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Atlys Survey Finds New and Emerging Travel Patterns Amongst Americans Showing Increases in Travel Expenses; Non-Vaccinated Travelers on the Rise

Atlys

Eighteen months after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, countries have reopened borders to travelers. A recent survey conducted by Atlys found new and emerging travel trends, with travel becoming more expensive and uncertain than ever. The survey analyzed data from more than 3,500 travelers who used Atlys to travel abroad to understand these new travel patterns amongst Americans. Travel expenditure increased by a whopping $330 per trip due to COVID-19-related entry requirements, and so has the uncertainty, with 41% of travelers actively involved in travel communities related to their journeys. Additionally, 58% of American travelers were unvaccinated, with the most common destinations being Mexico (37%), Greece (19%), Dominican Republic (12%), Bahamas (11%), and Aruba (13%), and Costa Rica (8%). Major Survey Results Other significant results from the Atlys survey conducted over the summer include: 58% of Americans that traveled abroad this summer were not vaccinated. As countries reopened their borders, non-vaccinated travelers returned to the same travel patterns as before COVID-19. Old travelers are on the rise with a quarter being 50+. Amongst other demographic shifts, 47% of millennials refused to travel because of high costs, while 25% were scared to travel with unvaccinated children. Florida is the hub for unvaccinated travelers: 20% of unvaccinated American travelers live in Florida. The top 4 U.S. states by active COVID-19 cases also led the pack for most outbound travel amongst unvaccinated Americans. Florida accounted for most outbound unvaccinated tourists, followed by Texas, New York, and California. Traveling is inefficient: Each traveler spends more than 5 hours determining entry requirements and filling out paperwork. In addition, 23% of travelers saying they contacted either their airline, hotel,” or travel platform to understand the entry requirements with airlines call waiting times running into hours. The New Normal The current process is highly confusing for travelers. Mohak Nahta, CEO and founder of Atlys, said, “This survey highlights the inefficient processes set in place by governments. While it’s understandable that requirements exist to keep COVID-19 at bay, countries must streamline the process. As countries look to revamp tourism, they underestimate the impact of fast, efficient systems and clear, easy-to-understand processes have.” Countries have introduced a range of requirements to enter, making it more expensive to travel than ever. On average, the extra cost adds up to $330 per traveler and constitutes COVID-19 visas, travel insurance, and COVID-19 tests. In addition, 79% of travelers expressed frustration at the lack of disclosure by hotels & airlines on the added costs of traveling, only to discover them much later when the cancellation was not an option. A COVID-19 visa, also known as a health visa, is a new visa that travelers need to get. While they’re electronic, the approval is not instant. Authorities review each application; they can only be submitted a few days before the trip and are not free. “I wanted to travel to the United Kingdom, but I need to get a test within three days and then once I reach on the second and eighth days, and in between too? I am confused. I just decided not to go," said Sid, a 26-year-old Software Engineer based out of New York City. Many other travelers echo this sentiment, and the survey brings to light the importance of building systems to guide and educate travelers in the post-Covid world. About The Survey Atlys conducted the survey based on data from 3500 Atlys users between May 15, 2021, and September 5, 2021, for U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The Atlys app makes it fast & easy for travelers to get their visas. Contact Details Atlys Media Relations +1 650-550-1417 pr@atlys.com Company Website https://www.atlys.com/

September 28, 2021 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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MarketFinance in pole position as it raises £280m and is approved for Recovery Loan Scheme lending

