How PostHog optimizes HR processes with Deel's all-in-one solution

In a world of fragmented product development tools, PostHog stands out with unified essential functions like product analytics, feature flags, session recording, and A/B testing all on one integrated, open-source platform. Its journey began in YCombinator's W20 cohort, achieving the most successful B2B software launch on Hacker News in nearly a decade, all within just 4 weeks of founding. Now, with over 50,000 users, it’s thriving with 97% organic growth through word of mouth and ranks among the top 0.01% of GitHub's most popular repositories.

PostHog’s founding coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, shaping its global and remote work culture from the start. They turned to Deel for global hiring and onboarding solutions as they embarked on an ambitious journey to expand their team. With a mission to be able to grow and hire the best talent globally without the difficulty of incorporating someone to the team due to hiring challenges in each country, PostHog needed a partner capable of ensuring compliance across many countries within a narrow timeframe. Deel’s global hiring solutions helped PostHog tackle this challenge, enabling it to compliantly hire and pay international talent as it continued to grow.

As its growth continued, PostHog faced the challenge of centralizing its HR processes. Initially, it used Deel EOR and Deel Contractor Management for global hiring, onboarding, and compliance, but relying on another provider for HRIS led to unsustainable fragmentation.

Using separate tools complicated data management and HR processes, demanding a labor-intensive approach that drained valuable team resources. Charles Cook, VP of Operations and Marketing at PostHog, explained, "Having all these different tools wasn't working for us. It was a real hassle trying to juggle all these separate processes on different platforms within the same team, consuming a ton of our time. And to make matters worse, the other provider's user interface was far from user-friendly, leaving our team members pretty frustrated."

As PostHog's team continued to expand, the inefficiencies of managing workforce data across two separate platforms only got worse. Cook remarked, "If I needed to store someone's bank account for payroll, that information was already in Deel, but we also had to manually ensure it was updated in our HRIS platform, which no longer made sense for us."

It was time for PostHog to simplify processes across its teams so it could focus on core business objectives and save time from tedious manual data entry across multiple tools. Deel was the answer. PostHog consolidated all HR operations with Deel HR without hesitation. According to Cook, "Our vision is to unite all of PostHog's people processes under Deel now and in the future."

By centralizing hiring, onboarding, compliance, and HRIS onto Deel, PostHog now possesses a single source of truth for its team. This unified platform provides valuable insights through user-friendly dashboards for better decision-making across the organization.

Deel's self-serve capabilities empower the team to take control, allowing them to efficiently handle tasks like payments and time-off approvals independently.

By simplifying processes that would typically require a larger People team, PostHog saves over $50k+ USD annually. Cook highlights the significance of Deel's platform for enabling the team to manage tasks efficiently without the need for additional headcount: 'We're a very lean team taking care of People processes, so having a platform like Deel that enables us to manage processes simply and quickly saves us time and the need to hire extra personnel.'"

PostHog's growth trajectory remains on a rapid rise, signaling ongoing expansion for its team and HR processes. As it continues this course, the plan is clear: keep harnessing Deel's capabilities for all things HR. This decision, rooted in the desire for centralized efficiency, is also a testament to the quality and responsiveness of the customer success team at Deel. “Deel’s customer support is very good, the responsiveness is super fast, and I appreciate that there is always a person from the Deel team that can help me get answers quickly,” mentioned Cook.

PostHog envisions a future where it can further optimize internal processes and reduce provider fees by exploring the incorporation of Deel Global Payroll. This strategic approach aligns perfectly with its commitment to continued growth and operational excellence.