AI Replaces Employee Surveys!
Can AI take over the annual employee survey or the periodic occupational health survey (PAGO)? Yes, says employee experience expert Heleen Mes. In fact, this development is already underway. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in employee surveys offers organizations the opportunity to gain deeper and faster insights into the well-being and engagement of their employees, allowing them to respond more effectively to their teams’ needs.
Text Analysis of Emails and Chats
AI startup KeenCorp gauges employee engagement by analyzing the text in emails and chat messages. “Stress and engagement are expressed in language,” explains Viktor Mirovic, co-founder of KeenCorp. “You might not be aware of it, but our language patterns change with our emotions. Our algorithm searches for these patterns. The resulting scores are presented to companies in an index, and it’s up to them to investigate the causes.”
Real-Time Measurement
According to Mirovic, using AI in employee surveys has several advantages. “You no longer need to conduct periodic surveys that only half of the employees complete. AI measures engagement in real-time,” says the co-founder. “Management and employees can use this as a temperature gauge for employee engagement across the board, allowing for quicker action. With all the focus on psychological safety, MeToo, and emerging scandals, you want to stay ahead of the curve.”
Privacy and Reliability
But can organizations just monitor all their employees’ emails and chat messages? “We comply with the highest privacy standards,” says Mirovic. “It’s fully GDPR-compliant. The analysis is impossible to trace back to individuals.” Furthermore, the outcomes are very reliable, according to Mirovic. “Our algorithm has been thoroughly tested. With new clients, we first run a test using past data, comparing the analysis to the organization’s ups and downs. These results align perfectly, which builds trust.”
Engagement and Well-being
Erwin Brik, HR Director at VWE Automotive (a business service provider for the automotive industry), uses KeenCorp. “We were dissatisfied with our traditional employee survey methods. Twice a year wasn’t enough, and we wanted to keep a closer eye on engagement and well-being. The KeenCorp Index allows us to do just that. Our Works Council agreed to it from the start. Not every employee wanted to participate, but that’s okay—it’s voluntary. In the end, about 99% chose to participate.”
Faster Problem-Solving
So far, Brik is very satisfied with AI. “It works for us. During the pandemic, we could see the impact of every press conference: when schools closed, it was reflected in the KeenCorp Index,” the HR Director explains.
How things are really going within teams and among different categories of employees becomes immediately visible. “There’s no more hiding. We can have conversations and work on solutions sooner. At the beginning, we shared the index results with employees quarterly, as agreed. That was sufficient, and employee interest in the outcomes gradually decreased. Now, we discuss the results within teams and upon request. Our management team and Board of Supervisors monitor the index monthly.”
“With AI, we can engage in conversations and work on solutions sooner.”
— Erwin Brik, HR Director at VWE Automotive
Genuinely Interested
What advice does Brik have for organizations considering AI for well-being? “Using a tool only makes sense if you’re genuinely interested in the outcomes and plan to act on them.” VWE Automotive still uses a written survey as well. Every six months, they measure the e-NPS (employee Net Promoter Score), intent to stay, and job satisfaction based on ten questions.
Facial Scanning for Mental and Physical Health
The Belgian AI startup IntelliProve offers software that conducts facial scans using the camera on your smartphone, laptop, or tablet. Co-founder Joeri Tulkens explains: “Our facial scan technology measures things in a few seconds that are not visible to the naked eye but provide information about both your mental and physical health. We already measure heart rate, respiration, stress, and mental health factors like depression, energy, and sleep quality. We plan to expand this information in the coming years. We’re collaborating with TU Delft and several Belgian partners on this. Our facial scan can easily be integrated into organizations’ vitality platforms. However, your face isn’t scanned without your knowledge. Privacy is, of course, guaranteed.”
Integrated Follow-Up
When the facial scan is used, more employees tend to use the vitality platform, and they use it more frequently. “We strongly believe in the ‘seeing is believing’ principle,” says Tulkens. “When users literally see the positive impact of a vitality platform on their health, it increases their engagement with these services. The outcomes of the facial scan lead to integrated follow-ups that can benefit the user. The facial scan focuses on individual employees as users, while the organization gains insight into the overall picture. Some of IntelliProve’s healthcare clients use facial analysis not only for employees but also for patients.”
