We caught up with Cheryl Kerrigan, VP of Employee Success, at Achievers, sponsor and host of SocialHRCamp Toronto 2014, to get her insights on the upcoming event:
Editor: Tell us a bit about your personal career history and what brought you to your current company?
CK: Prior to joining Achievers, I worked at Eloqua and helped grow the business from a start up to a successful IPO and eventual acquisition by Oracle. Along the way I realized that the success of the business was truly based on the people you hired and the culture that was created. I am extremely passionate about hiring and developing great people and love the pace of building the HR function from the ground up. Achievers is a dream job for me because I have the opportunity to continue my passion for technology in a company that helps all organizations engage, align and recognize their greatest asset…their people!
Editor: Can you tell us a bit about what your company does for HR professionals?
CK: Achievers provide the Achievers Employee Success Platform™, the only true cloud, social platform, that helps companies engage, align and recognize their employees, driving higher employee engagement, retention and improved business results.
Editor: What is your target market? Please tell us a bit about typical companies which use your services?
CK: The companies that use our services are industry leaders in realizing the value of their employees by making them the priority for the company. We work with over 200 customers in 110 countries across a wide variety of industries. We consider ourselves industry agnostic – we’ll work with any organization that wants to improve their employees work experience.
Editor: How do your products and service help HR professionals?
CK: We like to think of ourselves as the HR professionals best friend. With our platform, HR leaders can have their finger on the pulse of the company – they can access employee analytics, track employee achievements and milestones, create surveys, solicit employee feedback, review sales results, monitor wellness statistics and manage referral campaigns, all in an easy-to-use program. HR is able to use the platform to engage, align and recognize their company.
Editor: How does SocialHRCamp fit with your brand objectives?
CK: SocialHRCamp recognizes the need for HR professionals to embrace new technologies and understand the impact of social media. Achievers is excited to be part of this community to ensure we have an opportunity to listen and learn what the current challenges are for the HR professional and discover new solutions to create an engaged workforce.
Editor: Why did your company choose to get involved with SocialHRCamp and what results are you hoping from the sponsorship?
CK: Working with SocialHRCamp for the last three years as a session & venue host gives Achievers a unique opportunity to continue to connect & interact with like-minded HR professionals that are eager to learn about the future of the human resource industry and how social will continue to play a strong role in shaping the lives of employees & employers.
Editor: In your opinion, what will be the big HR and social media technological shifts and patterns of adoption in the workplace in the next 5 years?
CK: Looking forward, it continues to be a focus to prepare, embrace and align a global workforce. The percentage of freelance, temporary, part-time and contract workers is on the rise, expected to hit 40% or 50% which will put demand on the c-suite to take advantage of new emerging tools. The adoption of the right technology and social-enabled tools will equip the HR professional with the toolkit to engage their workforces to stay ahead of the curve and drive measurable business results.
Editor: With low adoption of social media and HR technology within the HR Community it’s important that we introduce new technologies and push attendees beyond their comfort zones. How are you planning on doing this at SocialHRCamp Toronto 2014?
CK: When it comes to shifting the status quo in any industry, it’s crucial to maintain an open dialogue – SocialHRCamp is the perfect opportunity to continue the conversation between HR professionals and technology providers/vendors. This will enable both parties the opportunity to together push the state of work forward to improve and change the way the world works. We are so excited to be once again participating in SocialHRCamp and feel privileged to be a part of this community. See you in November!
Editor: How can people learn more about your services?
CK: Check us out at www.Achievers.com for more information. Or – be social! Tweet us at @Achievers, put those SocialHRCamp skills to use!