Anything that promises to enhance employee engagement, profitability, or productivity in an enterprise, will definitely grab the attention of HR and business leaders. With advancements in IoT technology, wearable devices have become the latest must-have addition to an organization’s HR technology toolkit. A report from Rackspace and the University of London states that wearable devices can result in 3.5% increase in job satisfaction and 8.5% increase in employee productivity. Thus, several organizations are now investing in wearable technology for improving human capital management processes. For example, Amazon’s employees are using wearable GPS tags and handheld scanners for finding quickest routes to navigate through their huge warehouse floors thereby, saving time and increasing efficiency.
Activity-Tracking Wearable Technology
In activity-tracking technology, the wearable device helps in measuring the activity of employees and creating reports on that activity. However, it does not encompass details on completion of specific tasks, rather it focuses on an employee’s physical exertion and condition. This measurement of employee condition can take a variety of forms like measurement of distance travelled ( steps taken that get tracked by wearable GPS device). Wearable devices for activity tracking can be used for:
- Improving employee wellness
- Encouraging teamwork and collaboration
- Managing productivity
Display Technology for Human Capital Management
Display technology can be used for presenting information visually to employees. Display technology can take several forms such as a wrist-worn watch like device, such as the Samsung Gear, or a head-up display, such as Google Glass. Display technology is more suitable for those employees who are not desk-based. Wearable devices based on display technology provide information on-demand. If your employee is unsure of what best action can be taken for a particular situation, he or she can receive a prompt from the wearable device, and this device guides your employee by presenting information on the display screen.
Wearable devices based on display technology can help in:
- Improving on boarding and orientation
- Delivering reference materials and training
- Delivering and responding quickly to notifications
Wearable Communications Technology
Wearable devices based on communications technology are used for transmitting audio and visual information to employees. Audio devices can take the form of a headset but, it can also include a visual element in the form of a handheld display.
Wearable devices based on communications technology can help in:
- Facilitating real-time collaboration and communication
- Generating content for learning
- Managing employee performance
Today wearable technology is at the forefront of innovation. Thus HCM leaders can derive useful insights from different employee aspects and thereby deliver competitive advantage.