In an earlier post we introduced readers to Workforce Cyber Intelligence. To recap briefly, Workforce Cyber Intelligence provides organizations with operational intelligence synthesized from an employee’s physical interactions with organizational assets (data, machines, applications, and peers), their intensity of work, and their peer engagement to be used to help reduce costs, find efficiencies, and streamline workflows. It is important to note that this is a NOT an employee surveillance solution that uses screen capture, keystroke logging, and other intrusive methods to keep tabs on employees. Instead, Workforce Cyber Intelligence helps measure employee engagement, while protecting employee privacy. It uses data minimization and pseudonymization, alongside behavioral AI models and machine-learning technologies to learn employee habits and routines.
One of the common use cases for this is remote workforce analytics. With millions of employees now working from home offices, organizations are challenged to understand how best to engage their employees and give them the best support to succeed. While many employees appreciate the ability to avoid tedious commutes, informal interactions between employees are greatly reduced when everyone is working remotely. With less face-to-face interaction between peers and managers, remote workers may feel more anonymous and less apt to embrace organizational culture. This can lead to less engagement within and between departments.
Employee engagement is critical to organizational success. Research shows that engaged employees perform better, experience less burnout, and stay in organizations longer. Measuring engagement is harder with a remote workforce. Some may choose to work different hours due to family commitments; others, freed from their commute, may work added hours. Some, exhausted from the pandemic and disengaged from their peers, may also participate in quiet quitting.
Traditional methods for measuring employee engagement are surveillance based. These solutions use invasive techniques that include keystroke logging, screen capture, and monitoring email and web browsing. For organizations looking to increase employee engagement, this can be counterproductive. One study showed implementation of employee surveillance builds mistrust and can increase employee turnover.
Workforce Cyber Intelligence takes a different, privacy-centric approach to measuring workforce engagement. It provides managers, HR teams, and employees awareness of how they spend their time, what applications they use most, and how they compare to their peers. Workforce Cyber Intelligence makes it possible to maintain an awareness of employee wellness by observing digital work-related behavior, activity, and engagement without invading personal privacy. This intelligence helps IT, HR, and Risk teams understand if, when, and how employees are being overworked or need additional training, and what systems are necessary to support day-to-day responsibilities.
Download our e-book “A Modern Approach to Employee Engagement and Well-being” for more information.