TriNet Zenefits

Last updated
YourPeople, Inc.
TriNet Zenefits
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Human resource management
FoundedFebruary 18, 2013;11 years ago (2013-02-18)
Founders
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Area served
United States
Key people
Jay Fulcher (CEO)
RevenueIncrease2.svgUS$43.5 million (2016) [1]
Number of employees
500 (2019) [2]
Parent TriNet
Website www.zenefits.com

TriNet Zenefits (legally known as YourPeople, Inc. and previously known as Zenefits) is a technology company based in San Francisco that offers cloud-based software as a service to companies for managing their human resources, with a particular focus on helping them with payroll and health insurance coverage. [3] [4] [2] The company was founded in 2013. [5]

Contents

History

Zenefits was started by Parker Conrad and Laks Srini to help startups and small businesses find insurance quotes and manage employee benefits in one place. It officially launched on February 18, 2013. [6]

In January 2014, the company announced the addition of commuter spending, flexible spending, and 401(k) support, to replace functions usually handled by companies' human resources departments. [7] In July, the company announced support for stock options in its cloud HR platform. [8]

In May 2015, Zenefits announced it had raised $500 million from investors, including Fidelity Management, TPG, and Comcast Ventures, at a valuation of $4.5 billion. [9] [10] [11]

Compliance issues

In 2016, an internal legal investigation at Zenefits found the company's licensing was out of compliance and that Parker Conrad, CEO had created a browser extension to skirt training requirements for selling insurance in California. [12] [13] After self-reporting these issues, Zenefits hired an independent third party to do an internal audit of its licensing controls and sent the report to all 50 states. [14] The California Department of Insurance as well as the Massachusetts Division of Insurance began investigations of their own based on Zenefits' report. [15] [16] Parker Conrad resigned as CEO and director in February and COO David O. Sacks was named as his replacement. [17]

Workplace culture

Shortly after becoming CEO, Sacks issued a memo to employees in which he banned the consumption of alcohol in the Zenefits offices. "We operate in a highly regulated industry," he wrote, "and it's important to set the right tone in the office. The new policy helps to achieve this and communicate that we are committed to operating with integrity." [18] On February 26, 2016, Zenefits laid off 250 people, about 17 percent of its employees. [19] In June the company laid off another 9 percent (106 additional people). [20]

Regulatory settlements and fines

In July, Zenefits reached its first state regulatory settlement with Tennessee for $62,500, [21] four months after the company's initial self-reporting of compliance issues to the states in which they had been operating. Settlements with additional states followed. [22] [23] [24] [25] On November 28, Zenefits was fined $7 million by California's insurance regulator for allegedly disobeying insurance laws. [26]

In 2017, the company was fined $1.2 million for violations against New York Insurance Law. [27] [ non-primary source needed ]

Transformation and further layoffs

On February 3, 2017, Jay Fulcher was appointed as new CEO and Chairman. [28] On February 9, Zenefits announced it would be laying off 45% of its workforce as a way to "move toward an operating model that is sustainable and better reflects the needs of our current business" as noted by Fulcher in a memo sent to employees. [29] [30] In September, the company changed its business model from an insurance broker to a SaaS software platform for brokers, offering HR, payroll, benefits and wellness applications to small businesses and insurance brokers. It also announced it was partnering with Atlanta-based broker OneDigital to begin to offer broker partner-based regional support. [31] OneDigital became the first member of Zenefits' new Broker Partner Program. [32]

In October 2018, the company began offering a well-being product in conjunction with American businesswoman Arianna Huffington's wellness company Thrive Global. [33]

In April 2020, Zenefits laid off 15% of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [34] In August, the company added collaboration tools People Hub and Employee Engagement Surveys to assist managers with managing remote workforces during the Coronavirus. [35]

In January 2021, the company launched a healthcare plan shopping feature on its platform. [36]

Decline and acquisition

In March 2021, the company entered a financing agreement with private equity firm Francisco Partners that gave the firm control of the company. Forbes reported that the company's value had declined significantly by that time. [37]

