Better Workplaces Challenge Cup: What Finalist Will Change the Future of the Workplace?
The SHRM Better Workplaces Challenge Cup (BWCC) is a global competition designed to recognize and reward creative HR practitioners and HR tech startups that are driving positive change in the workplace. Join us for the program’s 3rd annual and in-person finale to find out which innovative solutions are best positioned to mitigate current issues HR professionals face or expand capabilities to take the workplace into new levels of growth and business development.
Which startup has what it takes to be crowned the champion of the 2023 BWCC?
Finalists are:
Maxwell, a US-based employee benefits solution for small to medium size employers to offer their teams personalized benefits and rewards.
Inuka Coaching, a European-based B Corp social enterprise that offers effective top-quality coaching for affordable rates.
The 2022 BWCC start-up track winner, Vinco, has gone on to a second-place win in the ASU-GSV Cup (now known as the Elite 200), which is the largest edtech pitch competition in the world and recently featured on CNN.
The 2021 BWCC start-up track winner, Amy Spurling, co-founder and CEO of Compt, said, "We grew by nearly 500 percent the year we won. We are now supporting companies with employees in over 60 countries while still maintaining 91 percent employee engagement across the platform. Because of this, we were able to secure our Series A funding in March. Additionally, our team has grown three times in size while remaining diverse to meet the unique needs of our customers."
The 2023 BWCC esteemed panel of judges includes Suzy Welch, NYU Stern Professor of Management Practice, Bestselling Author, & Senior Advisor to The Brunswick Group, who will be hosting a session called “The 5 Hard Beautiful Things You Need To Know To Win Over Gen Z” immediately before the final judging commences.
Please join us for a reception immediately after the winner is announced where you can mingle and discuss the future of the workplace with the judges, finalists, startups and other HR innovators from across the globe.
In-person session offerings are on a first-come, first-served basis.
To view all event accessibility & accommodations details visit here.
If a speaker has provided session materials, please visit https://presentations.shrm.org
All virtual sessions inherently run the risk of audio or visual issues due to factors out of our control. If any technical difficulties arise, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work diligently to resolve it. Most virtual sessions are recorded and will be available to view on demand until Monday, August 14 at 8:00 AM PT.
Suzy Welch
Suzy Welch is a business journalist and best-selling author with expertise in leadership, change, corporate governance, and career development. A Professor of Management Practice at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Ms. Welch is also a senior advisor to the Brunswick Group, a CEO advisory firm, a regular contributor on CNBC and The Today Show, and a frequent speaker and moderator at corporate events.
Ms. Welch began her career as a crime reporter for The Miami Herald in 1981, after graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University. After a serendipitous reassignment to the business beat some years later, she left daily journalism to attend Harvard Business School, where she graduated as a Baker Scholar. The next seven years were spent at Bain & Company, as a consultant working with heavy manufacturing clients in the Midwest.
In 1995, Ms. Welch combined her two career paths at the Harvard Business Review, where she eventually was named Editor. In her years at HBR, she conceptualized and edited articles on strategy, economics, operations, and organizational behavior, and wrote others on leadership, change and crisis management, boards, HR, and career dynamics. With her late husband, Jack Welch, Ms. Welch is the author of two international bestsellers, "Winning," in 2005, and "The Real-Life MBA," in 2015. On her own, she is the author of the 2008-2009 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, "10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea," a decision-making concept she originally wrote about as a columnist for O: The Oprah Magazine.
After her husband’s passing, Ms. Welch joined the faculty of Stern, where she created and teaches the popular class, “Becoming You: Crafting the Authentic Life You Want and Need.” Beginning in September 2023, she will also teach “Managerial Skills,” and consult to the school’s Leadership Accelerator.
Ms. Welch serves on the board of ANGI, the publicly traded home services giant, and Quadio, a music tech start-up started by her son and step-grandson. Her non-profit board positions are with the Humane Society of the United States, the world’s largest animal protection agency, and Scenic Hudson, a nature conservancy focused on the Hudson Valley. She lives in New York and Miami.
