blockWRK has announced it is launching its blockchain-based employee goal-management and compensation app to an initial user base of over 150,000 US employees from numerous partner companies.
blockWRK’s launch has been accelerated in the wake of a rapid increase in employees working remotely as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. With many employees now used to working from home, and employers facing critical worker shortages, employers are seeking new tools to manage decentralized workforces and maintain employee engagement and productivity. blockWRK is designed to provide companies with new management tools using blockchain technologies to set company, group and individual level goals, with daily or weekly incentives and compensation.
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“Before the invention of blockchain smart contracts, setting and managing different daily goals for each employee in your company was impossible,” said blockWRK CEO and former HR executive George Mylonakis. “For the first time, blockWRK lets employers manage the day-to-day activities that accumulate to make or break a company. And managers – for the first time – can see a dashboard of real-time performance, by employee, so they truly know who their top performers are.”
The application allows HR administrators and managers to set company-wide, department-wide or individual role level daily and weekly goals. Employees who achieve their goals are instantly paid in WRK tokens, an innovative ERC-20 cryptocurrency, which can be converted to U.S. dollars on the blockWRK branded Visa debit card, or deposited directly to the employee’s bank account. The system is meant to replace antiquated yearly review, bonus and raise cycles that are often too infrequent to effectively incentivize employees. Studies have shown that small, frequent rewards directly tied to specific goals increase intrinsic motivation in employees more than larger, less frequent rewards do. Frequent recognition improves worker productivity and engagement while making employees feel their work is appreciated. The system, which was in development before Covid-19, is now uniquely positioned to assist companies grappling with newly decentralized workforces.
In addition to these goal-setting and compensation tools, blockWRK consolidates many other employee benefits into a single app, simplifying benefits management for HR administrators and providing sought-after benefits to employees of small and mid-sized companies. Employees are provided $5 flat-fee paycheck advances, freeing them from predatory payday lenders who charge up to 600% interest, and helping avoid bank NSF fees which are often charged successively when a bank account is overdrawn. Other benefits include free mental health counseling on demand and free access to telemedicine services.
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“Workers are feeling increasingly disconnected and unappreciated by their employers after this unprecedented year,” added Mylonakis. “And there is a growing employee mental health problem that we simply aren’t talking enough about. The good news is, we’ve figured out a way to address all these issues with one solution, and it wouldn’t be possible without the blockchain. Now we can communicate employer appreciation, drive huge productivity gains, and take better care of our people all at the same time.”
blockWRK has already partnered with a number of US employers and several firms that provide payroll processing and HR services covering over 150,000 employees that will make up blockWRK’s initial user base by the end of its pilot phase. The blockWRK application has been integrated with one of the top payroll processing software providers, and a comprehensive marketing partnership program with that firm will expand the initial user base across their workforce of more than 2 million US employees.
blockWRK has attracted over $2 million in private investor funds from US-based HR companies and strategic partner firms. The application is currently at the beta stage of development with the launch of the full version scheduled for mid-Q3 of 2021.
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