How Modica Scaled Globally Without Losing Their People-First Culture
Client: Modica Group | Industry: Technology (CPaaS) | Size: 65 Employees
"Humankind has been instrumental in supporting our global expansion. They have worked alongside our team todo a lot of the heavy lifting to support the delivery of our people and culture vision, development of operating frameworks, and building leadership capability, whilst navigating complexity across continents, acquisitions and an ever-changing technology business."
— Stuart Wilson, Co-Founder & CEO, Modica Group
The Company
Modica Group is a global leader in cloud-based communications (CPaaS),delivering secure, high-volume messaging across SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, Video, email, and more. Trusted by leading enterprises and governments acrossAustralasia, North America, Europe, LATAM, and Southeast Asia, Modica powers messaging for clients such as airlines, banks, Iand multiple Government agencies.
The Challenge
Modica came to Humankind following a period of rapid growth and acquisition. They needed to bring together teams and cultures, align ways of working, and lay the groundwork for continued global expansion. To build a high-performing culture at scale, they knew they needed clear, consistent, and scalable people systems.
Our Approach
Since 2016, Humankind has shaped and implemented Modica’s People & Culture function, working directly with the Co-Founders, CEO and Executive Leadership team, and operating as a fully embedded partner. We've provided strategic advice, hands-on delivery, and insights drawn from our work with over 1,300organisations across New Zealand.
Our partnership has evolved through three key phases:
01 - Post-Acquisition Integration
Laying the foundations for cultural alignment and operational clarity:
- Supported cultural integration post-acquisition
- Shifted to DevOps to improve delivery, retention, and technical career growth
- Co-created shared company values and scalable people processes
- Implemented HRIS and core compliance practices
- Delivered management fundamentals' training
02 - Enabling Global Growth
Building the systems and capability to scale internationally:
- Co-designed a competitive EVP to attract and retain global talent
- Created a hybrid working model tailored to globally distributed workforce
- Established clear performance and reward systems linked to business results
- Implemented talent mapping and clear established career pathways
- Defined ELT and SLT structures, and delivered targeted leadership development
- Developed internal People capability to support long-term scale
- Supported multiple acquisitions and integrations
03 - Future-Ready Resilience
Strengthening leadership and adaptability in a fast-changing world:
- Led structural change aligned to new market conditions post-COVID
- Built internal change leadership capability
- Provided organisation wide support during significant evolution in the Company’s strategy and major multi-year projects around security
- Currently supporting workforce evolution in the context of AI
The Outcome
Modica’s investment in its people has supported it’s exceptional business performance.
- Revenue grew from $18M to $50M
- 41% CAGR between FY20 and FY23
- Finalist –Westpac Employer of the Year (2021)
- ENPS of 30(vs. industry benchmark of 8), even during organisational change
- Employee turnover held under 4% from FY21–FY25, outperforming the SaaS industry average of 10–20%
Why This Partnership Matters to Humankind
This has never just been a client relationship, it’s a true partnership built on shared ambition, mutual investment and deep sense of trust between our teams. Over the years, we’ve walked together through big wins and hard calls. There have been urgent moments, celebratory moments, and countless hard-hitting conversations over lunch at Prego.
Modica Group is one of Aotearoa’s great companies - values-led, future-focused, and deeply committed to their people. With Modica, expectations meet reality.
We don’t just work with Modica - we proudly call ourselves Modicans.