Stockwood Strategy

Fintech business lender MarketFinance has today announced a £280m debt and equity fundraise and its accreditation under the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS). This comes after MarketFinance became one of the first fintechs to be accredited under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), having lent £250m to companies across the UK. Launched by the British Business Bank in April 2021, the Recovery Loan Scheme supports access to finance for UK businesses as they recover and grow following the pandemic. Funding from the Scheme can be used for any legitimate business purpose including managing cashflow, investment in new equipment and preparing for future growth. It is designed to appeal to businesses that can afford to take out additional finance for these purposes. MarketFinance is ready to lend immediately with its debt and equity funding. The debt financing has been provided from a large global investment firm alongside Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. The equity investment was led by Black River Ventures (previous investments include Marqeta, Upgrade, Coursera and Digital Ocean) with participation from existing investor, Barclays Bank PLC. Alongside this, the launch of MarketFinance Flex Loans today will aim to help nearly one million SMEs in the UK solve their short-term funding gaps up to £100,000. Viola Credit has provided MarketFinance with £20m to launch the Flex Loans product. Similar to a credit card or overdraft, businesses will have a pre-agreed limit of up to £100,000 which they can withdraw at once or in smaller amounts. Flexible repayment options enable the businesses to spread their repayments over 3 - 12 months based on their working capital needs. It is a solution to support a variety of one-off and ongoing funding requirements such as purchasing inventory, clearing outstanding invoices, upfront supplier payments, investment into sales and marketing, or expanding the team. Anil Stocker, CEO at MarketFinance, commented: “This funding and our accreditation as a Recovery Loan Scheme lender is testament to the brilliant work everyone at MarketFinance has done to serve UK businesses during a difficult period. Adapting to the increased demand from businesses looking for finance online instead of through traditional avenues also drove our profitability this year, which has continued into H2 2021”. From today, businesses can immediately apply* for an RLS loan from MarketFinance between £50k and £250k repayable over 4, 5 or 6 years. Repayments in the first six months of the term will only consist of interest charges, an additional support measure as businesses gear themselves for a full reopening of the economy. Anil Stocker aded: “Businesses have been resilient and managed to hold their nerve during one of the most difficult periods in recent history. We were there to help with the CBILS and will do the same with the RLS by offering a simple application process, quick decisions and sending funds to businesses immediately. Our fundraise puts us in pole position to do this. We played a key role during CBILS, as one of the first fintech lenders, to help get funds to businesses quickly when they found their applications were delayed and or denied by others. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with businesses and help navigate them through to the full reopening of the economy and beyond”. As a native fintech, the MarketFinance platform is designed to receive, process and manage large volumes of businesses applying for finance using the platform. From simple online application forms, enhanced credit risk models to exceptional one-to-one customer support, MarketFinance will get RLS funds to businesses in need, quickly. “We aim to quickly lend to businesses around the UK. We anticipate demand for RLS to come from companies that will need capital to scale operations ahead of the full reopening of the economy. Manufacturers, wholesalers, public services businesses and a range of others will need the funds to ramp up supplies and build pipelines as business returns to normal” added Anil Stocker. Ends *Minimum eligibility criteria for RLS business loans through MarketFinance: Limited Company or Limited Liability Partnership Trading for more than 3 years, has a turnover of more than £200,000 Company sells goods and/or services to consumers and/or other businesses About MarketFinance MarketFinance is a business finance company with offices in London and Manchester. The online platform enables businesses to access a range of flexible finance solutions - quickly and easily. This smart technology is backed by help from real people so business owners can save time and focus on growing their business. Since 2011, MarketFinance has cumulatively advanced over £2.6 billion to companies across a range of sizes and sectors, providing working capital and finance for everything from paying staff and suppliers to launching new products or services and accelerating growth. MarketFinance is backed by Barclays Bank PLC, Mouro Capital, European venture capital fund Northzone (invested in Klarna, iZettle and Trustpilot), and private equity group MCI Capital (also invested in iZettle, Azimo and Gett). About the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) The Recovery Loan Scheme is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of, and with the financial backing of, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. It is not authorised or regulated by the PRA or the FCA. Contact Details MarketFinance Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://marketfinance.com/

September 21, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Great Place to Work® Announces the Best Workplaces for Women™ 2021

