We caught up with Jilaine Parkes, President and Co-Founder of Sprigg and sponsor of the upcoming SocialHRCamp Toronto 2014 ‘unconference’, to get her insights on the November 2014 event:
Jilaine is a knowledgeable and passionate Human Resources and Organization Development professional with 25 years of experience working with large Canadian brands.
Jilaine launched Sprigg to help small and medium companies inspire the best performance from their employees. In addition to leading Sprigg’s growth, Jilaine is an accomplished public speaker and facilitator with a humorous, very direct and down to earth style. Just give her call, you’ll see.
Editor: Tell us a bit about your personal career history and what brought you to your current company?
JP: I’d like to think my peers would describe me as a knowledgeable and passionate Human Resources and Organization Development professional with 25 years of experience working with Bombardier, Kraft Foods, Canadian Tire, Cineplex Entertainment and Lavalife.
When I went from working with big companies to working at Lavalife, which at the time had fewer than 100 employees, I couldn’t believe how important it was that every employee be fully inspired to help us fulfil our ambition.
We knew that we wanted to benefit from the best of the performance management strategies that existed at big companies, but we didn’t want to suffer from the paperwork and frustration that often accompanies them. We wanted our goals to be understood and shared by every employee, we wanted to actively coach every employee and we wanted to ensure that everyone knew how they were performing. It was this approach that led to the development of Sprigg.
I launched Sprigg to help SMBs inspire the best performance from their employees. Our software fills an important gap in the SMB market. And the result? I’m pleased to say that our customers tell us that the Sprigg performance management software is super easy to use, cost effective and it provides useful metrics!
Editor: Can you tell us a bit about what your company does for HR professionals?
JP: With Sprigg we wanted to build an online, no-nonsense, world-class performance management system tailored for small and medium sized businesses. And so we did. Sprigg fosters collaboration, accountability and real results!
Editor: What is your target market? Please tell us a bit about typical companies which use your services?
JP: In terms of end-user demographics, we actually have a wide spectrum of users from small to big companies across various sectors and boarders. Our ‘sweet spot’ if you will, is SMBs in North America between 100 and 500 employees looking to streamline HR process and in need of better metrics to align and develop their workforce.
Editor: How does your product/service help HR professionals?
JP: The Sprigg performance management software, with all its cool modules such as compensation calculators and 360 reviews, helps HR pros, managers and employees get more from their employee reviews. Not only is Sprigg MUCH easier and more cost-effective to use than old, paper-based approaches, it also gives companies easy and accessible metrics to measure and enhance employee and team performances.
Editor: How does SocialHRCamp fit with your brand objectives?
JP: We are big fans of Jeff Waldman’s SocialHRCamp event series. Jeff is a very well-known HR and social media personality and his values of supporting and promoting yound Canadian tech companies fits very well with our ethos and brand.
Editor: Why did your company choose to get involved with SocialHRCamp and what results are you hoping from the sponsorship?
JP: That’s an interesting story actually, our Marketing Manager, Bill Banham met Jeff at last year’s SHRM Conference and they hit it off so much that we jumped on board for Spinsoring last year’s Toronto and it proved so successful, that we decided to ramp it up for 2014.
There are more hands-on sessions to help HR professionals strategically use social media and emerging HR/Recruitment technology at this year’s ‘unconference’ than ever before. The Camp’s session facilitators are experts in the fields of HR, Recruitment, Marketing, Social Media, Learning, Leadership and more, and will also be active participants throughout the day.
Editor: Will your company be presenting a session?
JP: Absolutely! I’ll be leading a dedicated breakout seminar which will focus on technological innovations within performance management and employee development
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?
JP: Boy! That’s a big question! Well.. Sprigg is lucky enough to have three opportunities to address and discuss developments within HR technology. Firstly, we’ll be presenting a short piece to the full crowd. Secondly, I’ll be leading a dedicated breakout seminar. Finally, we’re proud to say that we’re heavily involved with the gala evening event and hope to speak with lots of media and HR professionals there!
Sessions and highlights will be recorded so we’ll also get a chance to reach out to our HR professionals looking to learn more about new HR tech options.
Editor: How can people learn more about your services?
JP: You can learn more about or performance management software and consultative services by going to www.sprigghr.com and completing the short contact form. Alternatively, you can contact us at sales@sprigghr.com or by calling 1 888 797 5583