Joyous - HR tech company raises $14.5m to help build a culture of diversity equity and inclusion in the workplace?

The Wicked Problem 

“Organisations need to find a way of including all staff in decision-making and they need to acknowledge employee satisfaction and culture as key contributors to performance and those that succeed will outperform their competitors.” 

Says Mike Carden co-founder of Joyous 

“Employees want to tell their leaders about things that are happening to them, but there aren’t that many ways for them to do that outside of anonymous feedback, which immediately becomes someone else’s problem,”

The solution 

Joyous has raised $14.5 million from Square Peg, AirTree Ventures and Icehouse Ventures to build out its enterprise feedback software and enhance its machine learning insights - that will help track measure and reward employee engagement .

Joyous, is a tool that creates transparent conversations between managers and staff, directs them to relevant people within an organisation then layers a machine learning element to extract insights into how the company can achieve its objectives.

Mike Carden has done this before - and VCs back people! He founded  m HR software-as-a-service (SaaS) business called Sonar6, which was acquired by Nasdaq-listed Cornerstone OnDemand, in 2012.

Problems that need to be solved

How do multinational organisations cope with remote working across countries?

.

How can you track and measure how your team feels? 

How can employers use software to monitor where employees are and how they feel when they work remotely,?

Money use for 

The money raised will be used to hire  more data scientists to work with its large enterprise customers to further tweak how employee feedback can enhance business-wide decision-making.

Square Peg co-founder Barry Brott said.

“They’re building something of real consequence – giving workers a voice, and helping companies champion trust, action and autonomy,”

Other companies to look out for in this space 

www.rapidawards.com.au

https://culturalinfusion.org.au/

https://bbgforum.com.au/forum/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-forum/

Discussing Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the workplace

Lost your job or business? Where to from here ? 5 ways to move forward

Losing your job or business is scary, and the uncertainty of a secure financial future can make you feel hopeless. It can feel like you’ve been punched in the gut and are caught completely off-guard and you are thinking where to from here! 

An interesting stat is that the average millennial will have at least 17 careers over the course of their life - they need to treat these moves as an opportunity to learn and grow 

A fallout from the pandemic is that the economy and the future of work is changing and will eithereithereither

1. Lose their job - get retrenched - (maybe to a robot) 
2. Look for a change 
3. Lose their business 

It has given the employer, employee - and the business owner and leader an opportunity to make a change.! 

You may be retrenched tomorrow and your lump sum retrenchment looks amazing, or your Jobkeeper subsidy or grant may feel like a windfall - but let me tell you - it goes quickly !!!

It is super scary 

You are doing fine and boom - the next thing - - - - you do not know where to go tomorrow you are lost, confused and stressed about the future - your livelihood and way of life is in jeapardy!

Below are some 5 that you can help go forward

1. Get into the right mindset 

 Treat this time as an opportunity

 You will be hit with a flood of thoughts and emotions – anger, anxiety, sadness, hopelessness – these negative feelings can affect you and prevent you from pushing forward.

Do not veg in front of the TV or binge on Netflix or computer games and go down that rabbit hole 

By doing - by taking positive action  - will lead to more opportunities - Join a network group - with a view to connect, collaborate and grow  - work for a not for profit  - in an area you want to focus in - target your customers - and connect with them  - remember the motto (Gpwtwaygwyw) give people what they want and you will get what you want! Plan to get in front of your boss or ideal client base 

2. Treat finding a new job or business like a job  

• Look in newspapers,
•  online job boards , seek.
• Speak to friends and family
• Look to the  new- economy - Uber, Airbnb 
• Commercialise your hobby 
• What else? Share in comments below 👇🏻👇🏾👇🏿

3.  Don’t feel ashamed about applying for Centrelink or government support 

That’s why you pay your taxes. The cool thing in Australia is that no-one needs to starve! 

3. Analyse your financial situation and budget like your life depended on it! 

List your assets, liabilities - your income and expenses for the last 12 months 

 Only keep the bare essentials (food and shelter - and cut out the rest . 

Ask for a reduction in rent and potentially pause your mortgage payments. 

