Workscapes & Organizations

The inter-disciplinary team of social scientists of the Workscapes & Organizations (WO) conducts research on the knowledge economy by doing ethnographic studies of workplace settings. Building on PARC's pioneering work practice research and using techniques from sociology, anthropology, linguistics, and social psychology, WO researchers investigate entire workscapes in organizations.

Fundamental precepts of the WO approach are that knowledge is inseparable from practice, and that practices are fostered in work communities. WO research has led to corporate-level learning and knowledge-sharing strategies and the development of technologies that support knowledge creation in organizations.

Through formal analysis, PARC research develops more effective solutions by closing the gap between perceived processes and actual work practice.

Studies of Work and Practice
In most organizations, there is a gap between how work is presumed to get done and how it actually gets done. WO research closes this process/practice gap by uncovering how people do their work in actual practice. Using this research, WO researchers develop solutions that improve work practices and bring them into alignment with organizational goals.

Researchers capture naturally occurring conduct through participant observation, collections of documents and other artifacts used in the workplace, and audio-visual recordings of people doing their work. They apply a variety of formal tools to analyze the recordings, drawing on their expertise in generic human interaction and embodied conduct.

Work practice engagements range from a few months to a few years. Engagements provide WO researchers with an opportunity to conduct basic research and gather ongoing data for the evolving theoretical framework that underlies their work. In turn, researchers provide sponsoring organizations with customized solutions, based on their findings.

Research at the "Customer Front"
For the last several years, the WO team has focused its research at the "customer front" — the customer service call centers and counters where the organization interacts directly with its customers. With an increasing recognition of the crucial role customer service plays in their success, companies in many industries are investing in technology and training for customer service providers. By sponsoring WO studies of their customer service centers, companies can leverage these investments.

WO researchers specialize in on-site ethnographic studies and data analysis aimed at better understanding the interaction with and impact of technology used at the customer front. The WO team then develops solutions that enhance organizational metrics such as customer service, workforce productivity, and employee satisfaction and retention.

A PARC researcher records call center activity as part of the team's work practice investigation.

WO researchers have studied customer front call centers or counter operations at:
• 9-1-1 communications centers
• global insurance and investment firms
• document production centers
• survey research centers
• NASA mission control center

Customized Solutions
WO researchers implement customized learning and knowledge-sharing solutions in sponsors' organizations, studying the outcomes of their interventions as a means of validating their research.
These solutions may include a combination of:
• training programs
• on-the-job learning programs
• work and workgroup reorganization
• redesign of work spaces
• technology recommendations
• design of technological tools

Although researchers analyze each operational setting for its unique characteristics, their solutions are general and potentially scalable, requiring minimal customization.

Phased Interactive Learning
One of the methodologies WO researchers apply in many of their solutions is Phased Interactive Learning (PhIL). PhIL is a learning strategy that is based on the recognition that most of what people learn at work is learned on the job, rather than in formal training sessions.

PhIL is a scalable, organization-wide process for supporting and managing continuous, on-the-job learning. Based on peer-to-peer and subject matter expert training models, it uses a phased curriculum approach, providing a post-instruction training support process that depends on interactions among novices and subject matter experts.

PhIL was initially developed in 1996 during an engagement with Xerox Corporation. In the pilot implementation, participants performed as well as or better than their peers in selling supplies, servicing machines over the phone, and responding to customers' administrative queries. Now implemented among service technicians across Xerox, PhIL generates cost savings of 16 to 20 million dollars annually.

Based on this success, PhIL has been applied in a variety of work environments to optimize natural learning and work practices. It has also been adapted to a customer-training program called Phased Action Learning (PAL).