Forbes reported that the company's value had declined substantially since its 2013 valuation. [37]

In February 2022, Zenefits was acquired by Francisco Partners-owned TriNet and was renamed to TriNet Zenefits. [38]

Services

Zenefits offers a platform for small and mid-sized businesses to administer and manage benefits; HR functions such as time tracking, onboarding and employee record keeping; payroll; performance and well-being. [39] [2] The company also offers users access to human resource and payroll advisors. [40]

The platform includes collaboration tools to assist managers with managing newly remote or hybrid workforces. Its People Hub integrates various messaging, collaboration, and interaction features inside Zenefits. Its Employee Engagement Surveys help track company morale and show how motivated employees are in their jobs. [35] The platform also includes an online healthcare plan shopping feature, as well as a cash price insurance model offered by partner Sidecar Health. [41]

Financials

Zenefits has been valued as high as $4.5 billion; it has received $583 million in venture-capital funding from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Brendan F. Wallace, Venrock, TPG, I.V.P., and Fidelity. [42]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aon (company)</span> Professional services firm

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that offers a range of risk-mitigation products. Aon has approximately 50,000 employees across 120 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fidelity Investments</span> American multinational financial services corporation

Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1946, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the world, with $5.4 trillion in assets under management, and $14.1 trillion in assets under administration, as of June 2024, Fidelity Investments operates a brokerage firm, manages a large family of mutual funds, provides fund distribution and investment advice, retirement services, index funds, wealth management, securities execution and clearance, asset custody, and life insurance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salesforce</span> American software company

Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, e-commerce, analytics, artificial intelligence, and application development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayforce</span> American technology company

Dayforce, Inc., formerly Ceridian, is a provider of human resources software and services with employees across its global footprint in the United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East,Latinamerica, Africa (EMEA), and the Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region. It is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David O. Sacks</span> South African American entrepreneur (born 1972)

David Oliver Sacks is a South African-American entrepreneur, author, and investor in internet technology firms. He is a general partner of Craft Ventures, a venture capital fund he co-founded in late 2017. Additionally, he is a co-host of the All In podcast, alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg. Previously, Sacks was the COO and product leader of PayPal, and founder and CEO of Yammer. In 2016, he became interim CEO of Zenefits for ten months. In 2017, Sacks co-founded Craft Ventures, an early-stage venture fund. His angel investments include Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, and Airbnb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workday, Inc.</span> American software company

Workday, Inc., is an American on‑demand (cloud-based) financial management, human capital management, and student information system software vendor. Workday was founded by David Duffield, founder and former CEO of ERP company PeopleSoft, along with former PeopleSoft chief strategist Aneel Bhusri, following Oracle's acquisition of PeopleSoft in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TriNet</span> American cloud-based professional employer organization

TriNet Group, Inc. is a Dublin, California-based professional employer organization for small and medium-sized businesses. TriNet administers payroll and health benefits and advises clients on employment law compliance and risk reduction, acting in some cases as an outsourced human resources department. TriNet is headquartered in. TriNet partners with organizations between 3 and 2,500 employees.

Twilio Inc. is an American cloud communications company based in San Francisco, California, which provides programmable communication tools for making and receiving phone calls, sending and receiving text messages, and performing other communication functions using its web service APIs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aon Hewitt</span> American consulting company

Aon Hewitt was a provider of human capital and management consulting services headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois in the United States. From 500 offices in 120 countries, it provided consulting, outsourcing, and reinsurance brokerage services. The "Aon Hewitt" brand and legal entities have now been absorbed into the "Aon" business, leaving obsolete the names "Hewitt" and "Aon Hewitt."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UKG</span> American software company

UKG is an American multinational technology company with dual headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Weston, Florida. It provides workforce management and human resource management services.

Glassdoor is an American website where current and former employees anonymously review companies, operated by the company of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gusto, Inc.</span> American payroll and benefits company

Gusto, Inc. is a company that provides payroll, benefits, and human resource management software for businesses based in the United States. Gusto handles payments to employees and contractors and also handles paperwork necessary to help client companies comply with tax, labor, and immigration laws.

