The best HR & People Analytics articles of 2023 (Part 1 of 2)
Ten years ago, I stumbled upon an idea of collating a year-end compendium of 20 people analytics and data-driven HR articles from the previous 12 months and publishing it on LinkedIn.
Back then it was a challenge to find 20 articles. Today, it is an even bigger challenge to limit myself to 60 articles - such has been the growth of people analytics in the last decade. Indeed, as I reminisced by reading the nine collections to date for 2014, 2015, 2016 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (Part 1 and Part 2), it became abundantly clear that the development in the field has been staggering.
The progress of people analytics has been mirrored by the human resources field in general as it transforms from a support function to a strategic partner. As I wrote in my article, 12 Opportunities for HR in 2024, the field has a huge opportunity to lead the way to a more productive, inclusive, healthier, and humane future of work. People analytics needs to play a pivotal role in this mission.
The 60 articles are assembled into two instalments: Part 1, which follows here has the first five sections: i) the future of work and people strategy, ii) workplace design and strategy, iii) AI and the world of work, iv) people analytics, and v) employee experience, listening and wellbeing. Part 2 has the second group of five topics: vi) the evolution of HR, HR operating models and the CHRO, vii) building a data driven culture in HR, viii) workforce planning, skills, and talent marketplace, ix) leadership and culture, and x) diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
I hope you enjoy reading the selections for 2023. If you do, please subscribe to my weekly Digital HR Leaders newsletter, which is published every Tuesday via Insight222, and tune in to the Digital HR Leaders podcast.
(i) FUTURE OF WORK AND PEOPLE STRATEGY
MCKINSEY - The State of Organizations 2023: Ten shifts transforming organizations
Let’s start with what’s on the mind of CEOs and business leaders. Research from McKinsey identified ten of the most important organisational shifts that businesses need to address today (see FIG 1), which are likely to shape business and people strategy in the coming years. A significant takeaway is how many of the ten shifts are either primarily a talent topic or one where talent is a significant element. This reinforces the importance of an effective HR function that is focused on employee experience, premised on developing a thriving, inclusive and healthy culture, and powered by people data and analytics. (Authors: Dr. Patrick Guggenberger, Dana Maor, Michael Park, and Dr. Patrick Simon).
Getting organizations right is not just about individual companies and institutions; it’s about the broader well-being of society.
FIG 1: Ten shifts transforming organisations (Source: McKinsey)
DIANE GHERSON – The New Deal of Work | SHRM PEOPLE + STRATEGY - Rethinking Work and the Workplace
Diane Gherson guest edits the fall edition of People + Strategy magazine, articulating in her editor’s preface that: “New work models, new business requirements and new employee expectations are coming together at full speed, putting at risk our status quo arrangements in the organization—and even the role and scope of HR.” These themes flow through all of the articles in the edition including: (1) David Rock on what neuroscience can teach us about the tug of war between employers and employees on the return to office debate. (2) Josh Bersin examining the implications of “blowing up” the traditional model for full-time long-term employees (see FIG 2). (3) RJ Milnor presents four questions for CHROs about the growth of fractional work and its impact on talent strategy. (4) Judith Wiese explaining how Siemens replaced performance reviews with a new concept built on dialogues focused on growth.
New work models, new business requirements and new employee expectations are coming together at full speed, putting at risk our status quo arrangements in the organization—and even the role and scope of HR.
FIG 2: Creating a Strategic Workforce Plan (Source: Josh Bersin)
BCG AND THE WORLD FEDERATION OF PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONS - Creating People Advantage 2023: Set the Right People Priorities for Challenging Times Article | Full Report
BCG’s bi-annual Creating People Advantage is consistently one of the best studies in our field. Two findings that stand out from the 2023 report are: (1) Only 35% of HR professionals agree that their company’s people management function is using relevant digital technologies. (2) Just 30% say that HR is using data and analytics to anticipate people challenges. This is despite People and HR strategy, planning, and analytics, being ranked as the #1 future people management topic (see FIG 3). The report also outlines five recommendations for people management leaders: (1) Leverage data to accurately plan for talent supply and demand. (2) Get better at talent acquisition. (3) Invest in upskilling and reskilling the current workforce. (4) Unlock value through AI. (5) Focus on change management and organizational development. (Authors: Jens Stefan Baier, Vinciane Beauchene, Julie Bedard, Jean-Michel Caye, Dr. Philipp Kolo, Fang Ruan, Alexander Alonso, PhD SHRM-SCP, Anthony Ariganello, Kai H. Helfritz, Bob Morton, Chartered CCIPD, Lucas van Wees, and Wilson Wong.)
FIG 3: Ranking of future importance of nine people management topics (Source: BCG)
ADAM GRANT AND TE-PING CHEN - What CEOs Are Getting Wrong About the Future of Work—and How to Make It Right
In an interview with Te-Ping Chen of The Wall Street Journal, Adam Grant cites research on how employee performance and retention improves in a hybrid environment to urge leaders to experiment more when it comes to testing new ways of working. Grant advises leaders to think like scientists when making decisions: “Every opinion you hold at work is a hypothesis waiting to be tested. And every decision you make is an experiment waiting to be run.” He also explains how employees can catalyse change from within and highlights the promise of the four-day week - a concept Grant has long championed: “Every experiment I have seen on reducing work hours suggests that people are as productive, if not more productive. I’d much rather have people do six focused hours a day or four focused days a week than eight distracted hours or five unmotivated days.”
So many leaders just implement decisions. It is like life is an A/B test, but they just ran with the A, and didn’t even realize that there was a possible B, C, D, and E. Too many leaders feel like their decisions are permanent. As opposed to saying, “We’re going to test and learn.”
ELIZABETH J. ALTMAN, DAVID KIRON, JEFF SCHWARTZ, AND ROBIN JONES - Manage Your Workforce Ecosystem, Not Just Your Employees
In their article based on their book – Workforce Ecosystems, Elizabeth J. Altman, David Kiron, Jeff Schwartz, and Robin Jones, introduce the concept of an integrated workforce ecosystem. They highlight the three types of issues that need to be resolved: (1) Structural design (concerned with the division of labour, goals, and incentives). (2) Politics (relating to resources, power, and status). (3) Culture (affecting individuals’ search for identity and meaning). They then present a four phased approach to effectively orchestrate a workforce ecosystem (see FIG 4) and provide additional guidance on each phase. For more on this topic, tune in to Elizabeth and Robin on an episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How to Build a Thriving Workforce Ecosystem.
FIG 4: Four Phases of Orchestrating an Integrated Workforce Ecosystem (Source: Elizabeth J. Altman, David Kiron, Jeff Schwartz, and Robin Jones)
DELOITTE - Beyond productivity: The journey to the quantified organization
A quantified organization takes a strategic approach to measuring what it should, not just what it can. It takes a responsible approach to using new data sources and AI tools to create value for stakeholders across the organization, improving workforce trust and driving the organization forward to new levels of financial, reputational, and operational performance.
This Deloitte report is divided into three sections: (1) New data, New Opportunities (2) Creating Shared Value with Data (based around four levels of shared value for individuals, teams, the organisation, and society - see FIG 5), and (3) Trust (based on four principles of responsibility). (Authors Arthur Mazor, Steve Hatfield, Philippe Burger, Simona Spelman, Nicole Scoble-Williams, and Robin Jones)
FIG 5: Four levels of Shared Value (Source: Deloitte)
PLACID JOVER - The Future of Work is Flexible
Placid Jover presents three innovations Unilever is making to embrace a move from owning to accessing talent. (1) The Skills Passport (“As companies jostle to build a complete picture of what they need and how to get there, we’re fast learning that the real currency is skills”). (2) The Internal Talent Marketplace (“We have already seen a 40% increase in productivity and a significant reduction in attrition directly linked to Flex Experiences”). (3) The Pixelated Workforce (“Breaking down work into its core elements or “pixels”, then dividing those up between permanent staff and contractors, with the AI recommending teams or individuals for missions based on how they work with others as well as how they perform”). For more from Placid, I recommend listening to: How Unilever is Creating New Ways of Working for Its Employees.
As companies jostle to build a complete picture of what they need and how to get there, we’re fast learning that the real currency is skills
ii) HYBRID WORK AND WORKPLACE DESIGN
PETER JOHN LAMBERT, NICHOLAS BLOOM, STEVEN DAVIS, STEPHEN HANSEN, YABRA MUVDI, RAFFAELLA SADUN, AND BLEDI TASKA - Research: The Growing Inequality of Who Gets to Work from Home
Data increasingly shows a growing divide in terms of who gets to work from home. In their HBR article, Peter John Lambert, Nick Bloom, Steven J. Davis, Stephen Hansen, Yabra Muvdi, Raffaella Sadun, and Bledi Taska, Ph.D. present research on job postings, which finds remote work is far more common for higher paid roles, those that require more experience, are full-time, and require more education. Managers should be aware of this divide, as it has the potential to create toxic dynamics within teams and to sap morale. For more from Nick Bloom, tune in to his conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: Unmasking Common Myths Around Remote Work, and check out the latest monthly data at WFH Research.
FIG 6: Work-from-home opportunities are more common for highly-paid jobs (Source: Lambert, Bloom et al)
LYNDA GRATTON - Redesigning How We Work
In the follow-up to her seminal How to Do Hybrid Right article, Lynda Gratton cautions that the post-pandemic transition to new structures, practices and processes for hybrid work will take years. Indeed, the changes to workplace practices and norms will likely be more significant than anything that has happened in generations. Lynda offers four fundamental questions to guide organisations into this new phase of redesigning how we work: (1) What are our overarching values and principles? (2) What is special about the people we employ, the job we do, and the customers we serve? (3) What isn’t working, and what are the problems we’re trying to solve? (4) What experiments have we tried that we can share with others, and what are other companies doing that we can learn from?
Now that we know the transition to hybrid work will require a long period of constant experimentation and learning, companies should gather and analyze high-quality data if they want to understand what they’re learning, how work is getting done, and how employees are feeling.
MICHAEL ARENA - Effective Strategies for Intentional Collaboration in the New World of Work
Michael Arena discusses effective strategies for intentional collaboration in the modern workplace. He introduces the concept of Adaptive Teaming, which involves dynamically forming and restructuring teams to meet specific project needs. Four intentional collaboration modes are identified. (1) Discovery encourages knowledge exploration and idea generation. (2) Development focuses on individual and collective skill growth. (3) Diffusion promotes effective communication and knowledge sharing. (4) Delivery ensures efficient project execution. By incorporating these modes, Michael articulates how organisations can enhance adaptive teaming practices and succeed in the evolving world of work.
Adaptive teaming is a collaborative approach in which teams intentionally come together, shift, and reform based on the specific needs and challenges of a project or task.
MICROSOFT - In the Changing Role of the Office, It’s All about Moments That Matter
When does in-person matter? That was one of the key research questions Dawn Klinghoffer told me that her team was helping Microsoft to answer when she appeared on the Digital HR Leaders podcast towards the end of 2022 (see How Microsoft Created A Thriving Workforce By Going Beyond Employee Engagement). A few months on, the research highlighted three key times when bringing employees and teams together in person creates lasting connection at Microsoft: (1) Strengthening team cohesion. (2) Onboarding to a new role, team, or company (see FIG 7). (3) Kicking off a project. The article provides data points and examples of each with contributions from Karen Kocher, Jared Spataro and Maryleen Emeric Leal, with the latter providing a memorable analogy on the power of in-person time:
You have to think of your social capital like a battery. The longer you go without having in-person interaction, the lower the charge gets on your battery. These moments that matter—like a team week—allow us to recharge the battery.
FIG 7: Meeting In-Person Has Clear Benefits for New Hires
iii) AI, MACHINE LEARNING, GENERATIVE AI AND THE WORLD OF WORK
MICROSOFT WORK TREND INDEX – Will AI Fix Work? | KATHLEEN HOGAN - Microsoft’s Chief People Officer shares how AI will impact workers
Microsoft presents three key findings related to the question: ‘Will AI Fix Work?’ (1) Digital debt is hindering innovation, with organisations struggling to fully leverage AI technologies due to outdated systems and processes e.g. the study finds workers spend two full days a week on email and in meetings. (2) There is a shift towards a new AI-employee alliance, where employees see AI as a tool for augmentation rather than replacement. (3) Every employee needs AI aptitude, highlighting the importance of upskilling and fostering a culture of AI literacy to empower employees to effectively collaborate with AI technologies. Kathleen Hogan distils this into three elements to realise the benefits of AI for employees quickly: fostering an agility-based culture, reimagining how we work, and investing in deeper human skills.
AI is the defining technology of our time, creating a massive paradigm that will transform the way we work with even greater impact than the introduction of the PC
FIG 8: AI’s Productivity Promise (Source: Microsoft Work Trends)
BCG - How Generative AI Will Transform HR
“Generative AI has done what no other technology trend has: accelerate HR’s engagement with artificial intelligence.” BCG highlights three key areas for HR in relation to generative AI: (1) How GAI can transform HR into a more strategic function through increased self-service, enhancements to employee productivity and experience, personalisation of HR programs, and using skills data to power the talent ecosystem. (2) Its potential to deliver a 30% increase in productivity across the employee lifecycle (see FIG 9). (3), The dual role for HR leaders in driving generative AI transformation – for the enterprise and for the HR function itself. (Authors: Julie Bedard, Katie Lavoie, Renée Laverdière, Allison Bailey, Vinciane Beauchene, and Jens Stefan Baier.
Executive teams are looking to HR to be a deeper, more insightful partner throughout the business.
FIG 9: The potential of Generative AI to deliver productivity gains across the employee lifecycle (Source: BCG)
MERCER - Generative AI will transform three key HR roles
Generative AI (GAI) is set to reshape the HR function with a study by Mercer finding that 58% of firms plan to use GAI in HR by 2024. The article reimagines three HR roles – HRBPs, the L&D specialist and the Total Rewards leader - to highlight the impact of GAI. The study estimates that 36% of the HRBP role could be augmented or replaced - generating potential savings of $30,000 per annum. The authors debate the broader opportunity for GAI (see FIG 10) and makes the critical point that instead of seeing GAI as a tool to reduce headcount, HR leaders should instead look to develop an optimal blend of human and tech to reimagine the HR function of the future. (Authors: Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, Helen White, Kate Bravery, Jason Averbook, and Todd Lambrugo).