Great Place to Work®

Great Place to Work®, the global authority on workplace culture has determined the Fortune Best Workplaces for Women ™ 2021 by analyzing confidential employee surveys representing the opinions of 5.6 million U.S. employees. There are 38 new companies on this list this year and two of them, Bitwise Industries and Greenhouse) made it to the top five. Twenty-six of the 75 large organizations on the list are new, and 12 out of the 25 small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are making their Best Workplaces for Women debut. Hilton tops the list this year, followed by financial corporations American Express and Bank of America. Impressively, Bank of America jumped 39 spots from their position on last year’s Best Workplaces for Women list. The number of participating organizations increased 40% from 2020, but the spots available this year remains at 100, making it more difficult than ever to earn a spot on the list. This year’s list is made up of 75 large companies and 25 SMBs. “These companies have made a commitment to fostering equity in the workplace. With the facts about gender inequity in mind, the Best Workplaces for Women braved the task of combatting gender inequity by ensuring their women employees feel safe, heard, challenged and valued,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. COVID-19 was disproportionately hard on working women, who experienced more furloughs and layoffs and had higher quit rates compared to their male colleagues. Nowhere was this truer than in the hospitality industry. That makes it even more impressive that four hospitality companies—Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and Kimpton—made the list in 2021. Hyatt even jumped seven spots to make this year’s top 10, powered by an incredibly strong representation of female leadership, a barrier many organizations struggle to overcome. In fact, half of the executive management at Hyatt identify as female. The company has made numerous internal investments to support their female employees, including Women@Hyatt Diversity Business Resource Group (DBRGs), which are akin to Employee Resource Groups (ERG) at other organizations. The group has since expanded to include Hyatt B.L.A.C.K, Hyatt Asian-Pacific Islanders, Latinos@Hyatt, Hyatt disABILITIES and HyPride. Though Nationwide, Rocket Companies, and Bank of America saw the largest improvement in their employee survey scores, many more on the list showed great improvement in how women were experiencing their workplace, despite the lasting impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the well-being of women worldwide. See the full list of the Best Workplaces for Women™ 2021 What are the top 10 companies to work for as a woman in 2021? About the Best Workplaces for Women methodology The methodology for determining the Best Workplaces for Women is unique in that it specifically analyzes how women are experiencing the workplace. In order to do this, we ask employees to respond to over 60 survey questions describing the extent to which their organization creates a great place to work For All™. Eighty-five percent of the ranking is based on what women themselves report about their workplace, and how fairly those experiences compare to men’s reports of the same workplaces. The survey measures the extent to which women report their organizations create a great place to work For All—for example, whether people trust each other and employees are able to reach their full human potential, no matter who they are or what they do. We analyze whether different identities women hold change their experience of the workplace. We analyze these patterns relative to each organization’s size, workforce makeup and what’s typical in their industry and region. We also measure the degree to which employees from all backgrounds are equally involved in innovation opportunities, believe company values are lived and breathed, and believe management is effective. Fifteen percent of the remaining rank is based on how well-represented women are in the workforce and throughout management, taking into account industry trends. To be considered, companies need to employ at least 50 women, at least 20% of their non-executive managers need to be female and at least one of their executives needs to be female. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Great Place to Work helps organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Their unparalleled benchmark data is used to recognize Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces™ in the US and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For® and World’s Best Workplaces™ lists published annually in Fortune. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All™. To learn more, visit greatplacetowork.com, subscribe to their company culture newsletter and read “ A Great Place to Work for All. ” Join the community on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Contact Details Kim Peters +1 415-844-2574 kpeters@greatplacetowork.com Company Website https://www.greatplacetowork.com

September 16, 2021 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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The 2021 American Thoracic Society Virtual Event

