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  • December 1, 2021
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

Do You Know How Your Teams Get Work Done?

By: Rohan Narayana Murty, Rajath B. Das, Scott Duke Kominers, Arjun Narayan, Suraj Srinivasan, Tarun Khanna and Kartik Hosanagar
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

In a research study at four Fortune 500 companies, when managers were asked about their teams’ work, on average they either did not know or could not remember 60% of the work their teams do. This is a major problem because it can lead to unrealistic digital transformation targets and the poor allocation of resources. But in the same study, machine learning tools were able to bridge the gap between manager intuition and reality. The study showed that employing ML algorithms reduced the average work-recall gap from ~60% to 24%. Managers should roll out such ML tools but take steps to ensure employees don’t feel surveilled—they can anonymize and aggregate data, and communicate openly with employees about what they are measuring and what they hope to achieve.

Keywords

Leading Teams; Work Recall Gap; Machine Learning; Algorithms; Groups and Teams; Management; Technological Innovation

Citation

Murty, Rohan Narayana, Rajath B. Das, Scott Duke Kominers, Arjun Narayan, Suraj Srinivasan, Tarun Khanna, and Kartik Hosanagar. "Do You Know How Your Teams Get Work Done?" Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 1, 2021).
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About The Authors

Scott Duke Kominers

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

Suraj Srinivasan

Accounting and Management
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Tarun Khanna

Strategy
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More from the Authors
  • Hikma Pharmaceuticals Governance Journey By: Suraj Srinivasan and Jonah Goldberg
  • Sustainability Reporting at Dollar Tree, Inc. By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni
  • Ransomware at Springhill Medical Center By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni
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