Generative AI may not cause job reductions, but there is no doubt that HR professionals who use it will be more in demand than those who don’t.
FIG 10: The changing nature of work and the transformative role of generative AI (Source: Mercer)
ANDREW MARRITT AND DAVID GREEN - The Impact of GPT and Generative AI Models on People Analytics | ANDREW MARRITT - GPT for People Analytics: Four concepts you need to know
Two articles featuring Andrew Marritt on the role of generative AI in people analytics. In the first article, Andrew and I explore what GPT models are, where they will be used in people analytics, the importance of training data, the weaknesses of LLMs, and more. While in the second article, Andrew highlights four concepts people analytics professionals need to know: i) Prompting (“the best way of finding a good prompt is by experimentation”), ii) Context Windows, iii) Fine Tuning, and iv) Embeddings.
The big shift for most PA teams is that using these large language models really requires engineering skills over traditional data science skills
iv) PEOPLE ANALYTICS
INSIGHT222 - Investing to Deliver Value: A New Model for People Analytics | Article | Full Report | Diagnostic
The key findings of the fourth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study, which was informed by a survey of 271 global companies were: (1) People analytics continues to grow despite a challenging global economy. (2) Measuring and delivering value, from people analytics efforts, is key for the impact of the function. (3) Developing relationships with C-suite and senior stakeholders is essential to deliver on key business priorities. (4) There are eight defined characteristics that Leading Companies display to create impact (see FIG 11). Kudos to my colleagues and authors of the report: Jonathan Ferrar, Naomi Verghese, and Heidi Binder-Matsuo, as well as the practitioners who contributed case studies: Jane Puckey, James Reynolds, Sharon Doherty (she/her), Alan Susi, Jaesun HA, Laura Wright Shubert, and Eden Britt.
FIG 11: The eight characteristics of Leading Companies. Source: Insight222 People Analytics Trends Report 2023
THOMAS RASMUSSEN, MIKE ULRICH, AND DAVE ULRICH - Moving People Analytics From Insight to Impact
While I wouldn’t normally include a resource that isn’t open access in this compendium, I’m making an exception for this must-read paper by Thomas Hedegaard Rasmussen, Mike Ulrich and Dave Ulrich, which can be accessed for a very worthwhile fee of £29.00. The abstract to the paper (see below), which can be considered a follow up to the seminal paper, authored by Thomas and Dave, which was published in 2015: How HR analytics avoids being a management fad, provides a compelling narrative.
HEIN KNAPPEN - Boosting Growth: How People Analytics Elevates Enterprise Value
Hein J.M. Knaapen, formerly chief human resources officer at ING and now Managing Partner, Europe at CEO.works, provides a compelling narrative on the profound impact of people analytics on business success. Hein sets out that when used effectively, people analytics (1) Uncovers strategic opportunities driven by effective people management. (2) Provides actionable insights into performance challenges. (3) Enhances employee engagement and productivity. (4) Establishes a robust link between business needs and HR solutions.
People analytics helps build a more solid bridge between business needs and HR interventions. It values evidence over assumptions. It moves HR professionals from supporting the overall business to providing specific, data-driven solutions to true business challenges.
PATRICK COOLEN - Establishing people analytics as a common practice (part I)
Patrick Coolen presents his model for people analytics (see FIG 12), which is based on his ten-year career as Head of People Analytics at ABN Amro and his recent Ph.D. research (see first paper). In the article, Patrick provides a deeper dive on the first component of his model - People Analytics FIT, where he emphasises that “To be successful in people analytics, having strategic fit or alignment is not enough.” As such, Patrick outlines three other areas in addition to Strategic FIT: Internal FIT, Organisational FIT, and Environmental FIT. You can also read Part 2, where Patrick discusses the benefits of integrating evidence-based HR services as an important step in establishing people analytics as a common practice.
To be successful in people analytics, having strategic fit or alignment is not enough
FIG 12: Establishing People Analytics as a common practice (Source: Patrick Coolen)
ANGUS BAUER - Human capital management research: how people are our greatest asset ARTICLE | FULL REPORT
A fascinating study by Schroders, the Saïd Business School, and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), which sets out the case that: “human capital can act as a clear driver of company productivity and profitability and that companies with durable management frameworks create stronger returns and value for investors.” Angus Bauer lays out the key findings in his article, including the top one: “Human capital is a critical source of competitive advantage and fundamental resilience.” The full report provides evidence, models, and visualisations to answer four key questions: (1) What is human capital and why should investors care? (2) How can we measure human capital and its effects on performance? (see FIG 13) (3) Can we assess the financial materiality of human capital? (4) How can organisations drive positive change in human capital management?
FIG 13: Source - Schroders
LEXY MARTIN – How People Analytics Unlocks Manager Effectiveness: The Next Driver of Value
A compelling report from Visier Inc. written by the incomparable Lexy Martin, which finds that data makes people managers more effective and more human while supporting them to deliver productivity and profitability. The report clocks in at 33 pages and is crammed full of insights and examples from several leaders including Dawn Klinghoffer, Eden Britt, Melissa Arronte, Matthew Hamilton, Anna Lena Fritzsche, and Michael Salva, Intriguingly, the report also provides a worked example of a 10k person organisation and the value that can be realised by successfully democratising people data to managers. The study finds that this amounts to $400 million in cost savings, and almost $200 million in revenue expansion (see FIG 14). For more, tune in to Lexy in discussion with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How to Democratise Data for People Manager Effectiveness.
Data makes people managers more effective and more human while supporting them to deliver productivity and profitability.
FIG 14: Value table of savings and revenue (Source: Visier)
TINA PEETERS, KARINA VAN DE VOORDE, AND JAAP PAAUWE - The effects of working agile on team performance and engagement
Tina Peeters, PhD, Karina Van De Voorde, and Jaap Paauwe present their paper on agile ways of working, which won the outstanding paper award in the 2023 Emerald Literati Awards. The paper found that working agile improves psychological safety, which consequently increased engagement and performance.
MAX BLUMBERG - What to Avoid When Choosing a People Analytics Operating Model
A short but instructive article by Max Blumberg (JA) ?? on the key areas to consider when evaluating whether to implement a people analytics model including trust, investment and the extent of change management required.
Regulations continue to evolve - models that appear compliant today may not be tomorrow.
PEOPLE ANALYTICS PRACTITIONER COLLECTION: BEN TEUSCH - An incomplete starter's guide to attrition metrics | LAURA STEVENS - Playtime is over. Moving People Analytics beyond the hype. | AMIT MOHINDRA - Shapely Values: Game Theory in People Analytics | LYDIA WU - Seven Lessons I Learned About People Analytics | ADAM MCKINNON AND MARTHA CURIONI - Using AI to Make Better Promotion Decisions | STEVEN COMINGDEER – Integrating Data Science into Your People Analytics Function | GIOVANNA CONSTANT - - Can Synthetic Data Be the Ethical Game-Changer for People Analytics? | SCOTT REIDA - Zero-based workforce planning with ChatGPT in Tableau
2023 saw a growing number of people analytics leaders and practitioners writing about their work, which is to be celebrated as they typically act as a spur and inspiration for others in the field. Eight are showcased here: (1) Ben Teusch, part of Meta’s people analytics team, provides a helpful to attrition metrics (see FIG 15). (2) Laura Stevens PhD distils three critical abilities that provide the foundation to help people analytics teams establish credibility and enhance their impact including the ability to focus on the right problem (Does it relate to company strategy? Can we scale it?). (3) Amit Mohindra explores how people analytics can benefit from the connection between cooperative game theory and machine learning (4) As part of her excellent 'Oops, did I think that out loud' series of articles, Lydia Wu documents seven lessons she has learned from working in the people analytics field – my favourite is: “Stakeholders are more important than numbers”. (5) Adam McKinnon, PhD. and Martha Curioni outline how people data together with machine learning can play an important role in enhancing the conditions for minimising bias in decision making at all stages of the employee lifecycle. (6) Steven Comingdeer explains how Accenture has fully integrated data science skills and talent into its people analytics function, and the benefits it has provided. (7) Giovanna Constant discusses the practical advantages of applying synthetic data in People Analytics. (8) Scott Reida, provides a practical and open-source guide on zero-based workforce planning with inputs from ChatGPT and outputs in Tableau.
FIG 15: A guide to attrition metrics (Source: Ben Teusch)
v) EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, LISTENING AND WELLBEING
AARON DE SMET, MARINO MUGAYAR-BALDOCCHI, ANGELIKA REICH, AND BILL SCHANINGER - Some employees are destroying value. Others are building it. Do you know the difference?
According to McKinsey, employee disengagement and attrition could cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and $355 million a year in lost productivity (see FIG 16). The authors (Aaron De Smet, Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi, Angelika Reich, and Bill Schaninger, Ph.D.) then demonstrate how by segmenting employees into six archetypes across a spectrum of satisfaction, engagement, performance, and well-being, companies can re-engage workers, improve productivity, and amplify the impact of top performers.
FIG 16: The cost of employee attrition and disengagement (Source: McKinsey)
MICHAEL MANKINS, ERIC GARTON, AND DAN SCHWARTZ - Purposeful Work: The Secret Weapon in the New War for Talent
Writing for Bain, Michael C. Mankins, Eric Garton, and Dan Schwartz explain that the primary reason why employee attrition remains high and most employee retention strategies fail is because of a fundamental misunderstanding of what motivates most of us to work – namely meaning, purpose and engagement in what we do (see FIG 17). The authors outline three keys to purposeful work: (1) Make work interesting, (2) Connect jobs to the company’s mission, and (3) Build learning into work, and then describe each of these highlighting examples from Walmart, USAA and Shopify.
FIG 17: The Employee Value Pyramid (Source: Bain & Company)
TI PEOPLE - The APEX model: How organizations can systemically improve employee experience Website | Summary Report
I always learn from TI PEOPLE’s research and analysis on employee experience ever since the company was formed by Volker Jacobs in 2016. In their 2023 study, Stephanie Denino, André Fortange, Timo Tischer and Maris García, present the APEX (Activities driving the Practice of EX) model, which is comprised of 3 focus areas, 6 goals and 28 activities (see FIG 18). The model is designed to identify what it takes to improve EX in ways that are sustainable and replicable. Two important threads run through the model: being data-driven and human-centred. The report also covers big questions like “Is an EX leader essential?” and explains that guided by this model, EX leaders can bring about an EX-centric operating system in their organisations.
FIG 18: The APEX model for Employee Experience (Source: TI People)
NICK LYNN – Listening Strategies and Conversation
The ever-thoughtful Nick Lynn presents a framework to support organisations looking to establish conversation as a key component of their culture and employee listening strategy (see FIG 19). As Nick explains, the issue leaders are trying to address when looking to adopt a continuous employee listening strategy is: “How do we build trust and encourage employee voice?” Nick’s model and article breaks this down and highlights how to reach the upper right ‘Conversation’ quadrant through focusing on the Why, the What, the When and the How, and by involving people to the max. I also recommend subscribing to Nick’s EX Leadership Newsletter.
FIG 19: Source: Nick Lynn
PHIL ARKCOLL - The Importance of Passive Listening
Philip Arkcoll of Worklytics extols the virtues of combining active listening (via surveys) with passive listening tools that allow forward-thinking organisations utilising both to understand the real-time behavioural drivers of employee attitudes. For more from Phil, tune in to his discussion with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How to Successfully Lead the Return to Office.
FIG 20: A model for continuous employee listening (Source: Worklytics)
EMILY KILLHAM - The State of Employee Listening 2023 Article | Full Report
Emily Killham presents the second annual State of Employee Listening report by Perceptyx. Findings include: (1) Over 3 out of 5 leaders place a higher value on listening during a recession. (2) 70% of organisations studied now do some type of listening event at least once a quarter. (3) 7 in 10 organisations plan to further accelerate their listening over the next year. The report also presents the employee listening maturity model (see FIG 21), which has four types of approaches: Episodic listeners (20% of companies surveyed), Topical listeners (30%), Strategic listeners (27%), and Continuous conversationalists (23%).
FIG 21: Employee Listening Maturity (Source: Perceptyx)
ROB CROSS AND KAREN DILLON – The Hidden Toll of Microstress
Reading this article by Rob Cross and Karen Dillon gave me a real a-ha moment. It’s all about ‘microstress’ – small moments of stress that seem manageable on their own but compound over time. In this taster from their book, The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems — and What to Do About It, Cross and Dillon outline the science behind why microstress can be so debilitating and induce a ripple effect (see FIG 22), introduce 14 key microstresses that hold us back, and offer solutions and guidance for reducing microstresses in your life while maintaining your relationships. For more on this topic, listen to Rob and Karen on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: Empowering HR and People Analytics Leaders in Managing Microstress.
Microstresses may be hard to spot individually, but cumulatively they pack an enormous punch
FIG 22: The Ripple Effect of Microstress (Source: Rob Cross and Karen Dillon)
THOMAS ROULET AND KIRAN BHATTI - Well-Being Intelligence: A Skill Set for the New World of Work
According to data cited by Thomas Roulet and Kiran B. from the University of Cambridge, absence and mental health issues continue to rise in the workplace. They contend that this requires a greater focus on well-being and present their concept of well-being intelligence for managers as a skill set and tool to understand and improve their own and employees’ well-being (see FIG 23). The model summarises the core skill sets of well-being intelligence: (1) Identifying core mental health challenges, such as stress and anxiety; (2) Acknowledging their root causes; and (3) Designing approaches to address them at the individual, team, and organisational levels.
Organizations that promote well-being intelligence don’t just create a healthier and more productive workforce; they build a competitive advantage for the future.
FIG 23: The Overlapping Circles of Well-being Intelligence (Source: Thomas Roulet, Kiran Bhatti, MIT Sloan Management Review)
DAWN KLINGHOFFER AND KATIE KIRKPATRICK HUSK - More Than 50% of Managers Feel Burned Out
Following on from their companion piece With Burnout on the Rise, What Can Companies Do About It?, Dawn Klinghoffer and Katie Kirkpatrick-Husk PhD turn their attention to manager burnout. With more than 50% of managers experiencing burnout, this is a significant challenge that requires fixing. Dawn and Katie highlight some of the causes of manager burnout, the different ways it can be harmful and the impact of the three burnout dimensions of exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy. The article also presents five ways to mitigate manager burnout: meaning, learning and career development, flexible work, psychological safety and support, and self-care.
