IFRACTAL’s Pocket Watchdog app was submitted for consideration of a prize in the Health & Human Services Apps Against Abuse contest.

Here’s the challenge:

The challenge: Vice President Biden and Secretary Sebelius are honored to announce a challenge that encourages the development of applications that provide college students and young adults with the tools to help prevent dating violence and sexual assault. The application envisioned will offer individuals a way to connect with trusted friends in real-time to prevent abuse or violence from occurring. While the application will serve a social function of helping people stay in touch with their friends, it will also allow friends to keep track of each other’s whereabouts and check in frequently to avoid being isolated in vulnerable circumstances.

As part of our community involvement initiative at IFRACTAL, we created Pocket Watchdog as an app to help people be safe. We’re proud to be considered in the Apps Against Abuse challenge.

Once again this year, IFRACTAL is a sponsor of TEDxPhilly. We were a seed sponsor last year, and this year we’re going bigger. Come to the event and you’ll be sitting in a lounge called The Fractory. (That makes us grin.)

We’re really proud to be associated with the wonderful people at TEDxPhilly, with a particular emphasis on the wonderful work that Community Connector Extraordinaire Roz Duffy has done.

Come check out The Fractory at TEDxPhilly. And be prepared for a day that’ll knock your socks off. The event is November 8, 2012 from 9am to 6pm at the Temple University Performing Arts Center. You can get a ticket here.

We’ve been involved in the community since we started IFRACTAL. Here’s one of the sponsorships we’ve done for several years: QCW — the Quaker City Wheelmen. We’re really proud to be associated with the team because of their mission:

QCW Cycling is a 501c3 Nonprofit organization focused on improving cycling for adults and youth in the Philadelphia area. We are also a USA Cycling affiliated club focused on helping new riders learn to race and emphasizing fun.

Our men’s and women’s squads are constantly on the lookout for new riders interested in improving their fitness and their results. As a result, we have strong riders in all categories and age groups. We foster growth through frequent workouts, rides, and on-bike seminars for members who are encouraged by our more experienced riders.

QCW Cycling also has the strongest state-level crew of Cat 1/2 riders. QCW racers made up half of the top ten in the PA BAR (Best All-around Rider) elite competition.

There’s been lots of news from the team with the great results from their racing season. We’ll update that soon.

Here’s the Team!

Here’s the Van!

We developed RapidFire ™ at IFRACTAL to help companies make ethical, data-driven decisions about mass layoffs. And there have been lots of layoffs in 2011 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 1,624 mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2011 that resulted in the separation of 261,346 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

And in July, the RIF numbers skyrocketed:

Employers took 1,579 mass layoff actions in July involving 145,000 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer.

Bank of America announced 30,000 layoffs. Cisco Systems will have its largest layoff in history. And the U.S. Post Office is projected to RIF 120,000 workers. More layoff are looming.

As we say with RapidFire ™: Deciding to lay people off is never easy. After all, they’re people. Someone’s best friend. Someone’s mom. Someone’s husband. Sometimes you just have to. When that happens, RapidFire™ will make it as quick and painless as possible. With RapidFire™, you’ll have the data you need to make the right decisions in a flash.

At IFRACTAL, we have more than 10 plants per person. We follow the protocol that Kamal Meattle talked about at TED in 2009. We follow the standard mix that he describes: areca palm, mother’s-in-law tongue and money plant.

When people visit The Fractory for the first time, they often remark about our “jungle.” We think it adds to our creativity. And it’s not just us who thinks so. IFRACTAL won three Awards of Excellence in 2011 from APEX, including for Communication Campaign, Most Improved Newsletter (we took the work over from another agency) and website rollout. We also won APEX’s prestigious Grand Award for an Annual Enrollment guide we did for one of our valued clients. (If you want to rock your open enrollment, there’s still time. Click here to find out how.)

How To Grow Your Own Fresh Air

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IFRACTAL Announces Rollout of RapidFire ™ RIF Decision Software

Philadelphia, PA — September 12, 2011 — IFRACTAL LLC announced the rollout of its RapidFire ™ RIF decision software today. The software is designed to help companies make tough layoff decisions quickly and efficiently while addressing the needs of Finance, HR, Legal and IT.

“RapidFire helps you make data-driven decisions, while assuring your RIF is cost-effective, comprehensive and compliant,” said Chief Information Officer Charles Chambers. “RapidFire is fast, secure, and simple. You can start your RIF right away without installing anything.”

RapidFire ™ was created to help companies make informed RIF decisions during difficult times. The Software as a Service (SaaS) lets managers sort employees based on pre-set criteria such as performance, potential, tenure, etc. “The real-time dashboard allows HR to make sure the right people decisions are being made; allows Legal to make sure all decisions comply with discrimination testing; and allows Finance to make sure they’re hitting their financial targets,” said Chambers. “Plus, RapidFire works for IT in a fully secure SSL environment that hooks into your HRIS.”

RapidFire ™ will be rolled out to select clients starting in September 2011. With major layoffs announced scores of U.S. companies, IFRACTAL expects software implementation in at least 25 client locations by the end of the year.

ABOUT IFRACTAL
IFRACTAL is a Philadelphia-based HR consultancy that creates employee communication, custom software and apps for some of the leading companies in the world.

Contact:
Frank Roche
frank.roche@ifractal.com
IFRACTAL
20 N. 3rd Street, Suite 702
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Ph: +1 267-226-1185
F: +1 215-772-0488

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Annual enrollment season is here. But there’s no reason for your communication campaign has to be the same old boring stuff. It’s time to get your employees to tune in and turn on.

Check out IFRACTAL’s Rock. Enroll. Annual Enrollment Tour here.

IFRACTAL’s offices are in the same Old City Philadelphia building as the nation’s premier co-working space, Indy Hall. Last week, Indy Hall held its 4th Anniversary party at Frankfort Hall and IFRACTAL was one of the sponsors.

We like to cheer on local businesses that make Philadelphia a great city to be.

Here’s a picture of Jenn Cohen, one of the Fractals, with Alex Hillman, co-founder of Indy Hall.

Alex Hillman and Jenn Cohen

Jenn Cohen with the Indy Hall Sign