A very interesting book and very recommended as en eye-opener on the drawbacks of the increasing usage of algorithms in our societies is ‘Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy‘ by Cathy O’Neil.
She mentions a very interesting study: “A few years ago , MIT researchers analyzed the behavior of call center employees for Bank of America to find out why some teams were more productive than others. The researchers found , to their surprise , that the fastest and most efficient call center team was also the most social . These employees pooh – poohed the rules and gabbed much more than the others . And when all of the employees were encouraged to socialize more , call center productivity soared.” And algorithms to drive the work of people in the call center were not the prime factor for productivity.
In call centers like in complex project endeavors, I observe again and again that overall effectiveness and productivity is highly correlated with an effective, social team. How long will it take for this fact to permeate management culture?
Making sure a team develops into an effective team is the single best investment that can be done. It does not much, it requires leadership. When will this become mainstream?
