The Wall Street Journal had a tremendous lead-off piece on their "Journal Report" this week on Monday, April 2, 2012. It was entitled "Employees, Measure Yourselves." The introductory picture for this article needs to be seen to be understood, so I have included the link and the article below, but as part of the picture in the newspaper version, 5 questions are asked as part of the picture, that are NOT included in the picture below as part of the digitized version. These questions are:
These pieces of software claim to be different and the approach in their use is different as well. The thought here is that the worker "WANT" this software, rather than the boss DEMANDING that you use it. You want the information on your own productivity that the software provides so that you apparently take corrective action on your own. Read the article and let me know what you think!!
The link and article follows.
Bob
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204520204577249691204802060.html?KEYWORDS=H+James+Wilson
- "How much time do I spend on Facebook?
- How's my pulse when I get close to a deadline?
- How often am I distracted?
- Does my work improve when I sleep better?
- Do I get more done if I exercise before work?"
These pieces of software claim to be different and the approach in their use is different as well. The thought here is that the worker "WANT" this software, rather than the boss DEMANDING that you use it. You want the information on your own productivity that the software provides so that you apparently take corrective action on your own. Read the article and let me know what you think!!
The link and article follows.
Bob
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204520204577249691204802060.html?KEYWORDS=H+James+Wilson
Employees, Measure Yourselves
Encouraging workers to keep track of what they're doing can make them healthier and more productive
Imagine how much better workers could do their jobs if they knew exactly
how they spend their day.
Suppose they could get a breakdown of how much time they spend actually
working on their computer, as opposed to surfing the Web. Suppose they could
tell how much an afternoon workout boosts their productivity, or how much a
stressful meeting raises their heart rate.
Thanks to a new wave of technologies called auto-analytics, they can do just
that. These devices—from computer software and smartphone apps to gadgets that
you wear—let users gather data about what they do at work, analyze that
information and use it to do their job better. They give workers a fascinating
window into the unseen, unconscious little things that can make such a big
difference in their daily work lives. And by encouraging workers to start
tracking their own activities—something many already are doing on their
own—companies can end up with big improvements in job performance, satisfaction
and possibly even well-being.
The key word here is encouragement. It is not the same as insistence. Bosses
should be careful to stay out of workers' way, letting employees experiment at
their own pace and find their own solutions. They should offer them plenty of
privacy safeguards along the way. Too much managerial interference could make
the programs seem like Big Brother and dissuade workers from signing on. There's
a big difference between employees wanting to measure themselves, and
bosses demanding it.
Here's a look at three areas of auto-analytics that are gaining followers in
the workplace—and that merit encouragement from managers.
Tracking Screen Time
Many companies monitor what their employees are doing on the computer all
day, by watching network traffic or even taking screenshots at random times. But
all that oversight is designed to make sure people aren't slacking off; it
doesn't help them figure out how to do their jobs better. And besides, a lot of
workers probably think it's kind of creepy to have someone watching over their
shoulder.
On the other hand, workers are a lot more comfortable with close scrutiny
when they're the ones doing the watching.
People are signing on in droves to a new technology called knowledge workload
tracking—recording how you use your computer. Software like RescueTime measures
things like how long you spend on an open window, how long you're idle and how
often you switch from one window to another. The software turns all those
measurements into charts so you can see where you're spending your time. From
there, you can set up automatic alerts to keep yourself away from distractions;
you might send yourself a message if you, say, spend too much time on
Twitter.
Programs like these also let you look a lot deeper into your behavior. One
employee I observed saw that he got a lot more done when he switched tasks at
set intervals. So he had the software remind him to change things up every 20
minutes. (He also set up an algorithm that suggested the best activity to do
next.)
Another employee, a programmer, thought his online chats were eating into his
work time. So he tested the theory: He looked at how long he spent chatting
during certain periods, then looked at how much code he wrote during those
times. But in fact, the more he talked, the more code he wrote. Gabbing online
with colleagues and customers helped his work.
Again, though, companies need to use a light touch in encouraging employees:
Many workers might be reluctant to track what they do if they think the company
might get access to the information, or use it against them. Companies should
emphasize that this type of software usually comes with lots of privacy
controls. Workers can often store their data in the cloud, for instance, or
locally on their machines. In some cases, they can pause tracking and delete
pieces of personal data they choose. Likewise, they can also create a list of
sites that they want to track by name and label all the other sites they visit
as generic.
Collecting Thoughts
Tracking clicks and keystrokes is one thing. But another set of tools goes
one step deeper and lets employees track their mental performance—and maybe even
improve it.
