Harriet has raised £1.2 million to transform human resources with artificial intelligence.
The AI tool scans all existing organisational policies and documents to build a picture of what’s currently in place, what’s missing, and where duplicate or conflicting information exists.
It signposts companies towards issues and helps them clean up their data – creating the right foundations for the deployment of additional AI.
Harriet then sits on top of this clean data and information to become a personal HR assistant for every employee. It says this relieves HR teams of their daily admin burden around ‘micro requests’.
Accessed via Slack and plugged into other HR tools – such as ticketing systems, HRIS’ and payroll – Harriet can book staff leave, update them on company policies, find relevant documents, source payslips, and signpost them to support services, with answers tailored to the location of a specific employee.
In addition, it provides an anonymous route for staff looking for company information that may be sensitive, such parental leave policies for those thinking about family planning, or information about booking bereavement leave.
The pre-seed round was led by Concept Ventures and joined by Frontline Ventures, Portfolio Ventures and Notion Capital.
“The world is heading towards a future where every employee has an AI-powered assistant – with all the major tech players racing to build one. But companies aren’t currently set-up to reap the rewards of these advancements,” said CEO Cecily Motley (pictured, left, with fellow co-founder David Buxton).
“And one of the main blockers to AI adoption for companies is the state of their knowledge bank. It’s a familiar story – multiple versions of policies saved in different places which are forgotten about until someone needs them.
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“As organisations look to take advantage of AI solutions, and as teams begin to expect instant access to information and support, it’s vital to ensure tools lay the right foundations as well as unlock efficiencies. That’s why Harriet has been designed to clean up data, get companies onto the right track, and then offer the daily assistance staff and people teams are looking for.
“HR and people teams are responsible for so many vital things – from culture to compensation. But too many colleagues see them as just a route to key information, like their payslips and P60s. This means HR teams are drowning in fiddly, low-value admin tasks. Harriet AI is freeing them from this burden; allowing HR teams to focus on their real purpose and show how valuable their role in a company really is.”
A team of highly experienced HR industry leaders are joining Harriet as advisors, including Jessica Zwaan, COO at Whereby, and future of work advocate Johannes Sundlo.