Podcast
Employment Hero’s Alex Hattingh talks about global expansion while keeping a strong staff retention
Chief People Officer, Alex Hattingh, joins Steve Grace on our latest episode to talk about how Employment Hero has managed to expand globally while maintaining a strong staff retention.
About the guest
Alex Hattingh
Chief People Officer at Employment Hero
Alex Hattingh is the Chief People Officer at Employment Hero, an all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits platform for small and medium businesses. She joined when the company had 42 people in Australia and has helped scale the team to nearly 350 while the company expanded globally into the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand on the back of a $140 million Series E raise. Prior to Employment Hero, Alex spent 10 years in New York in senior HR roles at Monster.com and Yahoo, before heading up APAC Sales HR for Google in Singapore.
Episode overview
Alex Hattingh joined Steve Grace on Give It A Nudge for the show’s first fully remote episode, recorded in the middle of Sydney’s lockdown. The conversation covers Employment Hero’s $140 million Series E raise and what it takes to get an Australian startup that far, the challenge of going from 42 to 348 people while maintaining culture and purpose, how the company onboarded new hires remotely during COVID, and why Alex chose Yahoo over Google. The episode is grounded in Alex’s practical experience building people functions inside hypergrowth companies on two continents over two decades.
The $140 million Series E raise
Employment Hero had recently announced its Series E of $140 million at the time of recording, one of fewer than ten Australian companies to have reached that milestone. Steve notes the rarity of the achievement and Alex contextualises it: the fundraising work falls primarily on CEO Ben Thompson and the CFO, but the cultural change management required to take hundreds of employees through a major capital event and the global ambition it signals requires the whole leadership team.
“We’re on a real ride. Series E, $140 million. You’d get Canva… there’d probably be less than 10 that have gone to E because many have gone public.”
Alex Hattingh 2:00
From 42 to 348 people: keeping culture at scale
When Alex joined Employment Hero there were 42 people in Australia. By the time of this episode the number was nudging 348. She credits three things for keeping that growth from fracturing the culture: a genuine focus on purpose from the top down, the introduction of OKRs 18 months earlier to align every role to company-level objectives, and a deliberate decision to celebrate internal promotions over external hires wherever possible.
“We introduce something called objectives and key results across the company about 18 months ago. So that you understand whether you’re in marketing or sales whatever job you’re in, how does your role actually align to the purpose of the company.”
Alex Hattingh 17:00
Onboarding remotely during COVID
When Sydney went into lockdown in March 2021, Alex and her team had to rebuild onboarding from scratch. They created a branded welcome pack that included toilet paper, a branded t-shirt, and a first Happy Hour drink, sent to new hires before they started. They also produced a Remote First Playbook explaining which tools to use and when. Wednesday starts were introduced to reduce the anxiety that both new hires and managers felt about Monday onboarding. Virtual team get-to-know-you sessions with random questions became a genuine cultural moment.
“We came up with a really fantastic welcome pack. It had toilet paper in it, their first horse drink for their happy hour. And in that is a personalised note from their manager welcoming them to the team.”
Alex Hattingh 23:00
Why she chose Yahoo over Google
At the peak of her career in New York, Alex was fortunate enough to interview with both Yahoo and Google. She chose Yahoo because at the time they had a more compelling brand. She later joined Google in Singapore to head up APAC Sales HR when the Singapore office had around 300 people, which grew to over 3,000 during her tenure. She returned to Australia and eventually joined Employment Hero after implementing the product at a Sydney startup and seeing firsthand what it could do.
Key takeaways
Chapters
0:00Introduction: first remote episode and Employment Hero overview2:00Series E raise of $140M and the unicorn landscape in Australia6:00Alex’s career: New York, Monster.com, the Cornell degree10:00Choosing Yahoo over Google and moving to Singapore for Google13:00The career mistake that reinforced her values15:00Growing from 42 to 348 people while keeping culture17:00OKRs, purpose alignment, and reward and recognition21:00Going global: UK, Singapore, Malaysia, NZ and async work23:00Remote onboarding: welcome packs, Wednesday starts, virtual socials25:00What drives Alex and the purpose behind Employment Hero27:00Habits, exercise, and maintaining energy during lockdown29:00Why join Employment Hero
Mentioned in this episode
Frequently asked questions
What is Employment Hero and what does it do?
