Prodoscore is an AI-based and employee-centric data intelligence solution dedicated to making teams more successful. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Prodoscore CEO Sam Naficy to learn more about the company.
Sam Naficy’s Background
What is Sam Naficy’s background? Naficy said:
“I have always been an entrepreneur with a passion for disruptive technology. Over the last 25-30 years, I have raised over $300M in debt and equity financing across different sectors, primarily, software.”
“Prior to Prodoscore, I was Chairman and CEO of DTiQ (formerly DTT), leading it to acquisition by Cisco and becoming today’s leading provider of digital business innovation solutions and software for restaurants, convenience stores, and retailers.”
“I have been involved with Prodoscore since its onset, initially as a board member before taking on the role of CEO.”
Formation Of Prodoscore
How did the idea for Prodoscore come together? Naficy shared:
“In an ever-changing work environment, finding ways to keep your organization at the top of its game and minimize any roadblocks to success can make or break your business. Research shows that data-driven companies will see greater levels of success.”
“To put it in more context, 20 years ago, DTT was the first to introduce advanced data solutions for the restaurant space and was initially met with widespread skepticism. Today, that technology is ubiquitous. These innovations have led to successful software solutions such as Salesforce and Gong, both massive businesses, and I believe this cycle is repeating itself again, this time with employee productivity emerging as the next software in the corporate tech stack.”
“CEOs and HR leaders need actionable insights to make smarter, better, and faster decisions that empower workers to work however they work best. Offering employees more flexibility and accountability as a part of your workplace culture is also paramount as the workforce becomes hybrid and the war on talent intensifies.”
“We believe in the power of AI to deliver positive transformation and are convinced that, when used in the right way, productivity data can bolster engagement and success.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Naficy reflected:
“It’s been a pretty wild few years, but since we basically got up and running at the start of the pandemic as a fully remote company, I’d say my favorite memory is our very first in-person offsite. After a couple of years of seeing each other only behind a screen, it was really great to get together in real life. Those bonds and that camaraderie make it all worth it!”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Naficy explained:
“Prodoscore is, at its core, a data intelligence solution. We provide an employee-centric solution that surfaces critical insights around how people work to create a ‘blueprint for success.’”
“Using Machine Learning, AI, & Natural Language Processing, we capture thousands of daily activity points across core business applications – like the Office Suite, phone system, CRM/ATS, chat tools, etc. – to provide meaningful and actionable insights that inform smarter decisions. Our proprietary scoring system serves as a unique foundation to enable trending analysis around work habits, cloud tool adoption, collaboration, and general productivity. Leaders gain the visibility needed to let people work however and wherever they work best. Our solution helps leaders better understand what makes their workers perform at their best and spot any red flags that could lead to burnout or churn before it’s too late. On the whole, the data we’re surfacing creates an environment of transparency across teams with an opportunity for self-coaching.”
Evolution Of Prodoscore’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Naficy noted:
“Prodoscore announced the beta launch of ProdoLabs in November 2023, enhancing its metrics to provide deeper insights into how people work. ProdoLabs is a think-tank for new ideas, giving Prodoscore customers greater visibility into the data with custom reporting functionality. In recent months, we’ve built out our Patterns and Comparison features, which reveal employee work patterns over time and provide a simple mechanism for comparing employees and visualizing that blueprint I mentioned earlier.”
“We are also working more and more on new AI capabilities that include recommendations and more custom reporting, plus a brand new Organizational Network Analysis tool that is gaining incredible traction so far.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Naficy cited:
“The launch of ProdoLabs will unlock a new era of business insights, offering unprecedented visibility into employee contributions to better inform decision-making about people. ProdoLabs is ever-changing and serves as a sandbox for our data science team to continue building on.”
“One of our most recent data reports shows that employees using AI have a “Prodoscore” – a score calculated by aggregating data from various tools and assigning each tool weight to generate a simple score indicative of digital engagement – 8 to 11 points higher than those who don’t. This productivity boost spans 40 roles in various industries, such as legal, staffing, and software, indicating that AI tools enhance productivity across various tasks. We’re eager to dive deeper into these metrics to uncover more insight on how workers are using AI to augment daily responsibilities and the subsequent impact on overall productivity.”
“In April, we published a proprietary report detailing year-over-year employee productivity trends, highlighting the 5% dip in productivity on Fridays compared to midweek. It also revealed trends in manager-employee communication, including an average communication gap of 3-4 days and a recommended 6:1 employee-to-manager ratio for maintaining consistent communication.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Naficy about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“One of the largest government agencies in the country partnered with Prodoscore to better understand employee productivity for in-office versus remote employees. Leadership was hesitant about offering a hybrid schedule, but employees wanted flexibility. After evaluating nine EPM (employee productivity monitoring) solutions, the agency selected Prodoscore.”
