London-based Clear Review is a cloud-based performance development platform that aims to promote frequent employee feedback and continuous employee-manager conversations, in place of the standard, outdated annual review system. The platform has experienced rapid growth since launching in 2016, with more than 200 customers adopting its new performance management tech.
Clear Review has just announced a €2.9 million Series A investment led by AlbionVC, with participation from Mercia. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and build its presence in the US.
The startup has surpassed €1.7 million in annual recurring revenues, and has grown its staff by a factor of five over the past 18 months. Its key customers include CYBG/Virgin Money, Ricoh, Kennedys, and The Valuation Office Agency (VOA).
The company has seen strong interest from the US market, which now represents 20% of annual revenue. Clear Review’s leadership team plans to further build out its presence in the US, scaling up its operation later this year.
“The same clarity of focus within the product and unrivalled simplicity of user experience has allowed us to consistently win in the US against competitors,” said Clear Review Chief Revenue Officer Daniel Anticich. “We’re excited to get closer to this market and continue to build momentum.”
“With the war for talent raging as strongly as ever, performance management is quickly moving up both HR and the C-suite’s priority list,” said founder and CEO Stuart Hearn, a former HR Director of Sony Music International. “Annual appraisals are no longer cutting it and companies are looking for clear guidance as to how to move to more effective and engaging models. Crucially we’re seeing organizations view our technology as a catalyst for change, as opposed to an afterthought. Clear Review’s simple yet powerful user experience is worlds apart from the outdated performance module on legacy suite solutions. We see customers such as CYBG/Virgin Money enjoying 96% monthly user adoption – unheard of with traditional models and systems. Market awareness and adoption of new performance management models is increasing dramatically and we’re confident the recent funding will allow us to take things to the next level at just the right time.”
The Clear Review leadership team is also committed to building and growing a community of employees who are passionate about delivering on the company’s mission, to improve people’s working lives whilst driving better performance and productivity gains for business.
“Businesses are increasingly disappointed with their performance management tools and processes and the impact that ineffective annual appraisals are having on organisational performance,” said Emil Gigov, partner at AlbionVC. “Clear Review’s flexible software solution and thought leadership in continuous performance management are delivering on employees’ rising expectations of continuous feedback and agile goals. We were particularly impressed by the overwhelmingly positive customer comments and the high user adoption rates of Clear Review’s system. Stuart and the talented team at Clear Review have an exciting opportunity to continue supporting businesses in transforming their performance management approach. We’re excited to support Clear Review in their next stage of growth.”