These tools come in a variety of styles. For example, there's Lumosity, from
Lumos Labs Inc., an online system that serves up games employees can play during
downtime at work. The games promise to develop memory, thinking speed, attention
and problem-solving abilities.
You might have to sort a batch of words into two piles depending on whether
or not they follow a certain rule. Or you might be presented with two equations
and have to figure if the one on the left is greater than, less than or equal to
the one on the right. The software will feed you tougher challenges once you've
mastered one level of difficulty.
So far, that might not sound much different than other games you might play
at the office. (Minesweeper, anyone?) The difference is tracking. The games
offer a scorecard of your performance and let you follow changes in performance
over time, so you can see if you're getting better or backsliding. You can also
choose what skills you want to improve. If you're having trouble remembering
things, for instance, you might ask for memory-boosting games. So, while it may
seem like just another game, it can home in on skills you're trying to sharpen
for work—and improve them.
Another set of tools promises to help with a couple of age-old problems:
forgetting ideas or the context in which you thought of them (or having so many
of them you can't decide which will work best for the task at hand).
The method, called cognitive mapping, powers software like TheBrain, from
TheBrain Technologies LP. When you get an idea related to work, you type it into
the software on your desktop or mobile device. You place it near related ideas
by clicking on a visual map that shows clusters of concepts grouped together by
category like constellations on your screen.
Let's say your job is designing products for a household-goods company, and
you get an idea about a new kind of sponge. You might click on the cluster of
ideas for kitchen-cleaning products, which covers mops and paper towels as well
as sponges. Then you'd click on the smaller cluster of ideas about sponges and
type in your new notion. You'd also be able to attach things like links to
websites, photos and meeting notes.
Later on, if you need to come up with some ideas in a particular area, you
might type in a few search terms to see the thoughts you've had on the topic and
the clusters of ideas and information you originally associated with those
terms. Thus, you not only have a historical record of your thoughts, but also
detailed insight into the context in which they were created.
As with knowledge workload tracking, employers should encourage workers to
use these systems and give them freedom to experiment. But companies can
probably be more active in pushing these products, since they don't have the
same Big Brother associations as tracking work. So managers might buy
subscriptions for influential employees who can help seed interest across the
company. If they think it's warranted, managers might even buy companywide
subscriptions, as they do for other types of software.
The Physical Side
There's one area where employers are already doing a lot to
encourage workers to track themselves: company-sponsored wellness programs. More
than two-thirds of companies around the world run wellness programs, and
self-tracking tools are fast becoming a common feature.
Usually, the third-party companies that manage the programs give workers
tracking devices that can synch up with an external database through a
smartphone or work computer. That way, employees can crunch their own data and
come up with options for improving health and job performance.
For instance, you might wear a device like Jawbone's UP wristband, which
tracks sleep quantity and quality. You could then analyze your data to see how
different amounts of sleep affect your work. Do you close more sales on days
when you get more quality sleep? Or do you post better numbers when you
sacrifice some shut-eye to entertain clients until all hours?
Another approach is tracking how your body works over the course of a workday
with a tool such as the emWave2, from HeartMath LLC, which monitors your pulse.
You can then look at your stats on a desktop dashboard to see, for instance,
what sorts of situations cause you the most stress. The program can then
recommend ways to reduce anxiety, such as breathing techniques that can help you
reduce your heart rate during a big presentation.
Tracking things at this intimate level might set off all sorts of alarm bells
for workers. Many might wonder if an employer could get hold of the information
and use it against them. So bosses should ensure that workers have the chance to
encrypt or otherwise protect their data.
Mr. Wilson is senior researcher at Babson Executive Education. He can be
reached at reports@wsj.com.
A version of this article appeared April 2, 2012, on
page R1 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline:
Employees, Measure Yourselves.
Great article but I am quite sure that a daily review meeting improves my performance by 300% in comparison to such softwares. In addition, I know answers to all 5 questions already, apart for the number of times I got distracted, but we can record it with a piece of paper (I did it already formyself and a department).
ReplyDeleteAs anyone who wants to improve your performance, you have to know yourself, and these tools have very little value to me. I had bad performance in a job with very little workload (1 day I answered 1 phone call, the rest was waiting on internet)and unexistant follow up. I had no time for even 2 minutes of such distraction when working for IMPAC, it would just not even cross my mind. You want to help me improve my productuvity? Assign me and follow up on me, giving some meaning to what I do. Leave me alone with a computer and a software with a red light when I stop working on my numbers won't do anything, especially if I get used to the red light.
Years after years, I got more and more reluctant to software solutions...or to change?