11 minute read
Quick Reads
Hr tEcHnoLoGy Cornerstone enters into pact to acquire learning experience platform EdCast
Cloud-based HR software solutions provider Cornerstone OnDemand has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire learning experience platform EdCast. The terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, were not disclosed. Himanshu Palsule, CEO of Cornerstone, said that the two companies together have the potential to deliver a nextgeneration learning and talent infrastructure, rapidly innovate a connected people growth experience, and create a new blueprint for the way organisations and their people grow and thrive.
Sesame HR secures €10 million ($11 million) in funding led by PSG group
Spanish startup Sesame HR has secured €10 million( $11 million) funding. The round was led by PSG, a Boston, Massachusettsbased growth equity firm that has partnered with middlemarket software and technology-enabled services companies to help accelerate Sesame HR’s growth. According to the company’s statement, PSG’s support will help strengthen Sesame's international presence by helping the HR tech startup adapt its products to each new country, leveraging the firm’s presence and expertise across Asia, Europe and the United States.
PeopleStrong acquires PayReview in cash and stock deal
PeopleStrong, a leading enterprise HR technology company in the Asia Pacific region, has acquired PayReview, a platform for employee compensation and benefits management, for an undisclosed amount. With the cash and stock deal, PayReview will now be a part of PeopleStrong’s HR Tech 4.0 platform, delivering an intuitive and powerful solution designed to automate the compensation review and increment process, the Gurugram-headquartered human capital management company said in a statement.
Ekincare raises $15 million in Series B funding led by HealthQuad, Sabre Partners
Ekincare, a health benefits platform that assists employers in designing a health benefits package that meets the needs of their employees and their families, has raised $15 million in a Series B round led by HealthQuad and Sabre Partners, with participation from existing investors Ventureast, Eight Roads Ventures, Siana Capital, and Endiya Partners. The startup intends to use the capital to accelerate growth, provide a more simplified experience, and introduce and test new products.
HRM services company UKG acquires SpotCues and Groupe.io
UKG Inc, a global provider of human capital management payroll, HR service delivery, and workforce management solutions has acquired SpotCues and its mobile communications platform, Groupe.io. Groupe.io was launched in 2016 to connect frontline workers more closely. The team has a workforce of 50, who joined UKG in January. They are presently accelerating development while also integrating the solution within UKG Dimensions, UKG Pro, and UKG Ready.
rEcruitMEnt Walmart aims to hire 50,000 U.S. workers by end of April
Walmart plans to hire more than 50,000 people in its U.S. stores by the end of April as it expands its retail and other businesses in the midst of a labour shortage. Walmart's hiring push comes as retailers and other businesses face a tight labour market and near-record job openings. This is also at a time of year when many retailers cut back on hiring following the holiday shopping season. Many of those employees will work in stores, but Walmart also plans to hire in new business areas such as health and wellness and advertising, according to Donna Morris, the company's chief people officer.
Instahyre to recruit and expand the workforce by 3 times by 2023
AI-based hiring platform Instahyre is all set to grow its employee strength by three times and increase revenue by four times in the next year. The expansion will be a part of the company’s strategic move to onboard 20,000 accounts from enterprises to mid-market SMBs, serving a candidate base of 80-90 million. According to the official statement, Instahyre is also expanding into the non-tech hiring space, where the company plans to provides the same experience for tech companies since they face the same challenges for their non-tech hiring as for tech hiring.
The IT sector has been one of the most affected victims of the Great Resignation and talent shortage. Unsurprisingly, companies hailing from the same have started ramping up for robust hiring even as offices are gradually reopening for the employees to return to on-site work. Following the trend, Capgemini has announced that it is going to hire about 60,000 new employees in India this year.
