Employees are customers, too. Ever heard that adage? If you work at Workhuman, it’s not just an adage—it’s part of the company’s ethos, according to Zoe Peterson-Ward, its chief customer officer.

Workhuman, which has its US headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts, is an employee recognition software company. Employees at client companies, including LinkedIn and Cisco, can recognize work accomplishments and share life milestones with coworkers on the platform.

Because employees are at the heart of the platform, Workhuman’s 1,000+ employees test new features before they’re rolled out to customers, Peterson-Ward said. This has led to her working with KeyAnna Schmiedl, Workhuman’s chief human experience officer (CHXO), on improvements to the platform’s employee experience. “We can be our own guinea pigs,” Schmiedl told HR Brew. “We can see what happens when you take theory and put it into action.”

HR Brew sat down with Peterson-Ward and Schmiedl to talk about how they collaborate on their customer and employee strategies.

Keep reading here.—MC

It’s not every day you get to connect with leaders from top-tier organizations. But June 5 is different. That’s right—it’s Spark Live, Beamery’s global virtual conference.

This half-day event brings together global talent, HR, and business leaders. You’ll hear about how leading organizations like Verizon, BlackRock, Autodesk, and more are building the future of work.

Specifically, you’ll learn how these orgs:

• Create agile, skills-based organizations.
• Explore new experiences with AI.
• Test new methods for designing the HR org of the future.

Each session will focus on how to put humans at the heart of every talent experience and seize the potential of AI. Get ready to connect with peers and learn about the future of the HR industry. Register here.

Attorneys general from 18 Republican-led states are suing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Justice over new enforcement guidance on workplace harassment to protect transgender workers.

The EEOC in April expanded worker harassment protections to LGBTQ+ workers, citing a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that found that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity qualifies as workplace discrimination violating Title VII. The EEOC stated among its new guidance that employers must use employees’ preferred pronouns and allow them to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity, or potentially face harassment or discrimination claims.

In 2021, President Biden also issued an executive order on preventing and combating discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, which cited the same 2020 ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County.

Keep reading here.—KP

Welcome to HR 101. Class is now in session. Today’s discussion is all about fertility benefits.

The history. Fertility benefits, including IVF and egg-freezing coverage, as well as family planning, adoption, and surrogacy support, were rare as recently as 2015. Indeed, research from Mercer found that less than one-quarter (24%) of large employers (with more than 500 but fewer than 20,000 employees) covered IVF, and only 5% covered egg freezing.

Among the employers offering fertility benefits were Apple and Facebook, both of which announced coverage for egg freezing in 2014 as part of an effort to attract and retain more women employees.

Keep reading here.—AS

Data, data, and…oh, more data. If this sounds like your typical HR info influx, Marsh McLennan Agency can help you organize. Their HR tech consulting team sets you up to identify, implement, and maintain HRIS solutions geared toward your biz needs. Accurately organize data across teams to keep a handle on HR’s (many) moving parts.