When a manager is experiencing all three dimensions (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy), they are 5.3 times more likely to leave the company compared to a manager experiencing none.
FROM MY DESK
Below is a selection of seven articles I penned or co-penned in 2023:
Four Elements to Building Data Literacy in HR at Scale - Data literacy is set to be the most in-demand skill in the workplace by 2030, with 85% of C-suite executives believing that being data-literate will be as important in the future as the ability to use a computer is today. This applies just as much for HR practitioners as it does to other business professionals. This article presents the key findings of research by Insight222 on four elements to building data literacy in HR at scale – plus links to access the full report.
Why the future of HR is rooted in skills and people analytics - In an article developed in partnership with Gloat, we investigate how people data and analytics is reshaping talent management and the world of work. A big thank you to Ruslan Tovbulatov, Nicole Schreiber-Shearer, and Maya Finkelstein for collaborating on this.
52% of the companies we surveyed are using talent marketplaces and skills inference technologies to bring skills, learning, and careers together to create better mobility for employees and bridge talent gaps.
How to Ensure AI in HR is Fair, Effective and Explainable - Guru Sethupathy, CEO at Fairnow, explains to me why it is vital that the use of AI in HR is fair, effective, and explainable. We also examine the implications of ChatGPT on HR, people analytics and the future of work and how HR is already using machine learning and AI – for example in recruitment.
HR organisations that use AI well will have an advantage in the battle for talent. But to realise this potential, you will need to be well-managed and invest in governance.
5 common people analytics challenges (and how to overcome them) - An interview I did with Kat Boogaard for Culture Amp, on the challenges today’s HR teams face in leveraging people analytics – as well as how they can effectively overcome them.
The History of People Analytics and Its Impact on The Future of Work - This was fun. I joined my old friend Ian Cook at Visier for an episode of The Human Touch podcast for a rich conversation on the past, present and future of people analytics, which was partly inspired by this article: A History of People Analytics in Five Ages.
Influencing the World of Work: Key learnings from The Insight222 Global Executive Retreat 2023 - My round-up of the key learnings from the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat in Colorado, which was held in September 2023 and attended by 60 people analytics leaders and senior HR executives from global organisations.
How ONA and Leadership Development Can Support Businesses in a Recession - Francisco Marin, CEO at Cognitive Talent Solutions, and I discuss how ONA can support organisations during periods of economic uncertainty. Francisco also shares two examples on how ONA: (1) Supported a private network of hospitals to identify and leverage the knowledge of informal leaders during the pandemic. (2) Helped a technology company identify that a new manager had not been accepted by their team.
READ PART 2
Part 2 of my 60 best people analytics and HR articles of 2023 will be published as part of this newsletter next week (on January 14).
THANK YOU
Thanks to all the authors and contributors featured here in Part 1, and also in Part 2 (available on January 14) as well as across the monthly collections from 2023 – see January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December - your passion, knowledge and expertise continues to inspire. Thanks also to my colleagues at Insight222, the guests and sponsors of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast in 2023 and the great many of you that share and engage with the content I share. It’s much appreciated. I wish you all well for a happy, healthy, and successful 2024.
David Green
2024年01月12日
Josh Bersin
Josh Bersin:2024: The Year That Changes Business Forever (Podcast)The podcast "2024: The Year That Changes Business Forever" by Josh Bersin explores anticipated transformations in business by 2024. It highlights the impact of AI, labor shortages, and evolving organizational structures. The podcast delves into the 2023 economic performance, changes in employee engagement, and the necessity for businesses to adapt strategically. It emphasizes a shift towards dynamic, flatter organizations and the critical role of systemic HR practices in shaping future business landscapes.
Josh Bersin探讨了2024年企业预期的转型。这些转型由AI的应用、劳动力短缺和组织结构的变化驱动。播客讨论了2023年的经济表现、员工参与度的变化以及企业为应对未来挑战所需的适应策略。它强调了向动态、扁平化组织的转变和系统性人力资源实践在塑造未来商业环境中的重要作用。
In this podcast I recap 2023 and discuss the big stories for 2024, and to me this year is a tipping point that changes business forever. Why do I say this? Because we’re entering a world of labor shortages, redesign of our companies, and business transformation driven by AI. We’ll look back on 2024 and realize it was a very pivotal year.
(Note: In mid-January we’re going to be publishing our detailed predictions report. This article is an edited transcript of this week’s podcast, so it reads like a conversation.)
Podcast Begins:
Interestingly, the entire year 2023 people were worried about a recession and it didn’t happen. In fact, economically and financially, we had a very strong year. Inflation in the United States and around the world went down. We did have to suffer rising interest rates, and that was a shock, but it was long overdue.
I really think the problem we experienced is we had low interest rates for far too long, encouraging speculative investment. Now that the economy is more rational, consumer demand is high, the business environment is solid, and the stock market is performing well. The Nasdaq is almost at an all time high, the seven super stocks did extremely well: the big tech companies, the big retailers, the oil companies, many of the consumer luxury goods companies did extremely well. And the only companies that didn’t do well were the companies that couldn’t make it through the transformation that’s going on.
On the cultural front we had the Supreme Court overturning affirmative action in education, which led to a political backlash on diversity and inclusion. The woke mind virus by Elon Musk and similar discussions further pushed back DEI programs, which has made chief diversity officers life difficult. We’re living through two wars, which have been very significant for many companies. I know a lot of you have closed down operations in Russia, and anybody doing business in Israel is having a tough time. And we’ve had this continuous period where every piece of data about employee engagement shows that employees are burned out, tired, stressed. They feel that they’re overworked.
Despite this employee sentiment, wages went up by over 5% and people who changed jobs saw raise wages of 8% or more. The unemployment rate is very low so there are a lot of jobs. You could ask yourself, why are people stressed?
I think it’s a continued overhang of the pandemic: the remote work challenges, the complexities and inconsistencies in hybrid work. And something else: the younger part of the workforce, those who are going to be living a lot longer than people who are baby boomers, are basically saying I don’t really want to kill myself just to get ahead. I want to have a life. I want to quietly quit. If my company don’t take care of me, I’m going to work my wage, meaning I’m going to work as hard as I’m paid, no more than that. And that mentality has created an environment for the four-day work week, which I think is coming quicker than you realize. And unions, which are politically in favor, are rising at an all time increase in about 25, 30 years.
Inflation and the need to raise wages to attract talent leads to pay equity problems. This domain is more complex than you think. You can read about it in our research and in 2024 it belongs on your list. 2024 will also see enormous demand for career reinvention, career development, growth programs, coaching, mentorship, allyship and support amongst the younger part of the workforce. And that means that if you’re in retail, healthcare, hospitality, or one of the other industries that hires younger people you have to accommodate this tremendous demand for benefits. These are things that became very clear in 2023.
But let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the biggest thing that happened in 2023 was AI.
AI has transformed the conversations we have about everything from media to publishing to HR technology to recruiting to employee development to employee experience. As you probably know, I’m very high on AI. I think it’s going to have a huge transformational effect on our companies, our jobs, our careers, and our personal lives. AI will improve our health, our ability to learn, the way we consume news (note that the NYT just sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement). Almost every part of our life will be transformed by AI.
I know from our conversations that most of you are trying to understand it and see where it fits. And many of you have been told by your CEO, “we need an AI strategy for the company as well as in HR.” And the AI strategy in HR is one thing, but the bigger topic is the rest of the company. So HR is going to have to be a part of this transformation: the new roles, jobs, rewards, and skills we need.
This year I’m very excited that we introduced Galileo™, which about 500 or so of you have been using. We’re going to launch the corporate version for everybody in the corporate membership in February, so corporate members stay tuned (or join). Galileo brings AI to HR in an easy-to-use, safe, and high-value way, so it will help you get your strategy together. It’s basically ready to go. Then later in the year we’ll launch a version to the JBA community and more. AI, despite all the fear-mongering, is already a very positive technology.
Where are we going next? Well as the title of this article states, I think this is the year that changes business forever. And I’m not trying to be hyperbolic, I really see a tipping point. Let me give you the story.
For about a decade I’ve been writing about the flattening of organizations, breaking down of hierarchies, creating what I used to call the networked organization. And this is now mainstream and we’ve decided to call it the Dynamic Organization.
And what we mean by this, as you read about in the Dynamic Organization research or in the Post-Industrial Age study, is that the functional hierarchies of jobs, careers, organizations and companies are being broken down for really good reasons.
The reason we have functional hierarchies, job levels and siloed business functions is because they’re patterned after the industrial age when companies made money by selling products and services at scale. The automobile industry, the oil and gas industry, the manufacturing industries, the CPG industries, even the pharmaceutical companies are essentially building things, bringing them to market, launching them, selling them, and distributing them in a linear chain. And that “scalable industrial business model” is how we designed our organizations.
So we built large organizations for R&D, large organizations for product management and product design and packaging, large organizations for marketing, large organizations for sales, large organizations for business development and distribution, supply chain, and so on (including Finance and HR). And all these ten or fifteen business functions had their own hierarchies. So you, as an employee, worked your way up those hierarchies. When I graduated from college in 1978 as an engineer, I went into one of those hierarchies.
For each employee you were an engineer, a salesperson, a marketing manager, or whatever and you worked your way up the pyramid. And at some point in your career you crossed over and did other things, but that was fairly unusual. That wasn’t really the career path. You worked about 35-40 years in that profession and then you retired.
And a lot of companies had another construct: management and labor. Management decided “what to do” and labor “did it.”
And all of these designs helped us build most of the HR practices we use today, including hiring, pay, performance management, succession, career management, goal setting, leadership development, and on and on. Today, if you look at how the most valued companies in the world, they don’t operate this way any more. Why? Because it slows them down like molasses. If you have to traverse a functional hierarchy to come up with a new idea it takes months or years to create something new.
Today value is created through innovation, time to market, closeness to customers, and unique and high-value offerings. The “hierarchy” wasn’t designed for this at all.
Here are a few dogmas to consider. We used to think that all new ideas come out of R&D. That’s crazy. Of course R&D is important, but some of the most innovative companies in the world don’t even have R&D departments, they have product teams. The Research Department at Microsoft didn’t even invent AI, the company had to partner with OpenAI, a company that has less than a thousand employees.
Here’s another one to consider. Deloitte consultants used to talk about “innovation at the edge,” otherwise known as “skunk works.” We used to advise clients to “separate the new ideas from the scale business” so they new ideas don’t get crushed or ignored. Well today all the new ideas come from the operating businesses, and we iterate in a real-time way. So there’s another industrial organization structure that just no longer applies.
So what we’ve been going through in the dynamic organization, and we’ve studied this in detail, is that we’ve got to design our companies to be flatter. We’ve got to simplify the job titles and descriptions so people can move around. We have to organize people into cross functional teams, we have to motivate and train people to work across the functional silos. We have to build agile working groups, we have to redo performance management around teams and projects, not around individual goals and cascading goals. We need to build pay equity into the system so you’re paid fairly regardless of where you started.
Let’s talk about pay. One of the problems with the hierarchy is you get a raise every year based on your performance appraisal. And after a few years your pay may have been quite a bit different than somebody sitting next to you simply because of your appraisals. But you may not be delivering any more than them. That wasn’t fair.
If you came into the company with a background in marketing, you made less money than somebody who came into the company with a background in engineering. But five years later you might be doing the same stuff but making different amounts of money. And then there’s gender bias, age bias, and other non-performance factors. In a “skills meritocracy,” as we call it, pay equity has to get fixed.
We’ve got to have developmental careers and talent marketplaces and open job opportunities and mentoring for people. And these people practices are the facilitation of becoming more dynamic. And the problem of not being dynamic is what happened at Salesforce, Meta, and other tech companies last year. Salesforce hired thousands of salespeople during the last upcycle after the pandemic, and then a year later laid most of them off. Meta did the same thing. Google’s probably next.
These companies, operating in the industrial mindset, thought that the only way to grow is to hire more salespeople, more engineers, or more marketing folks. But the quantity of people in one of these business functions doesn’t necessarily drive growth and profitability. What matters is how they work together and what they do, not how many of them there are.
This old idea that we’re going to grow the company by hiring, hiring, hiring is gone. It doesn’t work anymore. It’s still a part of the growth part of the company, you’re always hiring to replace people, to bring new skills, et cetera, and to bring new perspectives. But in a dynamic organization, a lot of the growth comes from within. People grow too.
Even the word growth mindset has become overused. We need to have an organizational growth mindset so that we can grow as an organization. A great example of this is Intel. Intel lost their way in the manufacturing of semiconductors and also in the R&D. Now they’re reinventing themselves internally and their stock is skyrocketing. They didn’t hire some guru to tell them what to do, they know what to do. They just need to get around to doing it.
Google has more AI engineers than OpenAI, Anthropic, and all the other little guys put together, but they didn’t execute well. Now they’re executing better. They brought their AI teams together into cross-functional groups and they’re sharing IP from YouTube with other business areas. I bet they stomp many of the others in AI once they get it going. That’s part of being a dynamic organization.
You as HR people know better than anybody how dysfunctional it is when there are multiple groups in the company doing competing things and they’re not working together because they don’t know about each other, or they don’t talk to each other. There’s no cross fertilization or they’re protecting their turf. All of these are the things that get in the way of being a dynamic organization.
And the reason it’s relevant in the next year is this has taken hold. Things like talent marketplaces and career pathways and skills-based organizations, skills based hiring, skills based pay, skills based careers, skills based development, et cetera… these are not just HR fads, they’re solutions to this big shift: making companies more dynamic. Despite their value in the past, hierarchical stove-piped companies don’t operate very well anymore.
Now this isn’t an A-B switch type of thing. This is an evolution, but it’s taking place very quickly. And the reason we came up with this concept of Systemic HR is we in HR have to do the same thing. The HR function itself operates in silos. We’ve got the recruiting group, the DEI group, the Comp group, the L&D group, the business partners, the group that does compliance, the group that worries about wellbeing. We’ve got somebody over here is doing an EX project, somebody over there is doing a data management project, a people analytics group.
Okay. Those are all great functional areas that belong in HR. But if they’re not working together on the problems that the company has, and I mean the big problems, growth, profitability, productivity, M&A, etc., then who cares? Then you’re at level one or level two in systemic HR. We built the Systemic HR initiative around business problems. And that’s how we came up with the new HR operating model (read more details here or view the video overview).
