2.5 quintillion – that is the number of bytes of data generated in the world every day. A large portion of this is produced and processed by companies. Data analysis allows for better business decision-making and lower operating costs. Enterprises therefore benefit from management based on digital information. Do employees benefit in the same way? Does the human element even matter in a company governed by data?
Research leaves no doubt – business today cannot function well without effective data analysis. A report by BARC shows that the use of big data allows for better strategic decisions, better process control, and a better understanding of customers. 47% of companies also admitted that data analysis reduced process costs.
Meanwhile, 97% of managers surveyed by Accenture believe that companies that do not use big data risk bankruptcy.
The benefits for business are therefore clear and distinct. It is no wonder that data analysis – obtained from various systems, including IT or IoT – is used in so many sectors of the economy – including industry, medicine, telecommunications, and tourism. It is also increasingly entering the area of employee management. But is it possible to build and fairly evaluate teams and their work based on dry data?
Employees are not afraid of technology, but…
It is worth realizing that the days when employees feared technology and that robots or automation tools would replace them are slowly becoming a thing of the past. The study “Robotization and Artificial Intelligence vs. the Labor Market” conducted by LiveCareer Poland shows that 84% of Poles believe that artificial intelligence should only help employees, not replace them. 73% of respondents support robotization and work automation, and as many as 41% of respondents choose it regardless of the consequences.
On the other hand, one in three Poles fears that machines will one day replace them in their current position. However, 47% of respondents admit that they can improve their qualifications to control the work of robots.
Furthermore, according to the “Polish Labor Market Barometer” published by Personnel Service, 7 out of 10 employees have not encountered a situation where a robot took someone’s job.
It seems that Poles accept that their work is being displaced by modern technologies. However, using data to manage teams is a different matter.
– To this day, in companies where we introduce our IoT system for managing teams and processes, we initially encounter resistance. Employees wonder why employers need data on how much time they spend in a specific place, whether they are moving or not. They fear excessive control, surveillance. Although I know that these fears are not reflected in reality, they do not surprise me at all. Every change is somewhat unsettling – says Sebastian Młodziński, CEO of TIMATE. – After years of working with IoT systems, I know what employees are afraid of. That they will become just a set of data for the employer, analyzed in real-time by an incomprehensible algorithm that will draw conclusions without taking into account ordinary human conditions.
On both sides of the barricade in this case are distrustful employees who fear being judged based on raw data, and employers who want their enterprise to work better. Better, meaning more efficiently, more economically, more safely, and more amicably.
What employers want to know
What data about work do employers collect and for what purpose? The most well-known and widespread are simple time and attendance systems, i.e., simply entering and leaving the company premises. However, modern technologies allow for much more. IoT elements can continuously collect and exchange various information. They can check where an employee is at a given moment, whether they are moving or standing still, they can record task performance, schedule implementation, the density of people in rooms, employee movement paths, and conditions prevailing in offices or halls, e.g., temperature and humidity.
A set of such information allows for analyzing the situation in the company and drawing conclusions about whether teams are working effectively, how working conditions affect this work, whether the layout of machines and communication routes are optimally planned, in which places employees spend a disproportionate amount of time, in which areas they are exposed to accidents, and where downtime occurs. Thanks to this, it is subsequently possible to determine what causes processes not to run as they should and what can be improved to better organize work. It is also possible to evaluate employees and management staff.
One must remember that data is only information that allows managers to understand what is happening in their company. And which helps to eliminate errors and improve the quality of work. It is a tool that – when used well – allows for perfecting the work environment.
– Companies need management information based on which they will increase efficiency and improve resource utilization. Current access to objective data gives them the ability to make the right decisions at the right time. Of course, the key issue is the ability to translate information flowing from systems into process changes and operational actions. If we work with data in the wrong way, i.e., for example, we provide immediate negative feedback because someone, for example, exceeded their lunch break, we will demotivate employees. But we can also look at this data from a different perspective, wondering what can be changed in the organization to improve process efficiency, and how to act so that employees better utilize the potential that lies within them – says Tomasz Bereźnicki, managing partner at DPC Polska.
The employee in the world of data
However, what brings benefits to employers is not always liked by employees. Employees do not like control, and they often fear technology, especially in the case of devices they carry with them. They are not sure if these devices emit dangerous radiation, but also – whether they interfere with their privacy and collect sensitive data. It is therefore crucial to explain to teams what data is being collected by the implemented technologies and for what purpose.
Data analysis is also not without significance. Employees do not want to be judged by a system that summarizes their work without knowing the context. In such a case, the entrepreneur’s role is to explain that data is only a starting point to which everyone has the right to respond.
– How entrepreneurs use technology is, of course, an individual matter. However, my experience shows that they do not reach for, e.g., IoT systems to make employees’ lives difficult, to replace them with technology, to harass and fire them when they do not meet requirements. On the contrary – they choose the Internet of Things to better understand what is happening in the company – also to better understand how employees work – and based on this knowledge, introduce changes that will simply make everyone work better – explains Sebastian Młodziński from TIMATE.
Analysis of work-related data allows for improving working conditions.
– I will recall a tragic event from December 2022. An employee of one company got locked in a cold storage room and froze to death. Probably, OHS procedures did not work, and colleagues did not notice the colleague’s prolonged absence. It is no wonder – managing a distributed team that moves around and performs physical work is difficult. You cannot “keep an eye” on everyone all the time. However, such a task can be entrusted to technologies that will provide real-time data on what is happening in the enterprise. Access to current, automatic information about what employees are doing at a given moment and where they are, i.e., for example, data flowing from IoT systems, is in such a case a huge support for managers’ work. Most importantly – it can translate into real actions that improve the quality of working conditions, including safety – adds Sebastian Młodziński.
On the road to a better work environment
Improving work safety is not the only benefit for employees from implementing systems that collect data on daily work. This data is very objective. And this means that employees can count on fairness. Each of them is evaluated based on the same criteria. The same system checks the same parameters, measures the same values, whether it concerns working time and its utilization, compliance with OHS regulations and procedures, or the implementation of schedules and planned tasks.
On the other hand, every employee has the opportunity to confront this data with the context in which a given situation occurred. To explain or correct any shortcomings. Thanks to this, data becomes only a basis for team management.
They show the actual state, but also leave room to talk with employees and introduce improvements that will allow avoiding errors in the future. They are also a source of current information about work.
– It is often the case that an employee does not receive information about whether they are working well. They do not have a chance to talk to their supervisor about their work. The IoT / IoB system fills the gap left by an absent supervisor, provides concrete information about the quality of work, and at the same time creates a feedback loop, allowing the entire organization to improve – says Sebastian Młodziński.
Data describing team work can also be used to identify the right leaders. Information provided by IoT systems allows for evaluating managers and thus influencing the presence of well-prepared people at the head of teams – those capable of motivating, properly distributing tasks, effectively organizing work, flexibly reacting to unforeseen situations, and appreciating employees.
This all ultimately translates into better working conditions – in a fairer, friendlier, and safer environment. One that takes into account various conditions and eliminates errors on an ongoing basis.
The Deloitte 2023 Global Human Capital Trends study shows that according to over 90 percent of managers, using technology to improve work performance and team productivity is key or very important for a company’s success. How an enterprise uses the potential of the implemented solution depends primarily on the enterprise itself. However, combining technology with respect for the rights and privacy of the employee can result in creating a friendly work environment that will bring benefits to both employees and employers.
Source: TIMATE