How is this year already coming to a close? Some days it feels like we are still catching up from the preceding years of pandemic stand-still. On other days, it feels like we are in full throttle, navigating a new, exciting terrain left by the shockwaves that came in years before.

For us here at Emi, 2022 was another year of opportunities for growth. Recruiting technology is gaining traction across borders, and we are grateful to have a front-row seat to all of it.

If we had a year in rewind as a team, we’d just show reruns of the World Cup. Kidding! Kind of. But really, our highlight reel would include a lot of futbol references, perfectly curated GIFs, terrible group singing of happy birthday to our coworkers, and these other notable moments:

Series A funding

This year started with the exciting news of our Series A funding backed by Merus Capital and Khosla Ventures. Their backing was additional confirmation that what we are doing at Emi is needed and that our dream of increasing frontline workers' access to professional opportunities is not ours alone. 

We know that with this support, we can help more individuals find the right roles for themselves and their families.

Adjusting to post-pandemic frontline recruitment

Those in the recruiting world have had historically interesting years since the pandemic. 

Recruiters had to go from limited internal resources to limited talent and back to limited resources during the labor shortage. They moved from simply being talent acquisition professionals to becoming salespeople for their businesses. The shape-shifting role that recruiters have had to play during this time has been incredible to witness.

We’ve seen the needs and desires change month over month since the first case of the coronavirus hit North America. The challenges our clients approached us to address have certainly altered because of this.

During the pandemic, Emi’s recruiting automation platform spoke to businesses looking to decrease expenses and improve efficiency in their frontline recruiting. While these benefits are still important to recruiters, more organizations are looking to Emi to help them improve the candidate experience to address the labor shortage and become a more competitive employer option for frontline workers.

4X more jobs filled

Within our company chat groups, we have one that receives alerts each time an individual gets hired for one of the Emi-supported open jobs. When the realities of the go-go-go startup world can distract any of our team members, we recommend they look at that channel. It’s a reminder of why each of us is here. It’s a reminder that our work does change people’s lives simply by giving them a new door to walk through.

This year, using the Emi recruiting automation platform, companies like Walmart, 7-Eleven, Danone, Burger King, and others altogether filled 4X more frontline job openings than last year. This number floors us all because it’s not just a number–it represents real people who were able to find positions that will help them provide for themselves or their families. We are incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of frontline workers, who are often overlooked in the tech world.

The 2022 Emi team retreat

Our team flew across borders to meet in beautiful Mendoza, Argentina. It was the first time many of us met face-to-face, and we couldn’t have picked a better place to do so than in the birth country of Emi. 

While Emi Labs is proudly a remote-first organization, we acknowledge that nothing can replicate connections built over shared experiences, good food, and great wine. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to do all of this together.

We value diversity–not just of location or background but also of thought. It was rewarding to see that while we are all so different as individuals, we all share our commitment to Emi’s mission. With startups, especially fast-growing startups, it’s easy for company culture to fall by the wayside. It was encouraging to see that our commitment to prioritizing the heart of our company above everything else has been worth it.

‍

Wrapping it up

This has been another great year of growth and learning here at Emi. We look forward to what the next year will bring and to what the incredible team we have here will accomplish.

‍