The 2023 SHRMLabs Better Workplaces Challenge Cup competition highlights the most innovative HR technology startups today.
Two finalists were selected from over 450 initial submissions. They will make their last pitch to a panel of judges as well as an audience of investors, leading HR professionals, fellow innovators and the media.
The pitch fest will be held June 12 at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2023 (SHRM23) in Las Vegas.
Here's a look at one of the finalists, Maxwell, based in Omaha, Neb. 
Adriana Cisneros Basulto, founder and CEO of Maxwell, 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?
Cisneros Basulto: Maxwell helps employers retain employees by bringing them balance and joy and delivering the employee value proposition that HR teams have worked hard to build. Employees receive a monthly budget to use how they choose to balance life/work via our technology. With their attention captured, Maxwell makes it easy to elevate traditional benefits; present important information you don't want your employees to miss; create connection; and capture employee data like demographics, levels of productivity and stress, so employers can make better decisions.
SHRM Online: How does your technology improve the workplace?
Cisneros Basulto: There is a growing life/work imbalance worldwide. There are talent segments and industries like health care that are struggling with burnout and a lack of balance. We know that when employees feel valued by their employer and are able to recharge, they are better at their jobs. However, what helps someone balance and feel valued is uniquely personal. Some employees want coaching, or a grocery delivery service to gain back some time to spend with family, while others need help paying for child care and groceries. Maxwell helps employers meet the diversity of needs their employees have to find balance.
SHRM Online: What specific HR problem does the technology solve?
Cisneros Basulto: HR struggles to deliver on the expectations of balance and fulfillment, a personalized employee experience, and connection to others. Maxwell helps them to do this without the administrative headache, or outrageous cost of engaging with single point solutions that go underutilized. The result is a 93 percent utilization and an increase in employee retention even in the toughest of industries, like health care.