New Platform - SpeakUp - Empowers Employees to Create Positive Change at Work

SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- There's a new online platform with a mission to spur innovation and promote employee engagement. SpeakUp (getspeakup.com) today announced the public release of their business software, designed to enable companies to "employee-source" problem solving and idea creation.

SpeakUp appeals to employees that have great ideas and want to solve problems at work, but feel disconnected from company decision makers.

"We are now in the age of knowledge workers - companies that can effectively tap into the collective wisdom of their employees will have a distinct competitive advantage," said Co-founder and CEO Ray Gillenwater. "There are plenty of communication tools out there - but what's missing is a simple way to crowdsource innovation at work, coupled with concrete decision-making to create tangible change."

SpeakUp works by allowing anyone within an organization to post a "Problem" when they encounter an issue that is impeding company progress. Anyone can then propose a "Solution" to the Problem, and the posts with the most votes bubble-up for manager approval. Or, to share an opportunity, anyone can create an "Idea" post. The entire team votes and collaborates, and the best ideas bubble-up for approval.

"There is a wealth of insight and untapped brilliance waiting to be uncovered within businesses. No one understands the company better than the people that work with its customers and products every day," said Gillenwater. "Most leaders neglect to systematically extract their team's best thinking, which results in a workforce that feels disconnected and sub-optimal decision making."

SpeakUp helps teams cut through the disarray of emails, meetings and yammering at work by allowing structured collaboration to occur around specific problems and ideas. After deploying SpeakUp across an organization, the most important issues and opportunities automatically bubble up for everyone to discuss, and for Company Managers to decide upon.

"Decision making is absolutely critical. Too often we hold multiple meetings and send a barrage of emails around specific issues and opportunities, but never actually agree on a distinct course of action," said Gillenwater. "SpeakUp requires that you establish a decision-maker, an often overlooked step at many companies, and then provides that person with the ability to 'Approve', 'Amend' or 'Deny' posts with full transparency."

"We want people to care about their jobs again. We want companies to recognize the value their employees have to offer, and become better because of it," Gillenwater added, noting that over 70 organizations have signed up as beta users of the SpeakUp platform so far.  

Current SpeakUp users have discovered first-hand the value of enabling employees at all levels to have a voice, and how it improves decision making at the management level. Leila Antikchi, a Junior Software Developer from DDS Wireless International (DDS) says, "SpeakUp is an amazing collaboration tool that has empowered me and my colleagues to address problems and inject new ideas into the company."

Former DDS President Gregory Wade noted, "We have found our short-term revenue driver from SpeakUp."

In line with its message of "power to the employee," SpeakUp is providing anyone at any company the ability to sign up for free - all that's needed is a company email address. Employees can invite co-workers, post (openly or anonymously), vote and collaborate at no charge.

If a Company Manager wants administrative access to their company's SpeakUp account, they can sign up and start making decisions at a price-point of $6 per user, per month.

About SpeakUp

SpeakUp exists to give everyone at your company the power to create positive change. By "employee-sourcing" the innovation process, the whole team can participate in solving problems and generating new ideas. Anyone with a company email address can register your company's secure SpeakUp account for free @ getspeakup.com.  

PR Contact:
Jeremy Kartchner, Snapp Conner PR
801-994-9625
[email protected]

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SOURCE SpeakUp