Convey Services

In 2021 the American Thoracic Society hosted their annual conference as a virtual event. The ATS Virtual Conference provided both attendees and exhibitors with a virtual experience that would closely replicate the in-person environment. The ATS International Conference attracts pulmonary, critical care, and sleep professionals, from those in the earliest stages of their careers to those whose research or strides in clinical care has gained them international recognition. Each year, nearly 14,000 of these professionals choose to attend, present, and learn about the latest advances, meet with colleagues from around the world, and create new collaborations and connections. It is truly where today’s science meets tomorrow’s care. Download the case study for free at: Case Study in Virtual & Hybrid Events for Medical Organizations — The story of ATS 2021. “The MCI Group was tapped to be the event management company for the ATS virtual event, said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Cloud Conventions. “MCI is a global engagement and marketing agency that creates human-centric touchpoints to unleash the power of people to deliver innovation and growth. Cloud Conventions was selected as the virtual technology platform to manage the ATS virtual event. Our solutions is a sophisticated enterprise platform that manages everything needed to execute a flawless virtual event, tradeshow or conference.” ATS Virtual Conference Goal The virtual conference was designed around three main elements to meet the goal: • Presentations & Sessions • CME/MOC Education • The Industry Solution Center for sponsors Attendees at the ATS Virtual Conference engaged through networking events featuring experts from the medical industry, attendee-to-exhibitor real-time chat, online discussion forums and “ Community™ ” featuring searchable attendee directories, profile cards for each attendee and instant messaging between attendees. The live portion of the virtual conference was held over a five-day period, and on-demand content was made available for ninety days. Click here to download: Case Study in Virtual & Hybrid Events for Medical Organizations — The story of ATS 2021 About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions from Convey Services is Cloud Conventions is an enterprise virtual/hybrid event management platform that redefines the exhibitor and attendee experience to allow companies to provide easy access to in-depth product information, showcase their brands with graphics and videos, create calls to action and generate immediate sales leads. Used around the world for large managed events and smaller self-directed meetings, conferences and corporate kickoffs, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, continuing education, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity. Cloud Conventions supports multiple languages and currencies, internal, external and single-sign on registration, and supports all conferencing carriers and platforms. Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Cloud Conventions™, Cloud Conventions Enterprise Event Network™, Community™, SafetyNet™, Cloud Kickoffs™, Conduct™, One-Touch Email Share™, Hub & Spoke™, 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ and ListLock™ are trademarks of Convey Services LLC Contact Details Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

September 14, 2021 04:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Cloud Conventions Creates DIY Playbook for Managing & Delivering Virtual Events

Convey Services

Cloud Conventions today released a new Do-it-Yourself (DIY) eBook for associations, nonprofits, and businesses designed to reduce cost and increase efficiency with a self-managed program to create and deliver a virtual conference or trade event. It’s all outlined in “The DIY Virtual and Hybrid Event — Case Study,” available for free to download. Cloud Conventions is a sophisticated event management platform that redefines the attendee and exhibitor experience focused on delivering virtual and hybrid events for associations and business. “Most organizations with live events that were scheduled in 2020 and 2021 have now had the experience of staging those events virtually,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Cloud Conventions. “Even though live events are returning, maintaining a virtual event option will be vital to your event strategy, even after all of the challenges of COVID have passed. To simplify and demystify the process, we created a DIY program for meeting planners that have gotten comfortable with virtual events but want to maximize their effectiveness, while managing more of the elements themselves to reduce cost and maintain more control.” The cost and effort to add virtual options to complement a live event or as a stand-alone event has been overwhelming for many organizations with limited staff or a tight budget. Cloud Conventions’ DIY Virtual Events offer a low-cost subscription to the event management platform and a step-by-step playbook to simplify planning, execution, and management. The DIY event program shows you on how to create a content and session strategy, a virtual exhibit option for sponsors, expanded attendee engagement strategies and a way to automate onboarding attendees and manage the platform. A DIY platform comes configured and organized, making it easy to brand and add other elements without technical expertise or programming. “We generated two of our own virtual events before we began delivering virtual events to clients,” added Bradfield. “We took the lessons we gained from our events and coupled them with what we learned from executing hundreds of events for other customers. We created an eBook that outlines 9 key steps for executing a successful DIY virtual event. In this eBook, we relate those steps to how we delivered Cloud Conventions 2021, a virtual trade event for the telecommunications and cloud sales channel in May 2021.” The Cloud Conventions technology platform is designed with the non-technical user in mind with self-help and user tips built into administrative routines. The platform comes with templates for email communication, virtual exhibitor booths, session and content posts, directories and pages. Customers can take advantage of built-in Zoom or BlueJeans by Verizon conferencing capabilities to broadcast video sessions and keynotes. Event planners can also use their own preferred video accounts such as Teams, GoToMeeting or GlobalMeet. Analytics and reporting are automated to give the event organizer and exhibitors a detailed view of all attendee engagement. Click here to download: The DIY Virtual and Hybrid Event — Case Study About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions from Convey Services is Cloud Conventions is an enterprise virtual/hybrid event management platform that redefines the exhibitor and attendee experience to allow companies to provide easy access to in-depth product information, showcase their brands with graphics and videos, create calls to action and generate immediate sales leads. Used around the world for large managed events and smaller self-directed meetings, conferences and corporate kickoffs, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, continuing education, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity. Cloud Conventions supports multiple languages and currencies, internal, external and single-sign on registration, and supports all conferencing carriers and platforms. Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Cloud Conventions™, Cloud Conventions Enterprise Event Network™, Community™, SafetyNet™, Cloud Kickoffs™, Conduct™, One-Touch Email Share™, Hub & Spoke™, 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ and ListLock™ are trademarks of Convey Services LLC Contact Details Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

