This London-headquartered HRtech startup uses AI to ease hiring for Infosys, HCL, Oracle

Hiring new employees can be an exhausting process for global Fortune 500 companies. London-headquartered iXceed Solutions aims to ease this by providing talent and workforce solutions services to these multinationals, focusing on technology, IT consulting, and engineering consulting domains. 

iXceed was founded in 2011 by Pawan Lokwani in London. In 2018, Yogita Tulsiani took the baton and started an offshore delivery centre in Noida, marking the entry of iXceed.

The startup now uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide end-to-end recruitment solutions. The customised service lines include recruitment, staff augmentation, lead generation, virtual employees, and platform development.

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Meet the team 

Pawan is an IIT-Delhi alumnus. He left iXceed’s founding team after starting another AI-based HRtech startup, Recruitment Smart, in 2016. However, Pawan continues to provide consulting services to iXceed. 

Yogita, the Co-founder and Director at iXceed, is an alumnus of Indian School of Business, and has previously worked as the Director of Business Development at Mphasis. 

Since the change in leadership, iXceed has streamlined processes and automated its system, and added newer services including digital marketing and lead generation. Under Yogita’s leadership, iXceed has also increased the team size by 50 percent, year on year.

The team also includes Ritesh Yadav, Nitin Sharma, and Arun Kumar as Account Managers, and Mohini Singh as the HR Manager. The total team size in India is 70.

“Some of them started their stint with us as recruiters or junior recruiters but very soon they started handling clients and accounts, and got promoted,” Yogita says. 

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Service offerings

 iXceed provides four types of services: recruitment, staff augmentation, virtual employment, and platform development. 

Under recruitment, iXceed provides end-to-end services, from sourcing relevant profiles to coordinating with candidates, and finally leading to a successful closure of the role.

“We work hand in glove, like an extension of the client’s own team, without adding any additional headcount. Our cost-effective Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) model allows you to focus on your core skills and leave the rest to us,” Yogita says.

Apart from this, iXceed also provides talent sourcing, back-office support, and vendor management. 

When it comes to staff augmentation, iXceed has been operating in the European market for more than a decade in the technology domain. It has experience in staffing key skills like digital technologies, SAP, front-end technology stack, and infrastructure technology.

Yogita says, “With the gig economy becoming prevalent, the iXceed team is well equipped to manage critical staffing requirements in a fast-evolving talent market.”

 The HRtech startup also provides skilled resources at a fraction of the cost at offshore locations in India, Philippines, and Poland. This collaborative workforce is available to startup organisations for scale-ups as it allows the flexibility to build technology solutions quickly and at a reduced cost.

“Through this, clients are able to reduce overheads of hiring talent, resulting in efficient output at high profitability,” she says.

Under its platform development vertical, iXceed works in partnership with product companies and application development firms to create solutions for customers across all verticals. 

In light of the situation created by the coronavirus pandemic, iXceed has curbed all travel and implemented remote working for its employees.

“We have equipped our employees with necessary infrastructure to allow them to smoothly work from home. They have VOIP on mobile phones, and are able to access the company database remotely,” Yogita says.

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The jobs market 

According to a report by Grand View Research, the human resources management market is anticipated to reach $38.17 billion by 2027. In fact, the market is expected to register a CAGR of 11.7 percent between 2020 and 2017.

Technology proliferation in the field of big data analytics, machine learning, AI, and Internet of Things is expected to positively impact the growth of the HRM market. 

The current jobs market offers a mixed bag of solutions. Biggies like LinkedIn, Naukri, and Monster are mostly focused on job boards. On the other hand, Applicant Tracking System-like SuccessFactors, Bullhorn, Taleo, and Workday are operational. Additionally, a lot of HRtech startups, including SCIKEY, Workruit, and Darwinbox,  are trying to bring innovation to the hiring process. 

According to Yogita, iXceed has an edge over its competitors. “Despite leveraging offshore benefits, we have very strong local knowledge and compliance with the law of the land,” she says.

iXceed’s revenue model is based on professional service fees that are charged based on the intricacy of the assignment. This can be fixed price or recurring, based on the client's needs.

The HRtech startup’s ideal clients are global technology companies looking to augment their teams. Marquee clients include Infosys, HCL, Oracle, Mindtree, and NIIT, among more than 20 other clients.

Bootstrapped since inception, iXceed has been growing its revenues steadily at 40 percent, year on year. Currently, its revenues stand at $9.28 million. “Our target is to grow to $50 million in the next 18 months,” Yogita says.

She believes that with the UK going through Brexit, there are a lot of collaborative opportunities for good talent from India. 

Currently expanding in terms of clients, revenue, team size, and offerings, iXceed does not plan to raise any external funding immediately. By the end of 2020, the HRtech startup aims to enter the US and Middle East market.

(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)