Leveraging AI for the ultimate HR experience with Hela Atmani @PALM.ai

saas.unbound is a podcast for and about founders who are working on scaling inspiring products that people love brought to you by https://saas.group/, a serial acquirer of B2B SaaS companies. We’re dedicating the full month of March to amazingly talented female founders. In this episode #2, Anna Nadeina talks with Hela Atmani, Co-founder & CEO @PALM.ai, empowering talents with a tool that gives them a vision of their career, mobility, and skills with relevant AI-powered recommendations.

Palm: Empowering Talents with AI-Driven Career Mobility

Your Trusted HR Tech Partner

In this episode, we have Hela, the co-founder and CEO of Palm, a company that empowers talents with a tool that provides a vision of their career mobility and relevant recommendations. With the ever-changing landscape of recruiting and HR, Palm is making waves in the industry. Let’s dive in and learn more about this exciting venture.

A Journey of Palm’s Inception

Hela’s inspiration for Palm comes from her personal story. She was born and raised in Tunisia, and at the age of 20, she moved to France. With a decade of experience in advising companies on business-related issues, she noticed a common problem faced by 100% of them – understanding employees’ skills and matching them with the right career path. This lack of career advancement often leads to talents leaving their employers within two years of being hired. Hela believed that this problem could be solved using AI and decided to create Palm to bridge the gap between HR teams, management, and employees.

The Power of AI in HR

A key aspect of Palm’s solution is its AI-driven approach. AI has been at the core of Palm from the beginning, with the recognition that it has the potential to transform and reinvent HR processes. Many HR tools in the market produce fragmented and meaningless data, leading to flawed decision-making and high employee turnover costs. Palm utilizes AI to analyze employees’ skills at scale, consider their individual motivations and potential, and provide personalized career path options based on their unique skills and interests. With a skills taxonomy composed of 35,000 unique skills, Palm’s AI technology can detect and evaluate more than 80% of skills, saving HR teams significant time and effort.

Unlocking the Potential of HR Data

Palm’s AI analyzes and reveals the power of HR data, gathered from various systems and formats, thanks to natural language processing algorithms and a trained skills taxonomy. By vectorizing talents and work opportunities in hyperspace and using artificial neuron networks for matching, Palm’s AI can predict personalized and dynamic career paths for every employee. The potential opportunities for matching are limitless, and Palm’s AI empowers HR teams, managers, and talents with real-time and actionable data on skills, careers, and learning and development.

Successful Fundraising and Overcoming Challenges

Like many female founders, Hela faced challenges when it came to fundraising. However, her experience in the consulting and M&A industry, as well as her understanding of investor expectations, helped her navigate the process successfully. Leveraging her network and building trust-based relationships with potential investors played a crucial role in securing funding for Palm. Hela emphasizes the importance of demonstrating the innovative approach of Palm and highlighting its potential impact on talent management and skills development. Additionally, she stresses the significance of market analysis, competitor evaluation, and clear projections to instill confidence in investors.

The Power of Community

As a female founder, Hela understands the value of being part of supportive communities. Being actively involved in communities for female entrepreneurs and fundraisers provides a network of support, shared experiences, and resources. These communities offer practical advice, help build relationships, and create visibility for startups. Hela believes that having a strong support system is crucial, as it helps founders overcome challenges and maintain their motivation throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

Serving the Mid-Market

Palm’s focus is on serving mid-market companies with 500 to 10,000 employees. These companies often face significant growth and transformation challenges, especially in managing and developing their human capital. Palm provides scalable and flexible solutions tailored to the specific needs of mid-market companies. By optimizing skills mapping, offering a wide scope of features, and adopting a personalized sales approach, Palm ensures customer satisfaction and delivers tangible ROI for its clients.

Building a Diverse and Growth-Oriented Team

Palm understands the importance of building a team that aligns with its core values and shares its vision. Cultural fit, shared vision, diversity, and a growth mindset are key criteria for Palm in its recruitment process. By embracing diversity, Palm aims to create an innovative and dynamic work environment that reflects diverse perspectives and experiences. The team at Palm looks for individuals who are eager to learn, adapt, and take on new challenges, ensuring that they can grow and evolve with the company.

Lessons from Success and Failure

Hela’s biggest win has been successfully deploying its solution in major companies and helping them achieve a return on investment. With over 60 companies already trusting Palm, the team has achieved a significant milestone. Like any startup, Palm has also faced failures. One of their major setbacks was in the early stages of product development, where they aimed to build too many features to win the market. However, these failures have been valuable learning experiences that have shaped their strategy and product for the better.

The Path to Success: Customer Feedback and Talent Retention

Palm’s success lies in its ability to continuously adapt and improve based on customer feedback and market needs. By actively seeking out user experiences and understanding potential customer challenges, Palm ensures that its product remains aligned with user needs.

Additionally, Hela emphasizes transparency, equity, and responsibility in talent retention. By providing personalized career paths and focusing on individual skills and motivations, Palm helps companies create an engaging and fulfilling work environment.

As Palm continues to empower talents and transform the HR industry. With a strong focus on AI-driven solutions, customer satisfaction, and a diverse team, Palm is leading the way in revolutionizing talent management and career mobility.