Employee engagement in the digital world
Ben Comstock, Co-Founder of Amirra
Meet Ben Comstock, Co-Founder of Amirra, an AI Employee Engagement Assistant designed to boost engagement and retention.
Adopted from India, Ben grew up in Iowa and has spent the last 15 years living in Spain. He is deeply passionate about fitness, playing the guitar, and enjoying live music. His degree in Social Economics inspired him to focus on humanizing business practices, which he believes will help improve organizational performance.
Ben Comstock: I'm the co-founder and CEO of Amirra, a project I started with my cousin. We’re focused on helping organizations create great places to work.
I believe that the more we connect, the happier we are, the better we work and the longer we stay with the same company. So we developed a solution that helps organizations bring their people together by creating more human interactions at work. We're doing this on all stages–from the pre-onboarding all the way through to exit interviews. And we've already helped organizations like Harvard University and SAP create a better employee experience.
Amirra is essentially a digital employee experience assistant encouraging more human face-to-face connections.
Now that we're moving to a more hybrid way of working, we need to start thinking about digital solutions that are going to bring people together in a digital format. And then, hopefully, the more we get to know each other digitally, we might be more encouraged to meet each other face-to-face.
Yorba: In this world, there seems to be a lot of tension between maximizing efficiency and protecting employee privacy. How does Amirra balance these?
Ben Comstock: We are very security-focused. First and foremost, everything that people do on the platform is completely an opt-in process. So they're not forced to make connections if they don't want to make connections. From a data privacy perspective, we're very strict about not sharing databases of our clients.
Yorba: Amirra uses a lot of AI to analyze and figure out how to connect talent in meaningful ways. What do you say to people who might be scared of AI?
Ben Comstock: That’s completely understandable. The way we utilize AI, especially in the HR tech world, is gonna have dramatic benefits. So not having to go through so many hoops, getting answers more quickly, being connected more effectively, in ways that genuinely interest you or adding meaning to your life or value.
It can be seen as a scary thing, but I think people are going to find that as this evolves, we gonna see a lot more benefits, especially in the sector I focus on.
Yorba: How can digital minimalists approach the workplace in a healthy way?
Ben Comstock: One of the biggest problems is that people get stuck in some big long email listserv, or I have to join some Slack chat just to be privy to the information that's being discussed in there.
Amirra takes a totally different approach. We’ve taken machine learning and predictive analytics, and put them on top of the platform, so that it's identifying what you like, your interests, and how you are engaging with the platform.
That’s how we’re reducing the noise that you would typically get if you didn’t have an AI employee experience assistant.
Yorba: How did you start this?
Ben Comstock: I went to work in Sweden, but worked remotely for a company in Spain. This remote thing felt pretty cool, but the big problem was that I felt so disconnected from the company that was working at the time, and so didn't have an idea who were the new joiners, what things were going on in the office and when would be the right time for me to fly back and have some events to be able to see my colleagues.
So I wondered, what if we could create a dedicated community and culture solution so that people like me in that situation feel more connected? What impact can that have on the business?
There’s a massive correlation between connection and productivity. Isolation and loneliness are at the highest levels ever recorded. And a solution to connect people is needed, because when people feel more connected, they're happier. They work longer and they work better and they stay longer.
So there is a true correlation between connection and productivity. Connect people more, they'll be more productive.
Yorba: What else do you see happening in the future of this space?
Ben Comstock: VR is going to play a significant role—especially because the younger generations want to work in a hybrid or remote-work setting.
So, for example, this meeting we’re having through Zoom—how nice would it be if I could sit here and we could have this on top of the pyramids in Egypt?
Organizations are going to have to think about how to bring people together, and VR is going to be part of the solution.
Yorba: How do you handle your own digital overwhelm?
Ben Comstock: That’s where Yorba comes into play. We’re a startup, and it’s amazing how many subscriptions we end up having. Usually, they’re in an email folder called “subscriptions,” but what’s so much better is that you just go to Yorba and you see the renewal dates and when they’re coming up.
For me, that’s been a time saver. Not just a time saver, but a money saver.
Yorba: If you could only give one tip to companies related to employee engagement, what would you say?
Ben Comstock: Your employee experience matters, so invest in it.
Too many organizations focus just on recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and then it kind of stops after that.
The employee experience is a holistic, long-term experience, and the more you invest in that, the better people work for you and the longer they stay and that's a true business benefit.
Learn more about Amirra here.