EMPLoyEE ManaGEMEnt Google faces lawsuit over DE&I grounds
Google has been sued over accusations of systemic racial bias against Black employees. The complaint states that the company steers black employees to lower-level jobs, pays them less and denies them opportunities to advance because of their race. In the complaint Google has been described as a “racially biased corporate culture". that favours white men, where Black people comprise only 4.4% of employees and about 3% of leadership and its technology workforce.
government-funded programme to cover sick or caregiving pay for casual workers and those with insecure jobs. A first in Australia, the programme is expected to cover more than 150,000 workers during the first phase of the project. They will receive the sick or caregiving pay at the national minimum wage. Prior to this programme, one in five casual and contract workers had no access to sick and carer's pay even if they are already working more than one job to earn a living.
coMPEnsation & BEnEfits Casual workers to receive paid sick leave for the first time in Australia
The state of Victoria has introduced a new AUD245.6 million
Newsmaker oF the moNth
Spiralling inflation
by Jerry Moses
k reads C qui As the world is still reeling from the economic devastation unleashed by the pandemic, the Russian war on Ukraine is sending shockwaves to global markets. Strained supply chains, increased cost of energy, and uncontrolled inflation. 15 of the 34 countries classified as Advanced Economies by the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook saw a spike in inflation of over 5 percent year-on-year. 78 out of 109 Emerging Markets and Developing countries saw inflation of over 5 percent. This inflation was driven by supply chain disruptions in the second half of 2021, but the situation in Europe has worsened it.
Worldwide, three common factors are driving inflation today: the increase in commodity prices, the increase in transportation costs, and disrupted supply chains. Advanced economies are already experiencing difficulties post their COVID19 stimulus-response to their fiscal and monetary policy, and many emerging economies are reeling from ongoing difficulties such as a decline in per capita income even before the pandemic. Currency depreciation has also contributed to inflation among imported goods.
The impact of the war will also be felt on key industries, from food to semiconductor. According to a report by the Conference Board, the war in Ukraine is threatening significant food security problems for many emerging countries. That’s because Russia and Ukraine account for about 6 percent of global grain production and 16 percent of global grain exports.
Both countries are also major sources of a number of important raw materials in semiconductor production. Last year, the semiconductor shortage caused disruptions in many industries, including the automotive industry. And the progress made post the pandemic could be reversed due to the war.
Shipping companies have predicted that the sanctions by Western governments will further disrupt global supply chains and cargo movement. Many global western companies that sell goods and services in Russia have stalled their operations or have exited completely, and the Russian stock market has tanked. Global investor fears have led to a sharp decline in bond yields since the war began.
In the near future, we may expect to see wages and taxes pushed up in many countries. At the same time, as policymakers and central banks attempt to tame inflation, interest rates are also likely to rise. This will not help the economic recovery, or the global labour market. It’s likely that in the coming months, many of the gains made in the employment landscape will end up slowed, or even reversed.
JLL ProMotEs Laura aDaMs as cHiEf HuMan rEsourcEs officEr Real estate company JLL has promoted Laura Adams to CHRO and a member of the company’s Global Executive Board, effective July 1, 2022. According to the official communique, Adams, presently Global HR Lead for JLL’s Markets Advisory, Capital Markets and Work Dynamics segments, joined the company in 2005 following senior HR roles with Washington Mutual Bank and Diamond Technology Partners. She has extensive experience in aligning people programs to business strategy and driving large-scale complex change and is a passionate advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion. She is based in Chicago.
