Digitization has reached virtually all sectors of the labor market. With the use of new technologies, companies are modernizing and making their processes more efficient, as in Industry 4.0, for example.
The search for new growth opportunities drives these changes, generating changes in the routine of professionals. In contact with these innovations, connected workers emerge, who work with a greater volume of data and have their activities supported by a greater number of digital tools.
What is the connected worker?
The concept is new and is not part of any management or HR theory, for example. But we call “connected worker” one who is constantly using digital tools in the professional environment, which allows his activities to be monitored and a high volume of data to be generated in this combination.
This was only possible because smart devices spread quickly all over the world, which allowed everyone to be always connected. In fact, this breakdown of barriers between online and offline has brought more flexible ways of working, which benefits the environment, workers and the company itself.
Thus, connected workers can have different profiles: they range from the operator on the shop floor, who has systems that assist and respond to their actions in real time, to managers and executives who monitor production performance indicators and use data to create continuous improvement strategies.
Why bring connection to workers?
New technologies are not always cheap. However, the cost-effectiveness of some of them can really be worthwhile, as connected workers bring great benefits to companies. According to a Prophet survey, these are the main factors that drive organizations to adopt digital tools for their employees:
Market growth opportunities (51%)
Evolution of customer behavior preferences (46%)
Increased competitive pressure (41%)
New regulations and compliance standards (38%)
Evolution of employee preferences (26%)
Proactive investment to correct bottlenecks (26%)
Lack of digital initiatives (19%)
Decreased business performance (12%)
Others (1%)
In other words, it is an investment that, in the medium or long term, will bring benefits to employees, who will have a better experience in the day-to-day activities, managers, who will have more inputs to evaluate the performance of employees and the processes carried out; to the company, which tends to have better results with a more efficient operation and to the final consumer, who will have a higher quality product / service in their hands.
The worker connected in practice
But after all, how can digitalization bring so many benefits? The potential of technology is practically infinite and there are several solutions that can suit your business. The big secret is to assess what are the biggest pains of your operational teams and how a digital tool can optimize their work.
For example, facilities companies or maintenance contractors have a lot to gain from connected workers. As the service of your staff is in a third party environment, it is difficult to monitor the activities of these employees and even offer the necessary support. Using IoT sensors, this problem is solved. Novidá has a case with Paul Wurth in this scenario, which identified that his team was only in the productive area only 26% of the time. You can download this case for free here.
Having workers connected also allows for real-time communication. Managers can contact their team to help with troubleshooting. On the other hand, field workers can collect information in the cloud or use wearables for training. Leaving the operational area, even a doctor can make assessments on his patients using digital tools. Did you understand the potential of connected workers?
Novidá’s solution with connected workers
Novidá has developed a digital supervision platform that monitors the movement of employees in business environments. Using smart tags and beacons, our solution allows you to view the employee’s entire journey during their productive routine.
Thus, it is possible to calculate times and movements, control employee breaks, ensure that tasks are rotated, locate employees or mobile equipment in real time and much more!
With connected workers, you can quickly identify your company’s productive bottlenecks, make better use of available labor and increase operational efficiency.
Large companies such as Gerdau, Boticário and FCA have already used our solution and optimized processes with the best management of operational teams. Download our successful cases for free and understand how your company can also benefit.
