ShiftPixy's Restaurant Workforce Engagement Platform Uses Blockchain to Protect Information
ShiftPixy, Inc., a workforce engagement platform provider focused on the restaurant industry, said it is leveraging blockchain as a digital ledger for all human capital transactions. Currently, blockchain is being met with skepticism due to the lack of use cases.
ShiftPixy feels it is a prime use case for implementing a private, centralized blockchain due to the security and privacy of the data that a blockchain affords. ShiftPixy's platform matches employers searching for part-time employees with qualified workers (or “shifters”). ShiftPixy serves as the employer to the workforce, offering the shifters benefits/protections and allowing them to pick and choose various shift work at a variety of establishments in the “ShiftPixy ecosystem.” In turn, ShiftPixy partners with businesses in the ecosystem and handles the administrative and compliance burdens that comes with employment, all done centrally through ShiftPixy’s app.
In business, human capital transactions contain some of the most crucial and sensitive personal information, namely, everything contained in the personnel records for an individual (including social security number, date of birth, driver's license or passport details, bank account information, tax form elections, and more). Any data considered to be a human capital validation point or part of the hiring and onboarding process is being utilized and recorded in ShiftPixy's blockchain ledger. The employee I-9 verification process, for example -- one of the most stringent, rigorous, and penalty-laden compliance procedures -- is positively impacted by blockchain utilization of biometric authentication and automatic verification of I-9 data, removing human error in the process of screening for fraudulent information. ShiftPixy feels that blockchain is one of the most efficient tools available to help it protect its data from cyber interference.
The security and ability for auditing transparency afforded by the integrated blockchain technology is paramount to protecting both the employee and the ShiftPixy job providers in the ShiftPixy ecosystem. Verification of that data on the blockchain allows both employers and auditing agencies to confidently validate additional criteria such as employment dates, and a candidate's background (i.e. education, references, certifications, etc.), and share the verification status directly on multiple distributed sources within the blockchain, further underscoring the trust and accuracy of a candidate's information and corporate compliance.
Added benefits for data integrity include allowing employees and shift workers to rate experiences at a workplace, which is then recorded in the blockchain's transparent ledger, which gives the peace of mind that the review or rating cannot be tampered with (i.e. neither shifters nor companies can pay to change or remove unfavorable ratings). Future implementation of blockchain technology within ShiftPixy's technological ecosystem include the extended applications for payroll and real-time payments, and utilizing smart contracts for employment contracts, which facilitate the performance of credible, trackable, and irreversible transactions without third parties.