Workplace tools have evolved rapidly in the last few years and almost a fifth (18 percent) of employees report having ready access to wearable HR technology at the workplace.
The next generation of wearable tech devices such as biometric identification, holographic video conferencing tools, and augmented reality headsets are going to change the way businesses work by creating wealth of opportunities to improve better connectivity, productivity and security.
Employees see wearable tech influencing their work lives in a number of ways, wherein 33 percent believe they can organise workload according to productive times of the day and thus manage stress, and 28 percent think they can be alerted about the drop in energy levels during the course of the day and seek for any medical help if needed on an immediate basis.
According to recent research findings by ADP, a leading global provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions, employees across Europe are ready to opt for wearable technology at work.
Commenting on the findings, Annabel Jones, HR Director at ADP UK said, “Wearables present a major opportunity for companies looking to boost productivity, efficiency and employee engagement. We can expect to see a number of new tools enter the workplace in the coming years, which will not only have the potential to create a fully connected workforce but also enhance learning and development practices.”
See: Benefits of Leveraging on HR Technology
Despite the high interest in adopting wearables, more than half (52 percent) of employees say that they are concerned about the amount of personal data employers can access via wearable technology. However, attitudes towards privacy vary between countries.
While as many as 60 percent of German employees express reservations, only 36 percent of Dutch employees feel this way. Overall, UK workers are the most hesitant to use wearables, with as many as one in five (20 percent) saying that they would not use wearables at all, compared to 10 percent in France, and 8 percent in Germany and the Netherlands.
Adapting HR and Recruitment Strategy to Wearable HR Tech
It will soon be a matter of hard to ignore fact that wearable technologies are going to take the world by storm and revolutionise workplaces. However, the major challenge faced by organisations today is, how to adapt HR and recruitment strategy to wearable tech?
Like for example, wearing Google Glass at an interview will allow you to record it and evaluate it back at work. Especially if you are interviewing candidates all day, it is difficult for hiring managers to register minute important details about every candidate. Herein wearable tech such as Google Glass helps recruiters to look back at performance, gauge responses, view body language etc. This will help HR professionals to decide better if the candidate is a perfect fit for the job role.
In another example of using wearable tech are the “beacon enabled phones” and watches. This wearable tech helps to connect with employees who are already a part of the workforce to track time discipline of employees such as lunch breaks, unscheduled time offs, extended leaves and a lot more which impact productivity can be accurately monitored. HR managers can then decide if such talent has to be retained or shown the doors.
Bracelets and wristbands can be worn by employees to keep a check on their health and monitor heart rate in case of any unrest on job. In case, the numbers monitored are high, the employee will be advised to take good rest and other members of the team will be alerted about their health condition. This will help reduce workload and stress when responsibilities are delegated.
Employers that successfully consider changes in attitudes and also develop a coherent and transparent framework for exposing data findings will improve employees working patterns by using wearable HR technology at a point in time in the near future.
Also read: Investments in HR Technology to Grow exponentially in 2015
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