Fountain adopts talented new team members and conversational AI technology to supercharge high volume hiring efforts
A company is only as strong as its people, and here at Fountain, we’re lucky to have inherited a team of forward thinkers and collaborators through our recent acquisition of Clevy, a global provider of conversational AI.
We asked Salim Jernite, Co-founder of Clevy and now a Director of Product/Head of Worker Experience at Fountain, to share more about Clevy’s decision to partner with Fountain and his goals for a future with Fountain.
On how Clevy came to be
“Years ago, my co-founders Bastien, François, and I saw employees in large organizations spending significant time asking HR professionals the same questions. The scattered nature of information across various talent acquisition tools made this information hard to locate. The result was HR representatives spending countless hours repeating the same responses. Employees would have to wait, sometimes for days, for an answer. To tackle this issue, we decided to develop an HR AI system to automate the process of answering common questions.
“I had seen firsthand how existing talent acquisition systems fell short for frontline workers. The potential of leveraging our technologies to help rectify this substantial challenge was an exciting process.”
“The goal was twofold: to streamline efficiency for HR professionals and to vastly improve the employee experience. Initially, Clevy was a simple Q&A automation tool. It has since evolved into a more complex solution: it can integrate with any hiring platform to perform actions such as scheduling leave or downloading payslips.
“As a small startup of 20 dedicated individuals, Clevy aimed to create the finest conversational technology on the market to improve employee experience and productivity. By making HR services more accessible through mobile conversations, we believed we could make a significant difference.”
On early discussions with Fountain
“My first meeting with Fountain CEO Sean Behr highlighted Fountain’s keen interest in innovation and conversational automation. What particularly intrigued me was the market size and the significance of the issues Fountain was addressing. Having worked with several frontline worker companies at Clevy, I had seen firsthand how existing TA systems fell short for frontline workers. There was a striking digital divide in the services provided to applicants and employees in these industries.
“Almost instantly, we recognized shared values between Fountain and Clevy—trust, transparency, agility, and high standards in all we do. It felt like we were speaking the same language!”
“This gap in the quality of experience for employees and applicants seemed anachronistic in 2023! The potential of leveraging our technologies to help rectify this substantial challenge was an exciting prospect.”
On identifying parallel values and vision between Clevy and Fountain
“Following my initial conversation with Sean, where he shared Fountain’s ambition and strategy, we met with the Fountain R&D and product teams. Almost instantly, we recognized shared values between Fountain and Clevy—trust, transparency, agility, and high standards in all we do. It felt like we were speaking the same language!
“Fountain is dedicated to enhancing the lives of hourly workers by expediting and optimizing their job search process. We saw immediate alignment between our HR automation and conversational AI expertise with a leading player tackling challenges in a vast market.”
On deciding to move forward with Fountain
“Historically, hourly workers have been considered inexpensive labor. This has made companies hesitant to invest in their development or solutions to attract them. But the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the pivotal role of hourly workers in our economies.
“The potential of leveraging our technologies to help rectify this substantial challenge was an exciting prospect.”
“As pioneers in serving these populations, Fountain is setting the global standard for improving the lives, engagement, and retention of frontline workers.”
On a future with Fountain
“Our goal is to transform the frontline worker experience through personalization and automation. We want to empower workers while delivering high levels of operational efficiency to our customers through conversational AI.
“I’m excited about learning from an incredibly talented and diverse international team across departments such as Sales, R&D, Marketing, and Customer Success. The richness and diversity of Fountain’s teams are truly impressive and provide excellent opportunities for personal growth and learning.”
To learn more about Fountain’s acquisition of Clevy, click here.
Salim Jernite, a French entrepreneur and business executive, co-founded Clevy and served as its CEO until it was acquired by Fountain. Salim’s expertise lies in product strategy and development, innovation, and SaaS GTM. At Clevy, he played a key role in developing the startup into a prominent player in HR automation and conversational technologies within the European market. Today, he leads the Worker Experience initiative at Fountain.
