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Discussion Board, Using Technology for a More Efficient Business

The need to control costs has been around since trade, buying and selling, began. Each new technology creates new possibilities in production and cost reduction. Recent technology isn't any different. Leaps in connectivity and data management are creating as many start-ups and new ways of identifying and solving problems.

Innovu uses new technology to help small and start-up business control the costs of their health benefits. Most small companies and start-ups are self-insured; that is, the company pays any covered employee medical bills or finances any wellness programs directly. According to Diane Hess, the executive director of the Central Penn Business Group on Health, employers account for 30 percent of the $2.9 trillion in health care spending in the United States, and workers' compensation cost employers $91 billion in 2014. These costs included $31.4 billion for medical and $30.9 in cash payments (Hess 2016).

Innovu mines employee claims to find trends and also provides data on costs due to absenteeism, disability, and workers' compensation (Mamula 2017). As employers move to wellness programs to improve productivity and reduce medical costs, Innovu helps employers "make sure there are improvements to justify the expenses"(Hess 2016 n.p.).

In a similar vein, Marsh & McLennan Agency Michigan LLC is moving from simply providing insurance and generic "wellness programs" to helping companies focus on improving employees' overall wellbeing.

While traditional wellness programs focus on physical health to improve productivity, the emerging trend is to help employees with family, social, and financial issues as well. The most comprehensive program from Marsh & McLennan is its MMA Michigan's Wellbeing University, which works to expand traditional wellness programs into nontraditional support services. The comprehensive approach of the program helps midsize employers "attract and retain talent, encourage employee satisfaction and reduce absenteeism." The move beyond simple wellness is a move toward investing in employees. Bret Jackson, president of Economic Alliance for Michigan, said, "If you have a happy and healthy employee, productivity increases" (Greene 2017 n.p.).

Branch Messenger is a novel idea to solve employee scheduling. Employees are able to view schedules, cover shifts, and ask for time off, all from an app on their phone. It integrates with existing company systems to allow data analysis, but perhaps more importantly, it allows employees to connect. The startup's program has been adopted by large companies, such as Target, McDonald's, and Walgreens, to allow employees to swap shifts simply by using an app on their cell phones. This process streamlines the process of swapping shifts by allowing employees to handle most of the leg work, "bridging the communication gap between workers and the companies that employ them." The application is free to employees and runs on both iOS and Android devices. It can also generate digital schedules from paper schedules and create messaging channels that are workplace specific. Moving past simple shift flexibility, the application allows businesses to tap into an "on-demand" workforce that is more elastic. It also allows enterprises to "extend the value of existing workforce management systems without the need to switch costs" (Takahasi 2017 n.p.)

Allison Harden, a shift manager for a Pizza Hut in Tampa, Florida, likes the added connectivity of the program. "The messaging feature and the ability to share pictures and posts makes it really easy to stay connected with them," Allison says. "It's a way that I can do it outside a social network. Not everyone has Facebook and stuff like that-so it's good and work-friendly, safe for work" (Branch Messenger 2017 n.p.).

"Safe for work" can carry connotations of "oversharing" on social media, but during Hurricane Irma, Allison and her crew relied on Branch Messenger for storm preparation, allowing the manager to post a safety checklist and update shifts. Then during the storm itself and after, drivers were able to tell each other which gas stations actually had gas, who still had electricity, and who was safe (Branch Messenger 2017).

Questions:

1. What ethical problems could surface with data mining as it applies to employee health records?

2. What security risks would a company need to consider when utilizing smartphone apps for work?