September 14, 2021 03:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Cloud Conventions Releases New eBook for Associations Detailing 2021 Virtual & Hybrid Event Outlook

Convey Services

Cloud Conventions today released a new eBook exclusively for event planners of professional associations and trade groups entitled “2021 Virtual & Hybrid Event Outlook for Associations,” available free to download. It offers practical advice for associations to make their next live, hybrid or virtual event deliver the right experience for the organization, its members, and sponsors. The eBooks focuses on the business case for redefining online event experiences backed by research. “Professionals that manage live and virtual conferences for associations struggle with how they should engage their membership now that live events are starting to return,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Cloud Conventions. “We assembled this eBook to look at research from well-respected sources to see how having virtual event options has impacted how members engage with associations before, during and after the pandemic. We look at how sponsors view their investment in virtual events, and what it tells us about how associations should plan their event strategy moving forward.” In 2020 the pandemic forced associations to cancel in-person gatherings and pivot to everything from webinars to multi-day virtual conferences. Scrambling to offer some sort of online experience to replace the much-anticipated live conferences represented a fundamental change in the way an association and its membership connected historically. The result was a lower revenue producing virtual option that represented a huge decline in the association’s bottom line. However, the upside of virtual events, when effectively done, has been a game changer for many associations leading to increased attendance, greater member engagement and additional sponsorship revenue outside of membership or attendance fees. “Now that live events are starting to return, associations have asked themselves if continuing virtual events are really worth it,” added Bradfield. “ The 2020 study of 1,000 respondents, ‘Association Trends: From Disruption to Opportunity ’ produced by Community Brands reveals that having a virtual option for membership participation has moved from a nice to have, to a must have. Recent cancellations of live events because of renewed COVID concerns scheduled for this fall is an indicator that the pandemic is far from over. Having a virtual or hybrid option still is the best insurance that the show will go on, no matter what.” Although 2020 was disruptive, in the last several years revenue from membership dues has declined for many associations, while revenue from other sources increased, accounting for over half of the funding for a given group. “2021 Virtual & Hybrid Event Outlook for Associations” reviews the value delivered to the membership and key factors behind increased participation when doing virtual or hybrid events. Cloud Conventions is an event management platform that redefines the attendee and exhibitor experience with a strong focus on delivering virtual and hybrid events for association and nonprofit groups. Click here to download: 2021 Virtual & Hybrid Event Outlook for Associations About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions from Convey Services is Cloud Conventions is an enterprise virtual/hybrid event management platform that redefines the exhibitor and attendee experience to allow companies to provide easy access to in-depth product information, showcase their brands with graphics and videos, create calls to action and generate immediate sales leads. Used around the world for large managed events and smaller self-directed meetings, conferences and corporate kickoffs, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, continuing education, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity. Cloud Conventions supports multiple languages and currencies, internal, external and single-sign on registration, and supports all conferencing carriers and platforms. Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Cloud Conventions™, Cloud Conventions Enterprise Event Network™, Community™, SafetyNet™, Cloud Kickoffs™, Conduct™, One-Touch Email Share™, Hub & Spoke™, 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ and ListLock™ are trademarks of Convey Services LLC Contact Details Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

September 14, 2021 03:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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RALLY VENTURES APPOINTS NEW CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER

Rally Ventures

Rally Ventures, a leading venture capital firm focused on early-stage business technology, today announced that Jessi Howard has joined the firm as Chief People Officer (CPO). She brings 20+ years of experience in tech HR to Rally Ventures. Howard has helped grow and shape multiple tech start-ups, including SportsEngine, RedBrick Health and Secure Computing. In these roles, she provided strategic direction on talent acquisition and development, organizational health and employee experience. She also provided consultation on compensation, benefits and HR information systems. Howard’s newly-designed role as Fractional CPO will provide Rally Ventures’ portfolio of emerging companies with access to an executive level head of talent in order to drive results and accelerate milestones. “Human resources and recruitment are critical components in the success of early-stage companies, but the HR function is often overlooked, which is just fundamentally wrong,” said Justin Kaufenberg, managing director, Rally Ventures. “Jessi is a world-class HR executive with deep experience in early-stage technology. Her addition to the Rally team underscores our belief that people are at the absolute core of success in SaaS.” Rally Ventures is investing from its latest fund, Rally Ventures IV, a $250 million fund that brings their total committed capital raised since inception to over $600 million. The firm remains committed to its strategy of backing early-stage technology companies building innovative solutions for the fast-changing B2B landscape, focusing largely on Seed and Series A financing. Since its inception in 2012, Rally Ventures has invested in 59 companies and has had 15 successful exits, including 3 initial public offerings. Howard will strengthen Rally’s team of three managing directors, five venture partners and six professionals. The firm also includes a network of 100+ technology partners — executives, technologists and luminaries — who act as an extension to the Rally Ventures team and provide operating leverage for portfolio companies to help broaden the firm's capabilities. “I look forward to supporting Rally Ventures’ ambitious future by designing foundational HR practices for the Rally portfolio, attracting best-in-class talent and being part of these exceptional teams building industry-altering companies,” said Howard. About Rally Ventures Rally Ventures invests exclusively in early-stage business technology companies, focusing on entrepreneurs creating major new markets or bringing transformative approaches to existing ones. Since 1997, Rally Ventures' partners and venture capital industry veterans have invested in or run early stage enterprise business-to-business technology companies with a proven ability to deliver superior returns regardless of the overall market environment. For more information visit rallyventures.com. Contact Details Rally Ventures Rachel Stone +1 952-270-2648 rachel@rallyventures.com Company Website https://www.rallyventures.com/

September 14, 2021 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Reid Health Selects SullivanCotter’s Provider Performance Management Technology™ to Provide Transparency and Insight into Physician Pay and Performance

SullivanCotter

SullivanCotter, the nation’s leading independent consulting firm in the assessment and development of total rewards programs, workforce solutions, and technology and data products for the health care industry and not-for-profit sector, has partnered with Reid Health to implement its comprehensive Provider Performance Management Technology™ (PPMT™). Reid Health is a nationally recognized regional referral center in Richmond, Indiana, with a 200+ bed hospital and physicians network meeting health care needs in east central Indiana and west central Ohio. By leveraging PPMT™, an industry-first, cloud-based product that enables physician and advanced practice provider (APP) engagement through transparent performance-based compensation administration and analytical capabilities, the organization proactively enables physicians to review their productivity and compensation calculation details with insights into patients, visits, and performance. “With PPMT’s powerful heat map, we are able to drill down into our providers’ productivity and identify those with potential capacity. This helps us uncover community outreach opportunities, enabling providers to increase patient access and boost productivity,” said Amy Gowin, Director of Finance, Reid Health Physician Associates. Along with providing increased transparency, PPMT™ has reduced compensation planning and administrative challenges by automating Reid Health’s complex provider compensation contract calculations and notifications. With PPMT™, budgeted wRVUs are loaded into the system for use in compensation calculations and forecasting for the upcoming fiscal year. “PPMT™ provides Reid Health’s physicians, like myself, a transparent view of my clinical work performance and how I will be compensated for it. It provides timely, accurate, and actionable data, and I appreciate the ability to see my data promptly,” said Dr. Rohit Bawa, Chair, Network Operations Council, Reid Health Physician Associates. “Additionally, as a physician leader, the software enables clinician engagement through transparency of their performance”. “We are excited about the operational efficiencies and physician trust and engagement gained by our clients. PPMT™ provides physicians, administration, and leadership with a single source of reliable compensation and performance information. We are thrilled to partner with Reid Health,” said Shelly Slowiak, Director, Product Support, PPMT™, SullivanCotter. PPMT™ includes four dynamic modules, including Provider Performance Management, Provider Productivity Insights, Compensation Management Analytics, and Contract Lifecycle Management, powered by Ntracts. Reid Health plans to use all modules to help support its growing network of providers, allowing for a more cohesive approach to compensation and performance management. For more information on Provider Performance Management Technology™, visit www.sullivancotter.com/PPMT or contact us at 888.739.7039. About SullivanCotter SullivanCotter partners with health care and other not-for-profit organizations to understand what drives performance and improve outcomes through the development and implementation of integrated workforce strategies. Using our time-tested methodologies and industry-leading research and information, we provide data-driven insights, expertise, data and technology products to help organizations align business strategy and performance objectives – enabling our clients to deliver on their mission, vision and values. Contact Details Becky Lorentz +1 314-414-3719 beckylorentz@sullivancotter.com Company Website https://sullivancotter.com

