Please share a few words about yourself and your journey as the Founder of Woven.
The inspiration for Woven was born from the decade I spent consulting and developing software for franchisors and franchisees. During that time, my wife and I became multi-unit franchisees and lived through the struggles of scaling to multiple locations. The franchise industry, in particular, has been impacted by high levels of burnout and turnover due to the difficulties of running multiple locations amid a constantly changing workforce and volatile economy.
After developing an early version of Woven for our franchise business, other franchisees within the same brand started to request and use the platform for their businesses, indicating a gap in the market.

Brief our audience about Woven, and give us an overview of its solutions.
Woven’s multi-unit business management software provides employee management and compliance solutions to provide an all-in-one solution for unifying the frontline workforce for day-to-day, back-office operations.
With out-of-the-box integrations with all top HRIS/payroll systems, Woven operationalizes HR data for daily operations. On top of streamlining HR processes and enhancing talent management, Woven provides insights to help businesses make data-driven decisions. Some of our solutions include:

• Employee Management: Woven integrates with your HRIS and payroll systems, providing solutions to automate workforce changes, background checks, policy acknowledgment, employee licenses, employee insurance tracking, and shift scheduling. Additionally, Woven provides digital document storage, skills tracking, and disciplinary notes to easily keep tabs on employee performance.
• Business Intelligence: Woven provides real-time insights into key HR metrics, such as turnover rate, time-to-fill, and cost-per-hire. This data can help make informed decisions about HR strategies and optimize operations for maximum efficiency.
• Compliance: Woven’s compliance tools help businesses stay up-to-date with the latest labor laws and regulations. The platform includes a compliance dashboard that provides a centralized view of compliance status across all locations, automated alerts, and notifications to stay on top of any changes.

Can you tell us more about your company’s approach to building smarter workflows, and how it differs from traditional workflow management solutions?
Woven has two primary differentiators: customer success is our north star, and we provide a single app to manage people, operations, and facilities.
Tech companies often fail to understand the unique needs of the franchising industry, where a human touch is critical to the product’s success. The SaaS market tends to reward high growth, often creating ecosystems that prioritize getting people through the door and over-delivering on the value promised during the sales cycle.
The franchise industry operates at a frenetic pace with high turnover rates, and the labor shortage and economic challenges have only exacerbated the problem. While other software solutions offer minimal support, franchises require a partner that provides additional time to help them adapt their processes and change their behavior. Without this, technology implementation can lead to failure to launch and churn, resulting in wasted money and no added value. By prioritizing the human side of the industry and providing transformational solutions and individualized support, Woven has achieved customer loyalty and success.
At Woven, we have firsthand experience with multi-location management and operations, so we know how important it is to remove barriers between business systems. By replacing siloed apps and implementing a partnership model with our customers, we can provide and implement all the technology needed to run day-to-day franchise operations in one location.

How do smarter workflows help businesses fuel growth, and what are some of the key benefits that they provide?
Frontline workers within franchise brands, and hourly workers in general, have little tolerance for inefficient processes when they’re on the clock. At the same time, these employees experience significant friction and frustration daily. Small sources of friction, like having to log in to multiple systems, can lead to dissatisfaction and high turnover rates — which the industry has struggled with historically.
To minimize friction and improve employee satisfaction, companies need to consolidate the tools employees use to do their job. Businesses can reduce friction and prevent mistakes by providing a single platform with smarter workflows, tailored to their type of business, all of which reduce the administrative overhead of operations.
Reducing turnover within a multi-unit business also requires creating a culture of recognition that makes employees feel like their company cares about them. This includes accountability, consistency, and regular recognition of employee contributions. By reducing friction with smarter workflows and increasing employee recognition, businesses can improve the employee experience, improve turnover rates and drive success.

What are some of the challenges that businesses face when implementing smarter workflows, and how do you help them overcome these challenges?
Both businesses and individuals struggle with change. Franchise operators and employees alike are accustomed to the old way of doing things, which can lead to pushback and slow adoption of smarter workflows. To help with adoption, Woven takes a collaborative approach, working closely with our customers to identify pain points and areas for improvement. Then we create a roadmap for implementation, involving employees at all levels, to ensure everyone is invested.

There can also be issues with the complexity of the technology itself. Smarter workflows often involve integrating multiple systems and processes, which can be daunting for businesses that lack technical expertise. Woven provides comprehensive training and support so companies have the knowledge and skills to implement and use the technology effectively.
Once implemented, businesses struggle to maintain momentum, which is necessary to sustain the benefits of smarter workflows. Woven provides ongoing support and works closely with businesses to continually assess and optimize workflows, driving value and improving outcomes. Woven’s approach to implementing smarter workflows involves collaboration, training, and ongoing support to help businesses overcome roadblocks.

How do you see the future of workflow management evolving, and what trends do you see emerging in this space?
Workflow management is an ever-evolving field, and its future of it will depend on the specific industry and the technologies being developed. One trend already shaking up the traditional roles of HR and management is the use of AI, including ChatGPT’s capabilities.
While previous technological advancements may have disrupted traditional blue-collar workers, this next wave is likely to have a greater impact on white-collar office workers. This is because AI has the potential to replace many of the routine tasks currently carried out by these workers, leading to job losses in some areas.
Those who are willing to embrace the new tools and pivot towards adding value to their organizations in other ways, like replacing busy work, are the ones who will emerge stronger. That way, white-collar workers can free up their time and focus on higher-level tasks that require critical thinking and creativity.

What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs and leaders aspiring to venture into the workforce management niche?
First and foremost, it’s crucial to balance the needs of the different types of users involved in workforce management, including executive leadership, managers at various levels, and frontline employees. It can be easy to become overly focused on one group and leave others with underdeveloped solutions. To achieve maximum success, a strong workforce management solution must balance the needs of all parties involved.
Additionally, it’s important to identify your industry niche and stay true to it as you scale. The term “workforce” can mean something completely different from one industry to another, and the needs and challenges can vary greatly. By focusing on a niche, you can deliver high-value solutions without diluting your story or solution. This will help you gain momentum and build on success stories.

Finally, what are your future plans for your company, and how do you see it evolving in the years to come?
Last November, Woven raised a $1.5M seed round. With the funding, we’re expanding our product offerings and further developing our technology, meeting the needs of the franchise industry and beyond. This year, we’ve added a learning management system (LMS) to the platform to increase employee training and development.
We’ll also continue building partnerships and integrations with other software providers to create a more seamless and comprehensive solution for our customers. For example, we’ve recently partnered with Crimcheck to automate the employment screening and background check process.
This year and beyond, we’re focusing on hiring top talent to drive expansion and continue delivering the value and customer success we’re known for. With our current plans and growth trajectory, we’re well-equipped to meet the changing needs of our customers.

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