The Rise of Employee Surveillance Software
Employee surveillance is increasingly prevalent. A recent poll revealed that searches for staff-monitoring software surged by 75% in March 2020 compared to the monthly average from 2019, with strong demand continuing through 2021 and 2022. This trend is largely driven by the transition to hybrid work during the pandemic. A 2022 Microsoft survey found that 85% of leaders struggle to trust that their employees are productive.
Startups specializing in work-monitoring software are capitalizing on this trend. For instance, Erudit, an innovative company that utilizes AI to track workforce metrics like turnover risk and burnout rates, recently secured $10 million in Series A funding led by Conexo Ventures, Athos Capital, Ignia Partners, True Blue Partners, and Fondo Bolsa Social.
Erudit, much like other workplace-surveillance tools, integrates with existing applications such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom to gauge organizational health. It processes collected data using advanced AI algorithms to produce scores based on metrics like alignment, autonomy, engagement, and satisfaction.
“Organizations recognize that the best decisions stem from the best data,” Alejandro Agenjo, co-founder of Erudit alongside Ricardo Reyes, stated in an email interview. “However, many companies operate with limited visibility because current people analytics largely depend on retroactive indicators. Erudit empowers businesses to monitor employee productivity in real-time without disrupting workflows or introducing biases common in traditional data collection methods, such as surveys.”
Despite the promise of such technology, I am concerned about the potential for errors, misinterpretations, and biases. Erudit claims to use AI models “trained by psychologists” to analyze and categorize the sentiment in chat messages exchanged among employees. The company’s demo page showcases how the model detects phrases like “I’m so stressed,” “I can’t handle it anymore,” and “I’m looking at other jobs.”
“With Erudit, organizations can identify which benefits are impactful, understand why the sales team may be underperforming, determine which managers have engaged teams, and assess the real-time impact of executive communications,” Agenjo noted. “And no surveys are required.”
While Erudit states that it anonymizes chat data it collects, I worry that employees may inherently distrust software that analyzes their private messages, regardless of anonymization.
This concern is not unfounded. A 2021 survey by ExpressVPN found that 56% of employees experience stress and anxiety about employer surveillance of their communications, with 43% viewing it as a breach of trust.
Erudit allows its clients to exclude certain employees, teams, or departments from monitoring, though the decision rests solely with the administrators.
Beyond privacy concerns, I question whether Erudit's models acknowledge language variations among individuals from different backgrounds and cultures. Many AI models overlook these nuances, potentially leading to discrimination. A previous study from Penn State found that social media posts about individuals with disabilities could be misclassified as negative by widely-used sentiment detection models.
Moreover, how does Erudit address fleeting lapses in judgment? If an employee sends a frustrated direct message to a colleague and then promptly deletes it, how would Erudit handle that situation? I’ve sought clarification from the company.
In his response, Agenjo explained, “Deleted messages wouldn’t be processed, as we perform daily checkpoints rather than monitoring messages as they come in. Even in integrations that could analyze deleted messages, we refrain from doing so to respect the employee’s choice to withhold that sentiment.”
Even if Erudit functions as claimed—which remains uncertain—employees may justifiably fear how managers might interpret and act upon the data provided by the platform. Will teams that are deemed insufficiently “engaged” or “aligned” face undue repercussions? What about managers whose teams are inherently less satisfied, for reasons beyond their control? These questions linger.
To address criticisms, Erudit published a detailed blog post explaining its platform's design and functionality, suggesting that it is simply a tool that can be utilized positively or negatively. I am skeptical of this neutral stance, but interpretations vary.
Regardless, Erudit reports a thriving customer base, claiming “dozens” of businesses currently utilize its platform. The company employs 20 and anticipates further growth in customer support, success, and sales roles in the coming months.
“Optimizing processes and enhancing unit economics entails harnessing the full potential of business intelligence from the vast data resources companies possess; this is now a top priority for C-level executives,” Agenjo concluded. “I believe Erudit plays a pivotal role in bridging people, business intelligence, and AI.”
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