Amber Clayton, SHRM-SCP
Amber Clayton is the Senior Director of Knowledge Center Operations at SHRM. Amber leads a team of HR experts who field an average of 60,000 HR-related inquiries from members a year. She is frequently sought after as a speaker and expert for webinars, conferences, and media interviews. Amber co-hosts a podcast called Honest HR. She is SHRM-certified with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore. She also holds specialty credentials in California law, inclusive workplace culture, and workplace investigations. Prior to joining SHRM in 2011, she had years of HR experience in healthcare and retail.
William Tincup
William is the President of RecruitingDaily. At the intersection of HR and technology, he’s a Writer, Speaker, Advisor, Consultant, Investor, Storyteller & Teacher. He's been writing about HR related issues for over a decade. William serves on the Board of Advisors / Board of Directors for 20 HR technology startups. William is a graduate of the University of Alabama of Birmingham with a BA in Art History. He also earned an MA in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
Tim Sackett, SHRM-SCP
Tim Sackett, SCP, is the CEO of HRUTech.com, a leading technical recruiting firm. Tim has over 20 years of combined executive HR and talent acquisition experience working for Fortune 500 companies. Tim is a highly sought-after international speaker on leadership, HR &TA Tech, talent acquisition, and HR execution. Tim is currently a Senior Faculty member with the Josh Bersin Academy. He is also an Angel investor and advisor and sits on multiple HR Technology corporate boards.
Tim is the author of the newly released book The Talent Fix, Vol. 2. He also writes daily on his blog, the Tim Sackett Project. Tim is married to a hall-of-fame wife, has three sons, and his dog Tucker. In 2023, he was named a Top Global HR & Recruitment Influencer by HR Executive. He has more Twitter (X) followers than his 3 Gen Z sons and is sponsored on stage by diet Mt. Dew.
Jeff Wald
Jeff Wald is a serial entrepreneur, Board Member, Best Selling author, Keynote speaker and investor. His latest company Boomerang Intelligence, an employee lifecycle management platform, was founded in June 2023.
Jeff is also co-founder and Chairman of five other technology startups, Bento Engine (toolkit for financial advisers), Independetly.ai (compliance solutions for independent workers), Heist (short form audio network), Memory Lane (digital story telling to power an AI avatar) and Sonero (AI tool that provides summaries and action items from meetings (sold to MediaFly in December of 2022)). Jeff’s previous company, Work Market, an enterprise software platform that enables companies to manage freelancers was acquired by ADP in 2018, where he served on the Senior Leadership Team until 2020.
Mr. Wald has founded several other technology companies, including Spinback, a social sharing platform (purchased by Salesforce). He began his career in finance, serving as Managing Director at activist hedge fund Barington Capital Group, a Vice President at venture capital firm GlenRock and various roles in the M&A Group at JP Morgan.
Jeff has served on numerous public and private Boards of Directors including Steel Connect (NASDAQ: STCN), Register.com (NASDAQ: WEB), Costar Technologies (OTC: CSTI) and venture backed TransfrVR. Mr. Wald serves as an adviser to several companies and entities including the X-Prize’s Rapid Reskilling Initiative.
Jeff is the author of the #1 Amazon Best Seller, The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations and The Birthday Rules: A Fun and Flexible Framework for Raising Children in a Technology Enabled World.
Jeff frequently speaks at conferences and in media on startups and the future of work. Mr. Wald was named several times as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Staffing by the Staffing Industry Analysts. He is a producer of the Tony Award winning Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and the full length feature film, Inez & Doug & Kira, which won Best Picture at several film festivals.
Jeff formerly served as an officer in the Auxiliary Unit of the New York Police Department. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and MENSA.
Jeff holds an MBA from Harvard University and an MS and BS from Cornell University.