sKiLLinG PLatforM DisPrz aPPoints DEVi MaHEsHWari as tHE DirEctor of PEoPLE Artificial intelligence powered skilling platform Disprz has appointed Devi Maheshwari as the new director of people at the company. With over 12 years of experience under her belt, Devi is well versed in managing various diverse functional and leadership aspects of building the people function in organisations. Previously, Devi was the HR Head at FlexiLoans for almost two years, where she built HR functional capabilities in People Practices, HR Tech and Talent Acquisition. Prior to that, Devi has worked in the philanthropic sector with organisations like Magic Bus India Foundation and Population Services International. PEoPLEstronG HirEs satyaJit MEnon as GrouP cHiEf HuMan rEsourcE officEr HR tech company PeopleStrong has announced the appointment of Hero Vired's Satyajit Menon as the new Group Chief Human Resources Officer of the company. Menon had been Head of HR at edtech firm Hero Vired since in June 2021. He comes with over 20 years of experience in the people function, having worked globally in consulting, outsourcing and technology domains. Besides Hero Vired, his resume includes companies like Innovaccer, GE Capital, Lehman Brothers, Fidelity, Snapdeal and more.
EPiKinDifi HirEs raVitHa DEVasEnaPatHy as nEW cHiEf HuMan rEsourcE officEr Australia based digital automation company EPIKInDiFi has named Ravitha Devasenapathy as the new Chief Human Resource Officer of the company, effective February. She is responsible for headlining the people function and strategically drive the young company’s future growth. Devasenapathy boasts of fourteen years of experience in HR and organisational development field. Prior to this role, she was the Head HR at Arcolab, where she was tasked with delivering end to end HR transformation. including the design of a new HR operating model.
sHorr PacKaGinG roPEs in rEKHa JonEs as cHiEf HuMan rEsourcE officEr
Global packaging firm Shorr Packaging has announced the
appointment of Rekha Jones as the organisation's Chief Human Resources Officer. Jones has served as a senior human resource leader at various enterprise-level organisations in her career. Most recently, she has served as VP, Global Human Resources at Instant Brands.
starBucKs cEo to rEtirE, HoWarD scHuLtz rEturns as intEriM cEo Starbucks has announced that CEO Kevin Johnson will step down on April 4 after five years at the helm of the company. Howard Schultz, who led the company for decades before Johnson, will serve as interim CEO and rejoin the board of directors while the company searches for a new CEO. In addition to day-to-day management of the company, Schultz will assist in the search for and onboarding of the next CEO. The company's founder and architect of its culture, Schultz grew Starbucks into one of the world's most well-known corporations.
DocusiGn aPPoints iEsHa BErry as first cHiEf DiVErsity & EnGaGEMEnt officEr Electronic signature management firm DocuSign has appointed Iesha Berry as its first Chief Diversity & Engagement Officer. Berry joins from management consulting firm Slalom, where she held the role of Chief Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Officer. She has over 20 years' experience in driving diversity, inclusion, and belonging within large global companies, with her DE&I career spanning Pfizer, Bank of America, Prudential, and Microsoft. At DocuSign, she will work on accelerating the diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategy, and will also work on impact and sustainability. She will report directly to DocuSign's Chief People Officer Joan Burke.
coLGatE-PaLMoLiVE inDia naMEs HuL's PraBHa narasiMHan as nEW cEo Colgate-Palmolive India has announced that Prabha Narasimhan will be appointed the new Managing Director and CEO from 1 September 2022. She will join ColgatePalmolive from Hindustan Unilever Limited, where she is currently Executive Director of Home Care. Narasimhan has over 23 years of experience in FMCG. She joined HUL in 2006 and has spent the last 15 years there, moving up from general management positions to heading specific business lines. She stepped into the home care role in 2020 and played a major role in integrating sustainability into the business's product development strategy.
oyo ELEVatEs roHit KaPoor to GLoBaL cHiEf MarKEtinG officEr Global travel tech major OYO is elevating Rohit Kapoor to a global role as the company’s marketing head, from his current position of CEO–India and Southeast Asia. At the same time, global chief business officer Ankit Tandon will take on the additional responsibility of Southeast Asia (SEA) with specific focus on Indonesia and the Middle East (ME) region as its CEO. Ankit Gupta, currently the CEO of Hotels and Homes - India will take on the role of CEO - India. All three leaders take on their new responsibilities effective April 1, 2022 and will report to the founder and Group CEO, Ritesh Agarwal.
