Wall Street Journal: How Workforce Data Is Shaping Post-Pandemic Work

The Deloitte Insights in the WSJ CIO Journal recently featured Humanyze and co-founder Ben Waber. The article surrounds the topic of how workplace data is driving key decisions about future work arrangements. Here are excerpts of Ben’s interview…

“In January 2020, we measured four times more data than we had cumulatively in the entire history of the company,” notes Waber, adding that data volume “had already been accelerating over the course of the previous year.”

“Without holistically analyzing your data, you don’t know,” Waber says. “We provide companies with hard numbers, measuring and analyzing behaviors and outcomes so they can see how work is changing across different parts of the business.” Armed with information about what Humanyze calls “the health of the organization”—levels of collaboration, productivity, and adaptability—companies can plan, measure, and rapidly iterate to improve.

“Leaders can admit that no one actually knows what’s going to work, so the new approach is to watch the data like a hawk, communicate openly, and respond appropriately—and fast,” observes Waber. It also helps that individuals and teams are willing to go along with the rapid-experiment approach. “When work is more or less stable, it can be harder for people to accept weekly changes in how they work,” he reflects. “Now everyone understands—especially when the data is there to back up decisions—so it’s actually a lot easier to try different ideas.”

To read the full article, click here.