HR & People Engagement Archives • Page 7 of 8 • SAP.iO

SAP.iO In Portfolio News, Funding Announcement, HR & People Engagement

Chicago-Based Startup Anthill Raises $3 Million in Seed Funding

Chicago-based startup Anthill AI, Inc., the talent management platform designed for the deskless workforce, announced it has raised $3 million in seed funding. Founded in 2020 by co-founders CEO Muriel Clauson and CTO Young Jae Kim, Anthill makes it possible for companies to connect with, develop, and retain deskless employees in manufacturing, distribution, and retail at scale. The HR SaaS startup has created a comprehensive talent platform based upon skills data and people science for employers paired with a mobile experience for employees. The startup’s goal is to better understand and develop the deskless workforce (those who do not work at a desk or computer), who are 80 percent of the global workforce.

Mentor Spaces Now Available on SAP Store

Mentor Spaces has announced that its community-driven mentorship platform for underrepresented talent is now available on SAP^® Store, the online marketplace for SAP and partner offerings. Mentor Spaces provides mentorship technology to businesses that use SAP^® SuccessFactors^® solutions to scale diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

“As a participant of the HR and future of work program at SAP.iO San Francisco, we are thrilled to be continuing our partnership with SAP,” said Chris Motley, founder and CEO of Mentor Spaces. “With Mentor Spaces, human resources and DEI professionals have the opportunity to leverage the power of scalable mentorship technology to easily attract, hire and retain underrepresented talent. We are proud to be working alongside SAP to help advance the careers of underrepresented talent.”

Mentor Spaces facilitates conversations with experts aligned to one’s professional interests and goals through both Q&As and live sessions. The power of Mentor Spaces’ technology enables companies to enhance brand, engage colleagues, and mentor historically marginalized populations to cultivate diverse talent pipelines. Organizations that partner with Mentor Spaces benefit from up to a 30 percent increase in employee retention, a 50 percent decrease in time spent on admin and talent sourcing, and a significant increase in employee engagement.

SAP Store, found at store.sap.com, delivers a simplified and connected digital customer experience for finding, trying, buying and renewing approximately 2,000 solutions from SAP and its partners. There, customers can find the SAP solutions and SAP-validated solutions they need to grow their business. And for each purchase made through SAP Store, SAP will plant a tree.

Gapsquare, a pioneer of machine learning into gender pay disparity, is acquired by XpertHR

Inequalities between women and men in the workplace have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and are likely to persist in the near future, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). The World Economic Forum estimates globally it will take 267.6 years to close the gender gap in economic participation and opportunity.

So it’s even more crucial that the global gender and ethnicity pay gap be “squared away” by entrepreneurs passionate about the issue.

Gapsquare, a U.K. startup that’s been addressing this issue since 2017, has been among a handful of startups addressing these concerns via machine learning around the issue.

Its analytics software, which analyses and tracks pay disparity, pay equality and pay gap data, has now been acquired by XpertHR, a part of RELX, for an undisclosed sum. TechCrunch understands from sources that Gapsquare never raised institutional venture funding.

The Gapsquare platform — along with co-founders Dr. Zara Nanu and Ion Suruceanu — will be joining the XpertHR team. Gapsquare previously counted Vodafone, Condé Nast and Serco as clients, amounting to data from tens of thousands of employees.

Gapsquare’s model is to provide HR and Reward professionals with actionable insights about their company’s existing pay gaps.

Mentor Spaces Raises $2.5M to Bring More Diverse Talent Into the Workplace

Denver-based startup Mentor Spaces announced the closing of its $2.5 million seed funding round. The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact led the round, with participation from several others.

Mentor Spaces launched in 2020 in order to bring more diversity into the workplace. Countless companies pledged to do better in their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts last year. But saying you’ll do something and actually doing it are two separate things. Underrepresented groups can be excluded from the workplace not because the intent to hire them isn’t there, but instead because of what Mentor Spaces calls the “network gap.”

As Mentor Spaces points out, research shows that location, education and prior employment can make a person 12x more likely to be given a certain opportunity. Because of this, marginalized groups must work much harder to secure the same opportunities as non-marginalized folks, or risk remaining on the margins.