Employment Hero is an all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits platform designed for small and medium businesses. It helps companies manage employment contracts, payroll, leave, benefits, and performance in a single platform, with the aim of making employment easier and more rewarding for both employers and employees.
How did Employment Hero grow from 42 to nearly 350 staff?
Employment Hero grew by focusing relentlessly on purpose-driven hiring, introducing OKRs to align every role with company objectives, investing in reward and recognition, and prioritising internal promotions. The company also expanded into the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand using Series D and E funding to support the international growth.
What is the Employment Hero Remote First Playbook?
The Remote First Playbook is an internal guide Employment Hero created during COVID to help new hires understand which tools to use, when to use video versus Slack, and how the company operates remotely. It was included in the welcome pack sent to new employees before they started, helping them feel prepared and included from day one.
Why did Alex Hattingh choose Yahoo over Google?
At the time Alex was deciding between the two companies, Yahoo had a more compelling brand than Google. She later had the opportunity to join Google in Singapore and went on to lead APAC Sales HR as the office grew from around 300 to over 3,000 people. She reflects on the choice as a reminder that the right decision depends on where each company is at in its trajectory.
What is Employment Hero’s approach to onboarding new hires remotely?
Employment Hero created a branded welcome pack including toilet paper, a branded t-shirt, and a personalised note from the new hire’s manager. They introduced Wednesday starts to reduce first-day anxiety, provided a Remote First Playbook before the start date, and ran virtual team get-to-know-you sessions with random questions to help people connect.
Topics discussed
Full transcript
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Show full transcript (30 minutes, 7 sections)
0:00 Introduction and Employment Hero overview
Steve welcomes Alex for the show’s first fully remote episode, filmed during Sydney’s lockdown. Alex introduces herself as Chief People Officer at Employment Hero, describes the platform as an all-in-one people management solution, and notes the recent $140M Series E raise.
6:00 Alex’s career in New York and the path to Employment Hero
Alex describes leaving Australia at 25 for New York, studying at Cornell, landing at Monster.com through a VP of HR role during a divestiture, then interviewing with both Yahoo and Google and choosing Yahoo for its brand strength at the time. She later joined Google Singapore, headed up APAC Sales HR as the office grew from 300 to over 3,000 people, returned to Australia, implemented Employment Hero at a Sydney startup, and was recruited by CEO Ben Thompson at the Series B stage.
13:00 Biggest career mistake and the lesson it taught
Alex describes joining a company that spoke well about people during interviews but did not put people on the agenda when it mattered. She stayed for a year and should have left within months. The lesson: stick to your values and make sure you are joining a company where people are genuinely everyone’s responsibility at the leadership table, not just the head of HR.
15:00 Growing from 42 to 348 people
Employment Hero grew from 42 to nearly 348 people during Alex’s tenure. She explains the mechanisms: purpose-driven hiring from the first screening stage, OKRs introduced 18 months prior, values champions, psychological safety as a formal goal, celebrating internal promotions, and Ben Thompson actively encouraging people to put their hands up for open roles at every all-hands.
21:00 Going global and working asynchronously
Employment Hero expanded to UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and NZ. Alex describes the learning curve of shifting from an Australian-centric operating model to one that considers all time zones and avoids making remote teams feel like they are at the end of the world. The company learned to work asynchronously and ensure meeting culture accommodates every geography.
23:00 Remote onboarding: welcome packs, Wednesday starts, playbooks
Alex describes the full remote onboarding overhaul: a branded welcome pack with toilet paper and personalised manager notes, a Remote First Playbook explaining tools and norms, Wednesday starts to reduce anxiety, and virtual team sessions with random questions to help new hires connect with their team. The approach generated significant positive feedback on LinkedIn from new employees.
27:00 Purpose, exercise, and why join Employment Hero
Alex reflects on what drives her: the purpose of the company, the quality of the people, and watching employees grow. She shares that lockdown forced her to reset her exercise habits after losing the daily walk to the office. She closes by pitching Employment Hero as a place where you will never have a dull day, Ben Thompson will push you out of your comfort zone weekly, and the culture is built on genuine care for people.
About the host
Steve Grace is the founder and CEO of The Nudge Group, a technology-focused recruitment and advisory business. He has built and scaled companies across Australia and the US, and hosts Give It A Nudge to spotlight founders and operators building something meaningful.
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