Two St. Paul technology companies are joining forces after a multi-year partnership in a new effort to make remote work more attractive to employees and employers around the world.
Augeo and Structural announced the move earlier this month: “We have partners around the world…but we’ve found the best, one zip code plus,” said Augeo Founder and CEO David Kristal.
Kristal and Scott Burns, founder and CEO of Structural, met years ago through shared volunteer work and the entrepreneurial community of St. Paul. Before Augeo acquired Structural, the two companies had been partners for almost four years and shared several customers, but they never considered each other competitors.
Although Augeo is a St. Paul-based company, it has offices around the world and works with dozens of Fortune 500 companies to create employee recognition and loyalty rewards such as gift cards, trips, incentive programs and more.
Structural is also a company that calls Saint-Paul its home base. They strive to connect with colleagues within the same organization through discovery software that allows employees to find those who share similar interests, challenges and skills.
“Think of it as creating that kind of digital space that does a lot of the things that businesses have always wished they could do, that leverages technology to enable it to be done without any geographic or office constraints,” Burns said. .
SILENT STOP
Both companies were founded before COVID-19, but the pandemic has led to more hybrid work environments and greater potential for personal disconnection. Finding innovative ways for people to connect with each other has become especially important, Burns said. When employees find it difficult to engage at work, some choose to quit quietly without explanation.
The companies together want to “use this moment to make the workplace more connected than ever and to make work and family life more balanceable and more productive,” Burns said.
Kristal said Structural will help add entirely new technology to Augeo’s platform that will help build stronger communities within their customers’ organizations.
“The idea of a profile, which seems so common now in the world of social platforms, is not very common in the world of work,” Kristal said. “For very large organizations with tens of thousands of employees, where employees have their own profile…it allows them to find others like them within the organization to connect with. “
The timing of change has motivated companies to invest in new solutions for employee engagement and retention, Burns said.
“They want the optimistic route, not the gray route of resignation and silent surrender,” Burns said.