September 14, 2021 07:00 AM Central Daylight Time

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Satisfaction in the workspace linked to increased productivity, survey of 6,000 employees finds

Fellowes Brands

91% of all European employees say satisfaction is important to them in their workspace 27% of European employees say being satisfied or very satisfied with their workspace environment improves their productivity by up to 50% Over a third (45%) of European employees find well-ventilated and filtered air satisfying in their workspace 35% of European employees who feel more productive working in the office said it’s because they have better equipment at the office Leading office solution supplier, Fellowes Brands, today announces the results of its survey of over 6,000 employees across Europe, revealing 9 in 10 (91%) of all European employees say satisfaction is important to them in their workspace, regardless of whether working location is at the corporate office or the home office. Moreover, 90% of employees say satisfaction improves their productivity by more than 25%. By helping to uncover attitudes of European employees towards workspace satisfaction and productivity, the survey findings help inform employers how best to navigate the new ‘hybrid’ model of working, where a portion of time is spent working within the corporate office, and a portion working from a home office. The survey results highlight the importance of workspace satisfaction and are supported by additional social media sentiment analysis conducted by Fellowes Brands, which found that there were 1.9 million mentions of workspace satisfaction in the past 12-months, up from 1.5 million mentions in the previous 12-month period. Following a period where many workers spent a year working almost exclusively from home, Fellowes Brands’ survey reveals that 40% of employees who work from home say they feel more productive in the office, and 36% say they feel more productive when working in the new ‘hybrid’ working environment. In addition to uncovering worker attitudes about the modern workspace, the survey also revealed interesting commonalities between employees across Europe — in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. In comparing results from all of the European countries, the data painted a picture of four ‘core elements’ that make up workspace satisfaction. As identified by the Fellowes Brands survey results, the Four Core Elements of Workspace Satisfaction are: Clean Environment Healthy Workspace Secure Environment Tidiness & Organisation Here’s what European employees have to say about each of the four core elements: Clean Environment 80% of European employees say it is important for an employer to invest in clean, healthy air (e.g., using air purifiers) to facilitate productivity in their workspace. 54% of European employees surveyed said that a well-ventilated space is the top ‘smell’ that gives them satisfaction in their workspace. Over a third (45%) of European employees say they find breathing cleaner, healthier air satisfying at work. Healthy Workspace 83% of European employees say having a good ergonomic environment, including a suitable desk, chair, and monitor at eye level is important to their productivity. 81% of European employees say it is important to their productivity that their employer invests in ergonomics. Secure Environment Two thirds (66%) of European employees agree that being able to dispose of confidential or sensitive documents securely gives them satisfaction. 67% of European employees say it is important that an employer invests in equipment to shred sensitive documents. Tidiness & Organisation 84% of European employees say having a clean, healthy workspace is important to their productivity. 77% of European employees say it is important that an employer invests in effective storage and organisation solutions they need to be productive at the office. 79% of European employees say having access to the equipment they need, such as an extra monitor to view large documents, is important to their productivity. 69% of European employees say it is important that an employer invests in equipment to produce high quality presentations and documents, including laminators and binders, they need to be productive at the office. A theme running throughout the four core elements also points to the need for employers ensuring the correct equipment in the hybrid workspace: 50% of all European employees said that it positively impacts their productivity when satisfied with their working set-up. More than 8 in 10 (83%) of all European employees say that having an excellent ergonomic environment, including a suitable desk, chair, monitor at eye level, is essential to their productivity. 