Business Environment

Kroger Named to Computerworld 2024 List of Best Places to Work in IT

The Kroger Co. announced it has been named to Foundry's Computerworld 2024 Best Places to Work in IT. This year's recognition marks the sixth consecutive year Kroger's associates have been recognized by Computerworld for their innovative, industry-leading workplace culture. Kroger ranks No. 43 among large organizations on the Best Places to Work in IT list. "This recognition speaks to our team's commitment to creating a culture where associates are empowered to make a difference in the lives of customers and one another," said Yael Cosset, Kroger's senior vice president & chief information officer. "Our associates' dedication to create innovative experiences driven by data and technology is improving the customer experience and expanding access to fresh, affordable food across the country." The Computerworld Best Places to Work in IT list is an annual ranking of the top work environments for technology professionals by Computerworld. The list is compiled based on a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, career development, DEI, future of work, training and retention. In addition, the rankings are reviewed and vetted by a panel of industry experts. Kroger focuses on building a culture where associates feel empowered to learn, grow and develop while contributing their unique ideas to solve some of the industry's toughest challenges. "Technology is playing an increasingly important role in modern business. IT professionals continue to benefit from this trend, as this year's winning organizations increase staffing and offer a variety of pathways to upskill, reskill, and diversify their teams." said Rob O'Regan, global director, content strategy, Foundry. "These companies provide a model for IT and HR leaders who are looking for new ways to attract, engage, and retain talent in an increasingly competitive IT environment."

Jebhealth Partners Airwallex Singapore and Visa to Launch Corporate Health and Employee Benefits Payment Cards

Health Technology (HealthTech) is a nascent industry and is associated with digital software products to address inefficiencies and reduce cost in the delivery of health services to the community. Jebhealth, a Singapore-based Health Technology (HealthTech) company, is founded on a mission to overcome challenges associated with accessibility, accuracy and affordability through innovation and technology. During COVID times, Jebhealth was involved in high-profile COVID-19 response projects. The company is a MOH-authorised distributor of Standard Q SD Biosensor Antigen Rapid Test kits and an issuer of verifiable notarised HealthCerts, or Digital Covid-19 Certificates, in partnership with GovTech Singapore to enable safe travels. "One thing we observed during COVID times was that medical and healthcare payments, whether transacted locally or overseas, were difficult to facilitate and costly. There is an access hurdle for new medical services that are traditionally not covered by insurance and third-party administrators. Alongside this, there is an inherent productivity problem when it comes to claims assessment and processing," says Jimmy Boey, CEO at Jebhealth. "By collaborating with Visa and Airwallex Singapore, we are excited to announce the launch of two Visa Business cards – the Helix Health Card and J World Card, designed to streamline online, outpatient and overseas healthcare payments, creating a novel digital health wallet and payment product and a new class of Health-FinTech solution." With these Visa Business Cards, employees and underserved worker communities no longer need to pay upfront for medical bills, which saves time for organisations on reimbursement and manual reconciliation. Employers and HR professionals can remotely manage Cards via a web portal in real-time for pre-hires and employees, who can provision the Cards natively to their Google Pay and Apple Pay on their own without the need for physical medical chits or additional identity proofs.

ShiftMed Launches Exclusive Partnership with LCMC Health to Offer Flexible, On-Demand Work Solutions to Nurses