I think Systemic HR will be a very big deal for 2024, and there are many reasons. Not only are we living in a labor shortage but there’s another accelerant, and that is AI. For those of you that have used Galileo, and I hope you all get a chance to use it this year, it’s absolutely unbelievable how AI can pull together information, data, text from many sources in the company and make sense of what your company is doing.
You know as well as I do, if you’ve worked in sales, if you’ve worked in marketing, if you worked in finance, these are siloed groups. Few companies have a truly integrated data management system for all of their customer data match to their sales, data match to their revenue, data match to their marketing. Customer data platforms are a idea, but it doesn’t really happen very often, and it takes tens to hundreds of millions of dollars and many, many systems to do that. Well, AI does this almost automatically.
So when you pull together a tool like Galileo, and you use our research as part of the corpus, and you add data about employee turnover, for example, in your company, or pay variations, you’ll see the relationship between pay and turnover just by asking a question. You don’t have to go spend months doing an analysis and trying to figure out if the analysis is any good. And that’s happening all over the company in sales and customer service and R&D and marketing – everywhere.
So this more integrated, dynamic organization is happening before your eyes. In 2024, this is the context for almost everything we’re going to be working on now.
The other context is the labor market, which is going to be very tough. You’ve read about from us and others about how tight the labor market is now. Unemployment in the United States is 3.8%, and it’s not going to get much better. Even if we do have a recession, which is questionable, there aren’t enough people to hire. The fertility rate is low, and even if every company gives employees fertility benefits and they all have babies, it will take twenty years for these people to go to work. So all of the developed countries: US, UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, the Nordics, China, Russia, the fertility rate has been low for a long time. The World Bank sees working population shrinking within ten years in almost every developed economy.
Since hiring is going to get harder and we’ll see fewer and fewer working people, companies have to be much more integrated in hiring. And we all have to look the Four R’s: Recruit, Retain, Reskill, Redesign. This puts HR in the middle of a lot of job redesign, career reinvention, and a serious look at developing skills, not hiring skills, and using the tools we have as hr professionals to help the organization improve productivity without just hiring and hiring and hiring.
I measure the success of companies by two things. One is their endurance: how well have they fared over ups and downs? The second is their revenue per employee. Companies with low revenues per employee tend to be poorly managed companies relative to their peers. Of course there’s a lot of industry differences.
When we went through our GWI industry work: healthcare, consumer goods, pharma, banking, we could see the high performing companies were very efficient on a headcount basis. And we found out these companies are actually implementing Systemic HR practices.
The other driver that we’re living in a service economy. Interestingly enough, in the United States, more than 70% of our GDP is now services. So the people you have, the humans in your company, are the product. And if you’re not getting good output per dollar of revenue per human, you’re not running the company very well.
And this leads to many management topics.
How are we going to build early and mid-level leaders?
How can we rethink what employees really need? The topics of employee engagement and employee experience are really 25 to 30 years old. They need a massive update.
How are we going to implement AI in L&D and replace a lot of these old systems that everybody kind of hates, but we’re stuck with?
What’s going on with the ERP vendors and what role will they play as we replace our HR tech with AI powered systems?
How will we implement scalable talent intelligence? In a world of labor shortages talent intelligence becomes even more important, whether you think of it for sourcing and recruiting or an internal mobility or just a strategic planning initiative.
How do we all get comfortable with AI?
And then there’s this issue of Systemic HR and developing your team, your function, your operating model to be more adaptive and more dynamic.
So I look back on 2023 I feel it was one of the most fascinating and fun and enriching years that I’ve had. I am always amazed and impressed and energized by you, by you guys who were out there on the firing lines, dealing with these complex issues and companies with old technologies and all sorts of changes going on and how you’re adapting. I continue to be more impressed and more excited about the HR profession every year. I think a lot of people who aren’t in HR think we do a lot of compliance and administration stuff and we fire people. That is the tiniest part of what we do.
2024 is going to be an important year. You as an HR professional are going to have to learn a lot of things. You’re going to learn about Systemic HR issues, you’re going to learn about AI, and you’re going to learn to be a consultant.
There’s no question in my mind that over the next decade or two dynamic organization management is going to become a bigger and bigger issue – how we manage people and companies. And I don’t mean manage like supervise, I mean develop, move, retain, pay, et cetera, culture, all of those things.
I leave 2023 very energized about what’s to come with AI. And if you’re afraid of AI, just take a deep breath and relax. It’s not going to bite you. There’s nothing evil here. It’s a data driven system. If you don’t have your data act together, you’re not going to get a lot of good value out of AI.
I talked to Donna Morris at Walmart last week; I talked to Nickle LaMoreaux at IBM; and I talked with the senior HR leaders at Microsoft. They’re all seeing huge returns on investment from the early implementations, and seeing hundreds of use cases. We’re going to have a lot of new tools and lots of vendor shakeout. (Check out what SAP is up to and where Workday is going.)
Stay tuned for our big Predictions report coming out in mid January. That report is my chance to give you some deep perspectives on where I think things are going, recap things that have happened over the last couple of years, and give you some perspectives for the year ahead.
As always we would be more than happy to walk through these things with your team.
I hope you have a really nice holiday season and you take a deep breath.
The world is never perfect. It’s never been perfect. It wasn’t perfect in the past. It won’t be perfect in the future.
But the environment you live in and the environment that you create can be enriching, enjoyable, productive, and healthy, and fun if you decide. And I think we all have the opportunity to make those decisions.
It has been a pleasure and an honor for me to serve and work with you this last year, and I’m really looking forward to an amazing 2024 together.
–END OF PODCAST–
Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World’s Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations
Josh Bersin
2023年12月30日
David Green
The best HR & People Analytics articles of December 2023
The December edition of my monthly compendium is an opportunity to reflect on the year that has nearly passed and look forward to what lies ahead. 2023 has proved to be another challenging year full of geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty, and climate inaction. For HR and people analytics professionals, it has been a year dominated by generative AI, skills, and the continuing journey of HR from support function to strategic partner.
HR’s elevation to being a strategic partner is the underlying theme of my recently published 12 Opportunities for HR in 2024 article (see FIG 1). If you’d like to contribute suggestions for opportunities 11 and 12, please click here and add your suggestion in the comments.
FIG 1: 12 Opportunities for HR in 2024 (Source: David Green)
Despite managing to catch Covid on the flight home, I thoroughly enjoyed my recent trip to India, at the end of November, where I spoke at the Indeed FutureWorks event in Bangalore. A huge thank you to Aarti Deoskar, Jessie Paul, Rittik Mondal, Rohan Sylvester, and the Indeed team for inviting me.
Looking for a new role in people analytics or HR tech?
Before we get to this month’s collection of resources, I’d like to once again highlight the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers nearly 500 roles.
Happy Holidays!
I wish all readers who are taking a break over the festive season Happy Holidays, and a prosperous and healthy 2024. Thank you to everyone who has supported Insight222, myHRfuture and the Digital HR Leaders Podcast in 2023. It’s much appreciated.
Share the love!
Enjoy reading the collection of resources for December and, if you do, please share some data driven HR love with your colleagues and networks. Thanks to the many of you who liked, shared and/or commented on November’s compendium (including those in the Comments below).
If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is published every Tuesday – subscribe here.
2023 HR RETROSPECTIVES AND 2024 PREDICTIONS
DAVE ULRICH - The State of HR: Looking Back and Envisioning Forward | McKINSEY - What matters most? Eight CEO priorities for 2024 | CULTURE AMP - 7 trends that will define HR in 2024 | KEN OEHLER - RADICL People Predictions for 2024 | VISIER – The New Rules of HR: 10 Workforce Trends for 2024 | i4CP – 2024 Priorities and Predictions
Putting my own 12 Opportunities for HR in 2024 to one side, there are a plethora of other trends and predictions being published. Six resources that I recommend digging deeper into come from Dave Ulrich, McKinsey, Culture Amp, RADICL, Visier Inc. and Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). (1) Dave Ulrich looks back on the main themes in HR in 2023, declares “Now is the time for HR,” and outlines four areas where his firm, The RBL Group, will be conducting think tanks in 2024. (2) Homayoun Hatami and Liz Hilton Segel of McKinsey present eight CEO priorities for 2024 including Learn to love your middle managers. (3) Didier Elzinga and Damon Klotz co-opt contributions from Stacia Sherman Garr, Justin Angsuwat, Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM, and Hung Lee for their thoughtful seven trends that will define HR in 2024 including greater pay transparency, staying human as intelligent tech evolves, and regaining trust. (4) RADICL’s Ken Oehler presents five people predictions for 2024, with my favourite being #4 Attention Shifts to Solving Distributed Team Effectiveness (see FIG 2 for RADICL’s model of distributed team effectiveness: Coordination, Connection and Competence). (5) Visier collect trends from a number of industry luminaries and practitioners including Wendy Evesque, Michael Salva, Melissa Arronte, and Eric Bokelberg, with the lead trend being: The CHRO Leads From the Outside-In. (6) Last but not least, in his Foreword to i4CP’s annual look at priorities and predictions, Kevin Oakes highlights the dominance of AI and provides an illuminating insight on the direct correlation between the adoption of AI and business performance: “AI Innovators are more likely to have higher market performance, increased levels of innovation and productivity, and healthier cultures than those that have been slower to adopt AI.”
Now is the time for HR
FIG 2: The Collaboration Opportunity for distributed team effectiveness (Source: RADICL)
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
ROB BRINER - Evidence-based HR and people analytics are the same, right? Afraid not
Rob Briner examines the relationship between people analytics and evidence-based HR, explaining each of them, outlining the differences (see FIG 3) and concluding that: “While people analytics is a welcome and necessary development within the HR profession and certainly goes some way to helping HR become more effective, it is not, on its own, enough.” Rob also highlights the three key principles of evidence-based HR: (1) Incorporate multiple sources and types of evidence and information. (2) Adopt a structured and explicit process of gathering and using evidence. (3) Focus on the most trustworthy and relevant evidence.
FIG 3: Differences between people analytics and evidence-based HR (Source: Rob Briner)
PATRICK COOLEN - Establishing people analytics as a common practice (part II)
This article by Patrick Coolen, which follows up Part 1 where he presented his People Analytics FIT model, dovetails nicely with Rob Briner’s article as it focuses on the evidence-based HR services provided by people analytics functions. In the article, Patrick recommends that to establish people analytics as a common practice companies should not only focus on becoming more mature in the evidence-based HR services but in integrating these services too. Patrick provides a roadmap to achieving this (see FIG 4) as well as outlining three reasons for integration: (1) Integration leads to faster and higher-quality delivery. (2) Integration attracts experienced people analytics leaders. (3) Integration supports being a strategic advisor.
High impact people analytics practices integrate various evidence-based HR services
FIG 4: Road map strategies for people analytics practices (Source: Patrick Coolen)
JAAP VELDKAMP AND HELEEN GOET - How to determine your success KPIs in HR
This is a great article by Patrick Coolen’s erstwhile colleague and successor as Head of People Analytics at ABN Amro, Jaap Veldkamp. In the article, Jaap – together with Heleen Goet – outline the process followed at ABN Amro for establishing a clear link between each HR service and its impact on business outcomes. It outlines a ‘define your success’ workshop conducted between the people analytics team and HR at the bank to link each service to output and outcomes (see example in FIG 5). The article also outlines two benefits of this approach: (1) It leads to better collaboration between various teams in HR. (2) It magnifies the broader advisory role of people analytics.
FIG 5: Source: Jaap Veldkamp and Heleen Goet
NAOMI VERGHESE AND DAVID GREEN - The Importance of Ethics in People Analytics for Leading Companies
Naomi Verghese and I explore the critical topic of ethics, which is one of the eight characteristics of Leading Companies in People Analytics identified in the recently published Insight222 People Analytics Trends study. In the article, Naomi and I outline three key practices on ethics adopted by Leading Companies in their people analytics work. (1) Strong Ethical Principles - including the development of an Ethics Charter, with an example from Jaap Veldkamp of ABN AMRO. (2) Open Communication – including the ‘Fair Exchange of Value’, with a contribution from Dawn Klinghoffer on the importance of communicating value to employees. (3) Ethics Oversight – including the institution of an ethics and privacy council (see FIG 6).
The “Fair Exchange of Value” is a key mantra for people analytics teams. If employees understand how their data will be used and see the benefit, it is far more likely that they will contribute data.
FIG 6: Ethics and Privacy council for people analytics (Source: Excellence in People Analytics by Jonathan Ferrar and David Green)
TOM REDMAN AND TOM DAVENPORT - The Rise of Connector Roles in Data Science
In our research at Insight222, one of the characteristics of Leading Companies is that they invest in three key skills in their people analytics team: consultants, data scientists and behavioural scientists. In their article, Tom Redman and Tom Davenport outline the role of connectors, who bridge the organisational gaps that often thwart success with data science projects, and whose key responsibilities mirror many of those attributed to the people analytics consultant in the Insight222 Operating Model. These include: (1) Framing the problem to be solved. (2) Translating between business and technical people. (3) Communicating requirements, progress, and issues within the team. (4) Keeping track of progress toward the overall goal of deployment and organisational change when nobody else sees the big picture. The article outlines how connectors close the gap, provides guidance on how to manage connectors, and provides examples of what companies are trying in this area.
Connectors help senior business leaders understand both the potential and challenges of data science, help data science leaders understand the top problems facing the business, and establish a portfolio of data science projects that aligns with business needs.
BEN TEUSCH - An incomplete starter's guide to attrition metrics | SARA TIEW - Thriving Together: A Year on UOB's Culture Transformation Journey | JACKSON ROATCH – Lessons from Sports Analytics | LYDIA WU - HR in 2024: A Practitioner’s View | MATTHEW HAMILTON - How data quality is like a DIY haircut
November has seen a number of articles written by current and recent people analytics leaders, which typically act as a spur and inspiration for the field. Five are highlighted here: (1) Ben Teusch, part of Meta’s people analytics team, provides a helpful to attrition metrics (see FIG 7). (2) Sara Tiew provides insights from UOB’s culture transformation journey over the last 12 months. (3) Jackson Roatch draws four lessons from sports analytics that we could look to apply in the “less perfect world” of people analytics. (4) Lydia Wu continues her prolific ‘Oops, did I think that out loud’ series by looking into her crystal ball to see what is in store for HR and people analytics in 2024. (5) The nearly as prolific Matthew Hamilton explains why the maxim of people assuming that the better the data quality, the better the analysis is often not correct.
