Rick Hammell, SPHR, Founder & CEO of Helios, launched the corporate after identifying a critical gap in how businesses manage global expansion. With a background in founding a successful Employer of Record (EOR) services company—a model where a third-party legally employs employees on behalf of a business to simplify global hiring—Hammell recognized that many organizations needed support beyond what traditional EOR solutions offer. Specifically, he saw that firms often struggled with the transition from early-stage international hiring to totally scaling and operationalizing global teams.
Helios was created to fulfill this need through a technology-first platform that simplifies how businesses manage, engage, and pay their international workforce. The platform offers tools for automated onboarding, localized compliance, contractor and worker management, global payroll, and AI-powered insights—all inside a unified system. By reducing the complexity of world operations, Helios empowers firms to scale internationally with confidence and compete effectively in today’s borderless economy.
What motivated you to launch Helios, and the way did your past experience in HR and global workforce management influence the direction of the corporate?
The launch of Helios was driven by a desire to streamline global workforce management, drawing from my extensive experience in HR. I saw firsthand the complexities firms face when managing international teams, and Helios.io was created to simplify these processes with progressive technology.
Helios was built with global expansion in mind. What challenges did you set out to unravel for firms operating across borders?
Helios addresses cross-border challenges by providing a unified platform that manages diverse compliance requirements and cultural differences. It goals to simplify international payroll and HR tasks, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring consistency. From the start, we saw that firms going through global expansion were hindered by fragmented systems and inconsistent compliance standards. Helios was designed to eliminate these barriers by offering a centralized solution that adapts to local regulations, enabling businesses to scale confidently and deal with growth.
AI is commonly seen as disruptive, but you have positioned it as supportive. How do you see AI fitting into the trendy HR tech stack?
AI in HR is a supportive tool that enhances efficiency and decision-making. In the trendy HR tech stack, AI facilitates data-driven insights, automates routine tasks, and empowers HR professionals to deal with strategic initiatives. We view AI as an enabler that supplements human capabilities moderately than replacing them. By automating repetitive processes, AI allows businesses and HR teams to dedicate more time to strategic planning and worker engagement, fostering a more dynamic and responsive workplace.
Are you able to share how your AI assistant, Albert-IQ, helps HR teams make more informed decisions?
Albert-IQ assists HR teams by analyzing vast amounts of information to supply actionable insights. It helps in predicting trends, optimizing workforce planning and ensuring compliance, enabling more informed and strategic decision-making.
In a world where AI can now handle tasks like onboarding and payroll in seconds, what do you think that will change into more necessary for HR teams to deal with?
As AI takes over repetitive tasks like onboarding and payroll, HR teams might want to focus more on strategic initiatives, worker engagement, and fostering a positive workplace culture that drives innovation. The human element stays crucial in areas like leadership development and cultural alignment. HR professionals and business leaders will play a pivotal role in guiding organizational change and ensuring that technological advancements translate into meaningful worker experiences.
In your view, what roles in HR or compliance are ripe for AI augmentation vs. those who will at all times need a human touch?
Roles involving data evaluation and compliance tracking are ripe for AI augmentation. Nevertheless, areas like worker relations and culture-building will at all times require the empathy and intuition of a human touch. AI is incredibly helpful relating to sorting through data and spotting patterns, especially in compliance or reporting. Nevertheless, relating to understanding what motivates people, constructing trust or guiding someone through a troublesome moment, there is no such thing as a substitute for human connection. Those are the moments that outline culture, they usually require empathy, not algorithms.
Helios gathers an incredible amount of information. How do you help firms translate that into meaningful insights?
Helios helps firms through the use of AI to investigate their data, providing clear, actionable insights that drive strategic decisions. This permits businesses to make informed decisions that enhance efficiency and growth.
How does Helios differentiate its AI capabilities from other platforms in the worldwide payroll and HCM space?
Helios differentiates itself by providing highly customizable solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems, offering real-time insights and predictive analytics tailored to specific business needs.
What’s your vision for a way AI will proceed evolving throughout the Helios platform in the subsequent 3–5 years?
Over the subsequent 2–3 years, we envision AI inside Helios evolving to supply much more personalized and predictive capabilities, further enhancing strategic decision-making and enabling proactive HR management. Our goal is to develop AI functionalities that anticipate organizational needs, corresponding to forecasting talent gaps and suggesting tailored development programs. By integrating predictive analytics, Helios goals to empower businesses to make informed decisions that align with their long-term objectives.