Mentor Spaces Raises $2.5MM to Advance the Careers of Underrepresented Talent Through Mentorship

Mentor Spaces, a community-driven mentorship platform helping companies scale their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, today announced it has raised $2.5MM in a seed round of funding. The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact(AmFam Institute) led the round, with participation from ECMC, Portfolia, Rethink Education, Service Provider Capital, and The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund.

“As one of the largest mentorship communities for underrepresented students and professionals, funds from this round will enhance our ability to support our clients’ goals to efficiently build diverse talent pipelines through a mentorship-centered strategy,” said Chris Motley, founder and CEO, Mentor Spaces. “As a Black founder, raising institutional capital is not easy, and our team is thrilled at the positive response that the market has shown to our unique approach to solve one of the biggest challenges talent acquisition leaders face today.”

While LinkedIn’s research shows that one’s location, education, and employment can give individuals a 12-fold advantage in gaining access to opportunity, underrepresented professionals without confidence and social capital are at a significant disadvantage when pursuing new job opportunities. Many mentorship solutions in the market don’t address the key issues caused by this “network gap,” further limiting opportunities for underrepresented students and professionals. Recent studies also show that Black employees are leaving early-career jobs in droves due to the lack of support and visibility to opportunities at their organizations.

Amwell Enhances Virtual Care Platform with Two Acquisitions: SilverCloud Health and Conversa Health

Amwell, a national telehealth leader, today announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire SilverCloud Health, a leading digital mental health platform, and Conversa Health, a leader in automated virtual healthcare. By adding the technology of these two companies to its virtual care platform, Amwell is greatly enhancing the differentiated value it can bring to current and future clients. Each company brings unique, proven capabilities that will position Amwell to materially advance the reach and impact of care teams on patients’ lives through the use of interactive tools that strengthen the cohesion between physical and virtual care.

“We believe that future care delivery will inevitably blend in-person, virtual and digital care experiences; and as such, we are uniquely building a global platform to support such advanced, coordinated care,” said Ido Schoenberg, Chairman and Co-CEO, Amwell. “By integrating SilverCloud Health and Conversa Health into our platform we are demonstrating Amwell’s fundamental and repeatable design to continually scale digital healthcare services across the different sites of care. These acquisitions will amplify the presence and reach of care teams and reaffirm that as the needs of the healthcare marketplace evolve, so too will the Amwell platform.”

CENSIA Raises $21m in Series A Funding to Bring Bias-free Intelligence to Human Capital Management

Censia, a leading provider of Talent Intelligence technology, today announced it has raised $21M in Series A funding in a round led by Marbruck Investments. Marbruck joins existing investors Streamlined Ventures, Merus Capital, The CXO Fund, and CerraCap bringing the company’s total funding to over $30 million.

With this funding, Censia will expand go-to-market efforts, scale their API-first offering, and continue product innovations for talent acquisition and workforce planning powering HR technologies of the future with AI.

Censia was built on the belief that unconscious bias in talent decisions is affecting billions of highly capable people around the world from getting opportunities they deserve, contributing to the talent shortage, and impacting organizations’ bottom line.

SAP.iO In HR & People Engagement

SAP Startup Spotlight: Gapsquare

Dr. Zara Nanu is the CEO of Gapsquare, offering diversity and equality data intelligence through innovative technology. Zara sits on the Global Future Council on New Agenda for Equity and Social Justice at World Economic Forum, has spoken and written for various global equity strategy organizations, and leads Gapsquare as part of the UN Global Compact Network UK (GCN UK).

Zara Nanu has long been a powerful advocate for workplace equality and wider fair pay. Starting her career combating human trafficking and campaigning on women’s rights issues, Zara is now at the forefront of the push for technology to build more inclusive workplaces. In this interview, she explains what Gapsquare has to offer and what’s next for the startup.

