"Experience has shown that it is difficult to introduce different digital platforms within a company and that companies are more cautious with startups," said the initiator of the People Platform, the founder and CEO of Blue Colibri App, during his presentation. "But serving users is one of the most important tasks, so we joined forces."
Tamás Barathi mentioned all this on the occasion of the expansion of the Blue Colibri App internal corporate communication and HR-digitization employee platform, in cooperation with four other startups and their digital solutions. The announcement, and with it the launch, took place on 24 January, where the developers of the apps were introduced, and a panel discussion was held with representatives of the companies involved to share their experiences with the employee support apps from the user side.
The possibility of hybrid and remote working has created the need for efficient digital interfaces. And the current uncertainties and increased competition for workers between companies have made the role of internal communication incredibly complex. It is not only responsible for the transfer of information, but also for the integration and onboarding of new colleagues, and for making opportunities as widely known as possible.
"Today, the Blue Colibri platform can also be a tool in the hands of managers and middle managers to motivate, recognise performance, give feedback or even ask for feedback from employees. We have responded to these needs with several separate or even interconnectable features over the past 2 years.
As a positive feedback, where we have introduced our functionality, we have seen hundreds of recognition cards sent from colleagues in the first weeks, up to over 1000. This shows the increased demand for acknowledgements and that an efficient channel can be used easily on a daily basis," said Tamás Barathi.
"I like to say that our app is like a digital health tinder, the employee can "match" with the doctor online via video call, so there is no waiting, no travel, and the answer is real-time," said the founder and CEO of DokiApp, briefly presenting his own development. Tibor Somogyi added that it is important for healthcare to be represented on more and more digital devices.
“Our experience shows that 50% of case management ends in the digital space," he said, pointing to a perhaps surprising figure.
In addition, the CEO's presentation showed that by using the app, with 250 cases, some 675 hours of waiting and travel were saved for the workers themselves and their families, who are also eligible for the service, and of course for employers, which meant cost savings of around 6 million forints.
In addition to the high user experience, Tibor Somogyi stressed that absenteeism rates at work have been reduced by 60-80% according to partner feedback, and this was achieved through 135 hours of online counseling.
Sustainability has become a value-adding factor for companies (see ESG), which has made it not only an employer concern, but also a topic that employees are increasingly aware of.
The CEO of GreenSense, a company that develops and implements sustainability and green corporate programmes, shared with the audience at the partner meeting several fundamental and often familiar dilemmas that are often just a matter of choice in everyday life.
"At one of our partners, for example, we launched an "eat less meat" campaign, which, to the surprise of many, was won by one of our biggest meat-eaters, who, although he has not given up meat, thanks to the program, is now much more conscious of this important environmental commitment," said Szabolcs Kovács, who said that such initiatives also strengthen employee engagement and make sustainability aspects more likely to be embedded in corporate culture.
Salarify has launched its digital platform to support financial well-being. The company has modernized earned wage access, which, as the name suggests, allows employees to access their wages as soon as they earn them, with just one click.
"This app is a great help for employees in case of unexpected expenses, such as replacing a washing machine or financial difficulties," said Barnabás Csikós, the company's business development manager. He also pointed out that with this method, which is also implemented within the data security framework of the MNB, the employee does not have to appear in person at the HR department, apply, and then wait for the administration of a possible support decision. Another module of the app also allows employees to digitally request a certificate of income for any loan via the platform, which they can then send automatically to the bank from their phone, again saving time, administration, and money.
“It feels good to implement a project that benefits both the employer and the employee," added Barnabás Csikós.
Transparent, simple, efficient, operating within a strict legal framework - these were the words used by the co-founder of the startup, Dr. Farkas Bársony, to describe the Sharity application at the event, which he said is a unique digital technology in the charity market.
He also said that the app's special feature is that the platform not only allows you to donate money to various NGO initiatives, but also to support them by watching advertising videos, the fee of which is transferred by the advertising company to the selected NGO without any commission.
Farkas Bársony added that, in addition to the value of the support, these advertisers can also achieve significant brand growth for the company, which is becoming increasingly important in today's business world.
After the introduction of the solutions, a panel discussion was held with company managers who shared their experiences of implementing and using the apps. Katalin Márton, Head of HR and CSR at Praktiker, Krisztián Bognár, CFO of Flexfleet Zrt., Ákos Jáhny, Strategic Director of Get Work Trend Kft., Tamás Poda, Director of SYNLAB Hungary Kft. and Tamás Zemlényi, HR Director at Deloitte Hungary, reported that after the first trials, employees quickly took a liking to these applications, which have since become part of everyday life in the workplace communities.
They also agreed that the majority of employees, regardless of their openness or age groups, had gradually begun to use the apps.
