Good morning.
Some Fortune-related news this morning: Our longtime partner, the Great Place to Work Institute, has been acquired by UKG, a provider of human capital software solutions formed last year by the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos Inc.
Since 1998, Great Place to Work has powered Fortune’s annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list, which has become the benchmark ranking of great employers. Millions of job seekers turn to the list each year in search of companies offering free food, nifty nap pods, bountiful benefits and more.
Even more important is what the Fortune/GPTW methodology does to build great businesses. I’ve written here before about how the modern economy has put more power into the hands of employees. GPTW helps mold great companies by regularly monitoring what those employees are thinking. In the new world of stakeholder capitalism, good employee engagement surveys like those conducted by GPTW are the first tool needed to assure accountability.
Michael Bush, who has run GPTW since 2015, has increased the number of companies that use its tool by 7X to over 10,000. He said with the help of UKG, he expects that number to grow 10X more to reach 100,000. The acquisition “dramatically accelerates our vision to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work for all.”
By the way, UKG ranked number six on this year’s 100 Best list, right after Cisco, Salesforce, Hilton, Wegmans and Rocket. Other news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Crypto regulation
SEC Chair Gary Gensler says cryptocurrency trading platforms need regulation of the sort he's proposing, in order to survive. "At about $2tn of value worldwide, [the crypto scene is] at the level and the nature that if it’s going to have any relevance five and 10 years from now, it’s going to be within a public policy framework," he said. "History just tells you, it doesn’t last long outside. Finance is about trust, ultimately." Financial Times
Booster success
A third dose of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine provides a 70+% reduction in the risk of infection, according to study of Israeli data. The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, did not look at the issue of severe disease. More time is needed for that, the researchers said. Fortune
No smoking
Nomura Holdings has told its Japanese staff they are banned from smoking at home during working hours. It doesn't intend to monitor whether workers are following the guidelines, but Japan's biggest brokerage is not the first company in the country to take action against smoking. Fortune
No alcohol
Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management is launching a Transparency ETF that excludes the booze, banking, gambling and fossil fuel sectors; it is instead heavy on the tech and consumer sectors. Fortune
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
More M&A
Nearly half of CEOs are planning acquisitions in the next few years that will have a "significant impact" on their business, according to a new KPMG survey. And an additional third have indicated a moderate M&A appetite. Fortune
War costs
The financial impact of the U.S.'s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq could be felt for decades, writes Vivienne Walt in this Fortune piece: "In two reports out on Wednesday, economists and social scientists unpicking the costs of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, and far smaller engagements in Syria and Yemen, put the final tab at more than $8 trillion, well above previous estimates…Almost the entire cost of the Afghan and Iraq wars has come from borrowed money, much of which has yet to be repaid." Fortune
Four days
As Scotland prepares to trial a four-day working week, a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research shows 80% of workers support the move, and 65% think it will make them more productive. The IPPR suggests the hours no longer being worked could be used for training or for helping workers as parents, and it thinks the looming pilot should be broadened to include shift workers and part-timers. The Scotsman
U.K. vaccinations
The British government has dismissed reports that it might back away from plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other indoor venues. The new rule is supposed to come into effect at the end of this month. Guardian
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.