Parker Conrad is cofounder of Rippling, a cloud-based human resources platform designed to assist with onboarding, payroll, benefits, and vacation tracking. Prior to starting Rippling, he was the cofounder and CEO of Zenefits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis Towers Watson</span> Global insurance company

Willis Towers Watson plc, branded as WTW and stylised in its logo as wtw, is a British-American multinational company that provides commercial insurance brokerage services, strategic risk management services, employee benefits and compensation management, and actuarial analysis and investment management for pension plans and financial endowments. Insurance brokerage and risk management services account for 40% of the company's revenues, while employee benefit and wealth-related services account for 60% of revenues. The company operates in more than 140 countries. Customers include 95% of FTSE 100 companies, 89% of Fortune 1000 companies, and 91% of Fortune Global 500 companies. The company is the largest administrator among the 200 largest pension plans in the U.K. and one of the largest in Germany. The company is domiciled in Ireland, with its principal executive offices at the Willis Building in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carta (software company)</span> American software company

eShares, Inc., doing business as Carta, Inc., is a San Francisco, California-based technology company that specializes in capitalization table management and valuation software. The company digitizes paper stock certificates along with stock options, warrants, and derivatives to allow companies, investors, and employees to manage their equity and track company ownership. The company also operates CartaX, a private stock exchange.

Namely is a United States–based human resources software company, founded in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on January 17, 2012. Namely offers human resources management tools to businesses.

Zilingo is a technology, application and commerce platform which was founded in 2015 by Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, and has operations spanning Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Australia and the United States. In January 2023, Bloomberg reported that the company was preparing to liquidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deel (company)</span> Private San Francisco-based payroll and compliance provider

Deel is an Israeli-American payroll and outsourcing company based in San Francisco, California. The company provides hiring, payments, and outsourcing services for companies hiring international employees and contractors.

Better Home & Finance Holding Company doing business as Better or Better.com, headquartered in New York City, provides mortgage origination and related services such as title insurance and home insurance online in the United States and United Kingdom.

PAPAYA Global is a fintech SaaS company that specializes in global workforce payroll and payments. The company was founded in 2016 by Eynat Guez, Ruben Drong, and Ofer Herman. Eynat Guez is the CEO and has been since the company was established. The company gained unicorn status in 2021. In March 2022, Papaya Global acquired Azimo.

