The inaugural SHRMLabs Better Workplaces Challenge Cup competition highlights the most innovative HR technology solutions from companies across the U.S.
The five finalists were selected from 150 initial submissions and stood out among 51 regional finalists. They will go on to make their
last pitch to a panel of judges, including Daymond John, award-winning entrepreneur and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," as well as an audience of investors, leading HR professionals, fellow innovators and the media. The pitch fest will be held Sept. 10 at the
SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2021, and the winner will be announced from the main stage Sept. 11 by SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP.
Here's a look at one of the finalists: unboXt, a data analytics company based in Atlanta. 
Kendra Ward, co-founder of unboXt, spoke with
SHRM Online about the product and how it improves work and the practice of human resources.
SHRM Online: What does your product do?
Ward: unboXt provides managers with snackable insights and recommendations to improve team motivation, morale and trust. As a result, we have seen 12 percent more productive teams and a 10 percent to 20 percent reduction in voluntary employee turnover.
SHRM Online: How does the technology improve the workplace?
Ward: unboXt focuses on the most critical relationships within the organization: the manager/team member relationship. We help managers identify what motivates their team and provide them with team trends and actionable recommendations.
During profile creation, we identify what matters most to each team member and provide leaders with a personalized suggestion on how to directly improve the experience of their team. Through machine learning, we're able to create more effective leaders by giving them tips to directly address issues that influence things such as team motivation, performance or turnover. We tell them why the issues are occurring and what they can do to solve them.
We're on the precipice of the transition of managers to people leaders. Managers are reactive, whereas people leaders are proactive. unboXt enables deeper connections by helping leaders better understand the qualities that motivate their people.
SHRM Online: What specific HR problem does the technology solve?
Ward: CHROs and chief people officers today are concerned with three things: employee engagement, agile transformations and leadership development.
We enable leader development through continuous, snackable feedback. In turn, leaders have greater transparency into the issues confronting their teams, deeper connections are being made within the organizations we work with, and employees are trusting their leaders more.