Sense's New Product, Messaging, Propels High Engagement Across Contingent Workforce, GV Leads Series B Funding

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sense, the leading contractor engagement platform, has launched Messaging, a 1:1 SMS solution that allows recruiters to personalize interactions throughout the employment cycle, from before the contractor's first interview through their redeployment. Sense has also raised $13.5 million in Series B funding led by GV with participation from Accel, bringing the enterprise-ready company's total funding to $23.5 million. This investment will be used to accelerate investment in R&D and sales, providing support for Sense's rapidly growing customer base.

Several of the top staffing firms in the US including Adecco, Apex Systems, the Staffmark Group, a Recruit Global Staffing company, are working with Sense to increase redeployment and achieve real-time insight into a contractor's engagement throughout the employment cycle. Since its launch in late 2017, Sense has engaged with over 20 million candidates within the United States.

Contingent workers are hiding in plain sight, employed across sectors from engineering and healthcare to light industrial. By 2020, contingent workers are expected to comprise 43 percent of the US workforce, increasing by nearly ten percent in less than five years. The $461 billion global staffing industry is the traditional employer of the contingent workforce, making their interactions throughout the recruiting and employment cycle increasingly consequential.

As the balance of the labor market shifts towards contingent workers, facilitating a positive hiring and work experience has become key for both businesses and recruiters. More than any other factor, communicating information at the right moment and on the proper channel has become a defining element of success. Text messaging is the best communication tool at a recruiter's disposal. Sense Messaging allows recruiters to seamlessly and personally communicate with candidates by SMS and WhatsApp while accessing contextual information from Sense Engage, the company's consolidated communication and analytics platform, and their Applicant Tracking System. Sense Messaging delivers higher engagement between recruiters and candidates—90 percent of people read texts within three minutes. It also increases the efficiency of staffing teams by streamlining candidate communications through a single system rather than piecemeal SaaS products. During Messaging's three-month testing period, more than 50 Sense customers adopted the solution to improve their agency's business performance, recruiter efficiency, and the overall candidate experience.

"This funding and our growth to date reflect the accelerating shift in the way that staffing companies approach candidate engagement, talent communication, and business performance. Human interaction is at the heart of Sense, and through data-driven planning and decision making, we are bringing that to staffing at scale," explains Anil Dharni, CEO and co-founder of Sense. "Our customers can identify the opportunities that will keep their candidates motivated at work and be proactive in their engagement with talent more easily than ever before. These indicators translate to business value. Engaged candidates are easier to hire and perform better on the job."

"Sense helps transform the Staffing Industry to move beyond a transactional mindset and move towards a goal of building true lasting relationships with their talent," said Joyce Russell, President, Adecco Group US Foundation. "Sense significantly helped us strengthen our engagement with our workforce, ensure much higher response rate on surveys and achieve a faster turnaround when sharing information and communications."

By establishing and quantifying these hyper-personalized relationships with their candidates, staffing firms have clearer insight into not only their performance but also the quality of their placements, referrals, and repeat interactions at scale. Redeploying candidates to multiple contracts is one of the least achieved but most valuable growth strategies for staffing agencies; today, only around five percent of talent is redeployed after the first contract. Sense Messaging increases redeployment rates by up to 20 percent.

"In the war for talent, Sense's solution addresses the most pressing need in the staffing industry - improving contractor engagement and redeployment rates," said Rob Lowry, Executive Vice President, Apex Systems. "We help thousands of people annually to find new jobs and improve their careers.  By adding Sense to our ecosystem we have been able to give our candidates and contractors the highest level of service. Sense's combination of a people-first approach and strong analytics has definitely given us an edge."

"Sense stands out because of its exceptional founding team. Anil Dharni has a strong product background and a clear and focused vision for the future of the company," commented Tyson Clark, General Partner at GV. "One of the biggest shifts taking place today in the future of work is the rise of independent and flexible workers. Sense offers a powerful solution that allows recruiters, contractors, and HR departments to gain unique value from putting the right person in the right job."

About Sense
Sense is the leading contractor engagement platform that enables staffing agencies and recruiters to personalize their interactions with contractors at every stage of the employment cycle. Founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneurs with deep expertise in staffing and software, Sense is an enterprise-ready solution that provides a system of engagement for staffing agencies working with the rapidly-growing contingent workforce. Sense works with over 200 clients, integrates with fifteen leading ATS platforms and is working with six of the top staffing agencies in the U.S., including Adecco and Apex Systems. Sense is based in San Francisco and has raised $23.5 million to-date from GV, Accel, Khosla Ventures, Signia Ventures, and IDG SF.

About Adecco USA
When we talk about us, we're really talking about our people—the best staffing and recruiting experts on the planet. They connect over 70,000 people to great jobs across the country every single day. That makes us one of America's biggest employers. Our people are also the go-to workforce management partners for a lot of Fortune 500 companies. And thousands of American workers, in almost every industry and profession, rely on them for career advice. When you're ready to find out what we can do for you, stop by one of our more than 450 locations in the U.S., or visit adeccousa.com today.

About Apex Systems
Apex Systems combines with parent company ASGN Incorporated to be the 2nd largest IT staffing and services firm and 3rd largest clinical/scientific staffing firm in the U.S. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia, Apex utilizes specialized technology and industry practice groups to deliver the most talented and qualified technical professionals to clients within all major industries. Apex has a presence in over 70 markets across North America with contractors currently placed in companies throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 2018, Apex had over 44,500 contract employees on assignment. To learn more visit www.apexsystems.com.

SOURCE Sense

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