FIG 7: Source: Ben Teusch
GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
PLACID JOVER - The Future of Work is Flexible
In this article, Placid Jover, Chief Talent and Reward Officer, presents three innovations Unilever is making to embrace a move from owning to accessing talent. (1) The Skills Passport (“As companies jostle to build a complete picture of what they need and how to get there, we’re fast learning that the real currency is skills”). (2) The Internal Talent Marketplace (“We have already seen a 40% increase in productivity and a significant reduction in attrition directly linked to Flex Experiences”). (3) The Pixelated Workforce (“Breaking down work into its core elements or “pixels”, then dividing those up between permanent staff and contractors, with the AI recommending teams or individuals for missions based on how they work with others as well as how they perform”). For more from Placid, I recommend listening to this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How Unilever is Creating New Ways of Working for Its Employees.
As companies jostle to build a complete picture of what they need and how to get there, we’re fast learning that the real currency is skills
RICHARD FLORIDA, VLADISLAV BOUTENKO, ANTOINE VERTRANO, AND SARA SALOO – Rethinking Corporate Location Strategy: The Rise of the Meta City
In their Harvard Business Review article, Richard Florida, Vladislav Boutenko, Antoine Vetrano, and Sara Nasir Saloo outline the structure and logic in where and how businesses locate their offices and compete for talent. Their research identifies the rise of a new type of city, the ‘Meta City,’ which combines elements of physical clustering with digital connectivity (see FIG 8). They argue that this makes location strategy even more important including corporate headquarters, innovation centres, and satellite offices — and more significantly, talent attraction and retention. A must-read for those involved in talent intelligence, hybrid work strategy and strategic workforce planning.
FIG 8: Ranking the world’s Meta Cities (Source: Florida et al)
PETER JOHN LAMBERT, NICHOLAS BLOOM, STEVEN DAVIS, STEPHEN HANSEN, YABRA MUVDI, RAFFAELLA SADUN, AND BLEDI TASKA - Research: The Growing Inequality of Who Gets to Work from Home
Data is increasingly showing that there is a large and growing divide in terms of who gets to work from home. In their Harvard Business Review article, Peter John Lambert, Nick Bloom, Steven J. Davis, Stephen Hansen, Yabra Muvdi, Raffaella Sadun, and Bledi Taska, Ph.D. present research on job postings, which finds that remote work is far more common for higher paid roles, for roles that require more experience, for full-time work, and for roles that require more education. Managers should be aware of this divide, as it has the potential to create toxic dynamics within teams and to sap morale. For more from Nick Bloom, tune in to his conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: Unmasking Common Myths Around Remote Work.
FIG 9: Work-from-home opportunities are more common for highly-paid jobs (Source: Lambert, Bloom et al)
RYAN ROSLANSKY - Talent Management in the Age of AI | GIANNI GIACOMELLI - Learning and Talent Management in the Age of AI | TOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC - 4 science-backed reasons AI is better at predicting your potential in a job | DAVID L. SHRIER, JULIAN EMANUEL, AND, MARC HARRIS – Is Your Job AI Resilient? | NADA R. SANDERS AND JOHN D. WOOD - The Skills Your Employees Need to Work Effectively with AI
A key opportunity for HR in 2024 will be to prepare the organisation and HR for the age of AI. Here are five articles that support this imperative. (1) LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky highlights three big shifts to support success a) redefine jobs as a collection of a skills and tasks, not titles, b) bring skills and workforce learning to the centre of talent management, and c) embrace AI to focus teams on human-to-human collaboration, and shares examples from IBM, Genpact, Unilever as well as LinkedIn. (2) Gianni Giacomelli provides more detail on the Genpact example cited by Ryan in his article explaining how they have connected internal mobility, learning, engagement and collaboration (see FIG 10). (3) The brilliant Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic digs into the science to present four ways that AI is better at predicting potential including how AI can increase fairness and diversity. (4) David Shrier, Julian Emanuel, and Marc Harris outline their research on which jobs will be most affected by AI, including which stand to benefit the most from augmentation by AI (see FIG 11). (5) Nada Sanders and John Wood present findings from their research, which highlights two key areas of investment in skills related to AI: a) effective interpersonal skills, and 2) domain knowledge that can help workers get the most — and make the best decisions — when working with AI tools.
FIG 10: Source – Gianni Giacomelli, Genpact
FIG 11: AI Proficiency relative to human by cognitive task (Source: Shrier et al)
THE EVOLUTION OF HR AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
MARIE NEICU, JOAN BEETS, FRANK VAN DEN BRINK, BEAU HOES, AND EDIS PAJIC – Humanized Growth and Multistakeholder Value Creation: Perspectives from Chief Human Resources Officers| McKINSEY - How is the CHRO role changing?
Two resources exploring perspectives from chief human resource officers and how the role is changing. Firstly, the KennedyFitch team of Maria Neicu, Joan Beets, Frank van den Brink, Beau Hoes, and Edis Pajic share the findings from structured interviews with 30 CHROs including Janine Vos, Katarina Berg, Paulo Pisano (also see episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast with Paulo below), Mala S., and Loren I. Shuster. The report is framed around the concept of humanised growth, which is defined as: “Humanized Growth addresses the needs of all shareholders, consumers, colleagues, community and the capital Markets.” It explores the role of the people function as a strategic partner, how to harness technology for impact, how to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, and why humanised growth starts with the employee experience. The second article from McKinsey examines the evolution of the HR operating model, how CHROs are putting the ‘human’ back into human resources, how GenAI will affect the HR function, and how CHROs can build the leadership capabilities required for an agile transformation.
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
RICHARD ROSENOW - The SOAPI Framework - A New Lens for Modern Workforce Planning
Richard Rosenow is one of the best thinkers in our field and demonstrates it with his paper for One Model introducing his SOAPI framework for workforce planning. As he explains, it is a methodology that offers a structured method to break workforce planning into component parts. Each component represents a pillar, collectively forming the discipline of workforce planning. These are: (1) Strategy, (2) Operations (3) Analytics, (4) Planning, and (5) Intelligence. The paper breaks each of these down, and details what happens if one of these pillars is missing (see FIG 12).
FIG 12: Source: Richard Rosenow, One Model
SCOTT REIDA - Zero-based workforce planning with ChatGPT in Tableau
A brilliant, practical, and open-source guide on zero-based workforce planning with inputs from ChatGPT and outputs in Tableau, which has been created by Scott Reida, a workforce strategist at AWS. Scott defines zero-based workforce planning as “A methodology that can shape how businesses align their human capital with organizational goals and enable a more cost-effective solution that gets closer to having the right people at the right time.” His article provides a step by step guide to creating a dashboard (available here) that utilises outputs from ChatGPT for demand and aligns them with the supply of FTEs, facilitating the understanding of capability gaps.
FIG 13: Source: Scott Reida
JEFF WILLIAMSON AND DONNCHA CARROLL - How to Start Smart With a Talent Marketplace
Despite some of the hype, launching an internal talent marketplace can be a significant challenge for organisations. In this article, Jeffrey Williamson and Donncha Carroll share the journey to implementing a talent marketplace at Booz Allen and the key lessons learned with regards to user adoption and change management. The article outlines four lessons: (1) Bring on the gamification (gamifying learning and offering recognition and rewards to employees who invested in their own development). (2) Data goals must be relevant to individual career goals. (3) Even change management needs to change (see FIG 14). (4) Momentum, motivation, and measurement matter a great deal.
FIG 14: Four Culture Challenges to Conquer with a Talent Marketplace (Source: Jeff Williamson and Donncha Carroll)
BRIAN FISHER, MELBA GANT, VASILIS HATZOPOULOS, KATIE JENKINS, HEATHER RYAN, AND PETER STEVENSON - 2023/2024 skills snapshot survey report: Skills-powered practices, future pay and effectiveness
Mercer’s fourth annual Skills Snapshot Survey has a wealth of insights and guidance that highlight the progress many companies are making to embrace platforms and data to action skills-based strategies. In the paper, the authors (Brian Fisher, Melba Gant, Vasilis Hatzopoulos, Katie Jenkins, ?Heather Ryan , and Peter Stevenson) outline the benefits of skills-based practices (see FIG 15), how to build a skills foundation, how to determine the frequency of skill assessment, how to tackle skills-based rewards programs, and provide five steps to building a skills-based talent strategy: (1) Build the business case. (2) Align the key performance indicators. (3) Design with the end in mind. (4) Prioritise change management. (5) Drive and sustain. Also features contributions from Amy Baxendale and Anshul Sheopuri.
FIG 15: The benefits of skills-based practices (Source: Mercer)
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
NICK LYNN - Can you have high employee engagement and high turnover?
Nick Lynn reveals that nearly 20% of companies have both high employee engagement and high turnover; and then provides a wealth of guidance on what you can do about it if that’s the case for your company. He breaks down employee engagement and although it can be related to retention, why it is different. Nick shares insightful research from the CIPD on the and WTW on the drivers of employee engagement and experience, with the latter providing analysis and guidance on the links between engagement, performance, and retention. The article highlights WTW research by angela paul and Stephen Young, where they segmented 350 companies according to both the level of employee engagement and the level of retention, comparing each to their respective industry average (see FIG 16), and how companies in the top right quadrant (‘Value Drive’) also have a performance advantage, delivering the best profits and growth (also see FIG 16). Finally, Nick outlines a three-step approach for companies in the Value Risk category: Understand — Prioritise — Spark Change. I also recommend subscribing to Nick’s equally insightful EX Leadership Newsletter.
FIG 16: Source – WTW
INDRANEEL BANERJEE, AVINASH CHANDRA DAS, JATIN PANT, AND SHIKHA SHARMA - Employee experience still matters: Talent retention at GCCs
While focused on ways to improve employee retention at Global Capability Centres, the five actions to improve employee experience outlined by Indraneel 'Indy' Banerjee, Avinash Chandra Das, Jatin Pant, and Shikha Sharma in their article for McKinsey could be implemented in other business areas. The five actions are (1) Use personas and journeys to customise EX. (2) Reimagine the role of manager to emphasise coaching and mentorship (see FIG 17). (3) Find new ways to embed culture and values for a hybrid work environment. (4) Redesign the office for collaboration and connection. (5) Rethink the traditional workday.
Executives should treat EX as seriously as CX by being more scientific and more tailored in their approach.
FIG 17: The roles of manager need to be redesigned to focus more on coaching and mentoring (Source: McKinsey)
LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
RAINER STRACK, SUSANNE DYRCHS, AND ALLISON BAILEY - Use Strategic Thinking to Create the Life You Want
How can we apply the learnings from corporate strategy projects to our own lives? That’s the unlikely – but ultimately captivating – exam question tackled by BCG’s Rainer Strack, Dr. Susanne Dyrchs, and Allison Bailey in their absorbing Harvard Business Review article. The authors present the seven steps they typically use to conduct a corporate strategy project and show how these can be adapted to an individual (see FIG 18). They then describe each of the seven steps with insights and powerful visualisations, as well as demonstrating how to develop a personal life strategy and summarise it on a single page. File under must-read.
FIG 18: From corporate strategy to life strategy (Source: Strack et al)
MCKINSEY HEALTH INSTITUTE - Reframing employee health: Moving beyond burnout to holistic health
Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN (née Schouten), Brad Herbig, Barbara Jeffery, and Drew Ungerman present the key findings from a recent McKinsey Health Institute study that offers insights into how leaders can help create a workplace that prioritises physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. Three standout findings are (1) Employees who had positive work experiences reported better holistic health, are more innovative at work, and have improved job performance. (2) For employees, good holistic health is most strongly predicted by workplace enablers, while burnout is strongly predicted by workplace demands (see FIG 19). (3) Organisational, team, job, and individual interventions that address demands and enablers can boost employee holistic health.
FIG 19: Source: McKinsey Health Institute
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
McKINSEY - Diversity matters even more: The case for holistic impact
The fourth report in a McKinsey series stretching back to 2015, investigating the business case for diversity. The main takeaway is that the 2023 study finds that the business case is the strongest it has been yet with leadership diversity being convincingly associated with business performance, societal impact and employee experience (see FIG 20). The full 52 page report details case studies from the likes of IHG Hotels & Resorts, DHL Group, and Air New Zealand, as well as presenting five levers for change for moving from commitment to action. Kudos to the authors: Dame Vivian Hunt, Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle, Celia Huber, Maria del Mar Martinez, Sara Prince, and Ashley Thomas.
FIG 20: The business case for diversity on executive teams and financial outperformance (Source: McKinsey)
HR TECH VOICES
Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from December that I recommend readers delve into:
ERNEST NG - What Matters Now: Embracing the New Era of Disclosures for All HR Technology Stakeholders – Ernest Ng, PhD of HiredScore explains why disclosure is a critical tool to maintain trust and legitimacy across four areas (1) Employer Disclosure with Candidates/Employees. (2) Solution Provider Disclosures to the Buyer. (3) Organisational Disclosures to the Government. (4) Industry Analysts with Consumers – the latter is one, I’d personally like to see more of us talking about as we head into 2024.
JAMAL MAZYCK - How Employee Resource Groups help build a culture of belonging - Jamal Evan Mazyck, Ed.D provides insights from Atlassian’s journey in building Employee Resource Groups, and how they engender a sense of belonging: “It’s not enough to recruit talent from underrepresented groups and give them equal access to opportunities; once they’re in the door, these employees need to feel that they belong.”
STEVE HUNT - The Skills Management Revolution: one-year, two-year, and three-year predictions – SAP’s Steve Hunt breaks down skills management in his article, which covers what it is, why it’s important, the three ontologies companies are building with skills management solutions (labour market, organisational and employee/candidate/contractor), and a one, two, and three year outlook on how these solutions will reshape the nature of work and organisations.
FIG 21: Source – Steve Hunt
FRANCISCO MARIN - Reducing Employee Attrition with ONA: A Case Study from a European IT Company - Francisco Marin from Cognitive Talent Solutions presents a case study of a European IT company to showcase how ONA can be used to help predict and mitigate attrition, ultimately leading to a more stable and productive workforce.
PHIL ARKCOLL - Developer Experience: The Developer Centric Approach to Productivity - Another great read from Philip Arkcoll of Worklytics. This time Phil outlines how by using active and passive listening with the objective of working to improve the developer experience, organisations can get developer buy in, boost productivity and attract top technical talent.