References

  1. ↑ Alden, William (December 2, 2016). "Zenefits Lost $200 Million Last Year". CNBC . Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "How Zenefits recovered from scandal in insurance business". SF Chronicle. November 2, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Manjoo, Farhad (September 21, 2014). "Zenefits' Leader Is Rattling an Industry, So Why Is He Stressed Out?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ Lynley, Matthew (May 1, 2013). "Zenefits Tries to Take the Pain Out of Human Resources". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  5. ↑ Manjoo, Farhad (October 12, 2016). "Zenefits, a Rocket That Fell to Earth, Tries to Launch Again". The New York Times . Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ Empson, Rip (February 18, 2013). "Y Combinator-Backed Zenefits Gives Small Businesses A One-Stop Shop For Finding And Managing Employee Benefits". TechCrunch . Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ Empson, Rip (January 10, 2014). "Fast-Growing Zenefits Adds Commuter Benefits, Flexible Spending And 401(k) Support As It Moves To Take Over Startup HR". TechCrunch . Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  8. ↑ Lawler, Ryan (July 25, 2014). "Zenefits Adds Stock Options To Its Cloud HR Platform". TechCrunch . Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ Keohane, Dennis (May 6, 2015). "Zenefits raises $500 million for its HR software and insurance hybrid, beating off new customers 'with a stick'". PandoDaily . Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ MacMillan, Douglas (May 6, 2015). "Zenefits Is Tagged With a $4.5 Billion Valuation After Just Two Years". Digits (blog). Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ Baumgartner, Jeff (May 29, 2015). "Comcast Ventures Is Friends with Zenefits". Multichannel News. New York City: NewBay Media. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  12. ↑ Caspi, Heather (30 November 2016). "Zenefits slapped with multi-million dollar fine over licensing violations". Healthcare Dive. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  13. ↑ Alden, Will (February 11, 2016). "Zenefits Software Helped Brokers Cheat On Licensing Process". BuzzFeed . Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  14. ↑ O'Brien, Sara Ashley (February 8, 2016). "Zenefits CEO steps down over compliance issues". Cnnmoney. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  15. ↑ Suddath, Claire; Newcomer, Eric (9 May 2016). "Zenefits Was the Perfect Startup. Then It Self-Disrupted". Bloomberg Businessweek . No. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  16. ↑ Fernandes, Deirdre. "Mass. insurance regulator investigates benefits software firm". The Boston Globe . No. 9 Mar 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Solomon, Brian (February 8, 2016). "Zenefits CEO Parker Conrad Resigns Amid Scandal". Forbes . Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  18. ↑ Bort, Julie (February 19, 2016) "Zenefits' new CEO just banned employees from drinking alcohol at the office." Business Insider. (Retrieved 6-17-2016).
  19. ↑ Lynley, Matthew (16 February 2016) "Zenefits Is Laying Off Roughly 250 Employees." TechCrunch. (Retrieved 6-14-2016).
  20. ↑ Lynley, Matthew (16 June 2016) "Zenefits is laying off another 106 people and offering others a buyout." TechCrunch. (Retrieved 6-14-2016).
  21. ↑ "TDCI Levies $62,500 Fine Against Zenefits". July 25, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  22. ↑ Dave, Paresh (November 28, 2016). "Employee benefits start-up Zenefits is fined $3.5 million for licensing violations". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  23. ↑ Alden, William (October 7, 2016). "Zenefits Settles Insurance Investigation In Washington State". BuzzFeed . Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  24. ↑ Rauber, Chris (September 13, 2016). "Zenefits settles with five more states over broker licensing snafus" . Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Texas Department of Insurance fines Zenefits $550,000". 2016-10-14. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Zenefits hit with $7 million fine by California insurance regulator". Reuters. November 28, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  27. ↑ "DFS Fines Zenefits $1.2 Million for Repeated Violations of New York Insurance Law". Department of Financial Services. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  28. ↑ "Zenefits Names Tech Industry Vet as New CEO". Fortune. 2016-02-06. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Troubled startup Zenefits just laid off almost half its staff — here's the full email sent to employees". Business Insider. February 9, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Zenefits is laying off 45% of its workforce". TechCrunch. February 9, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Zenefits tries a rebrand and hands off insurance brokerage". Techcrunch. September 21, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Zenefits' big switch: From fighting brokers to serving them". San Francisco Business Times. September 9, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global is teaming up with Zenefits". Techcrunch. October 18, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Zenefits cuts its workforce by double digits". San Francisco Business Times. April 4, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  35. 1 2 "Zenefits Delivers New Tools for Managing a Remote Workforce". PC Magazine. August 4, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Zenefits Launches Online Healthcare Shopping for Small Businesses". CPA Practice Advisor. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  37. 1 2 Feldman, Amy. "Zenefits, Once Worth $4.5 Billion, Does Deal With Private-Equity Firm That Gives It Control". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  38. ↑ "TriNet Completes Acquisition of Zenefits". Zenefits (Press release). Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  39. ↑ Empson, Rip (February 18, 2013). "Y Combinator-Backed Zenefits Gives Small Businesses A One-Stop Shop For Finding And Managing Employee Benefits" . Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Zenefits Review". PC Magazine. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Zenefits Launches Online Health Insurance Shopping for Small Businesses". Small Biz Trends. January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  42. ↑ Kossof, Maya (June 14, 2016). "Months After Banning Sex in the Stairwells, Zenefits Lays Off Another 106 Employees". Vanity Fair . Retrieved December 6, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.