'How was your first day on the phones, Michael?' asked Ellen, a long-serving Claims Consultant at Insurance First.

Pouring his coffee in the lunchroom during his morning break, Michael paused for a second, then responded, 'You know Ellen, this isn't the first job I've had in a call centre, but it's definitely the first with so much new technology. I must have been a couple of minutes into my second call this morning, and the chatbot on my screen showed me an emoji of a coffee cup - I guess I was tired and maybe it was a sign I should've had this coffee earlier! After seeing it I got really anxious and started talking really fast, and another emoji popped up - this time a speedometer, telling me to slow down! How weird is that?'

Overhearing Michael and Ellen's conversation, Jordan, who had been working at Insurance First for six months, chimed in, sneering, 'Oh yeah, wait until you get the heart icon - it means you need to show more empathy to your customer's concerns!

'Oh really? said Michael.

'Yeah, Insurance First has tried make a name for itself in being the first insurance company in the country to introduce so much new software to track what we do and assess us,' sighed Jordan. 'The chatbot is so smart that it can tag the mood in your conversation with the customer to tell you how the interaction is going. And did you know, all that data gets sent to your boss at the end of the day, to show them what you've been doing at work and how you've been performing?'

'Oh ... no I didn't,' Michael exhaled.

'Yeah, this data analytics thing has really taken off big time. You can't read anything these days without being reminded that organisations are trying to capture more and more of our personal data and information about what we do at work, sometimes without us even knowing.

'I went to a staff meeting a while back when HR and senior management first told us their vision of why they wanted to introduce the new chatbot system - they wanted to know more about what we do so they can improve business productivity and the quality of our jobs.'

Jordan continued, 'Now this kind of technology is in all the insurance companies across the country, but not just on computers. At my friend's company, they also have tracking devices in staff cards to measure productivity. Tiny microphones and motion sensors capture your movements and the tone of your conversations with people. They must be getting a minefield of information! But what do they do with it, I wonder? There's not much transparency around how they use the data.'

Noticing that Michael looked a little anxious, Ellen interjected, 'It isn't all doom and gloom, Michael. I've found this new technology to be really useful in my performance conversations with my boss. We're able to discuss what I'm doing well in a call and what I can improve on, and it's helped improve the quality of my interactions with customers. I like how it gives me immediate feedback too, so I know exactly how I can improve my call interaction.

'My boss has told me that this data the business is collecting is also helping HR understand how to make the business more productive. I figure that's a win-win for everyone.'

'Yeah, I guess it is,' responded Michael.

'I don't know, Ellen ... I'm still sceptical, said Jordan.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1 How can technology be used to improve

(a) productivity,

(b) employee performance and

(c) job quality?

2 It is claimed that analytics allows HR professionals to make data-driven decisions. Discuss why this might be so and the benefits.

3 How effective and efficient is using technology as a method of data collection compared to more common methods?

4 What ethical and/or legal issues does technology in the workplace raise for monitoring and surveillance of workers?

5 Should employees be told how their data is being collected and used? Why?