The way we work has evolved more in the last five years than it did in the preceding 50.
First, it was the rise of remote work due to the pandemic. Now, AI is causing organizations to rethink every aspect of their processes.
One person familiar with this rapid transformation is Ivan Petrovic, CEO and founder of workplace analytics software company Insightful.io. Mr Petrovic’s company has been building software for this changing landscape since 2016. We sat down and asked him about his predictions about what the future of work holds for employees and employers.
Imagining Remote Work Before its Rise
In 2016, as a fresh-faced 20-something computer developer, Petrovic noticed how an increasing number of people in his professional circles were working on their laptops from home. It was the first seed of remote work, invisible to most of the world.
But not Mr Petrovic.
Convinced that this would become the default way of working in future, Mr Petrovic wondered to himself: How are managers meant to manage if their people are miles away from them? The idea for Insightful was the answer to this question.
Mr Petrovic quickly built the first incarnation of Insightful.io – then known as Workpuls. The employee time tracking app was designed to provide insights into employee work – activities, time, attendance – from wherever they worked.
“I built the first version of Insightful because the way the world works was changing – and managers weren’t equipped with the tools needed to keep up,” Mr Petrovic said.
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Riding a Workplace Wave
It turns out Mr Petrovic was right in his belief that modern work was about to become more distributed. Slowly at first. But then the pandemic hit and most of the world went remote. After steady growth pre-pandemic, Insightful experienced exponential growth of 600% as workers around the world were forced to work from home.
This adoption is reflected across the industry. According to research by Gartner, around 60% of workplaces now implement productivity tracking tools. Staff management software is clearly now a mainstay of modern work.
This rapid trajectory has continued ever since. Insightful is used by more than 200,000 people in over 5,000 organizations. A truly global company, Insightful is used in over 50 countries. The company is projecting 70% growth in 2025.
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What’s Behind the Growth of Demand for Workforce Analytics
Data is the currency of today’s digital world. The more data organizations have, the better decisions they are able to make. Providing company leaders with reams of deep yet easy to understand is the modus operandi of Insightful.
“When we started out, the data we provided was very focused around activity, time and attendance,” Mr Petrovic said.
“Since then, we’re continually adding more depth to the data insights we provide. Today, company leaders have access to data around productivity, employee burnout, technology usage, focus, and more.”
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AI in the Workplace
Like every industry, the arrival of AI has the potential to entirely reshape today’s workplaces. While it’s still early and there’s much to play out, Insightful has already made early strides into AI.
The company last year introduced its InsightsAI assistant, which helps managers using Insightful to answer questions about the workplace data managed through Insightful.
“We see AI as a huge force multiplier in the workplace,” Mr Petrovic said.
“In the context of Insightful, AI can act as a data analyst that digs into data captured on the platform to help managers make better decisions. Like, are employees at risk of burnout, or are workload unbalanced. The potential is massive”.
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The Continued Evolution of the Workplace
In recent months, there has been a spate of return to office mandates. High profile organizations like JPMorgan, Amazon, Google and the federal government have all issued RTO mandates, ordering employees back to the office.
This snap back to the “old way” of working is another variable in the evolution of the workplace. Looking forward, Mr Petrovic doesn’t see this new trend having an impact on organizations’ desire and dependence on data to run effectively. In short, employee time tracking software isn’t going anywhere.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of companies requiring employees to return to the office,” Mr Petrovic said.
“But company leaders are so accustomed to managing our data, this isn’t hindering the adoption of tools like ours. In fact, we’re seeing remarkable year-on-year growth
“Our focus is on providing managers and leaders with the most precise data about their people and processes, whether they work in the office, remotely, or hybrid.”
