Dallas Startup Kanarys Launches D&I Collaboration Platform

Diverse Meeting

Dallas-based startup Kanarys launched a collaboration platform designed to facilitate discussions on diversity and inclusion between employers and employees.

Kanarys’ technology gathers and analyzes cultural and demographic data, industry rankings, trends and anonymous employee reviews to provide information companies can use to build inclusive workplaces and improve workplace culture. By using both quantitative and qualitative data, the company said, organizations can benchmark their performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

Dallas-based Kanarys launched a collaboration platform designed to facilitate discussions on D&I between employers and employees. #HR #HRTech @KanarysInc Click To Tweet

Company co-founders Mandy Price, Star Carter and Bennie King began developing the platform nearly 14 months ago. They released a beta interface to corporate users in February 2019. The company began work with $725,000 of pre-seed funding.

Later this year, Kanarys plans to launch a seed round to raise funds for building out its technology and expanding its team.

Crowded Market for D&I Tools

It’s no secret that Kanarys isn’t the first company to attempt to improve corporate D&I efforts with technology.  In May, Visier launched Visier People, specifically targeting chief diversity officers and other leaders who want to apply analytics-based insights into their D&I work. The SaaS solution helps identify opportunities and risks to aid HR and business leaders as they develop strategies around achieving their organization’s D&I goals.

Soon after, Visier set up a data integration with TrustSphere, which provides relationship analytics and organizational network analysis. Among other things, combining ONA with people analytics helps employers measure the effectiveness of their D&I efforts, the companies said.

A number of other vendors—including brand names like Ultimate Software and SAP SuccessFactors, as well as more specialized firms such as Atipica, HRDiversifyd and Fortay—have waded into the market for D&I solutions.

Kanarys messaging includes much discussion of diversity’s cultural and economic impact on employers. Co-founder and CEO Price said that when they feel disconnected, underrepresented professionals can cost up to $144,000 annually in per-employee attrition costs. “Kanarys takes the emotion out of an often-difficult subject for employers by providing real data” on D&I.

In April, Kanarys and the University of Texas at Austin announced a research partnership focused on workplace diversity, equity and inclusion. Under the partnership, Kanarys and the university planned to use the startup’s platform to compile data on workplace diversity and inclusion initiatives.

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