Crowds of employees, intrusive advertising … At the VivaTech fair, a nightmare future?

At VivaTech, among four-legged robots, young startuppers with already sharp teeth, big-hearted investors in immaculate T-shirts, a former Minister of Transport and another of Production Recovery, in this place the future of our companies is forged. .

Here, the French speak English with other French and terms like cryptolab, NFT, blockchain or metaverse are part of everyday language. We come across empty slogans – such as “Innovation ignites positive change” – and brilliant inventions that could revolutionize medicine. As you could see Mariannesome innovations certainly promise a (dis) nominating future for both consumers and workers.

Customer service which means good

With Alcméon, traditional advertising and the pile of flyers stuck in your mailbox, the one you throw in the trash when you discover it, are over. And the e-mail? Too trivial. Imagine instead of receiving a text message or a Facebook message, it is not your friend or your sister, but Disneyland Paris that comes to remind you of the events it has planned for you.

This new trend, called “messaging”, is gaining momentum in companies’ marketing strategies. This is neither more nor less than allowing brands to send you “notifications” directly via WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, iMessage or via WeChat if you are in China. Initially designed as a tool to improve customer relationships through an algorithm, it allows customers to establish a faster connection with resellers in the event of a problem. Except that Alcméon goes above and beyond, and this is where the shoe pinches, ensuring that this bond is mutual. With the coverage of greater “closeness”, the consumer who agrees to be contacted by the brand effectively opens Pandora’s box.

READ ALSO:All the creators of start-ups? The great illusion

Alcméon’s algorithm allows these brands to do this “harnessing the power of messaging as a new marketing and sales channel” and of “designs a scenario to allow customers to purchase a product or service in Messenger or Apple Messages.” In other words, what you modestly accept to call “Colloquial trade”is a targeted advertisement that will take the form of a private message.

The algorithm even allows you to filter customer requests and favor those classified as “VIP” by replacing the “bot” with a dedicated consultant … The new privilege is to have a human being in front of you rather than a robot. Large companies such as Dior, Orange or Carrefour have already used Alcméon’s service. “Purchase is just a click away!” “, we can read on his site. At the fair, an exhibitor of the brand proudly paraphrases Houellebecq on this topic: “That’s the store domain extension!” ” Or time, or customs.

The physicist of work?

Does your company rate you based on your physical condition? This brilliant innovation can be found at the booth of our Belgian neighbors. At first glance, Formyfit works like many other sports apps. It defines individualized training for those who need motivation or a program to practice regular sporting activity.

Yes, but now the dashboard designed by Formyfit has a bit of originality. “Today, companies are concerned about the well-being of their employees. We offer them to establish a fitness diagnosis and digital coaching of their employees “underlines the representative of the start up.

READ ALSO: “Governance”: neo-managerial bullshit in all its horror

Human resources have access to a dashboard for monitoring “The impact of all the actions implemented”. Formyfit also allows it “Create team challenges, with a gift system. Each employee also receives an eligibility report each week to assess their progress. And obviously all this in a perfectly altruistic view of the company: “Employees in good physical shape feel better about themselves and are therefore more efficient, less sick and more motivated. This can only promote the working atmosphere and team spirit. “

The icing on the performance cake, the application establishes an “enterprise” fitness score and an individualized score for each employee between 1 and 100. What if the score is below 50? In the United States, many companies may already refuse to cover an employee’s health insurance because it would not take care of her health. The best of worlds.

Please move less

“No more absenteeism, relocating employees close to home!” ” we can read on the site of “1 km on foot”. This “techno-solutionist” start-up, in the words of its founder Laure Wagner, offers companies the analysis of employee HR records to offer them an alternative to their travel arrangements, based on each person’s profile.

The main objective? Workers outside the big cities who often have no choice but to drive to work. The start-up works primarily with multi-site companies to carry out reassignments. Highlight the climate emergency and the need to reduce commuting times. So good for the planet … and for the company’s balance sheet. The proposed solutions allow companies to save on the shoulders of employees who do not necessarily want to leave a place where they used to be.

READ ALSO: Emmanuel Todd: “Basically, intelligence is advancing, as is the rate of morons graduating from above”

“It also makes it possible to reduce absenteeism, to reduce turnover and detain the employee “also says Laure Wagner. “Each action is detailed to the point that a trainee could follow our step by step steps to implement the Mobility Plan”, we can read on the company’s website. Hopefully the intern has invested in a new bike.

Robotization

In one corner of the exhibition, two stands particularly captured the attention of the participants. Two “disruptive” inventions in many respects, since robots have taken over here. The Knext company is preparing to revolutionize the world of baristas. Understanding: putting them in technical unemployment. Here are two robots in the form of automated arms serving various drinks to multiple customers at the same time. Judging by the success of these machines developed by the German SAR group, we imagine that they very quickly replace the humans behind the counter of our favorite cafes, just as the automatic cash register gradually replaces the cashiers.

READ ALSO: Seasonal: to avoid shortages and wage increases, the bosses call Tunisians

Alongside, the Eyepick company develops automation software to teach robots to replicate manual tasks. The machine prepares various salad recipes under the eyes of amazed spectators. A ready solution to the labor shortage that is hitting the restaurant industry hard? Give up labor completely. At least, this one won’t have the audacity to ask for a pay raise …