Along with the new hire kit you also receive a biometric sensor which comes embedded in your identification badge. There’s information in that kit informing (instructing) you to wear your ID at all times at the workplace, it will be beneficial to you (or your manager) to know how you work best.
No, this is not a scenario from a fiction movie; it’s very likely that somewhere in the world this is already a reality and if not it might soon be!
Since there’s an app for almost everything these days so why not monitor your employees to analyze their hi-lo days and raise productivity to a new level? After all, we all love analysis, stats and cool data visualization – it might be to a company’s benefit to find what makes employees more engaged and creative at work.
Anything’s possible, Watson. And when they say that prediction of creativity through biometric analysis is a fact not fiction, believe them.
Biometrics (or biometric authentication) refers to the identification of humans by their characteristics or traits. Biometrics is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance. Biometric identifiers are the distinctive, measurable characteristics used to label and describe individuals. Biometric identifiers are often categorized as physiological versus behavioral characteristics. A physiological biometric would identify by iris scan, DNA or fingerprint. Behavioral biometrics are related to the behavior of a person, including but not limited to: typing rhythm, gait, and voice.
Some researchers have coined the term behaviometrics to describe the latter class of biometrics.[Source: Wikipedia]
Hitachi’s Business Microscope measures face-to-face communication status within the organization as well as between different groups.
“Our analysis will provide chances for self actualization to individuals within the organization, and result in an effective organization improvement for our customers. Moreover, our analysis will also help individuals to find a key to create a suitable work environment which encourages people’s creativity as well as enabling them to share their knowledge effectively.”
In a very interesting study by Arizona State University titled: Predicting Creativity in the Wild: Experience Sample and Sociometric Modeling of Teams, conclude that:
Computational modeling of team creativity has several benefits:
(1) it allows automated evaluation and prediction of creativity;
(2) it paves the way for software and programs that support creativity;
(3) it allows development of guidelines and procedures towards creativity in teams and within organizations;
(4) it enhances theoretical understandings of creativity and its relationship to team member activity.
The key findings of these studies were:
(1) days in which the team is highly creative are also the days in which the teams’ members meet more often, and
(2) days in which team members report to be highly creative have higher levels of movement among team members than the days they report to be non-creative. Through a multi methodological approach that coupled sensor based analysis, wearable computing, and creative behavior assessment this investigation helps us better understand the nature and mechanisms of team creativity in the wild.”
Biometric devices and software for time management tracking is being used by some firms around the world, but biometric tracking for employee productivity and behavior assessment may not be easily acceptable to all.
Useful or a waste of time – What do you say?