Strengthening Inclusivity through AI

Kishau Rogers is the Founder & CEO of Time Study, Inc., a venture-backed startup offering solutions for using machine learning, advanced natural language processing, and data science to automatically tell a story of how enterprise employees spend their time. She has a deep background in computer science, over 25 years of experience building enterprise technology solutions and more than 15 years of entrepreneurial leadership. This episode features discussions of current diversity issues and how Artificial Intelligence can empower underrepresented communities through inclusive algorithms in the future.

Listen Here…

SAP.iO In Portfolio News, HR & People Engagement

Why Inclusive Entrepreneurship Could Mean More Time For Healthcare Employees To Save Lives

Throughout the pandemic, businesses and individuals have been reminded of the fragility of time and the notion that it can never be recovered. With pre-pandemic routines shifting, organizations and their employees are now questioning how to make more time for the things that matter most. Perhaps the industry hit hardest by this is one that is arguably the most in need of more time— healthcare.

Healthcare employees traditionally must complete lots of administrative work because of strict industry regulations. This has only amplified during the pandemic. Additionally, healthcare professionals often waste time doing indirect patient care like searching for medical supplies or time reporting for regulatory and billing use. Unfortunately, this pattern hinders care efficiency and takes focus away from the patient.

High-intensity and unsafe work environments have quickly revealed the pivotal role healthcare organizations play in decision-making that protects the needs of frontline employees. With 42% of physicians experiencing burnout, Kishau Rogers launched healthcare startup Time Study already knowing the solution must not just improve operational efficiency, but it must enhance the lives of the people treating the patients.

Valuing the Time of Healthcare Employees

Time Study is a system of time management that focuses on the heartbeat of the healthcare industry: humans. The cloud solution uses intelligent time tracking to monitor how physicians and other healthcare employees spend their time at work. This equips hospitals with data insights to make human-centered business decisions that improve the employee and patient experience.

Timeshifter selected as one of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas

Timeshifter is recognized by Fast Company for its accomplishments in translating sleep and circadian neuroscience into real-world tools with the potential to improve the lives of billions of people.

NEW YORK, NY (May 4, 2021) — Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards were announced today from a pool of more than 4,000 entries, honoring the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation for the good of society and the planet.

Timeshifter, the creator of the world’s first technology platform for circadian timing, received an honorable mention. Timeshifter enables people to proactively “shift” their circadian clock quickly or “shift” the timing of an activity to the optimal circadian time. This gives Timeshifter the unique and patent pending ability to solve several universal and multi-billion-dollar problems.

Timeshifter has already solved jet lag with an app it launched in 2018 — now the most-downloaded and highest-rated jet lag app in the world. Later in 2021, Timeshifter will launch a new app to help shift workers optimize their sleep, alertness, health, and quality of life. At least 20% of the global labor force are shift workers, changing to a new schedule soon after they adapted to the previous one, or never adapting at all. Timeshifter has also begun strategic work in the field of peak performance and chronotherapeutics that aims to treat illnesses according to circadian rhythms.

Our circadian clock controls almost every biological system in our bodies — from our sleep-wake cycle and mood and performance patterns to our metabolic, immune, and reproductive systems, and even many of our genes: By including Timeshifter as an honoree, Fast Company highlights the growing consensus that circadian science is the new frontier in human performance and personalized medicine.

Building a Community of Visionaries, with Jeremy Epstein, CMO of Gtmhub

We’re all being asked to do more with less. Today, Gtmhub CMO JeremyEpstein shares his unique perspectives on being a CMO at early-stage startups. We talk about how building communities of like-minded people can help you break out of the pack, and the magic of micro-experience moments that can enhance your brand.

Get Episode Here…

SAP.iO In HR & People Engagement, Foundries, Funding Announcement

Digital behavioural health platform SilverCloud and HSE expand online therapy across Ireland

Digital mental health platform SilverCloud Health, with headquarters in Boston, Dublin and London is making its services available to users nationwide through Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE).

In 2018, the company partnered with the HSE on a pilot programme to offer online psychological tools for depression and anxiety to primary care psychological services and now plans to expand these services in Ireland.

WHY IT MATTERS

The platform provides evidence-based clinical content, programmes and support for users struggling with their mental health and chronic illness.

