Whereas taking an extended street journey throughout the U.S. years in the past, Sanish Mondkar realized that there have been stark, problematic disconnects between employers and the workers they make use of.
To critics of late-stage capitalism, that may sound like an apparent commentary. However Mondkar, who has a grasp’s in laptop science from Cornell, says that seeing the problems up shut made all of the distinction.
“Touring from city to city, I couldn’t assist however discover the perpetual ‘for rent’ indicators plastering the home windows of numerous labor-intensive companies reminiscent of retailers and eating places,” he mentioned. “Concurrently, I noticed workers ceaselessly altering jobs, but struggling to make a dwelling wage. This disparity between employers’ wants and employees’ realities struck a chord with me.”
Impressed by this expertise, in addition to stints at Ariba as EVP and chief product officer at SAP, Mondkar got down to construct a startup that helps corporations handle their workforces — significantly contract and gig workforces. His enterprise, Legion, at this time introduced it raised $50 million in funding led by Riverwood Capital with participation from Norwest, Stripes, Webb Funding Community and XYZ.
“My goal was to rebuild the enterprise class of workforce administration as a way to maximize labor effectivity for the companies and ship worth to the employees concurrently,” Mondkar mentioned. “I wished to distinguish the corporate itself with a deal with clever automation of WFM and the worker worth proposition.”
Legion is designed to assist prospects — employers like Cinemark, Greenback Normal, 5 Under and Panda Categorical — in managing their hourly workers by automating sure choices, like how a lot labor to deploy the place and when to schedule employees. Making an allowance for demand forecasting, labor optimization and the preferences of workers, Legion’s platform generates work schedules.
Workers whose corporations are on Legion can use its cell app to request how they need to work and set their most well-liked hours. Legion’s algorithm then tries to match the preferences of employees with the wants of the enterprise.
Legion additionally incorporates efficiency administration instruments and a rewards program of types.
“We use algorithms educated on a mix of buyer information and third-party information, which Legion aggregates from its companions,” Mondkar mentioned. “This integration permits for forecasts for planning and useful resource allocation.”
Along with the bottom scheduling options, Legion — very on pattern — is leaning into generative AI with a device known as Copilot (to not be confused with Microsoft Copilot). Copilot solutions questions on work knowledgeable by a company’s worker handbook, labor requirements and coaching content material. Within the coming months, Copilot will achieve the flexibility to summarize work schedules and fulfill requests so as to add or delete shifts or change staffer assignments.
“As a way to entice and retain workers, corporations using hourly labor should emulate gig-like flexibility,” Mondkar mentioned. “Legion gives this with the clever automation of scheduling. Managers can match workers to projected demand, closing the hole between the wants of workers and the wants of the enterprise.”
That’s all nicely and nice, however two regarding issues stand out to me about Legion: its privateness coverage and earned wage entry (EWA) program.
Legion says it shops buyer information for seven years by default — a very long time by any measure. Extra concerningly, the info contains personally identifiable data like employees’ first and final names, electronic mail and residential addresses, ages, photographs and work preferences. Huge yikes.
Legion says the info is important to “facilitate scheduling in compliance with labor rules,” and that customers can request that their information be deleted at any time. However I query the convenience of the deletion course of — and simply how clear Legion is about its information retention insurance policies to prospects.
My different gripe with Legion is InstantPay, Legion’s EWA program, which lets workers entry a portion of their earned wages forward of their scheduled paydays. Legion costs employees $2.99 for immediate earned wage transfers, whereas next-day transfers are free — that may not sound like very a lot, however it can add up for a low-income employee. Legion pitches this as a profit for hourly employees that offers them “better flexibility” and “management” over their funds, in addition to a enterprise retention device. However EWA packages are beneath scrutiny from policymakers, shopper rights advocates and employers. Legion’s cell app.
Some shopper teams argue that EWA packages must be categorized as loans beneath the U.S. Fact in Lending Act, which gives protections reminiscent of requiring lenders to provide advance discover earlier than rising sure costs. These teams say EWA packages can pressure customers into overdraft whereas successfully levying curiosity by means of charges.
As well as, it’s not clear whether or not EWA packages are a internet win for employers. Walmart not too long ago tried to fight attrition by giving hourly workers entry to wages early. As an alternative, it discovered that workers utilizing EWA tended to quit faster.
