Zenefits, the free, cloud-based human resources technology company that automates and eliminates time-consuming paperwork for small and medium-sized businesses, announced plans to create over 1,300 new full-time jobs over the next three years, and the launch of a new, nearly 100,000-square-foot office in Scottsdale, AZ.
“We're thrilled to open our new office in Scottsdale, which will allow Zenefits to meet the growing demand from thousands of small businesses who want to focus on their people instead of paperwork,” said Parker Conrad, CEO and co-founder of Zenefits. “The greater Phoenix area has a talented workforce and an expanding tech community, and Zenefits is excited to grow our team both here and in San Francisco.”
Zenefits is widely considered to be one of the fastest-growing tech companies in recent history. Its user base is on track to grow 1,600 percent in 2014, and in a little over one year in business, the company has signed up more than 2,000 businesses serving over 50,000 employees across 47 states.
This is the largest expansion from a California-based tech company into the Greater Phoenix region since PayPal in 2010. Zenefits has already hired 60 new local employees, and plans to expand to more than 1,300 full- time employees within the next three years. The company’s new office will occupy 94,000 square feet of office space in the Scottsdale Galleria Corporate Centre.
“We want to welcome Zenefits to Scottsdale where it joins a growing field of exciting and innovative tech companies, who are drawn here by all the elements that ensure a motivated skilled workforce, an outstanding quality of life and a positive business environment,” said Scottsdale Mayor W.J. “Jim” Lane. “We are delighted to welcome Zenefits to Scottsdale – they will be an incredible addition to our business community and our City's economy.”
The expansion into Scottsdale will enable the company to meet the needs of its rapidly increasing customer base. Zenefits is now in the process of hiring a range of new employees for the Scottsdale office, including HR specialists, sales representatives, account managers and executives, and client support staff. Zenefits currently employs more than 390 workers in its San Francisco headquarters, up from just 15 at the beginning of the year.
“Zenefits is one of the fastest-growing tech companies in America, and we are tremendously excited that its leadership selected Arizona for a major expansion that will advance its corporate growth goals,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority. “Our state’s surging technology ecosystem and highly-educated workforce continue to attract innovative companies seeking to develop operational hubs to help drive business growth and enhance their competitiveness across the country.”
Zenefits automates a wide range of time-consuming, administrative HR tasks that companies otherwise have to handle manually, including: benefits and payroll, hiring, taxes and compliance, employee life events, health insurance and more. Zenefits’ cloud-based HR platform connects seamlessly to a company's existing third-party benefits systems, so that businesses and employees can manage these systems from a single, beautifully designed dashboard.
“We are thrilled that Zenefits chose the Greater Phoenix region for its first big expansion,” said Barry Broome, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “Zenefits will provide a substantive impact to the innovation ecosystem, creating 1,300 new jobs in the ICT sector over the next three years, spurring growth and contributing to our broader economy.”
The core Zenefits service is 100 percent free to customers because it is able to collect fees from all kinds of benefit providers. This unique business model is one of the reasons Zenefits has been able to attract so many users so quickly. As of June, the company has raised $84 million from prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), and Academy Award-winning actor and investor Jared Leto.
About Zenefits
Zenefits is a free, SaaS-based HR platform that gives businesses a single place to manage their payroll, benefits, and compliance -- all online, in one beautifully designed dashboard. Employers can sync directly with their current payroll, health insurance, and other HR systems in seconds, or use Zenefits to set up with new payroll and benefits providers. Once connected, Zenefits helps automate 95 percent of HR administration work, from benefits enrollment to employee on- boarding. Zenefits was co-founded by Parker Conrad and Laks Srini. For more information, visit zenefits.com or follow Zenefits on Twitter: @Zenefits.
About the Arizona Commerce Authority
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state’s leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: recruit, grow, create – recruit out-of-state companies to expand their operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to grow their business in Arizona and beyond; and partner with entrepreneurs and companies large and small to create new jobs and businesses in targeted industries. Visit www.azcommerce.com for more.
About the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC)
A true public-private partnership, GPEC is the regional economic development organization for Greater Phoenix. Working with its 22 member communities, Maricopa County and more than 170 private investors, GPEC attracts quality businesses to this dynamic region. By creating a high-performance economy through capital investments and jobs, Greater Phoenix companies enjoy a business climate where they can compete and thrive in today's global economy. Since 1989, GPEC has worked to achieve an economically sound and sustainable region. For more information, visit gpec.org.
About the City of Scottsdale
Scottsdale, one of Arizona’s 10 largest cities is a premier visitor location as well as a tremendous place to live and do business. It is home to 125 golf courses, 220 tennis courts, dozens of parks and hundreds of miles of bike paths and hiking trails, and a Downtown with more than 20 hotels, 90 restaurants, 320 retail shops and 80 art galleries. Scottsdale Airport and its surrounding Commerce Airpark area is headquarters to nearly 2,500 businesses with more than 48,000 jobs. The high-tech innovation center SkySong, located just a few miles from Downtown, is designed to help companies grow through a unique partnership with Arizona State University. Scottsdale was recently named one of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in the United States, and was honored as Arizona’s 2013 “eCity” by Google. For more information, visit ChooseScottsdale.com.