Avoid touching your super - and maybe look to have your insurances for need by super 

4. Re skill become a lifelong learner 

Take the opportunity to learn a new trade, profession  or business. Speak to Nexttech (www.Nexttech.edu.Au  or www.BSILearning.edu.au) (Message me and I will refer you)

Treat yourself as a lifelong learner . 

Did you know that every Australian has the ability to get up to $100k government loan - worth of accredited education - that only needs to be paid back when you earn more than $50k per annum. 

Make sure you do it with others - ideally in an area that you feel you can carve out your next career. Make sure you max out this opportunity!!!  

5. Get yourself a mentor and a coach or be part of a #bbgforum

Get them to hold you accountable - this will probably be your best investment (and in my view an essential payment) 

As my mother in law says - you’ve got to speculate to accumulate 

Remember - any change evokes the same feelings - by most people - and the one thing you can be certain about in life - is change 

Don’t just choose action - choose “the right action” 

Look at every cent you spend as a cent towards your survival, and every minute  you spend as a gold coin - toward getting back on your growth path 

Inspired by Smart Ways to Manage Money After a Job Loss

By Tracey Edmonds

Emma Sydney and the Transformation Forum

How do you prevent burnout at Crunchtime?

Thanks Nexttech Learning for pointing me to this great study of how great Army leaders prevent burnout during Crunchtime !

And we all know how “Crunch Episodes” often shapes your organisations culture -  results and behaviours during these times dwarfs the effects of other, “steady” times .

It’s well known that “cadets” and “professionals” of Firms, Consultancies and Armies work gruelling hours required in the final weeks before deadlines.

 “we call this Crunch Time”

If the success of the project comes at the cost of your teams mental or physical health and burn out -  is it worth it?

What is burnout?

Burnout is a bone tired , soul tired, heart tired kind of exhaustion 

Flavio Serapiao Andrew Hill and Boris Groysberg write a great article in the HBR about a research study identifying three interconnected behaviours that characterise effective leaders in the Army (link below) .

1. Be approachable and open,
2. Know the system and mission. 
3. Managing the risk between 1 and 2 - is the X factor that makes a good leader a great leader!!

1. What is Approachable and Open?

• Showing that you care - being empathetic
• Minimizing barriers between the leader and the team.
• Let the team know (through words and actions) that their voices matter.
• Effective listening 
• Be open to new ideas

2. Knowing the system and mission

• Be Crystal clear of the Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
• Understand the operations and tasks that are essential to mission success.
• Be technically competent to a high standard. 
• Know what they don’t know - and be able to fill the gaps 
• Get out to see what’s happening on the “factory floor”
• Understand the costs and consequences of operational decisions.
• Being able to see the big picture 

3. Balancing the risks between the mission and the people. 

A leader who never takes risks will never achieve victory - however if he is reckless with the lives under his or her command it will diminished effectiveness, decreased morale and discipline, and a higher risk of outright disobedience…… and potentially create “burnout”

How do you manage this risk and get your team to outperform at Crunch Time and more importantly prevent “Burnout”?

This is where the rubber hits the road, and what makes a good leader a great leader!!

Here are some cool tips

Before Crunchtime

1. Build loyalty and trust - invest in your people , building  commitment, loyalty, and ownership 
2. Align the team with the mission, vision and values . Look after the people - they will look after the mission 
3. Have activities to maintain morale and confidence during crunch. 
4. Have open lines of communication so that team members could signal problems.
5. Set clear goals, so teams can understand the bigger picture when a mission involves a significant potential sacrifice, creating shared understanding. 
6. Be prepared to put the team before their personal interest
7. Be obsessed with your team’s professional development. Continually upskill and reskill your team
8. Make mental health a priority. Make it clear that seeking mental health support is not a sign of weakness.

During Crunchtime

1. Set aggressive but achievable goals. Learn from your team’s failures, and provide feedback to address their development gaps.
2. Share the burden and be a part in the team’s sacrifice.
3. Keep open lines of communication. Be transparent and keep them updated 
4. Don’t put your personal interests over the team’s.

A leader’s ability to balance the risks of mission and to people is key to success

Here is the link to the article 

https://hbr-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/hbr.org/amp/2021/09/managing-through-crunch-time-without-burning-out-your-team