AI is increasingly being used in HR. For example, to screen resumes, predict employee turnover, and ensure a smooth onboarding process. Askemo, a participant in the Breaking Barriers program, uses AI to identify issues on the work floor earlier and translate them into concrete action.
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Askemo aims to make the traditional employee satisfaction survey (ESS) obsolete. It’s expensive, results often come too late, and it rarely leads to action. The idea behind such a survey is to give employees more of a say, but it often gets bogged down in lengthy reports. And that is precisely not the intention, says Roel Schellekens, co-founder of Askemo.
As COO at Nasdaq, he led a team of over 120 people where such a survey was conducted annually. “After waiting a month, I received a 40-page PDF. You read the summary, and the rest disappears into a filing cabinet, because what’s in there adds little value,” says Roel. “It’s a ritual dance you perform every year. Employees don’t fill it out thoroughly enough, and managers don’t make enough of it.”
Roel felt there had to be a better way. After reaching out to one of Tikkie’s designers, the idea began to take shape.“We thought: what if we applied Tikkie’s same simple logic—fast, simple, one-click—to measuring employee satisfaction?”Askemo (Ask for Emotion) was born.
The employee decides
On Askemo’s platform, employees decide for themselves when, on what topics, and how to provide feedback. The platform sends a link. The employee opens it on their phone, tablet, or desktop and explains the issue in just a few seconds. “I find it strange that there’s this kind of unwritten rule where, as an employer, you decide when employees give feedback, on what topics, and in what way,”says Roel.“It’s 2026. Let the employee decide for themselves.”
AI is a key component of the platform. The system automatically translates surveys and responses into multiple languages, generates summaries of research results, and suggests action items based on quantitative scores and qualitative comments. When generating these insights, the system takes into account industry, region, and company size—metadata it automatically retrieves based on the company name.
AI as a strategic advisor
The goal is to increasingly use AI at the front end.“For example, we want our system to say: based on the results of the assessment you took last month, we now recommend that you ask questions about sustainable employability,”says Roel. “Or: ‘I would ask these five questions at your department in Amsterdam and those four at your department in Rotterdam.’ Thesystem will even determine the optimal time to send them. AI is thus shifting more and more from being an analytical tool to providing strategic advice on the content.”
Growth and access to talent
Askemo was founded in February 2020. Growth began after the COVID years: in 2024 and 2025, the company doubled its customer base, revenue, and team size. The team now consists of fourteen employees. The goal for this year: to double revenue once again. To achieve that growth, Askemo is investing in AI, and Breaking Barriers is there to help.
“We’re participating because, as a Dutch company, this gives us an accessible way to continue developing in AI,”says Roel. The program has also already connected Askemo with the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS) in Den Bosch. “Thanks to Breaking Barriers, we also have access to talent,” saysRoel.“That combination makes it very interesting for us.”
AI makes gathering feedback from employees a smarter process, but it does not replace the role of the HR professional. It replaces the consultant. “By making AI an integral part of your solution, you gain access to a wealth of information and knowledge that you don’t have yourself, and for which you previously needed expensive consultants or consulting firms.”
Askemo’s objective is clear, and Breaking Barriers helps realize it by providing space and a network. “Our ambition is to enable HR professionals, managers, and executives to turn their employees’ opinions into action more quickly,”says Roel. And Askemo aimstorealize that vision with AI.“Because if you don’t embrace AI in the software industry, I think you’re going to become obsolete,” Roel concludes.
