Say Hello to Glue: An AI-Driven Evolution in Employee Engagement
A New Chapter: Embracing the Glue Identity
Although "Mystery" has served us well and will always be an important part of our journey, the time has come to move forward. While our core mission to make people as happy as they can possibly be at work remains unchanged, our product and global reach have outgrown the previous name. So today, we're proud to introduce Glue, representing our dedication to fostering connection and engagement within organizations.
The Journey from Virtual Team Events to an AI-Enabled Engagement Platform
When the pandemic emerged, we channeled our experience design skillset to reshape virtual team events into unparalleled experiences. Over the last few years, we’ve facilitated thousands and thousands of virtual team events and become a category leader.
The evolution of our product can be divided into three phases:
- Make it good: We sought to enhance virtual events, making them enjoyable and engaging. We gauged success by the percentage of employees eager for the next event—a metric that leaped from 30% to over 90%.
- Make it easy: By simplifying the booking, planning, and execution process, we removed the burden from organizers, ultimately boosting attendance from 45% to 85%.
- Make it work: Our final goal was to demonstrate the tangible impact of these events on employee connection and engagement. Back in early 2021, only 10% of our events were having a real impact.
We've spent the last two years solving this problem and the outcomes have led us to our announcement today.
Unraveling the Complexities of Connection and Engagement
To create a significant impact, we needed to first grasp the underlying engagement dynamics within a company. Initially, we relied on third-party engagement surveys from other platforms. This approach, however, was limited: The data wasn't personalized, and engagement issues tended to evolve quickly. Not only did this restrict many kinds of personalized interventions but more importantly, rendered any plans we’d created obsolete after only a few weeks of receiving the biannual survey data.
To tackle these limitations, we turned to alternative data sources, including calendars, collaboration tools (e.g., Slack/Teams), and HRIS data for org charts. By heavily investing in data science, machine learning, and AI, we constructed connection and engagement models that draw from over 100 million unique data points. This approach allows us to understand employee engagement in real-time for companies of any size.
Reimagining the Use of Data
Armed with a deeper comprehension of engagement opportunities, we set out to optimize our virtual events for maximum impact. We tailored attendee lists, event timing, and content, resulting in a staggering 20-fold increase in ROI for our virtual events.
As we expand our scope, we're introducing new products like Meetups, which facilitate targeted introductions and conversations, and Offsites, which—applying the same technology we applied to virtual events—can also have their ROI improved.. We're actively seeking beta customers for these product lines, so if you're interested in getting the most out of your morale and engagement budget, please get in touch.
Pursuing a Holistic Approach: Understand and Act
We believe in the dual importance of understanding and acting on employee engagement data, distinguishing us from most companies. A proactive engagement strategy is essential for timely identification and resolution of problem areas, rather than relying on biannual surveys. Our platform continually optimizes morale and engagement spend based on real-time engagement data.
Prioritizing Employee-Centric Engagement
The nature of employee engagement has undergone a significant shift. In the past, employees were inherently engaged, and opting out of engagement was a conscious decision. However, in the modern era of hybrid, distributed, and remote workforces, disengagement has become the default state. To cultivate engagement, employees must now make a deliberate effort to opt in.
At Glue, we are dedicated to creating tools that empower people leaders to offer personalized engagement experiences that employees actually want to take part in. Moreover, we’re focused on creating tools and experiences that give employees a co-pilot to opt-in, making it easier than ever before to be engaged at work. (More on that soon.)
Introducing Glue: An AI Platform for Proactive and Automatic Employee Engagement
As we unveil our new name and continue our unwavering mission, we are proud to introduce Glue—the AI platform designed to help organizations understand their employees' true feelings and proactively and automatically address their engagement needs. With a steadfast commitment to being the Glue that keeps your team connected and thriving, we look forward to contributing to the success of organizations and the well-being of their employees.