Inside WorkShield’s Data-Driven Approach to Workplace Culture
Most HR tech companies claim to be data-driven. But what happens when you actually collect meaningful data about workplace behavior at scale? In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, WorkShield founder Jared Pope reveals how analyzing workplace misconduct data across 160,000 employees has uncovered surprising patterns that challenge conventional wisdom about workplace culture.
The Data Collection Engine
WorkShield’s approach to data collection is remarkably comprehensive. “With every issue that comes in, there’s 75 pieces of data that we have,” Jared explains. This granular data collection enables them to identify patterns that would be impossible to spot through traditional HR reporting systems.
Counterintuitive Insights
Perhaps their most surprising finding challenges assumptions about team composition. “Any department that has 100% male or 100% female has way more issues than when there’s departments that just have female and male together,” Jared reveals. This insight, which he notes is “what most people would say is counterintuitive,” has significant implications for how companies structure their teams.
The COVID-19 Effect
The pandemic provided an unexpected natural experiment. “We wondered at the time, okay, are we going to see more incidents during COVID or less because of the work from home?” Jared shares. The results were surprising.
“We actually saw more,” he continues. The shift to remote work changed behavior patterns dramatically: “When they’re on a Zoom call and they turn off the cameras, or they may say things that they probably wouldn’t say if they were in person across the table.”
Geographic and Cultural Patterns
The platform’s data reveals distinct regional variations in workplace behavior. Jared notes they can “take that data and apply it to our companies and our clients and say, hey, you’re having XYZ issues on the east coast versus west coast.”
Turning Insights into Action
WorkShield transforms these insights into actionable recommendations for clients. Their data shows that handling workplace misconduct internally costs companies around $20,000-21,000 per incident when accounting for:
- HR time
- Legal costs
- Potential turnover
- Lost productivity
The Human Element
Despite their data-driven approach, WorkShield maintains that technology alone can’t solve workplace culture issues. “We have a very hard line about any company that’s trying to solve workplace drama, toxicity, HR misconduct, through chatbots, through technology alone,” Jared emphasizes. “When these issues come up, voices want to be heard, and there’s got to be another human voice on the other side of that line.”
This hybrid approach – combining rich data analysis with human intervention – helps them resolve cases 70-80% faster than the industry average.
The Future of Workplace Analytics
Looking ahead, WorkShield is expanding their data collection and analysis capabilities. They’re positioning themselves to become “the preeminent platform that employers can go to not only make sure their HR drama misconduct issues are handled, but they can handle all their other issues as well, their ethics, their fraud, the whistleblower.”
Their commitment to data-driven insights is so strong that they’re planning to guarantee their service by covering insurance deductibles for clients who face lawsuits – a move that demonstrates their confidence in their analytical approach.
For B2B tech founders, WorkShield’s journey offers valuable lessons about the power of data in transforming traditional industries. Sometimes the most valuable insights come from challenging industry assumptions with hard data, even when those insights seem counterintuitive at first glance.