Our story - The Happy HR journey

Christopher Smith Happy HR's founder and Chief Happy Officer consulted for industries of all shapes and sizes, and concluded that many Australion businesses struggled with human resource (HR) management and lacked the tools to succeed. Christopher discovered that many large and small businesses were going through varying degrees of HR anxiety. Businesses on the most part were too busy to stay compliant. Directors worried about keeping contracts up-to-date and containing the right information for performance and remuneration, and they agonized over the employee performance management processes. There had to be a better way than using word documents and paper administration. We started our quest to solve these challenges by wireframing and developing a basic cloud-based HR platform that would prove the business model and allow us to understand where we could take the idea.

We integrated with Xero, and this enabled us to grow by 150%. We took what we learned about the HR soffware market, and with this detailed analysis, we commenced wireframing the new version of Happy HR called *2.0".

By October of 2018, with a goal of becoming an end to end HR platform and HR service, premium HR services to our suite of services. We added a range of significant features that included our multisite franchising module, sub-contractor, consultant, new reporting, and dashboards to ensure medium to large clients could be serviced. These services have already proven as Happy HR is acquiring companies with higher employee numbers. Happy HR commenced our partner program, which in the first year added over 150 new partners to the program.

Happy HR added reporting engines, document management, and other significant development to ensure best practice in all areas of the platform. This was a year to consolidate our learnings and plan for a new "3.0" version.

We added many new HR services, added tons of additional new software and app features, updated our UI/UX, launched new integrations like Reckon and Cloud payroll, new onboarding and offboarding & operational checklists, full paperless onboarding, self guided plans.

We successfully developed and launched a brand-new platform along with dedicated iOS and Android employee apps, offering a seamless web-like experience on mobile devices. This update includes innovative features like candidate matching and a fully upgraded recruitment management system. Moreover, we added Happy Learning, featuring a comprehensive Learning Management System (LMS), to further enhance employee development and training opportunities.

In addition to these achievements, we've also elevated our performance management system, ensuring smoother evaluations and goal tracking for team members.

Our dashboards have been enriched with detailed insights and analytics, providing valuable information about various aspects of our operations. This enhancement enables better decision-making and fosters a culture of continuous improvement within clients organisation’s.

Today, Happy HR supports thousands of workplaces across Australia, spanning 122 awards and industries, helping businesses manage their people more efficiently while freeing HR teams to focus on higher-value work that drives their organisations forward.
Our success is built on the trust of our clients and the dedication of our team. We're proud to maintain a 98% client retention rate and achieve an outstanding 9.6/10 NPS score through our client surveys—reflecting our commitment to delivering exceptional service, innovation, and outcomes.
At Happy HR, we're building something truly special. We have an incredible team, valued partners, and a culture that empowers people with the freedom, ownership, and support they need to thrive. We are driven, happy, and humble, but we also set exceptionally high standards for ourselves because we know that's what it takes to achieve our mission: eliminating HR anxiety for Australian businesses.
As we look ahead, we're investing heavily in the next generation of Happy HR.
Our new platform enhancements and AI-powered capabilities are designed to make HR management even simpler, smarter, and more proactive.
From automating administrative tasks and streamlining compliance requirements to delivering intelligent insights and recommendations, AI is helping our clients spend less time on paperwork and more time supporting their people and growing their businesses.
Alongside our continued expansion of integrations, workflow automation, and employee management tools, we're developing a new version of the Happy HR platform that will provide greater flexibility, deeper intelligence, and a more seamless experience for employers and employees alike.
The future of HR isn't just digital, it's intelligent, proactive, and human-centred. At Happy HR, we're excited to be leading that transformation and helping Australian businesses build stronger, more productive workplaces every day.