ShiftMed, the leader in on-demand workforce technology, has announced its partnership with LCMC Health, a prominent healthcare provider in New Orleans. ShiftMed's integrated platform will be a first-of-its-kind option available to Louisiana nurses working in acute care, enabling them to access a wide array of flexible work opportunities and pick up shifts that align with where and when they want to work. Following the pandemic, Louisiana healthcare facilities and health systems have faced significant nursing shortages. According to a report from the Louisiana Health Works Commission and Nursing Supply and Demand Council, the state is facing a shortage of 6,000 registered nurses by 2030 – a 40% decrease in available workforce. In response to this ongoing crisis, LCMC Health has implemented a range of strategic initiatives aimed at tackling staffing gaps to create sustainable, long-term healthcare solutions including the development of a healthcare profession pipeline program with 12 regional academic partners. Its partnership with ShiftMed is anticipated to improve the staffing ratios at two of its facilities. This collaboration will assist LCMC Health facilities in filling open shifts quickly and efficiently. ShiftMed will serve as LCMC Health's exclusive on-demand partner, offering a range of incentives to local nurses that extend beyond traditional compensation, including Instant Pay™, Guaranteed Shifts™, and seamless integration with Uber Health. ShiftMed's approach to workforce not only empowers healthcare professionals with additional benefits but plays a critical role in giving nurses greater control over their schedules. "ShiftMed is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals and changing the way they work," said Todd Walrath, CEO of ShiftMed. "Our partnership with LCMC Health marks a significant milestone in providing flexible and innovative workforce technology to Louisiana-based nurses in a way that benefits both providers, healthcare facilities, and ultimately patients." "At LCMC Health, we are committed to delivering the highest quality of care, and we are confident that this partnership with ShiftMed will enable our hospitals to operate even more efficiently and smoothly while creating workplace solutions for our nurses," said Allison Guste, Corporate Vice President, Nursing and Clinical Services at LCMC Health and Interim Chief Nursing Officer at University Medical Center New Orleans. "This collaboration represents a strategic move towards patient care, ensuring our facilities are optimally staffed so we can continue providing our patients with the extraordinary care they deserve."

Venterra Named One of the Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness by Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work® Canada has named Venterra on their 2023 Best Workplaces™ for Mental Wellness list based on survey feedback provided by individuals employed at hundreds of companies across the country. An organization needs to have met the Great Place to Work Certified™ standard and have exceptionally high scores on the Trust Index survey to be eligible for a "Best Workplace™" list, and, in the case of the 2023 Best Workplaces™ for Mental Wellness recognition, at least 80% of survey participants needed to agree with the statement "This is a psychologically and emotionally healthy place to work." In Venterra's most recent survey of its Canadian team members, the organization significantly surpassed that metric and had 96% of survey participants agree with the statement "Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work." "We're dedicated to providing an exceptional experience for our team members, and prioritizing their mental well-being is integral to our workplace culture," Venterra CEO, John Foresi. "In this spirit, we recently introduced a mental wellness day with paid time off, further enhancing our commitment to our employees' mental health and work satisfaction." "Fostering mental wellness in the workplace is a vital factor for the health and prosperity of Venterra colleagues," said Venterra Chairman, Andrew Stewart. "It's crucial for our continued success and sustainability as an organization. Creating a workplace that's not only productive but also psychologically and emotionally nurturing contributes to the well-being of our team members, enhances their productivity, and strengthens team dynamics. We're proud to be recognized alongside organizations that prioritize the significance of this essential aspect of the overall employee experience."

Sapio Sciences Introduces new AI Tool for Scientists Do Their Jobs Better, Faster, and Smarter

Sapio Sciences, the science-aware™ lab informatics platform, today announced that it has beta-launched breakthrough scientific features by integrating large language models (LLM) into its unified informatics platform. The AI-enabled chat interface within the Sapio platform enables scientists to use simple natural language phrases to "ask" their electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) to conduct various tasks. "Most legacy ELNs have a steep learning curve, and our customers have been vocal about how frustrating it can be to set up experiments and find data using these systems," said Kevin Cramer, founder and CEO of Sapio Sciences. "Sapio’s goal is to help clients accelerate their drug pipeline, and one powerful way we are doing this is by simplifying complex tasks. The interface of the future is natural language, and we’re excited to offer an AI assistant in Sapio EL that allows scientists to accelerate experiments." The Sapio platform has always included simple, natural language rules that enable scientists and administrators to configure and customize the system without extensive coding or additional programming. The new Sapio AI capabilities build on Sapio’s commitment to providing a no-code platform that helps accelerate our clients’ drug pipeline and simplifies science. Sapio is also using AI to enable built-in support for 50 languages. Sapio AI is a chat-like interface that simplifies complex tasks such as designing and deploying complex plates and experiments and documenting, analyzing and reporting results. Scientists can type natural language questions and receive responses about how to use the ELN or ask the platform to find data, set up experiments, or write Python scripts. For instance, with the new "Prompt to Experiment" feature, scientists can describe certain aspects of experiments they want to conduct, and the ELN will automatically create the experiment, including complex plates, from which a reusable template can easily be made. The AI assistant can also help scientists track what materials and instruments will be used in experiments. The AI assistant also includes a "Prompt to Find Data" feature that scientists can use to easily query scientific data with intuitive phrases such as "Find all my experiments from the last month" or "Find all the DNA samples I created this year." Administrators can also use the AI assistant to develop or modify Python code to customize the platform. Finally, the AI assistant can answer basic questions about how to use the Sapio ELN. "Sapio was founded by machine learning experts, and we are excited to leverage these powerful new tools and our skills to ease adoption of the Sapio ELN and make scientists’ jobs easier and more productive," said Cramer. "We continue to see new ways we can utilize these tools and are committed to leading in the ELN space to accelerate the important science our customers do daily."

