CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA), a public, non-profit corporation fueling South Carolina’s innovation economy, today announces predictive analytics and AI software company ENGAGE Talent, one of its SC Launch, Inc. portfolio companies, has been acquired by Workforce Logiq, a global provider of workforce management software and services to large corporations. Workforce Logiq is owned by global investment firm The Carlyle Group.
The acquisition will provide Workforce Logiq customers with exclusive access to ENGAGE Talent’s data science, AI capabilities and proprietary benchmarks. The intelligence gives employers a predictive head start to discover, attract and retain the market’s top talent.
ENGAGE joined SCRA’s entrepreneurial program, SC Launch, in 2015. The program, which provides startups with the resources necessary to grow and scale – including mentoring, grants, and investments -- was instrumental to ENGAGE’s growth and development.
“ENGAGE joins an illustrious group of SC Launch companies that have attracted a total of more than $1B in follow-on funding. We have invested over $30M in the 13 years of SC Launch’s existence, delivering a healthy return on investment for the citizens and economy of South Carolina,” said Bob Quinn, executive director at SCRA. “ENGAGE Talent is a prime example of the benefits of investing in South Carolina’s innovation economy.”
ENGAGE’s patent-pending Talent Retention Risk (TRR) ScoreSM is an employment volatility benchmark that enables real-time predictive recruiting and retention decision making. ENGAGE’s TRR Scores also position organizations to anticipate and plan for future skill supply and demand gaps. The company’s proprietary ENGAGE 5D ProfileSM predicts the optimal candidate-specific workplace attraction characteristics, enabling organizations to tailor recruitment and retention messaging based on the unique attributes most likely to optimize job appeal, including company environment, organizational stability, strength of leadership, and opportunities for growth.
“We had confidence in ENGAGE from the very beginning. Beyond the truly game-changing technology the team created, founder and CEO Joe Hanna had a proven track record of strong leadership and the ability to deliver – all pointing to a very bright future for the company,” said Derek Willis, investment manager of SCRA. “This deal is another proof point of the value of the SC Launch program. We are very excited to celebrate ENGAGE’s achievement and Workforce Logiq’s continued presence and investment in South Carolina’s tech corridor.”
The acquisition of ENGAGE gives Workforce Logiq a universal sourcing solution that can address all elements of companies’ talent acquisition and retention programs (RPO), contingent worker management (MSP) and freelance / “gig” workers (FMS).
“Today’s businesses require innovative tools to find and engage the best-aligned, high-quality talent,” said Christopher J. Dwyer, VP of Research at Ardent Partners, a Boston-based research and advisory firm. “Workforce Logiq’s acquisition of ENGAGE Talent reflects the power of AI-fueled and predictive analytics in how enterprises execute enhanced talent-based decisions.”
Joseph Hanna, founder and CEO of ENGAGE Talent will join the Workforce Logiq executive leadership team as Chief Strategy Officer, Workforce Logiq and Managing Director, ENGAGE Talent. Tim Yates, most recently the CEO of Monster Worldwide and current member of ENGAGE’s Board of Directors, will join Workforce Logiq’s Board.
“The investment and resources we received from SC Launch enabled us to scale at a pivotal time for our company,” said Joe Hanna, Founder of ENGAGE Talent. “We’re incredibly proud of this milestone and are thankful for SCRA’s partnership and support over the past four years.”
Visit the Workforce Logiq – ENGAGE Welcome Center for more information on the acquisition, and to check out the interactive infographic – “In-Play or At Risk?” – which showcases ENGAGE’s Talent Retention Risk (TRR) Score and ENGAGE 5D Profile for all U.S. states.
About SCRA
The South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) was chartered in 1983 as a public non-profit corporation to fuel our state’s innovation economy. It does this by providing funding, support and mentoring to create jobs, nurture company growth, enhance academic and corporate research and facilitate commercialization. SCRA has an annual economic impact of $700 million, facilitating the creation of almost 4,100 jobs at an average salary of $71,000, as well as provides investments and grants which have led to over $1B in follow-on funding by third parties and venture capitalists.
About SC Launch, Inc.
Established in 2006, SC Launch, Inc. is an independent, non-profit corporation affiliated with SCRA, which provides loans and investments to selected South Carolina-based companies participating in the SC Launch Program.
About ENGAGE Talent
ENGAGE Talent offers the first Total Talent Intelligence™ platform for companies that recognize the impact of people on business performance. ENGAGE uses AI predictive models with data from 40,000 external sources to deliver the most holistic and validated talent intelligence worldwide. Market leading companies depend on ENGAGE to improve talent acquisition, candidate engagement, competitive intelligence, and labor market analytics. ENGAGE was awarded the Most Interesting AI Company in HR Technology from HR Examiner, 2019. For more information, please visit www.engagetalent.com.
