SHIELD: The Future of Workforce Compliance and Insights

 6 minute read

The modern HR technology era demands compliance, efficiency, insights, and hassle-free automation via intuitive user experiences. Thomas & Company delivers all of this and more through SHIELD.

At Thomas & Company, we’ve always focused on solving HR compliance challenges through a blend of human expertise and innovative technology. Now, we’re taking that commitment to the next level.

SHIELD— The Next Evolution

For years, SHIELD has been the industry-leading, go-to platform for our clients managing their unemployment cost management (UCM) responsibilities.  Now, SHIELD is expanding to become much more than a UCM interface. It’s transforming into a fully integrated business hub that will ultimately power all Thomas & Company solutions. This new phase represents our most ambitious technological investment to date, and it’s designed to give clients a smarter, more connected way to manage workforce risk and compliance with a single, secure platform.

Why Evolve SHIELD?

The workforce landscape is more complex than ever, and employers need real-time visibility across all employment-related compliance touchpoints. From tax credits and employment verifications to offboarding and tax analysis, disparate systems and manual processes just don’t cut it anymore. That’s why we’re building SHIELD into a centralized hub that will connect and support every Thomas & Company service.

Clients will gain access to more robust analytics, deeper insights, streamlined workflows, and faster, more confident decision-making. The goal? To provide employers – regardless of size and complexity – with a versatile, comprehensive, compliant, and future-ready solution.

Snapshot: What SHIELD Delivers

As SHIELD expands into a full-fledged business hub, clients are finding enhanced value across several key areas:

Investment in Technology Stack

We’re developing SHIELD using scalable, cloud-based architecture with modern UI/UX frameworks, designed for speed, accessibility, and extensibility. Every feature is purpose-built to ensure clients experience intuitive workflows and seamless service integration.

Best-in-Class Data Security

SHIELD delivers industry-leading security, starting with robust database tenancy that isolates each client’s information, protecting privacy and meeting stringent compliance standards. Additionally, our intuitive role-based security model keeps permissions crystal clear and consistent, supporting both efficiency and data integrity as your business scales.  These measures complement our already comprehensive data security protocols, which are aligned with best practices established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other globally recognized security standards.

At Thomas and Company, these security features are more than technological safeguards – they embody our ongoing commitment to client data privacy and proactive security risk mitigation. We continuously invest in and refine our controls, so your information remains protected against evolving threats, upholding the highest standards of confidentiality and trust.

Data Accuracy You Can Trust

Rather than simply linking separate services together, SHIELD’s unified platform is thoughtfully comprised of application sets that work seamlessly as one. This cohesive approach means clients can trust that the data they see is clean, consistent, and validated across workflows. SHIELD eliminates redundant entry through the use of integrated API’s, reducing human error by pulling from authoritative sources and integrating with stakeholder systems.

Speed to Decision-Making

Whether you’re assessing claims, identifying audit risks, or preparing compliance reports, SHIELD delivers actionable insights faster. Timely alerts, task queues, and intelligent dashboards allow users to react to changes or risks in real-time.

Robust Analytics

The new SHIELD offers powerful new reporting tools and insights that help clients uncover trends, track KPIs, and benchmark performance. This includes service-specific dashboards and custom reporting modules to support data-driven leadership.

Automation with a Human Touch

While SHIELD is designed with intuitive workflows to automate routine tasks and reduce administrative burden, it’s backed by Thomas & Company’s signature white-glove customer service and subject matter expertise. Our colleagues remain a click or call away to resolve complex scenarios and provide strategic guidance when you need it.

Powerful New Modules and Functionality

Already recognized as a powerful and dependable solution, SHIELD continues to raise the bar for security, analytics, and automation. And yet, the newest modules and features – will make SHIELD even more dynamic, building on its strong foundation with innovative features designed to meet the evolving needs of your business.

The newest modules and features of SHIELD include:

• New and Improved SHIELD Analytics for UCM and WOTC – Cross-service data aggregation, employer benchmarking, and configurable reporting
• Multi-State Compliance Navigator™ – Our newest offering consisting of an intuitive knowledge base for tax professionals to help guide you through the complexities of multi-state reporting and compliance
• Offboarding Compliance – Managing and remaining compliant with changing state laws related to separation notices has never been easier with our innovative solution

We continue to add even more functionality based on what you want and need, including:

• Claims Case Management
• Hearings Management
• Benefit Charge Management
• POA (Power of Attorney) Automation
• Employment & Wage Verification

Each new feature is being developed with real client pain points in mind—from compliance accuracy and tax forecasting to internal visibility and workload reduction.

Just the Beginning

SHIELD is more than a platform. It’s a strategic evolution of how we at Thomas & Company deliver value to our clients. Since our inception, we have developed our tech and business solutions with deep subject-matter expertise. SHIELD was influenced by—and built for—HR, payroll, and tax professionals.

Communicating sensitive information across multiple parties under tight deadlines, including unemployment claims, employment and wage verifications, onboarding, and tax credit filings, is a serious business. Whether you’re a longtime partner or new to our services, this transformation means:

• Greater efficiency across your workforce compliance ecosystem
• Stronger data to support leadership and budget decisions
• A more seamless connection between technology and expert support

This is just the beginning. We’ll be sharing new SHIELD products, features, use cases, and rollout details throughout the rest of 2025. Welcome to the future of workforce solutions!

 

Want to Learn More?

Curious how SHIELD can simplify your workflows, improve compliance, and unlock smarter decisions? Contact Thomas & Company today to see what future-ready looks like for your organization.

Already a Thomas & Company client? Let’s explore how the evolving SHIELD can deepen your visibility, streamline operations, and bring more value to your partnership—reach out to your Account Team to learn more.