MedAllies Earns Great Place To Work Certification

MedAllies, announced that it has been Certified by Great Place To Work. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at MedAllies. This year, 87% of employees said MedAllies is a Great Place To Work – 30 percentage points higher than the average U.S. company. Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. "MedAllies is honored to be Great Place To Work-Certified™ as we place a high value on creating a positive work experience for all team members," said Meredith Stein, Human Resources Director, MedAllies. "We offer the unique opportunity to work with the latest health information technology in a supportive work environment, and pride ourselves in making MedAllies a place for team member to learn and grow." "Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, the Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasizes that Certification is the sole official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. "By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that MedAllies stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees." According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company's profits and have a fair chance at promotion.

RGP Study Finds C-Suite Leaders Are Shifting Their Workforce Strategies as They Take on More Transformation Initiatives

RGP a global consulting firm, released new research that shows an unprecedented reconceptualization of the workforce is underway, driven by C-suite leaders who are moving toward a greater equilibrium of full-time employees and outside experts. RGP’s poll of more than 1,000 business leaders found that large global companies have an average of 20 transformation initiatives – defined as $1 million-plus projects intended to improve revenues, profits, costs, cycle-time, quality or other metrics – in progress this year alone. Most respondents predicted an even greater number of transformation efforts by 2026, yet 42% indicated they did not have enough internal talent to staff their transformation initiatives in 2022. In response to this whirlwind of transformation and a persistent talent shortage, C-suite leaders are shifting their workforce strategies to a greater equilibrium between full-time employees and outside talent. The proportion of outside talent on transformation teams increased from 38% in 2020 to 45% in 2022, and leaders expect this figure to reach 48% by 2024. “This workforce strategy of blending internal talent with skilled outsiders enables companies to build constant transformation into the core DNA of their businesses, and we refer to this as a Dynamic Workforce Model,” said Kate Duchene, Chief Executive Officer of RGP. “This concept is not very different from the way that Hollywood film productions use teams of independent contractors and employees from different companies to complete a short-term project. Organizations across other industries are starting to embrace this model for major transformation initiatives due to the competitive advantages it presents, and we believe this is happening across the workforce.” RGP found that a Dynamic Workforce Model can create a significant competitive advantage for businesses. An analysis of executives who reported that their organizations achieved key goals on every transformation initiative in 2022 – 16% of respondents – shows that the market capitalization of publicly listed companies rose an average of 54% over the last five years. In contrast, the market capitalization of organizations that had achieved key goals in less than half their transformation initiatives declined an average of 21% during the same period. The study also found that skills shortages have wide-reaching impacts on transformation initiatives, with 60% of respondents reporting project start delays and 53% reporting pushed-out completion dates. More than 40% of respondents reported missed critical goals, while 37% said insufficient internal skills have increased the difficulty of making important operational changes. “Talent can collaborate effectively regardless of where they are physically located or who employs them, as long as they are experts in their field,” said Duchene. “C-suite leaders learned this during the pandemic, and they are embracing a more efficient and more profitable workforce model that enables them to pivot quickly without sacrificing vision, mission, and strategy. It is a new way of thinking that requires a re-evaluation of talent strategy and tech capabilities, and we are seeing more CFOs and CHROs partnering with CEOs to determine where they need injections of outside expertise.”