A study by the NHS into SilverCloud showed a 50% reduction in symptoms following eight weeks of sessions and improvement in 27% of cases.

The service will also open up referrals from a larger pool of sources, including GPs and Jigsaw, the national centre for youth mental health. SilverCloud’s mental health services are used by 650,000 people globally, acquiring 30,000 new users every month and providing more than 40% of all NHS mental health services.

This surge is in part due to an increase of people seeking support with their mental health during the COVID-19 crisis.

SilverCloud has raised more than €25.5 million from investors to date. In April 2020, the company raised $16 million (€13.6m) in Series B funding to expand into all 50 US states.

Meanwhile, London-based AI digital therapy service HelloSelf raised £5.5 million in Series A funding to expand mental health provisions for post-pandemic Britain.

Building an Ecosystem of Innovation for HR Leaders with SAP.iO

With so many changes in the workplace, companies need access to solutions that enable them to be flexible and innovative. Through SAP.iO Fund and SAP.iO Foundries, SAP helps ensure that customers can easily access the latest technologies.

The SAP.iO Foundries program is the company’s global network of equity-free startup accelerators that help promising startups integrate with SAP solutions and accelerate their entry into a curated, inclusive ecosystem whose offerings can be easily accessed and deployed by SAP customers.

This fall, the SAP.iO San Francisco Foundry will kick off its second human experience management (HXM) cohort focused on experiential learning, internal talent mobility and management, agile team management, talent assessment, workforce modeling and human resources (HR) analytics, and culture.

On September 2, SAP leaders and senior HR leaders from Beiersdorf, Cintas, Gerdau, Microsoft, and NTT DATA Services met virtually for selection day to hear 13 innovative startups present their solution and identify the final six startups that will participate in the cohort. The selected HR startups extend the capabilities of SAP SuccessFactors solutions. By participating in SAP.iO Foundries, they will receive curated mentorship and support to build out their integrations with SAP SuccessFactors solutions in order to become an SAP partner and list their solution on SAP App Center.

“I loved watching the startups present,” said Vicki Furnish, vice president of Human Capital at NTT DATA Services. “Their creative approaches to the current HR challenges we are facing were inspiring and would definitely have a positive impact on our recruiting and talent initiatives.”

Selection day provided SAP customers with the opportunity to learn about new solutions that can help address challenges they are facing, such as maximizing learning engagement, building a more diverse and inclusive workforce, and supporting employees’ mental health. At the same time, the startups presenting received input and feedback on their solutions.

Keep Employees Connected, Productive, and Healthy with Innovative HR Apps

This is a year that will not soon be forgotten, where all aspects of life were turned upside down. In 2020, COVID-19 has caused the world to rethink human interaction and forced companies to shift how they do business.

Had the pandemic hit 10 or even five years ago, the response and recovery would look much different. Individuals and businesses have responded with remarkable resiliency providing hope for a better future.

Every organization, no matter its size or business model, has had to reexamine how it does business and keeps its workplaces safe. Ensuring hand sanitizer is readily available, surfaces are regularly disinfected, and layouts are configured so employees and customers can maintain proper social distancing are just the basics. Introducing touchless door systems for conference rooms, bathrooms, and even elevators; offering flexible work schedules; and making it possible for workers to pre-order meals from the cafeteria so they can really “grab and go” and not spend extra time waiting in lines are further examples of what companies are doing from an infrastructure point of view.

These changes impact the employee experience. Think of the experience of workers returning to their jobs on the factory floor or in the office. Will they be required to have their temperature checked daily? If so, how long will the wait be and will they end up lining up outside in unpleasant weather to do so? Or how are employees handling the added stress of so much change and uncertainty? They may be caring for a sick parent, trying to homeschool their children, or dealing with a partner whose income has been cut. On top of that, the interactions employees have with others that make work more enjoyable have changed or gone away. Lunch together at the cafeteria, an impromptu coffee meeting, or simple chitchat between office mates or workers on the production line are different post-pandemic.

For HR leaders, it is necessary to take all of these things into consideration to keep employees engaged and productive.