FIG 22: Source – Phil Arkcoll, Worklytics
PODCASTS OF THE MONTH
In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected four gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below):
JASON AVERBOOK - Generative AI: Revolutionizing the Employee Experience - In this episode of the Mercer | Leapgen AI-volution: Redefining HR podcast, Jason Averbook explores the transformative power of generative AI in shaping the future of employee experience.
AARON DE SMET, ANGELIKA REICH, ROBERTA FUSARO, AND LUCIA RAHILLY - Who is productive, and who isn’t? Here’s how to tell - In an episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Aaron De Smet and Angelika Reich talk to hosts Roberta Fusaro and Lucia Rahilly about their latest research on employee productivity.
KAYE SLAY, VANDANA BHAGTANI, STACIA GARR, AND DANI JOHNSON - Narrowing Scope & Purpose to Ease the Transition to a Skills-Based Organization – Another great episode of RedThread Research’s Workplace Stories podcast where Vandana Bhagtani and Kaye Slay-Pruitt, UXC share with Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson how they’ve worked together to develop a strategy for transitioning Hewlett Packard Enterprise to a skills-based organisation.
DOUG SHAGAM, COLE NAPPER, AND SCOTT HINES - People Analytics at J&J & Playing Drums – Doug Shagam joins Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD on the Directionally Correct podcast to discuss some of the great work the J&J team is doing in people analytics.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
AMY EDMONDSON, ADAM GRANT, AND DES DEARLOVE - Decoding failure, debunking feedback, & harnessing learning for success
A fascinating conversation with Amy Edmondson and Adam Grant, who have just been recognised as #1 and #2 respectively on the prestigious Thinkers50 list of management thinkers. In the discussion with Des Dearlove, Amy and Adam discuss how to manage (and maximise learning from) failure and how to unlock hidden potential (it’s not about where you start; it's how far you can go).
BOOK OF THE MONTH
KATE BRAVERY, ILYA BONIC, AND KAI ANDERSON - Work Different: 10 Truths for Winning in the People Age
I'm currently reading the recently published book by Kate Bravery, Ilya Bonic, and Kai Anderson, which is based around 10 'truths' that are shaping the world of work. Three of the truths are: (1) Purpose rules and empathy wins. (2) Intelligence is getting amplified. (3) Skills are the real currency of work. Packed with insights, guidance, and examples, the book should be an indispensable resource for executives, managers, board members, human resources professionals, and other business leaders.
FROM MY DESK
December saw the final four episodes of Series 35 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by our friends at HiBob . Thank you to Louis Gordon .
MADELINE LAURANO - How to Buy HR Tech and Use It Effectively – Top industry analyst Madeline Laurano joins me to discuss the key themes on HR Tech in 2023, and what lies ahead in 2024 (see video below).
SARAH REYNOLDS - A CMO's Approach to Mastering Pay Transparency – HiBob’s Sarah Reynolds joins me to discuss the intersection of HR and marketing, the business benefits of pay transparency and its importance for DEIB.
PAULO PISANO - Booking.com’s 360-Degree View of Employee Experience – In our conversation, Paulo Pisano, Chief People Officer, outlines how Booking leverages data to enhance employee experience, streamline talent management across its international operations, and ensure that its workforce strategies are both effective and adaptable in a constantly changing business environment.
HEBBA YOUSSEF - Navigating HR Tech Triumphs & Avoiding Failures – Hebba Youssef, Chief People Officer at Workweek joins me to discuss the common pitfalls of implementing HR technology and strategies for success.
THANK YOU
Finally, this month I’d like to thank:
Abhilash Bodanapu for hosting me for lunch during my trip to Bangalore (see here) – it was wonderful to learn more about the people analytics journey bat Capgemini
Raja Sengupta (see here) for such a wonderful discussion on people analytics in Bangalore. It was wonderful to finally meet in person!
Geraldine Woloch-Addamine for including me in her list of Four Inspiring Voices on LinkedIn – it is humbling to be included in the same list as Amy, Adam, and Dave
Teamflect for including me in their list of 18 HR Influencers to Follow
Lanteria HR for including in their list of 10 favourite HR leaders of 2023
Dariush Franczak for including the November edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly in his list of HR resources
Thinkers360 for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast in their comprehensive list of 125 Podcasts from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders
CollectiveHR for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast with Nick Dalton in one of their Content of the Week collections
The prolific Esther Abraas for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Laura Wright Shubert in her collection of resources on strategic workforce planning
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
David Green
2023年12月24日
David Green
Top 10 HR and People Analytics Themes of 2023
As we near the end of another successful year here at Insight222, we want to reflect on the top themes that have emerged in our content.
From data-driven insights to real-world examples, our team has worked meticulously to deliver informative and persuasive articles that aim to enhance the HR and people analytics function. And we have seen some exciting changes and advancements in the field this year.
So, without further ado, here are the top themes that have taken front stage in our content during 2023.
Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Psychological safety in the workplace has been proven time and time again that without it, a team cannot thrive. In fact, we like to think of it as the epitome of successful teams.
Therefore, it's no surprise that this theme carries over from last year. Some of our most popular blogs discuss measuring psychological safety in the workplace, understanding how organisational culture impacts it and exploring how companies like Microsoft are transforming their organisational culture to prioritise psychological safety and promote a positive work environment.
Behavioural Science in HR
(Source: People Analytics Trends 2021)
The integration of behavioural science into HR and people analytics practices has been gaining traction for the past few years, and this year was no exception. With the changing nature of skills and roles in HR, the need for understanding human behaviour and decision-making has become increasingly important in driving impactful business outcomes.
With this, our article on exploring the role of behavioural science in HR and how it can be leveraged to improve employee engagement, performance, and productivity was one of our most popular reads of 2023.
How AI is Changing the HR Landscape
No discussion about the future of work is complete without considering the role of artificial intelligence (AI).
(Source: The Impact of GPT and Generative AI Models on People Analytics (Interview with Andrew Marritt))
AI has been incorporated into HR for some time now. We have been using it to automate routine tasks, streamline recruitment processes and improve HR analytics. However, with the birth of generative AI models like Chat-GPT, it is an understatement to say that AI has revolutionised every aspect of HR. Better yet, it's safe to say that it has and will continue to revolutionise every business function within an organisation.
From utilising AI in people analytics to how it is transforming the HR landscape, our articles on the impact of Chat-GPT and generative AI models and how AI is changing HR analytics have been among the most popular reads of this year. And for good reason - with the potential to improve decision-making, streamline processes, and enhance employee experience, AI is a topic every HR and people analytics professional should pay attention to.
The Impact of Analytics on HR
Our Insight222 research has shown time and time again that organisations that invest in people analytics drive better business outcomes, which is why, this year, we continued to dig deeper into this topic by exploring the New Model for People Analytics.
With the rise of digital transformation and the increasing importance of data in driving strategic business decisions, our articles on using statistics to drive actionable outcomes, why people analytics is so important for HR, and how social capital can be measured have been highly sought-after reads.
Upskilling the HR Function and Building Data Literacy at Scale
Considering the previous points, it's understandable that upskilling the HR function and building data literacy at scale have emerged as key themes this year. To fully leverage the benefits of AI and data analytics, HR professionals must develop a strong understanding of data and how it can be used to drive strategic decision-making.
As such, in July, we released our research, Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale, which outlines the skills and competencies that HR professionals need to succeed in the digital age. It also highlights how HR leaders need to build an effective skill-based workforce planning capability.
(Source: Measuring the ROI of Employee Training and Development)
Interestingly, this research has also sparked discussions on who holds the responsibility for scaling data literacy across HR, which we explore in our article Who Holds the Responsibility for Scaling Data Literacy Across HR?
Measuring the ROI of Employee Development
Building upon the theme of upskilling and data literacy, it's important to also focus on measuring the ROI of employee development. As professionals in the HR sector, we know all too well that investing in employee training and development is crucial for an organisation's long-term success.
But with senior executives increasingly asking (and expecting) HR to demonstrate the value of these investments, our article on measuring the ROI of employee training and development has been one of the most popular reads this year.
Delivering Greater Value for the Business Through People Analytics
At its core, people analytics is about delivering greater value for the business. Our 2022 research, Impacting Business Value: Leading Companies in People Analytics, is a testament to this. Leading Companies (organisations that drive the most business impact through people analytics) have consistently shown better financial performance, higher employee engagement and retention rates, and overall greater success compared to their less data-driven counterparts.
This is why, in 2023, we have seen a surge of interest in articles on delivering greater value for the organisation with people analytics and the growing influence of people analytics in strategic business decisions.
And this trend will only continue as more and more organisations recognise the importance of incorporating data-driven insights into their decision-making processes.
Challenges to Building Data Literacy
If there is one thing we have identified as a common theme this year, it's the challenges of building data literacy within HR. From understanding the technical aspects of data analysis to gaining buy-in from senior leadership, organisations face various hurdles when trying to build a culture of data literacy.
(Source: Insight222 Research: Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale)
However, as we continue to uncover the value that analytics brings to HR and the business as a whole, these challenges will become easier to overcome. And with more resources and tools available to support data literacy efforts within organisations, we are confident that this theme will evolve in 2024.
Evolving the HR Practice
In all, as we wrap up another year, it's clear that people analytics and data-driven HR practices have become even more ingrained in our work. From the importance of psychological safety and behavioural science to the impact of AI, measuring ROI, and delivering greater value to the business - these are just a few key themes that have shaped our content this year.
However, as we move forward, HR professionals must continue developing their data literacy and upskilling themselves to drive the success of their organisations further.
To that end, we look forward to seeing how these themes will evolve and shape the future of HR in the coming years.
Manpreet RandhawaDecember 18, 2023
David Green
2023年12月22日
Josh Bersin
Josh Bersin人工智能实施越来越像传统IT项目Josh Bersin的文章《人工智能实施越来越像传统IT项目》提出了五个主要发现：
数据管理：强调数据质量、治理和架构在AI项目中的重要性，类似于IT项目。
安全和访问管理：突出AI实施中强大的安全措施和访问控制的重要性。
工程和监控：讨论了持续工程支持和监控的需求，类似于IT基础设施管理。
供应商管理：指出了AI项目中彻底的供应商评估和选择的重要性。
变更管理和培训：强调了有效变更管理和培训的必要性，这对AI和IT项目都至关重要。
原文如下，我们一起来看看：
As we learn more and more about corporate implementations of AI, I’m struck by how they feel more like traditional IT projects every day.
Yes, Generative AI systems have many special characteristics: they’re intelligent, we need to train them, and they have radical and transformational impact on users. And the back-end processing is expensive.
But despite the talk about advanced models and life-like behavior, these projects have traditional aspects. I’ve talked with more than a dozen large companies about their various AI strategies and I want to encourage buyers to think about the basics.
Finding 1: Corporate AI projects are all about the data.
Unlike the implementation of a new ERP system, payroll system, recruiting, or learning platform, an AI platform is completely data dependent. Regardless of the product you’re buying (an intelligent agent like Galileo™, an intelligent recruiting system like Eightfold, or an AI-enabling platform to provide sales productivity), success depends on your data strategy. If your enterprise data is a mess, the AI won’t suddenly make sense of it.
This week I read a story about Microsoft’s Copilot promoting election lies and conspiracy theories. While I can’t tell how widespread this may be, it simply points out that “you own the data quality, training, and data security” of your AI systems.
Walmart’s My Assistant AI for employees already proved itself to be 2-3x more accurate at handling employee inquiries about benefits, for example. But in order to do this the company took advantage of an amazing IT architecture that brings all employee information into a single profile, a mobile experience with years of development, and a strong architecture for global security.
One of our clients, a large defense contractor, is exploring the use of AI to revolutionize its massive knowledge management environment. While we know that Gen AI can add tremendous value here, the big question is “what data should we load” and how do we segment the data so the right people access the right information? They’re now working on that project.
During our design of Galileo we spent almost a year combing through the information we’ve amassed for 25 years to build a corpus that delivers meaningful answers. Luckily we had been focused on data management from the beginning, but if we didn’t have a solid data architecture (with consistent metadata and information types), the project would have been difficult.
So core to these projects is a data management team who understands data sources, metadata, and data integration tools. And once the new AI system is working, we have to train it, update it, and remove bias and errors on a regular basis.
Finding 2: Corporate AI projects need heavy focus on security and access management.
Let’s suppose you find a tool, platform, or application that delivers a groundbreaking solution to your employees. It could be a sales automation system, an AI-powered recruiting system, or an AI application to help call center agents handle problems.
Who gets access to what? How do you “layer” the corpus to make sure the right people see what they need? This kind of exercise is the same thing we did at IBM in the 1980s, when we implemented this complex but critically important system called RACF. I hate to promote my age, but RACF designers thought through these issues of data security and access management many years ago.
AI systems need a similar set of tools, and since the LLM has a tendency to “consolidate and aggregate” everything into the model, we may need multiple models for different users.
In the case of HR, if build a talent intelligence database using Eightfold, Seekout, or Gloat which includes job titles, skills, levels, and details about credentials and job history, and then we decide to add “salary” … oops.. well all of a sudden we have a data privacy problem.
I just finished an in-depth discussion with SAP-SuccessFactors going through the AI architecture, and what you see is a set of “mini AI apps” developed to operate in Joule (SAP’s copilot) for various use cases. SAP has spent years building workflows, access patterns, and various levels of user security. They designed the system to handle confidential data securely.
Remember also that tools like ChatGPT, which access the internet, can possibly import or leak data in a harmful way. And users may accidentally use the Gen AI tools to create unacceptable content, dangerous communications, and invoke other “jailbreak” behaviors.
In your talent intelligence strategy, how will you manage payroll data and other private information? If the LLM uses this data for analysis we have to make sure that only appropriate users can see it.
Finding 3: Corporate AI projects need focus on “prompt engineering” and system monitoring.
In a typical IT project we spend a lot of time on the user experience. We design portals, screens, mobile apps, and experiences with the help of UI designers, artists, and craftsmen. But in Gen AI systems we want the user to “tell us what they’re looking for.” How do we train or support the user in prompting the system well?
If you’ve ever tried to use a support chatbot from a company like Paypal you know how difficult this can be. I spent weeks trying to get Paypal’s bot to tell me how to shut down my account, but it never came close to giving me the right answer. (Eventually I figured it out, even though I still get invoices from a contractor who has since deceased!)
