Introducing…. These are the nominees for the first HR Technology Awards: UKG
The HR Technology Awards will be presented for the very first time on 19 September 2023. The independent professional jury announced the six nominees last week, divided into two categories. Workday Peakon Employee Voice, UKG and Oracle Cloud HCM are still in the race to win the award for Best HR Technology Product Innovation of the Year. The Best Next Generation HR Technology (focused on scale-ups) will go to either Crunchr, Fanployer or WELDER. This week, we will introduce the nominees to you. In this article, Account Executive of HR transformations Christiaan Weurding tells you all about UKG.
Can you start by briefly introducing yourself to us?
“I am Christiaan Weurding, Account Executive at UKG since March. I have been helping organizations with their digital HR transformations for ten years now. It’s my passion. We focus on frontline workers; employees in a store or factory who don’t always have a laptop or a computer at their disposal. For them, an app is much more convenient, and that’s what we offer. Among other things…”
Christiaan Weurding, Account Executive HR-transformaties UKG
Can you tell us more about your company and the product?
“In the Netherlands we started as PeopleDoc and Kronos, now we are UKG. Our head offices are in Boston and Miami. We have around 15,000 employees worldwide and around 1,300 in Europe. Here in the Netherlands we have a beautiful office in Amsterdam, with a view of the Johan Cruyff ArenA.”
“The people involved in production processes are our main focus. We call this “Human Centric”. We provide them with solutions for viewing work schedules and communicating easily with each other. And that’s a very compact summary. What really brings us to these awards are the AI and Machine Learning components we add within Workforce Management.”
Why did you choose to take part in the HR Technology Awards?
“We are always open to new initiatives relating to product innovation. I know Bas Eggelaar well, founder of SuccessDay and initiator of these awards. When he told me about the HR Technology Awards, I was immediately enthusiastic. We are keen to take part, mainly because it is an independent award. And also because we think we have a good chance of winning. We really believe in our AI innovations.”
What makes you unique?
“We believe that software should do more than just providing management with figures. You can also use it to keep your people happy and engaged. By ensuring they can find the right information. Or quickly obtain the information they need. That’s the practical side. But we know from experience and research that employees are more satisfied, more engaged and more productive if they can influence and have a say in their planning.”
“Our solutions offer managers schedules that are almost complete, thanks to AI recommendations, machine learning and thousands of data points. This saves a lot of manual work, checks and frustrations. Employee’s preferences are also taken into account. For example, if someone wants to swap shifts, the system suggests colleagues who could replace them. This is based on historical availability, but also based on the required certificates or competencies. This increases the chance of swapping shifts successfully.”
“This kind of solution is good for everyone. Managers can trust that their schedules are always correct, and it is a lot easier for employees to find a harmonious balance between home life and work. At UKG we call this Life-Work Technology. And it’s with good reason that “Life” comes first.”
Why do you think you have been nominated?
“I see it as confirmation of all the work we do and have already done. And that we are on a road that lots of other companies will travel. HR technology is a means, not an end in itself. It’s about the people we support with our software.”
What are you expecting from the award show? Are you expecting to win?
“We are extremely proud of what we do, and that we are in the running for an HR Technology Award. We have already come so far and have convinced the jury to believe in our product. Now we are going for the win!”
About the HR Technology Awards
As no independent awards have yet been presented for HR technology in the Netherlands, Bas Eggelaar, founder of SuccessDay, decided it was high time to make it happen. Several partners soon joined the event.
The jury of the HR Technology Awards consists of chairman Anne Jaakke (HR Changemaker) Louis Luijten (Diverse Board positions & Alumni CIO ASML) Rolf Jorna (Alumni Head of Group HR Action), Derk Jan Koole (Business Leader Career at Mercer), Helen Richardson (CHRO at Renewi), Erwin Hoogeveen (CHRO Fugro) and Pascale Peters (Professor of Strategic Human Resource Management at Nyenrode Business University).
The Award show will take place on 19 September in De Kazerne in Brainport, the heart of European innovation. Around 100 CHROs, CIOs, HR and IT directors have already signed up for THE networking event in the field of HR Technology. As well as the aforementioned categories, an award will also be presented for the Best HR Transformation using Technology.
