Tech Tools Help Dallas Region Companies Build Staff Cohesion, Sense of Community

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Dave Moore, Staff Writer

There’s no place like home during a pandemic, unless, of course, there’s too much home; too much laundry; too many dirty dishes; too many Zoom calls. These can drive employees to distraction.

Recently, members of a Dallas Regional Chamber Future of Work and Business panel shared tech platforms and strategies that help them maintain and build cohesion and productivity.

BGSF – Beth Garvey, President and CEO

Garvey said Workhuman is the bulwark for her company’s HR needs.

      • Workhuman – BGSF and other DRC partners use the Workhuman platform to reward employees with social media-style positive messages. The app establishes a framework so co-workers and supervisors can mark specific employee milestones, accomplishments, and beyond-the-call-of-duty work. The overarching strategy is to grow an organization by recognizing exceptional employee performance.

Corgan – Halima K. McWilliams, People Operations and Culture Leader

McWilliams credits the following platforms with helping the firm realize its mission and maintaining its sense of community, including its newly launched diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy, “Belong.”

      • Mural – Mural is effectively a digital whiteboard that allows teams to visually collaborate in a remote setting. Watch a demo.
      • Matterport – This 3D camera system creates realistic, immersive experiences, which Corgan used to bring to life some of the experiences at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. See Matterport in action.
      • TheSquare – Corgan’s own podcast helps employees and clients maintain a connection to the company. Episode 19, “The Value of Place,” features Corgan President Lindsay Wilson and firm Studio Leader & Associate Principal George Kahler, in a conversation about the future of workspace and the office as a community.
      • FUNdamentals of Play – Corgan employs this Canadian-based organization to provide engaging adult team building and “recess” opportunities, including a virtual “pajama internship” held for 40 students in July. Learn more about FUNdamentals of Play.

Match Group – Rachel Blanton, Talent Acquisition Director

Blanton says the Match Group relies on a suite of five HR software packages to help foster employee resilience, boost morale, and stem isolation.

      • Culture Amp – The Match Group frequently uses Culture Amp for employee engagement surveys to help gauge employee morale and the overall workforce mood. When COVID-19 hit, Match Group sent out a survey to better understand how employees were feeling and handling stressful times. Learn more about Culture Amp.
      • Donut – Match uses this app to remedy the isolation experienced by remote workers by randomly connecting them to teammates from across organizations. Every few weeks, employees receive an invitation to virtually connect over coffee or a meal (or, yes, maybe a donut).
      • AIRS’ Diversity and Inclusion Certified Course (by ADP) – AIRS’ D&I component helps companies locate and recruit diverse candidates using a variety of resources, including web search techniques and applying effective keywords. Watch a video primer on AIRS recruiting.
      • Lever Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software – Lever streamlines the hiring process with interview scheduling functions, and allows for tracking the diversity of talent. Learn more.
      • Workday – Match uses this cloud-based human resources information tool to place business functions under one platform, and improve access and visibility of its data. See how it worked for London-based Harrod’s.

Omnitracs, LLC – Forrest Roman Tylutki, Talent Acquisition Leader

Tylutki lists the following strategies as key in boosting Omnitracs, LLC’s HR efforts.

      • OmniExcellence – Omnitracs created this to program to connect with Workhuman, highlighting the top 20 Omnitrackers who best exemplify company values every year. The nominees are grassroots generated, and then reviewed by the firm’s C-suite.
      • Microsoft Teams – Even before the pandemic, Microsoft Windows Report estimated that 91 of the Fortune 100 companies used the internal communications platform Microsoft Teams. Omnitracs workers are using the platform’s video meeting function as a virtual “watercooler,” allowing them to connect with fellow employees in U.S. and international offices.
      • Peakon – The fleet management services innovator uses this employee engagement tool for analytics, identifying the traits most important for employees and management. Peakon also is used to get pulse checks within individual teams as well as companywide.
      • iCIMS – Omnitracs uses iCIMS as its applicant tracking system. “iCIMS provides phenomenal reporting, an excellent careers page, artificial intelligence, and much more,” Tylutki writes. “This is a world class ATS.” The platform also has a system to manage job offers.
      • Udemy for Business – Udemy is Omnitracs’ principle learning system, giving employees access to thousands of training and educational paths for engineers, leadership, and more. See how Udemy increased employee retention at Pinterest.
      • ERCs – Aside from those online or software platforms, Omnitracs has three employee resource communities (ERC’s) supporting minority, female, and veteran employees.

Learn more about the Future of Work and Business from DRC members and experts.