AdvoCare Ranks 22nd on The Dallas Business Journal’s Best Places to Work List

AdvoCare International, LLC, a health and wellness company, ranked 22nd on The Dallas Business Journal’s 2023 Best Places to Work awards list. DBJ celebrates 21 years of the “Best Places to Work” Awards program honoring the top workplaces across Dallas-Fort Worth and the broader North Texas region this year. To be considered as a DBJ Best Places to Work, all companies, like AdvoCare, must apply and complete an all-employee survey administered by a third-party reviewer. Results are graded and reviewed by DBJ and announced on October 19 at a luncheon celebration where companies with the top scores are recognized. According to the rankings, AdvoCare is considered a medium-sized company that consists of 50-249 employees. “As we continue to celebrate our 30th year in business, we are incredibly honored to be recognized as one of the best places to work in DFW by the Dallas Business Journal,” said Patrick Wright, AdvoCare CEO. “I believe that our greatest asset is our employees, and this recognition reaffirms that our commitment to creating a simple, fun, and rewarding work environment is making a meaningful impact with our amazing team.” Patrick continued, “We provide a truly incredible environment for our team to grow and challenge themselves professionally. It’s quite remarkable today to see team members who have stayed with a company for decades, and we have many examples of this level of dedication. We enjoy helping people feel better and perform better and that starts at our home office.”

Insmed Ranks No. 1 on Science's 2023 Top Biopharma Employers List

Insmed Incorporated a global biopharmaceutical company on a mission to transform the lives of patients with serious and rare diseases, announced that it has earned the highest ranking in Science's 2023 Top Employers Survey. The annual survey polls employees in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and related industries to determine the 20 best employers, as well as their driving characteristics. "I am immensely proud to have been ranked the No. 1 employer in Science's annual survey for the third year in a row—something that only Genentech and Regeneron have achieved in the list's more than 20-year history," said Will Lewis, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Insmed. "At Insmed, we know that our people are our most valuable asset, and it is because of them that we have received this honor once again. I would like to thank our colleagues around the world for their commitment to one another, the pursuit of groundbreaking science, the patients we serve, and the communities around us." The 2023 survey results were based on more than 6,800 responses from individuals across North America (59%), Europe (18%), Asia/Pacific Rim (16%), and other locations (7%). This year's highest-ranking companies stood out in the areas of innovative leadership, respect for employees, social responsibility, values alignment, and employee loyalty. Following Insmed, the top five companies in 2023 included Incyte, Alnylam, Regeneron, and Syngenta Group. "Receiving the title of Top Biopharma Employer once again is an incredible honor and a testament to the unique and special culture that we have built," said Nicole Schaeffer, Chief People Strategy Officer of Insmed. "Our organization has always put our people, the science, and the patients we serve at the forefront. As we approach an exciting year and prepare for continued growth ahead, it is inspiring to witness our employees' commitment to not only upholding our culture, but also continuing to strengthen and enrich it as our company evolves."

Viatris Named to Forbes' Annual List of the World's Best Employers

Viatris Inc. global healthcare company, today announced that it has been named to Forbes' list of World's Best Employers 2023. Viatris has received this recognition in each of its first three years since forming in 2020. This recognition is presented by Forbes and Statista, the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. "Being recognized again by Forbes as one of the World's Best Employers is a real testament to the commitment our colleagues have for our mission of empowering people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life and to each other," said Andrew Enrietti, Chief Human Relations Officer, Viatris. "Everyone is deeply invested in making an impact together and it shows. Success takes all of us doing our part and I want to thank each and every one of our colleagues for all that they have done and continue to do to create the strong culture we have." The World's Best Employers 2023 title is intended to reinforce companies that provide excellent employment opportunities at the local and international level. To determine the 2023 ranking, Statista surveyed 170,000 full-time and part-time workers from 55 countries working for multinational companies and institutions. The anonymous evaluations were based on direct and indirect recommendations from employees that were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family. Employee evaluations also included other employers in their respective industries that stood out either positively or negatively.