Case Study: Personio achieves scalable, efficient localization and improved translation quality with Phrase Localization Platform

Creating a flexible, scalable localization process

Personio, a Munich-based HR software company founded in 2015, initially built its product for German-speaking markets but needed to scale internationally. As it moved to English as the primary language and targeted markets such as France, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy, Personio had no localization process: text was hardcoded, developers spent days extracting and updating strings, and the translatable string count grew from 7,000 to 11,000 (a 57% increase), creating a major bottleneck.

Personio implemented Phrase’s localization platform to automate string management and integrate translations into its continuous deployment workflow. A dedicated localization manager now coordinates 20+ product teams and sends translation batches twice weekly; using Phrase (and its Figma plugin) eliminated manual workflows, improved translation quality, and enabled successful localizations into Dutch and Italian—supporting expansion into Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy while freeing engineers to focus on product work.

Personio

Daniel Touchette

Group Product Manager