We have to think about these issues. In our case, we’ve built a “prompt library” and series of workflows to help HR professionals get the most out of Galileo to make the system easy to use. And vendors like Paradox, Visier (Vee), and SAP are building sophisticated workflows that let users ask a simple question (“what candidates are at stage 3 of the pipeline”) and get a well formatted answer.
If you ask a recruiting bot something like “who are the top candidates for this position” and plug it into the ATS, will it give you a good answer? I’m not sure, to be honest – so the vendors (or you) have to train it and build workflows to predict what users will ask.
This means we’ll be monitoring these systems, looking at interactions that don’t work, and constantly tuning them to get better.
A few years ago I interviewed the VP of Digital Transformation at DBS (Digital Bank of Singapore), one of the most sophisticated digital banks in the world. He told me they built an entire team to watch every click on the website so they could constantly move buttons, simplify interfaces, and make information easier to find. We’re going to need to do the same thing with AI, since we can’t really predict what questions people will ask.
Finding 4: Vendors will need to be vetted.
The next “traditional IT” topic is going to be the vetting of vendors. If I were a large bank or insurance company and I was looking at advanced AI systems, I would scrutinize the vendor’s reputation and experience in detail. Just because a firm like OpenAI has built a great LLM doesn’t mean that they, as a vendor, are capable of meeting your needs.
Does the vendor have the resources, expertise, and enterprise feature set you require? I recently talked with a large enterprise in the middle east who has major facilities in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and other countries in the region. They do not and will not let user information, queries, or generated data leave their jurisdiction. Does the vendor you select have the ability to handle this requirement? Small AI vendors will struggle with these issues, leading IT to do risk assessment in a new way.
There are also consultants popping up who specialize in “bias detection” or testing of AI systems. Large companies can do this themselves, but I expect that over time there will be consulting firms who help you evaluate the accuracy and quality of these systems. If the system is trained on your data, how well have you tested it? In many cases the vendor-provided AI uses data from the outside world: what data is it using and how safe is it for your application?
Finding 5: Change management, training, and organization design are critical.
Finally, as with all technology projects, we have to think about change management and communication. What is this system designed to do? How will it impact your job? What should you do if the answers are not clear or correct? All these issues are important.
There’s a need for user training. Our experience shows that users adopt these systems quickly, but they may not understand how to ask a question or how to interpret an answer. You may need to create prompt libraries (like Galileo), or interactive conversation journeys. And then offer support so users can resolve answers which are wrong, unclear, or inconsistent.
And most importantly of all, there’s the issue of roles and org design. Suppose we offer an intelligent system to let sales people quickly find answers to product questions, pricing, and customer history. What is the new role of sales ops? Do we have staff to update and maintain the quality of the data? Should we reorganize our sales team as a result?
We’ve already discovered that Galileo really breaks down barriers within HR, for example, showing business partners or HR leaders how to handle issues that may be in another person’s domain. These are wonderful outcomes which should encourage leaders to rethink how the roles are defined.
In our company, as we use AI for our research, I see our research team operating at a higher level. People are sharing information, analyzing cross-domain information more quickly, and taking advantage of interviews and external data at high speed. They’re writing articles more quickly and can now translate material into multiple languages.
Our member support and advisory team, who often rely on analysts for expertise, are quickly becoming consultants. And as we release Galileo to clients, the level of questions and inquiries will become more sophisticated.
This process will happen in every sales organization, customer service organization, engineering team, finance, and HR team. Imagine the “new questions” people will ask.
Bottom Line: Corporate AI Systems Become IT Projects
At the end of the day the AI technology revolution will require lots of traditional IT practices. While AI applications are groundbreaking powerful, the implementation issues are more traditional than you think.
I will never forget the failed implementation of Siebel during my days at Sybase. The company was enamored with the platform, bought, and forced us to use it. Yet the company never told us why they bought it, explained how to use it, or built workflows and job roles to embed it into the company. In only a year Sybase dumped the system after the sales organization simply rejected it. Nobody wants an outcome like that with something as important as AI.
As you learn and become more enamored with the power of AI, I encourage you to think about the other tech projects you’ve worked on. It’s time to move beyond the hype and excitement and think about real-world success.
Josh Bersin
2023年12月17日
Josh Bersin
人工智能正在以比我预期更快的速度改变企业学习AI Is Transforming Corporate Learning Even Faster Than I Expected在《AI正在比我预想的更快地改变企业学习AI Is Transforming Corporate Learning Even Faster Than I Expected》这一文中，Josh Bersin强调了AI对企业学习和发展（L&D）领域的革命性影响。L&D市场价值高达3400亿美元，涵盖了从员工入职到操作程序等一系列活动。传统模型正在随着像Galileo™这样的生成性AI技术的发展而演变，这改变了内容的创建、个性化和传递方式。本文探讨了AI在L&D中的主要用例，包括内容生成、个性化学习体验、技能发展，以及用AI驱动的知识工具替代传统培训。举例包括Arist的AI内容创作、Uplimit的个性化AI辅导，以及沃尔玛实施AI进行即时培训。这种转型是深刻的，呈现了一个AI不仅增强而且重新定义L&D策略的未来。
在受人工智能影响的所有领域中，最大的变革也许发生在企业学习中。经过一年的实验，现在很明显人工智能将彻底改变这个领域。
让我们讨论一下 L&D 到底是什么。企业培训无处不在，这就是为什么它是一个价值 3400 亿美元的市场。工作中发生的一切（从入职到填写费用账户再到复杂的操作程序）在某种程度上都需要培训。即使在经济衰退期间，企业在 L&D 上的支出仍稳定在人均 1200-1500 美元。
然而，正如研发专业人士所知，这个问题非常复杂。有数百种培训平台、工具、内容库和方法。我估计 L&D 技术空间的规模超过 140 亿美元，这甚至不包括搜索引擎、知识管理工具以及 Zoom、Teams 和 Webex 等平台等系统。多年来，我们经历了许多演变：电子学习、混合学习、微型学习，以及现在的工作流程中的学习。
生成式人工智能即将永远改变这一切。
考虑一下我们面临的问题。企业培训并不是真正的教学，而是创造一个学习的环境。传统的教学设计以教师为主导，以过程为中心，但在工作中常常表现不佳。人们通过多种方式学习，通常没有老师，他们寻找参考资料，复制别人正在做的事情，并依靠经理、同事和专家的帮助。因此，必须扩展传统的教学设计模型，以帮助人们学习他们需要的东西。
输入生成人工智能，这是一种旨在合成信息的技术。像Galileo™这样的生成式人工智能工具 可以以传统教学设计师无法做到的方式理解、整合、重组和传递来自大型语料库的信息。这种人工智能驱动的学习方法不仅效率更高，而且效果更好，能够在工作流程中进行学习。
早期，在工作流程中学习意味着搜索信息并希望找到相关的东西。这个过程非常耗时，而且常常没有结果。生成式人工智能通过其神经网络的魔力，现在已经准备好解决这些问题，就像 L&D 的瑞士军刀一样。
这是一个简单的例子。我问Galileo™（该公司经过 25 年的研究和案例研究提供支持）：“我该如何应对总是迟到的员工？请给我一个叙述来帮助我？” 它没有带我去参加管理课程或给我看一堆视频，而是简单地回答了问题。这种类型的互动是企业学习的大部分内容。
让我总结一下人工智能在学习与发展中的四个主要用例：
生成内容：人工智能可以大大减少内容创建所涉及的时间和复杂性。例如，移动学习工具Arist拥有AI生成功能Sidekick，可以将综合的操作信息转化为一系列的教学活动。这个过程可能需要几周甚至几个月的时间，现在可以在几天甚至几小时内完成。
我们在Josh Bersin 学院使用 Arist ，我们的新移动课程现在几乎每月都会推出。Sana、Docebo Shape和以用户为中心的学习平台 360 Learning 等其他工具也同样令人兴奋。
个性化学习者体验：人工智能可以帮助根据个人需求定制学习路径，改进根据工作角色分配学习路径的传统模型。人工智能可以理解内容的细节，并使用该信息来个性化学习体验。这种方法比杂乱的学习体验平台（LXP）有效得多，因为LXP通常无法真正理解内容的细节。
Uplimit是一家致力于构建人工智能平台来帮助教授人工智能的初创公司，它正在使用其Cobot和其他工具为学习人工智能的技术专业人员提供个性化的指导和技巧。Cornerstone 的新 AI 结构按技能推荐课程，Sana 平台将 Galileo 等工具与学习连接起来，SuccessFactors 中的新 AI 功能还为用户提供了基于角色和活动的精选学习视图。
识别和发展技能：人工智能可以帮助识别内容中的技能并推断个人的技能。这有助于提供正确的培训并确定其有效性。虽然许多公司正在研究高级技能分类策略，但真正的价值在于可以通过人工智能识别和开发的细粒度、特定领域的技能。
人才情报领域的先驱者Eightfold、Gloat和SeekOut可以推断员工技能并立即推荐学习解决方案。实际上，我们正在使用这项技术来推出我们的人力资源职业导航器，该导航器将于明年初推出。
用知识工具取代培训：人工智能在学习与发展中最具颠覆性的用例也许是完全取代某些类型培训的潜力。人工智能可以创建提供信息和解决问题的智能代理或聊天机器人，从而可能消除对某些类型培训的需求。这种方法不仅效率更高，而且效果更好，因为它可以在个人需要时为他们提供所需的信息。
沃尔玛今天正在实施这一举措，我们的新平台 Galileo 正在帮助万事达卡和劳斯莱斯等公司在无需培训的情况下按需查找人力资源信息和政策信息。LinkedIn Learning 正在向 Gen AI 搜索开放其软技能内容，很快 Microsoft Copilot 将通过 Viva Learning 找到培训。
这里潜力巨大
在我作为分析师的这些年里，我从未见过一种技术具有如此大的潜力。人工智能将彻底改变 L&D 格局，重塑我们的工作方式，以便 L&D 专业人员可以花时间为企业提供咨询。
L&D 专业人员应该做什么？花一些时间来了解这项技术，或者参加Josh Bersin 学院的一些新的人工智能课程以了解更多信息。
随着我们继续推出像伽利略这样的工具，我知道你们每个人都会对未来的机会感到惊讶。L&D 的未来已经到来，而这一切都由人工智能驱动。
Josh Bersin
2023年12月13日
David Green
David Green：The best HR & People Analytics articles of November 2023
November has been a month of travel to three continents where I’ve attended and spoken at four events, learned a lot about how companies are using people analytics, AI and machine learning in HR, and met a lot of talented HR professionals. The month started in Chicago, where Berube, Derek, Jack Liu and their team hosted North American member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program at McDonalds’ iconic Hamburger University.
Two weeks later I was in Barcelona for Workday Rising EMEA, where I spoke on stage with Caroline O'Reilly, GM Workday Analytics, about the future of people analytics and workforce planning in the age of AI, and also did a book signing of Excellence in People Analytics. On the following day, also at Rising, I had the pleasure of presenting findings from the recently published Insight222 People Analytics Trends 2023 study. For more on the takeaways from Workday Rising EMEA, read this edition of the Digital HR Leaders newsletter, and check out the series of articles by Alexandra Nawrat on the UNLEASH blog such as AI regulation is like the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once.
I’ve just returned from Copenhagen where the final in-person Peer Meeting of 2023 took place for European member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, where attendees explored in depth two topics that are critical to the success of people analytics – influence and value. Thanks to Alan Susi, Kevin Erikson and Claude-Alain Descloux, and Lucie Vottova for sharing some of the brilliant work they are doing at S&P Global, Novartis and ING respectively.
Tomorrow, I will embark on my final trip in November – to India, where I will be speaking on People Analytics 2.0: Unlocking the Transformative Power of Data and AI in HR at the Indeed FutureWorks event in Bangalore.
November travel snapshots
Benchmark your organisation against the Leading Companies in People Analytics
As previewed above, November also saw the release of the fourth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study, which this year was informed by a survey of 271 global organisations. In addition, we’ve also developed the Leading Companies Diagnostic, which enables you to get a personalised report into how your organisation rates against Leading Companies in People Analytics. Take the Leading Companies Diagnostic here.
Insight222 Leading Companies People Analytics Diagnostic
Looking for a new role in people analytics or HR tech?
Before we get to this month’s collection of resources, I’d like to once again highlight the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers nearly 500 roles. This is another indicator of the continued growth in the field.
Share the love!
Enjoy reading the collection of resources for November and, if you do, please share some data driven HR love with your colleagues and networks. Thanks to the many of you who liked, shared and/or commented on October’s compendium (including those in the Comments below).
If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is published every Tuesday – subscribe here.
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
JONATHAN FERRAR, NAOMI VERGHESE, AND HEIDI BINDER-MATSUO - Investing to Deliver Value: A New Model for People Analytics | Article | Full Report | Diagnostic
People analytics continues to grow despite a challenging global economy. This is one of four key findings from the fourth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study. The other three are: (1) Measuring and delivering value, from people analytics efforts, is key for the impact of the function. (2) Developing relationships with C-suite and senior stakeholders is essential to deliver on key business priorities. (3) There are eight defined characteristics that Leading Companies display to create impact (see FIG 1). Every people analytics function, in any organisation, can now diagnose themselves against these eight characteristics. The Insight222 Leading Companies Model (see FIG 2) will help CHROs and people analytics leaders understand their current position and pinpoint the characteristics that will enable them to deliver more value. Kudos to my colleagues and authors of the report: Jonathan Ferrar, Naomi Verghese, and Heidi Binder-Matsuo, as well as the practitioners who contributed case studies: Jane Puckey, James Reynolds, Sharon Doherty (she/her), Alan Susi, Jaesun HA, Laura Wright Shubert, and Eden Britt.
FIG 1: The eight characteristics of Leading Companies. Source: Insight222 People Analytics Trends Report 2023
FIG 2: Leading Companies in People Analytics Model Source: Insight222 People Analytics Trends Report 2023
HEIN KNAPPEN - Boosting Growth: How People Analytics Elevates Enterprise Value
Hein J.M. Knaapen, formerly chief human resources officer at ING and now Managing Partner, Europe at CEO.works, provides a compelling narrative on the profound impact of people analytics on business success. Hein sets out that when used effectively, people analytics (1) Uncovers strategic opportunities driven by effective people management. (2) Provides actionable insights into performance challenges. (3) Enhances employee engagement and productivity. (4) Establishes a robust link between business needs and HR solutions.
