Human Resources

Many online job boards seem to focus on salaried professionals — managers, computer analysts, accountants and the like. Those sites are useful, but less so for employers and potential employees focused on hourly positions – nearly 60 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In today’s global economy, the supply chains of brands and retailers can stretch far and wide and include outsourced manufacturing in dozens of countries.

Outsourcing of manufacturing does not absolve responsible companies from making sure that this contracted work is performed in ways that protect the health, safety and human rights of workers, and to ensure that manufacturing processes do not further harm the environment. The reputation of brands and retailers can be irreparably damaged by allegations of “sweat shop” abuse or careless oversight of harmful manufacturing processes.

During the quarter-century that Select Comfort has been around, it’s focused on its vision of “becoming the new standard in sleep by elevating the customer experience beyond one size fits all,” says Karen Richard, the company’s chief human capital officer.

Select Comfort’s Sleep Number bed allows individuals to set the degree of firmness that best suits their needs. The business model is unique in the mattress world, Richard notes: Sleep Number beds, along with the company’s pillows and bedding, are sold online and through the company’s 400 company-owned stores.

In human resources, software can handle many tasks. Now, it may take on its most vexing issue yet: building company culture.

That’s the vision of Nate DaPore, president and CEO of PeopleMatter, which provides hire-to-retire software-as-a-service (SaaS) for restaurants, hospitality and retail.