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Quentin Hardy reports at the NYT that a leading maker of cloud-based software for running corporate human resources and financial operations has announced new products that provide the kind of data analysis that Netflix uses to recommend movies, LinkedIn has to suggest people you might know, or Facebook needs to put a likely ad in front of you. One version of the software, called Insight Applications, predicts which high-performing employees are likely to leave a company in the next year; it then offers possible actions (more money, new job) that might make them stay. "We’re surprised how accurately we can predict someone will leave a job," says Mohammad Sabah, director of data science at Workday. The goal is to predict future business outcomes to take advantage of opportunities and cut risk levels. One future product may be the ability to predict who will and won’t make their sales quotas, and suggest who should be hired to improve the outcome. "Making an employee happy, improving the efficiency of a company these are hard problems that affect corporations."
(Score: 2) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Friday November 07 2014, @11:27PM
The assumption here is that management wants to keep employees. I ought to write the opposite software that takes management spreadsheets, the amount of bonuses that management wants, and so on to calculate the exact date you'll be fired. Management seems to operate by setting the bonus they want first and firing employees until they get there. Being employed is a risk level. Does management want anyone to stay? They'll just hire someone else to work cheaper if you did leave. If this software worked, management would use it to decide when to fire you.
And, really, the suggestion is to offer you more money? That's all they could come up with? Odd that making more money is a good indication you'll get fired. The more you make, the higher up in the spreadsheet you bubble.
Anyhow, I think this sort of software is a big snow job that separates dumb managers from their money. Even if it did work, anyone could game it to get a promotion if they knew what triggered the "possible actions" they wanted. Yeah, the software already predicted I'd say something cynical like that based on my previous posts. (Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.)
(E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday November 08 2014, @03:34PM
Anyhow, I think this sort of software is a big snow job that separates dumb managers from their money.
I've become skeptical about big data recently. I got rid of the Chrysler and bought a 2004 Pontiac in May. Last week I got two letters in the mail, one telling me that my Chrysler needed servicing, and one saying my Pontiac was being recalled.
If big data actually worked, I'd never have gotten the letter from Chrysler. Without government help, GM wouldn't have known who owned the car with that VIN.
Our nation is in deep shit, but it's illegal to say that on TV.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 08 2014, @11:27PM
i prefer to work for small companies
less pay than what big corps could afford (but not necessarily offer)
a little more job security (higher value as part of a smaller team)
more flexibility (hours, work type, work environment, leave, etc)
friendlier atmosphere
directors are often part of the production workforce too
more open to new ideas and more likely to encourage initiative
can be stressful when work dries up for a while, but i don't think any more than the continual stress of a big corp
problems arise when a company grows to the point where they need to hire 'managers' as a specific job title
i think one of the biggest mistakes is when a prospective employee pursues a high wage/salary at the expense of all else
you can have a decent salary and a miserable life, but on a reduced salary in a different company you might have a happier life. if you're lucky enough to have a high salary and a happy life you are very fortunate
with a reduced salary job you might have less "stuff" that you can afford, but most working people spend a significant part of their week at work, so if you're not happy at work you probably need to ask yourself if you're working in the right place
lower salary != lower standard of living; it's unfortunate that corporate media has painted this picture, neither are those ignorant fools pushing for higher minimum wage law that only serve to make it illegal for unskilled people to get a job