A Chat with Lara Dobson, Head of Product Marketing at Employee Communications Platform: Staffbase

Based in Germany, Staffbase is a leading employee communications management platform provider. We help communications teams worldwide create real change at their companies by connecting with all their employees – whether they are based in the office, at home, on the factory floor or on the road. On the heels of reaching 2,000 customers, Staffbase just raised $115 million in a Series E funding round, catapulting the company’s valuation to $1.1 billion, meaning it achieved unicorn status.

Staffbase’s mission is to empower leaders and communicators to drive transformation through internal communications insights, strategies and solutions. In today’s fast-paced world, companies are being forced to adapt and shift strategies in response to unprecedented changes.

We believe that no other business unit has the potential to impact the internal narrative and guide people as much as internal communications. We’ve seen that belief reflected in publications by business analysts as well – internal communications has been continually and increasingly recognized as a critical tool for keeping companies competitive.
 
 

 

Why is your company unique?

 
Despite Staffbase’s fast growth, the core of our culture has remained the same – it’s a kind, empathetic team of people who really want to see each other succeed.

We have a lot of talented team members who have recognised the importance of taking the time to listen intently to customers and determine how to turn problems into value at an early stage. I think that is why we have managed to stay ahead of the curve in the competitive employee communications tech market.
 

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?

 
Since it was founded over seven years ago, Staffbase has not only become an established provider of the leading employee communications management platform, but also an advocate for the internal communications profession. We have sought to create a vibrant community of internal communicators, providing those working within the field the chance to exchange ideas, share advice and network.

A few examples of our work in this area include comms-unity, IC masterclasses and the annual VOICES conference. We also have a team of IC professionals within Staffbase who ensure they are part of those conversations, using their knowledge, insights, and thought leadership to contribute to the evolution of the industry.

Rapid product development, agility, and an eagerness to be brave and take risks has allowed us to create a highly differentiated product, resulting in growth in multiple global markets. For instance, a few years ago we were just expanding into the U.S., and now 51% of our customers are from North America.

The numbers are only one part of the growth, though. A lot of people who have been at Staffbase for a long time are proud and excited about the opportunity they’ve had to grow personally and professionally at the company. Our team has been dynamic and agile through a lot of change and growth over the years and it’s been exciting to see team members rise to various challenges and succeed with the company together.

I can think of a number of examples of individuals who started in entry-level roles at Staffbase and have taken advantage of the company’s growth mindset to learn and build their careers here. That’s really great to see.
 

What can we hope to see from Staffbase in the future?

 
As the world continues to adapt to new ways of working, we’ll see enterprise workforces become increasingly international and distributed. Effective communication will be more valuable than ever before for connecting employees and keeping them engaged – something that has already become mission critical amid the pandemic and the ‘Great Resignation’.

We will use our Series E funds to continue to scale internationally and strengthen our leadership in the global employee communications space. With ambitious product development plans in place, we’re working on expanding the platform to cover more important use cases for reaching and engaging employees. We’ll also be building out our offering of SharePoint and Teams add-ons to support businesses looking to regain control of the employee experience in those tools, as well as utilise them better for employee communication.

Our platform is always growing and expanding when it comes to tools to make company communicators’ jobs easier. In the coming months we’ll be adding a new dashboard with personalised insights and task overviews at a glance, as well as improving our planning and measurement tools for a consolidated view across channels. Employees using Staffbase can look forward to some exciting UX updates and engaging formats, such as live streaming.

I think we can also count on some more international expansion soon, but I won’t give too much away on that!