People Analytics: How Social Sensing Technology Will Transform Business and What It Tells Us about the Future of Work

by Ben Waber

Discover powerful hidden social "levers" and networks within your company… then, use that knowledge to make slight "tweaks" that dramatically improve both business performance and employee fulfillment! In People Analytics , MIT Media Lab innovator Ben Waber shows how sensors and analytics can give you an unprecedented understanding of how your people work and collaborate, and actionable insights for building a more effective, productive, and positive organization. Through cutting-edge case studies, Waber shows Drawing on his cutting-edge work at MIT and Harvard, Waber addresses crucial issues ranging from technology to privacy, revealing what will be possible in a few years, and what you can achieve right now. In bringing the power of analytics to organizational development, he offers immense new opportunities to everyone with responsibility for workplace performance.

Genres: Business

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 24, 2013

Reviews

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was People Analytics by Ben Waber which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book is about socio-analytics and how human behaviour can be studied especially with regard to buying stuff and how this information can help a company market itself and improve. Most companies now study their competitors intensely along with studying why people make buying decisions. Research has shown people tend to change their buying patterns drastically at life changing points in their life like moving house or having a baby. The data that someone is having a baby is freely available so you will find when that happens the couple are inundated with special offers and advertisements. Social media is a game changer with these huge amounts of data being sold to companies which is why they are usually free to join. Scientists studied people at a speed dating event which is an event where you get 5 minutes with each potential partner and you all fill in a form to say if you want to meet each other and if both of you agree you are both given each others details. Scientists found they could achieve a 85 % accurate predictions by studying changes in the ladies voices and the men probably mostly would agree to see any of them so their voices stayed a receptive pattern. Any company with more than 10,000 employees has probably been the result of acquisitions and mergers but these don't always work out. Ebay purchased Skype and one major problem was neither had regional headquarters and their was a 9 hour time difference between their head offices which hampered communications. In the end Ebay sold Skype on at a considerable loss. A key feature in many companies is the water cooler or coffee machine and this is important because it encourages employees to exchange ideas. Especially in Japan and Technology companies like Google employee interaction is encouraged. Some companies perhaps wrongfully see it as wasting time. Companies like Google have volleyball courts and restaurants where food is free to employees. This was an interesting book but perhaps not a classic but I enjoyed reading it.

[Heather Mcgowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and clearly written. An engaging easy read with revealing insights about our social networks and knowledge management in organizations.