36% of all European employees prefer to have a hybrid working option; versus 24% who prefer to work solely from home. Productivity expert Martin Geiger, who has authored Fellowes Brands’ whitepaper on the results of the survey, supports the findings through his own work, commenting: “The future of work is hybrid. No longer is working solely relegated to the company office; the modern workspace now involves employees splitting a portion of their time working from within the corporate office, and a portion working from the home office. “Throughout my career working with some of the world’s biggest companies, one thing I’ve come to notice is that the most productive people all seem to have one commonality: satisfaction. To successfully transition to this exciting hybrid working future, employers must implement practical strategies that allow their employees to be satisfied with the setup within the corporate office, as well as within their home working environment. “Employees who are well equipped and thus satisfied with their working conditions in both locations will lead to outcomes of higher productivity.” In concert with the findings linking employee satisfaction with increased productivity, Fellowes Brands offers solutions designed to aid employers in optimising their hybrid strategy, while satisfying employees in their hybrid workspaces. Fellowes Brands Marketing Manager, Jeremy Cooper, comments: “The modern workspace is rapidly evolving, and with that comes a change in the tools that employees need to be successful and productive in their work. As employers begin to design new hybrid ways of working, ensuring that employers outfit their employees for both corporate and home office working will be key. “Employers must ensure that their employees’ workstations are optimised for each of the Four Core Elements of Workspace Satisfaction. Doing so will keep employees safe, satisfied, and productive. At Fellowes Brands, we understand that hybrid working is the future and have built our hybrid workspace tools to meet the demands of this future, ensuring productivity for the long-term.” The full survey results and their analysis can be found in Fellowes Brands’ new whitepaper, entitled ‘ The Importance of Workspace Satisfaction’, authored by productivity expert, Martin Geiger, which can be downloaded at fellowes.com/fellowes-satisfaction. Fellowes Brands ergonomics, monitor arms, shredders, binders, laminators, and bankers boxes, and more, can be found by visiting fellowes.com. # ENDS # About Fellowes Brands A family-owned business that was founded in 1917, Fellowes Brands operates from 18 locations across the world. At Fellowes, our mission is to help people to be the best they can be, by helping office workers everywhere become more productive, more efficient, happier, and healthier. That’s why we make office products like business machines, storage products, and workspace well-being solutions. Products by our family-owned business have been in your workspace and your home for over 100 years. They’re designed to meet — and exceed — the needs of an ever-changing world. So, whether you’re in a big corporate office or a cozy home office, we’ll help you to be at your best. Because if you work better, you feel better. Learn more by visiting: fellowes.com Methodology Fellowes Brands commissioned Censuswide, a market research and survey consultancy, to conduct an online survey between 8 th – 18 th June 2021 with a sample of 6,212 office workers in the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Poland. All respondents were double opted in (with an opt in and validation process) and completed a screening questionnaire ahead of the main survey. The screening questionnaire ensured all individuals surveyed where employed (either full time or part time) at time of survey, working either in the office or on a hybrid basis. Respondents’ data was stored anonymously. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and the ESOMAR principles. In addition to the survey, Fellowes Brands used Pulsar, an audience intelligence and social listening platform, to identify trends on social media relating to the changing workspace and workspace satisfaction. Data from Twitter was captured between 01 June 2020 – 31 May 2021, with searches for terms relating to remote work, workspace satisfaction, and the office environment. Global, English language content was analysed. Contact Details Lisa McGauley +44 7592 120897 lisa@fox.agency Company Website https://www.fellowes.com/gb/en

September 13, 2021 11:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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