what has it accomplished?

In 2005, we shifted our focus to the HR domain by establishing a dedicated team working full-time on our flagship HR solution. I’d say this was a critical change, as it’s difficult to focus when you have the same resource pool working on multiple areas. Even though we were a relatively small company at the time, we were able to successfully commence operations in Singapore, India, Australia and Africa, which I think is a significant achievement after we separated hSenid Business Solutions as a HR solutions company.

Q: What does hSenid Business Solutions have in store for the future?

Generally, with any product company, there is a product journey that goes through three different stages. First is the Explorer Stage, where we explore new solutions and conduct research in HR and related domains. Next is the Growth Stage, during which we invest all our resources to rapidly grow the product. Over a period of time, once the product matures, we enter the Core Product Stage, which involves KPIs such as the number of customers and revenue targets. Currently, we are focusing on the business intelligence aspects, where we’re working on next-generation HR analytics to understand their most important asset – their people. We now have a dedicated data science team working on bringing more sensitive analytics to bear on making very critical employee-related decisions. We’re also focusing on intelligent automation, where time-consuming HR activities are handed over to intelligent automation processes. Additionally, we have the PeoplesHR Marketplace, a one-of-a-kind online store for all HR-related stakeholders, which consists of many business solutions and extended HR services that complement and add value to the PeoplesHR platform.

Q: What does hSenid Business Solutions’ next move entail?

Currently, we are laying the groundwork for an IPO, and the funds generated by going public will be utilised for three critical areas. Firstly, we need to strengthen our product even further by enhancing its capabilities. Secondly, we need to boost our global partner network’s development so that they can effectively market, implement and provide support for our products. We are very focused on these two areas and want to establish ourselves as the leaders in the Asia-Pacific and African regions. In order to achieve this, we will have to acquire HRIS companies, as this will accelerate our growth.

Q: What criteria will you use to evaluate the company’s progress from inception to today?

We commenced operations with 3-4 employees, and today we’re a 250+ employee organisation, while we have over 1,300 customers in 40 countries across two different regions. We started as an SME company, but now we’re a multi-national operating from Sri Lanka, Singapore, Australia and India, while we also have business operations in Bangladesh and Africa. Today, we’re even implementing large-scale government-level systems. Actually, we reached a significant milestone recently as the Government of Uganda went live with the hSenid HR system, and I am proud to state that the entire government will use our system.

Q: What are the company’s milestones, according to your perspective?

Several significant milestones have passed over the years. Initially, the acquisition of large companies such as SriLankan Airlines, Sampath Bank, and Shell Gas (now Litro) were notable achievements. Secondly, we got the opportunity to work with several large local conglomerates, including Aitken Spence, Hemas, LOLC, Softlogic, and many others. This was the launching pad for us to grow globally, resulting in our entering the African market back in 2006. We have made remarkable progress in Africa and then opened offices in Singapore, India and Australia. Recently, we won several prestigious awards at the 28th Annual Export Awards 2020, organised by the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka. Other significant milestones include reaching the 500 and 1,000 customer marks; the release of PeoplesHR Turbo and PeoplesHR Marketplace; and, of course, the signing of the landmark agreement with the Government of Uganda.

Q: How has the company contributed to your personal development?

Our company has a very open culture where team members are given freedom, and this gives us all a lot of confidence and strength. For example, when I asked my current Chairman and then CEO, Dinesh, about pursuing business opportunities in Africa, he was very open to the idea and encouraged me. In terms of personal growth, I commenced my career as a Project Lead and moved into different areas, which allowed me to be appointed as the Operations Manager. I started in the support division and then got the chance to move into business development. I was then appointed as General Manager – Business Development and Support, which allowed me to market our products and services globally. Finally, the board appointed me as CEO six years ago. I am very happy and thankful to the company for supporting me throughout my journey here.

Q: What are the next steps in your company’s journey?

Our objective is to be the leader in the human capital management area, or the HR solution space, in two regions: Africa and Asia Pacific. Therefore, we’re working towards that objective by building our cadre network in the African and Asia-Pacific regions. We want to give more global opportunities to our most valuable asset – our people – to bring more dollar revenue to this country which we love the most.