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. 12 by SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP.
Here's a look at one of the finalists: Compt, a perk stipend software company based in Boston. 
Amy Spurling, co-founder and CEO of Compt, 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?
Compt designs and manages perk stipends that delight teams and give companies a more productive and engaged workforce. The Compt perk management platform allows companies to offer 100 percent personalized employee perks to everyone on their team regardless of whether they are working remotely, in an office or in a hybrid capacity, or are located internationally.
SHRM Online: How does the technology improve the workplace?
Compt gives companies the ability to support their entire team equitably. For too long, HR has been tasked with finding perks to "make everyone happy." There isn't one thing that makes everyone happy. This was a no-win situation for both HR and employees. With Compt, companies finally have a tool that enables them to support all of their employees in a way that is personalized, while also aligning with company culture and values. It manages all of this while maintaining IRS tax compliance and staying within company budgeting parameters.
SHRM Online: What specific HR problem does the technology solve?
Roughly 80 percent of our compensation as employees in the U.S. is our salary and health insurance. In this employee-driven market, companies look to that last 20 percent of an employee's compensation to really differentiate themselves and to attract and retain the best people. Traditional employee perks such as student loan repayment, food, child care and pet insurance have historically low utilization at less than 10 percent for each perk. They are an expensive strategy that can't meet the needs of each person on the team. With employee perk stipends, companies have the "easy button" for offering completely personalized perks for a team of any size. This enables smaller companies to compete for talent with larger companies on a budget they can afford and larger companies to simplify their team perks and massively increase engagement. With Compt, companies typically see 85 percent perk utilization.