BOSTON – In one of the latest attempts to quantify and analyze human behavior, Boston-based company Humanyze has developed a tracking tool in the form an employee badge, combining sensors including, for example, a microphone and accelerometer. When worn, the smart badge collects massive amounts of behavioral data from employees, which businesses can then use to analyze and improve the productivity of their workforce, according to a report from Springwise.

Each badge is worn by an individual employee and collects more than 40 pieces of data daily — including how much the employee moved around, the tone of their voice and if they leaned in when speaking to co-workers and customers. This data is uploaded to the cloud, where it can be analyzed alongside other business metrics, providing companies with insight into how employee behaviors affect overall company performance. The company can then begin to make adjustments to its employee relations training and measure the effectiveness of the changes through A/B testing.

Humanyze, the startup behind the device, has already begun a partnership with Bank of America, testing out the system on some of their 10,000 employees, with interesting results. According to Springwise, having noticed that employees interact most with each other during the overlap of their lunch breaks, the company experimented with giving one group of employees group lunch while keeping another on the staggered schedule. They were able to ascertain that group lunch had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the employee’s performance: It reduced stress — which is measured by tone of voice — by 19% and it significantly increased staff efficiency — call completion time rose by 23%.