In this digital age, IT can greatly help strengthen human resource management. Keka Technologies Pvt. Ltd., an HR tech start-up based in Hyderabad, provides effective new-age HR solutions for companies. Founded in 2015 by Vijay Yalamanchili, Keka, which means awesome in Telugu, has been engaged in developing human resource management software for companies. According to its website, the company originated with the goal of automating and simplifying people processes so that companies can focus on their employees.
Keka has developed products and services to manage payroll, attendance, leaves, and other HR-related issues. The ongoing emphasis on constructing an employee-centric HR platform has been positively received by over 6,500 businesses across India and around the globe. Some of its products are payroll software, HRMS software, applicant tracking software, and performance management software, among others.
Effective HR Solutions
According to Keka’s website, “Keka is the only HRMS payroll management system in the industry that facilitates easy participation of non-finance roles such as HR members in salary operations. In Keka, revising and designing a compensation plan requires no previous knowledge of payroll. However, it empowers you with full control over statutory compliance
Keka’s HRMS architecture is flexible enough to create any kind of flat or hierarchical organisation structures that can accommodate complex operational processes of a business.
Keka’s HR and payroll software is tightly integrated with Keka’s time-tracking products. Using it, one can effortlessly monitor employees’ leaves and attendance, with calculations performed automatically, requiring no manual effort. Additionally, it allows for the reversal of leave and attendance entries and the payment of arrears.
Keka’s performance management software monitors, analyses, tracks, and evaluates employee performance, which can ensure that goals are achieved and the desired ROI is accomplished. Keka’s One-on-one (1:1) meeting tool can accelerate a team’s growth by tracking each employee’s progress and enabling discussion of the issues one on one. Through this tool, team managers or department heads can define agendas for one-on-one meetings as it helps employees work on areas for improvement. As soon as a one-on-one meeting is created on Keka, the calendar of the necessary individuals is automatically blocked.
Analysing numerous resumes for a job posting can be a daunting task. Using Keka ATS software, companies can attract suitable candidates by communicating clear job descriptions and goals through high-ranking job sites and social networks. With the assistance of Keka, companies can also administer pre-employment tests to assess candidates’ skills and competence for specific roles within the organisation
Funding and Loss
Within a year of its operations, Keka had won its first 100 customers, and by 2021, it reached the 5,500-customer milestone. In 2022, the company generated Series A funding of 57 million USD from WestBridge Capital. The company’s Founder, Vijay Yalamanchili, told CNBC-TV18 that the company would use the fundraising for product improvement and business expansion in Southeast Asia and other Western countries.
However, how far the flow of funds will help improve the company’s bottom lines is open to debate. According to the company’s financial statement filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Keka Technologies Pvt. Ltd.’s total revenue escalated by 116 per cent during FY23 to reach Rs. 54 crore, up from Rs. 25 crore in FY22.
But its expenses also increased hugely during that period, from Rs 29.7 crore in FY22 to Rs 82.5 crore in FY23, which significantly increased its loss. Keka Technologies Pvt Ltd.’s loss after tax scaled at 526 percent YoY in FY23 compared to FY22. Its loss after tax in FY22 was Rs.4.6 crore, which galloped to Rs. 28.8 crore in the last financial year, which ended on 31s March 2023. It is hoped that this innovative company will recover its losses in FY 24.
As for the focus and vision of Keka, its website says that its main focus is on research and development, and it is looking to expand its engineering, product, and customer success teams.