“The agency’s Hybrid Policy now includes an ‘opt-in’ feature for Prodoscore with a 95%+ opt-in rate among employees preferring a hybrid schedule. Leadership uses Prodoscore to identify disengaged or at-risk employees, define opportunities for process improvement, and measure the adoption rates of cloud-based applications. With the help of Prodoscore, this customer has been able to support the needs of their 5000+ person team while ensuring accountability.”
“We’ve seen a lot of success in the legal industry and one recent report revealed that an increase in an attorney’s average Prodoscore predicts up to a 6.3% increase in fees, even when accounting for tenure. Efforts to boost activities associated with high Prodoscores, even among newcomers, can significantly increase revenue. ”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market size is the company pursuing? Naficy assessed:
“Prodoscore is designed for midsize to enterprise organizations. We’ve seen success specifically among staffing firms, law firms and organizations with sizable sales teams. Notably, we focus more on technology than industry or company size – any metrics-driven business using cloud tools will benefit from the insights we surface. As far as who typically buys our solution, we primarily work with the C-suite with support from HR and/or IT.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Prodoscore from its competition? Naficy affirmed:
“Prodoscore’s biggest differentiator is that we are cloud-based. So, we capture rich activity details via APIs, whereas other solutions typically capture activity by installing a local agent on a machine. Being API-based means, we are only measuring activity that ties into business applications versus picking up false positives or tracking all computer activity. Plus, we can capture work done on multiple devices (i.e., a Zoom call taken from your cell phone on the run).”
“Other advantages include a 15-minute implementation plus 90-day data pullback for several tools.”
Employee Productivity Data
What is employee productivity data, and how does it contribute to a more productive workplace? Naficy replied:
“Employee surveillance produces junk data. Our platform focuses on the metrics that matter and merges employee productivity data from core business applications into an easy-to-use dashboard, presenting it as a simple score.”
“Productivity tracking data also helps create transparent relationships without awkward one-on-ones by showcasing employee contributions, unreasonable workloads, and team collaboration.”
“In my opinion, understanding HOW people work really drives success. Some people may be better suited for certain tools, others may work better in an office, some may get more done in the evenings. It’s really difficult for us as leaders to identify those habits (and sometimes for people quite honestly to know for sure!) so productivity data really helps make that possible.”
“And even more importantly, in some cases, it provides insight into what success looks like – how many times have you wished you had more “Toms” – a great employee? With a clear understanding of how Tom works, you can identify best practices.”
Analyzing Insights
What kind of data does Prodoscore analyze to provide insights into employee productivity? Naficy answered:
“Our API-based activity tracking software is unobtrusive yet comprehensive, and it ensures clients are maximizing resources and driving success.”
“With insight into employee activity, including internal collaboration, daily work habits, and cloud tool usage, managers can identify when an employee starts to veer off course. They can answer questions like, Are they less collaborative? Spending less time in meetings? Limiting cloud tool usage? These are all signs of disengagement, and our data shows that six weeks before attriting, employees typically start to disengage from the business.”
“We also help with workforce optimization. Measuring optimization is not just about tracking time spent on tasks; it’s about understanding how work is being done and how it aligns with your business goals. We go beyond mere time tracking to provide a comprehensive picture of employee work patterns, including things like engagement, collaboration, and technology usage.”
Improving Business Performance
How can Prodoscore’s visibility into productivity help improve overall business performance? Naficy pointed out:
“Prodoscore’s groundbreaking data reveals that 15% of payroll dollars are at risk due to workforce inefficiencies. For a 150-employee company with an average $60,000 salary, this equates to $1.3 million in potential losses annually.”
“Our non-invasive monitoring tracks business app activity without compromising personal privacy, fostering trust. Seamless integration allows rapid deployment into existing systems via an intuitive, centralized hub. Our API monitoring software ensures data privacy, compliance, and controlled software distribution, providing comprehensive visibility by capturing productivity data across all devices. This promotes accountability among remote and hybrid employees while safeguarding personal information.”
“In today’s business environment, leaders need to leverage data to be more effective and make proactive changes. Prodoscore’s visibility into productivity enables exactly that. When managers ‘quiet quit,’ the impact on company morale and culture can be significant. To mitigate turnover, leaders must use productivity intelligence solutions like Prodoscore to identify disengagement before it affects the business.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Naficy concluded:
“Everything we do is built on AI and we want to continue to build on our model to provide richer insight as well as a recommendation engine.”
