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Towards the hyper-connected worker
Augmented work
A series of white papers by Ade McCormack, Auridian
Sponsored by:
Introduction
The need to cultivate value in a hyper connected world is
changing the nature of being a worker.
This article details how organizations can gain a competitive
advantage by ensuring their staff are directly connected to their
colleagues, the market and themselves. We will also explore the
implications from the worker and the leader’s perspectives.
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Environmental reality
We now operate in an environment that generates
ever larger quantities of data and information.
The quality of this incoming torrent ranges from
misleading to deeply insightful. With the arrival
of social media, sensors (Internet of Things) and
unstructured data (e.g. video), the quantity of data
we receive is growing at an exponential rate. What
was a glass of water is now a 24/7 hosepipe.
However, we have a bi-directional relationship with
the environment. Not only does the environment
feed us, but it expects to be fed. Many of your
incoming messages are actions to be responded to.
You might say that modern-day workers are both
the victim and the source of this hyper-stimulating
environment.
Every organization faces the same challenges in
this respect. Some choose to hermetically seal
themselves from the environment and press on
with their multi-year strategy; others try to be
environment-sensitive and become overwhelmed.
Onlookers might draw parallels with Hollywood
westerns in which the drunken cowboy finds
himself caught up in a barroom brawl.
Smart organizations recognize that it is unwise
to ignore this environmental reality. They also
realise that users need tools to extract the insight
from the noise in order to make better decisions
faster. Today the user’s interaction with data needs
to be more real-time and captured via devices
that are worn by the staff. Such devices include
headbands, wristbands, glasses and watches.
Such automated data gathering reduces errors
and the ‘time to decision’. However, it is not just
wearble devices; walls and desks will also contribute
to the augmented experience. High quality video
collaboration with colleagues across the world is
just a wall away.
These digitally sensitive workers are truly
integrated with the organization’s IT systems. Their
augmentation serves to both help them capture
‘just in time’ data also provide them with ‘just in
time’ learning. An example of the former might be
capturing video of a crime scene. The latter may
be a situation, where the context sensitive device
recognizes the engine the mechanic is working
on and provides guidance on what tools and
components to use for a given procedure.
Of course, analytics can be added to these realtime activities to provide both the user and the
organizations with insights associated with the
worker, the associated business process or the
relevant environment. By studying the worker’s
activities and vital signals, it will be possible to
detect ergonomic inefficiencies. So, clearly, the
hyper-connected user provides an operational
advantage.
But through greater market / environment
sensitivity, the user can also play a key role in
tuning the organization’s strategy to match the
opportunities and threats as they occur.
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Talent 2.0
By Talent 2.0, I am referring to workers who deliver
value beyond being a placeholder for technology
yet to be invented. Such workers are not process
automatons but highly creative human beings.
The hyper-connected worker is already here; that
started when mobile devices found their way
into the corporate setting. But, of course, as we
have seen, smartphones are just the start of the
journey. In the next few years, workers will be
unrecognizable in respect to their productivity and
the tools they use to achieve this productivity.
People, processes and technology will be truly
integrated. Life will be difficult for those workers
who are not prepared to embrace this new era of
hyper-connectivity. Organizations that choose not
to embrace the enhanced expectations of millennial
staff will enter a sustainability tailspin. This, of
course, also applies to the needs of customers,
citizens and consumers.
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The hyper-connected worker will be something of
an athlete. To be a high performer they must raise
their game and maintain their health. There is an
explosion of wearable technologies that support
self-analytics. Such biofeedback systems enable
the workers to ensure that they are both improving
and maintaining good health. It is likely that this
information will be used by the HR function to
ensure that their workers / athletes are performing
well—and to identify when both individuals and
teams are starting to regress. This could indicate a
number of issues, including poor management.
In any case, organizations will be keen to reduce
talent churn through stress / poor health. By
integrating the latest user devices into the talent
management systems, HR can play a genuinely
useful role in respect to engagement and retention.
Leadership 2.0
‘Leaders know best’ was the tenet of the industrial
era. This is absolutely not the case in the digital
economy. Everyone is a decision maker. One
might regard this new economy as a post-strategy
economy. The market is moving too fast to plan
years into the future. You might say that tactics are
the new strategy. Those closest to the theatre of
action are best placed to make informed decisions
about how the organization responds.
So it now becomes the role of the leadership to
create an environment that enables the staff:
•To make informed decisions (analytic tools).
•To interact seamlessly with the environment
(context awareness tools).
•To harness the wisdom of others (collaboration
tools).
It is also the role of leadership to create a culture
whereby ‘boat rocking’, challenging behaviour,
creativity and original thought are encouraged.
This is, of course, an HR nightmare. However, the
objective is not to have a compliant army of process
workers; it is to create differentiated customer
experiences through harnessing the collective
capabilities of the human brain.
Such a culture requires a high degree of mutual
trust. It also requires the leadership to be talentcentric rather than ego-centric. Again, being talentcentric requires the leadership to provide both the
culture and the technology infrastructure needed
for today’s worker to harness their innate hyperconnectedness.
Conclusion
Traditional leaders would have a vision of where their organization was heading but in a hyper connected
world nobody knows what lies ahead. Modern leaders will watch a vision unfold based on both market
reality and the capability of their hyper-connected workforce.
Leadership will take the form of being a tour guide on a mystery tour. Even the guide won’t know where
the tour ends up. However, with the right people, culture and technology infrastructure, you have great
confidence that wherever you end up, it will be much better than you could have ever envisioned.
Read the previous articles from this series:
•Why the digital revolution is an anthropological correction
•Wearables and Augmented Man
•Leading the hunter-gather pack
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Ade McCormack
Ade McCormack is an advisor and columnist for the Financial
Times and CIO magazine. He helps organizations thrive in the digital
economy. Ade’s particular interests lie in the future of work and
humanity. Ade’s perspectives can be found via his Digital Strategist
blog: the-digital-strategist.com.
HP
HP Mobility and Workplace services help you transform your
workplace and empower your employees, while ensuring your
workplace remains enterprise grade, scalable, and secure. We can
advise you on building a road map and implement a managed
environment that is user-focused (rather than device-focused),
protects your data, and delivers relevant information to provide
the employee productivity you and your employees want.
For more information please visit: hp.com/services/workplace.