Recruitment and workforce development platform WorkHere won the Innovation of the Year award during TechPoint’s 19th annual Mira Awards gala honoring the best of tech in Indiana.

Two macroeconomic shifts are occurring, sustained unemployment levels below 4 percent and more jobs are falling into the gig economy. WorkHere is uniquely suited to help both sides of the evolving labor market as a recruitment and workforce development platform that pioneered using mobile device GPS to help employers find people close to their locations.

 

 

WorkHere directly addresses three major problems for employers: reducing turnover, improving employment brand and accelerating the hiring process. For job seekers, WorkHere makes it extremely easy to find a great job, closer to home.

The Mira Awards judges noted the company’s patent-pending technology for its original concept launched in 2016, but the sheer volume of innovation added to the application in 2017 is what earned WorkHere top honors as Innovation of the Year. New additions included instantaneous texting, social media messaging, geo-targeted and geo fenced recruitment advertising, and the launch of community coaching services that assists new users in finding opportunities.

Photo by Polina Osherov.

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WorkHere’s target market — employers that hire large numbers of workers (skilled, semi-skilled, hourly, and salaried employees) — gives WorkHere the potential to grow extremely fast, as evidenced by the scale-up’s 695 percent year-over-year annual recurring revenue growth in 2017. The judges believe WorkHere’s unique approach of combining GPS powered geo-location and human-to-human interaction creates a powerful experience for workers, and the data shows that the community coaches have improved WorkHere’s success rates in connecting job seekers with employers from 12 percent to 54 percent. The dramatic difference in ROI and success rates for employers is undeniable, with WorkHere achieving an average 38 percent conversion rate compared to 2 percent for most jobs boards.

 

 

TechPoint, the growth initiative for Indiana’s tech ecosystem, honored the successes and innovation of Indiana companies, entrepreneurs, educators, and other leaders at The JW Marriott Indianapolis during the 19th annual Mira Awards gala presented by Angie’s List, Infosys, and Salesforce.

A total of 15 award winners and two honorable mentions were chosen from the 100+ outstanding companies, organizations, and individuals who were selected as nominees this year out of the 205 applications received highlighting achievements during the 2017 calendar year.

Howard Bates, Co-founder and CEO, WorkHere. Photo by Polina Osherov.

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Fifty-two independent, volunteer judges spent more than 850 total hours reviewing and ranking applications, interviewing nominees, and selecting this year’s winners. Judges included company founders, CEOs and presidents; CTOs, CIOs and software developers; professors and chancellors from Indiana universities; design, human resources and sales professionals, and a variety of other subject matter experts.

The Mira Awards are named after the first of the brilliant variable stars to be discovered – the Mira Star. It is also the Latin root meaning “worthy of admiration, wonderful, marvelous.” The awards represent the best of tech in Indiana each year.