People analytics helps build a more solid bridge between business needs and HR interventions. It values evidence over assumptions. It moves HR professionals from supporting the overall business to providing specific, data-driven solutions to true business challenges.
AMIT MOHINDRA - Shapely Values: Game Theory in People Analytics
Amit Mohindra is one of the pioneering practitioners in people analytics, having led functions in companies including Apple, McKesson and Wayfair, lectured on people analytics at Stanford, and published a number of thoughtful articles such as the seminal Three "Laws" of Workforce Analytics. In his latest piece, Amit explores how people analytics can benefit from the connection between cooperative game theory and machine learning, and provides an example of a force plot (see FIG 3): “The red sections represent the factors that push attrition risk higher, and the blue sections are the mitigating factors pushing attrition risk lower. The base value is the average attrition risk in the dataset and is, therefore, the same in both plots.”
Explaining AI models, especially via compelling visualizations, builds comfort with and confidence in people analytics among decision-makers in HR and the business that drives adoption and improved talent, customer, and operational outcomes
FIG 3: Source – Amit Mohindra
JAPNEET KAUR AND NITIN RAZDAN - People analytics maturity in India
The country I receive the most enquiries about people analytics from is India. The progress of people analytics in the country is significant as this study by Deloitte’s Japneet Sachdeva and Nitin Razdan finds. Their research highlights four findings: (1) In the last 12 months Indian companies have shifted to realise value from people analytics across multiple dimensions, including individuals, teams, organisation, and society. (2) There is a significant shift in priorities from attrition last year to retention, well-being, and skills in 2023. (3) There is some hesitation around analytics and AI taking over decision-making from humans. (4) There is curiosity and enthusiasm around Gen AI and its potential in the People Analytics space.
FIG 4: The four levels of shared value (Source: Deloitte India)
MATTHEW HAMILTON - Do you understand probability better than a second grader? | LYDIA WU - People Analytics’ Awkward Place on Org Charts | STEPHANIE MURPHY – From Theory to Practice: Insights on the Future of People Analytics | KAI WEHMEYER - How Bertelsmann Group is Accelerating HR Transformation with People Analytics | ALLIE NAWRAT AND JULIEN LEGRET - Cartier HR data director: People analytics is a business necessity SEBASTIAN SZACHNOWSKI - This is the Last Call: Data Literacy for HR
November has seen a slew of articles published by current and recent people analytics leaders, which typically act as a spur and inspiration for the field. Six are highlighted here: (1) Matthew Hamilton, head of people analytics and HRIS at Protective Life, writes on the important of data literacy and probabilistic thinking to driving value from people analytics. (2) The prolific Lydia Wu continues her excellent ‘Oops, did I think that out loud’ series with an article on the vagaries of where people analytics resides in the organisation structure. (3) Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. formerly the people analytics leader at Dell, answers ten questions for HRForecast related to the future of people analytics including the challenges and potential ethical concerns, and the role of people analytics in the future. (4) Kai Wehmeyer, Senior Vice President of Corporate HR Strategy & Systems at Bertelsmann shares his experience on effecting meaningful HR change in large, complex organisations. (5) Julien Legret shares aspects of the people analytics journey at Cartier with Alexandra Nawrat of UNLEASH. (6) Sebastian Szachnowski, Head of People Analytcis at Volvo Group, examines why HR professionals need to be more data literate, the skills they need, and how they can grow these skills.
Insights require action; otherwise, you are undertaking a costly science experiment
GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
BCG AND THE WORLD FEDERATION OF PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONS - Creating People Advantage 2023: Set the Right People Priorities for Challenging Times Article | Full Report
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)’s bi-annual Creating People Advantage collaboration with the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA) is consistently one of the best studies in our field. The 2023 edition continues this rich vein of quality. Two findings that stand out from the report are: (1) Only 35% of HR professionals agree that their company’s people management function is using relevant digital technologies. (2) Just 30% say that HR is using data and analytics to anticipate people challenges. This is despite People and HR strategy, planning, and analytics, being ranked as the #1 future people management topic (see FIG 5). There is a ton of insights in the report’s 28 pages, which includes a powerful visualisation (see FIG 6) of 32 people topics sorted by prioritisation. The report also outlines five recommendations for people management leaders to adopt to prepare for challenging times: (1) Leverage data to accurately plan for talent supply and demand. (2) Get better at talent acquisition. (3) Invest in upskilling and reskilling the current workforce. (4) Unlock value through AI. (5) Focus on change management and organizational development. A must read for any HR leader or professional. Kudos to the authors: Jens Stefan Baier, Vinciane Beauchene, Julie Bedard, Jean-Michel Caye, Dr. Philipp Kolo, Fang Ruan, Alexander Alonso, PhD SHRM-SCP, Anthony Ariganello, Kai H. Helfritz, Bob Morton, Chartered CCIPD, Lucas van Wees, and Wilson Wong.
FIG 5: Ranking of future importance of nine people management topics (Source: BCG)
FIG 6: The most pressing priorities for people leaders (Source: BCG)
KATHLEEN HOGAN – Microsoft’s Chief People Officer shares how AI will impact workers | What Can Copilot’s Earliest Users Teach Us About Generative AI at Work?
Two articles by Kathleen Hogan, chief people officer at Microsoft. In the first article, for Fast Company, Kathleen outlines three elements for companies to realise the benefits of AI for employees quickly: fostering an agility-based culture, reimagining how we work, and investing in deeper human skills. In the second article, Kathleen unveils the impact on productivity, creativity, and time of Copilot’s earliest users, with 70% saying they were more productive, 68% saying it improves the quality of their work, 64% saying that it helped them spend less time processing email, and 85% saying it helps them get to a good first draft faster (see also FIG 7).
AI is the defining technology of our time, creating a massive paradigm that will transform the way we work with even greater impact than the introduction of the PC
FIG 7: Copilot makes people more productive and creative, and saves time (Source: Microsoft)
PAUL LEONARDI - Helping Employees Succeed with Generative AI
Paul Leonardi unveils his STEP framework, which comprises four interrelated activities designed to help employees take advantage of new technologies: (1) segmenting tasks for either AI automation or AI augmentation; (2) transitioning tasks across work roles; (3) educating workers to take advantage of AI’s evolving capabilities; and (4) evaluating performance to reflect employees’ learning and the help they give others. Paul also highlights learnings from three companies that have adopted the STEP framework, including trusting employees to experiment, creating the right conditions for learning, and rethinking workforce planning. For more from Paul, tune in to his conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How To Help Your Teams Develop A Digital Mindset.
Because AI tools are constantly evolving, employees can’t learn new skills once and be done.
JOHANNES SUNDLO - 307 ChatGPT Prompts for CHROs | BERNARD MARR - How Data And AI Are Reshaping Contemporary HR Practices
Two helpful resources for HR leaders and professionals looking for practical guidance on incorporating generative AI into their work. (1) In an article from his FullStack HR blog, Johannes Sundlo sets out 307 ChatGPT prompts for CHROs covering topics such as organisational design and people strategy, recruitment, engagement and retention, learning and development, performance management, compensation, talent management, culture and engagement, workforce planning and analytics, change management and HR tech. (2) Bernard Marr writes about the rise of ‘intelligent HR’ in areas such as people analytics, recruitment, and performance management.
Intelligent HR is the strategic application of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) in human resources to improve decision-making, streamline operations, and create a better workplace experience.
THE EVOLUTION OF HR AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
JONATHAN GORDIN, SHARI CHERNACK, KAREN SHELLENBACK, AND YAMILE BRUZZA | MERCER - Evolving the CHRO role in a rapidly changing world of work
Forty-one percent of CHROs wish they had had a greater depth of knowledge in people analytics before stepping into their roles (see FIG 8). That is the one of the standout findings from Mercer’s recently published 2023 CHRO report. Many CHROs also conceded that they wish they had assumed the role with a greater understanding of business and strategy: “The ability to understand the business you are in is critical to success as a CHRO — the people strategy must be an extension of the business strategy.” The report, which was written by Jonathan Gordin, Shari Chernack, Karen Shellenback, and Yamile Bruzza, also digs into the growing importance of technology and analytics including the need for CHROs and their leadership teams to upskill themselves and act as role-models in areas such as data literacy, how the CHRO role will evolve (see also FIG 9), actions to develop HR leaders, and key attributes of CHROs.
FIG 8: What CHROs wished they’d known more about before assuming their roles (Source: Mercer)
FIG 9: How the CHRO role will evolve (Source: Mercer)
DAVE ULRICH, NORM SMALLWOOD, AND MIKE PANOWYK - Using Human Capability Information to Upgrade Business Decisions
Dave Ulrich, Norm Smallwood, and Mike Panowyk present their work on Governance and Guidance for Growth through Human Capability (G3HC). The article details their six-step framework (see FIG 10), which is built on gathering relevant human capital and business information and data to inform decision making in eight specific business use cases including board meetings, strategy discussions, and mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. As ever, the guidance offered is insightful and practical, and even provides a helpful table of Dos and Don’ts for each of the six steps in the framework (see FIG 11).
FIG 10: Information choices to improve human capital (Source: Dave Ulrich et al)
FIG 11: G3HC Information Dos and Don’ts (Source: Dave Ulrich et al)
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
SIMMI MEHTA, KEVIN MOSS, AND DHRUV PATEL - Meet business outcomes by evolving to strategic workforce planning Article | Report
A helpful report by Simmi Mehta, Kevin Moss and Dhruv Patel of Deloitte to highlight their partnership with Anaplan and provide guidance to organisations on how they can pivot from operational to strategic workforce planning. The report explains how these two processes are interconnected, and outlines the considerations required to evolve to SWP (see FIG 12). Thanks to Brian Heger for highlighting this resource in his excellent Talent Edge newsletter.
FIG 12: Considerations to evolve to Strategic Workforce Planning (Source: Deloitte)
SIMON BRADBERRY AND BRUCE MORTON - Unlocking the Potential of a Skills-Based Organization
In their article for MIT Sloan Management Review, Simon Bradberry and Bruce Morton present their Workforce Target Operating Model (see FIG 13), which is assembled around four components: (1) The Workforce Business Partner (“…a senior and experienced individual, able to deconstruct roles into tasks and, where appropriate, look for automation opportunities, such as using AI). (2) The Workforce Acquisition Manager (“The WAM owns the execution for all hiring for their business area across all channels to market.”). (3) The Change Manager. (4) Sourcing. The authors then outline how the Workforce TOM is backed by a simplified workforce technology ecosystem and also provide examples illustrating real-world successes with the approach.
FIG 13: Workforce Target Operating Model (Source: Simon Bradberry and Bruce Morton)
ROBERT MOTION AND COLE NAPPER - What’s Old is New: The Quest for Excellence in Workforce Planning
As Robert Motion and Cole Napper highlight in their treatise on the topic, workforce planning is both an art and a science that has its root in data and strategy. Their article offers six lessons on the topic: (1). Strategy is hard, but that doesn’t make WFP impossible. (2) Workforce planning can both help fight and respond to the Wall Street earnings cycle pressure. (3) Process is necessary, but don’t overdo it. (4) Analytics is and will continue to be king. (5) Winning the war for talent requires Talent Intelligence. (6) We can’t fall in love with our own ideas.
As WFP practitioners, influencing with data is THE key to gaining credibility with the business. It shows that WFP is not “touchy-freely HR”, but data-driven and quantified.
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
KEN MATOS AND DIDIER ELZINGA - 7 charts that define the employee experience in 2023 | ANTONIO PANGALLO AND SARAH MARRS - The 5 employee experience trends redefining work in 2024
Two insight and data rich studies on the key trends in employee experience from two of the leading employee survey technology companies in the field. In the first article, Kenneth Matos and Didier Elzinga of Culture Amp explore the current EX trends, what employees need to connect with their work, and how companies can step up. They also provide some powerful visualisations including a breakdown of engagement by country and industry, the key drivers of engagement, and what successful companies are doing right (see FIG 14). In the second article, Antonio Pangallo, Ph.D. and Sarah Marrs highlight five key trends that emerged from Qualtrics’ 2024 EX Trends report: (1) Employees would rather AI assist them than manage them (see FIG 15). (2) Frontline employees are the most unhappy, poorly supported, and least trusting of leadership. (3) The new-job honeymoon phase has vanished. (4) Employees don’t mind if you monitor their work messages and emails. They want to be heard! (5) Some time in the office is better than none — just not 5 days.
FIG 14: What successful companies are doing right in employee experience (Source: Culture Amp)
FIG 15: Source - Qualtrics
The more positive you feel about your organisation, the more likely you are to believe that it will use AI for your benefit
LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
TOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC - How to Strengthen Your Curiosity Muscle
The opening keynote at the recent Workday Rising EMEA event in Barcelona by Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic was based on his recently published book, I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique, which I highly recommend. Tomas is a prolific writer, and in one of his recent articles, for Harvard Business Review, he writes about one of the most critical and sought after dimensions of talent: curiosity – a skill that is vital for leadership effectiveness, learning, and career development. In the article, Tomas shares five recommendations to develop our curiosity muscle: (1) Ditch all excuses. (2) Find the right angle. (3) Change your routine. (4) Experiment. (5) When bored, just switch. For more from Tomas, please tune in to his recent conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How AI Can Unlock Human Potential and Make Work More Meaningful.
While we may not know what tomorrow’s jobs will be, employees’ motivation and ability to upskill and reskill for those jobs will significantly increase if they are curious.
MICHAEL ARENA - The Disruptive Nature of Small, Cohesive Teams
Jeff Bezos attributes much of Amazon’s ability to innovate at speed to ‘two-pizza teams’: “We try to create teams that are no larger than can be fed by two pizzas. We call that the two-pizza team rule.” In his article, Michael Arena explains the science behind why when operating in the right conditions, cohesive teams are able to move faster and innovate more boldly, and goes on to provide an example of a one of the marketplace leaders in AI (see FIG 16). He shares five ways to maximise cohesion and so foster speed and disruption: (1) Limit team size. (2) Streamline communication. (3) Encourage entrepreneurial activity. (4) Ask challenging questions. (5) Stimulate critical thinking.
FIG 16: Example of how a marketplace leader in AI operates with small, cohesive teams (Source: Michael Arena)
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
PAUL RUBENSTEIN - Prioritizing DEI Is the Secret to Future-Proofing Your Business
Paul Rubenstein outlines that rather than rolling back on investments in diversity, equity and inclusion and belonging programs, companies should instead broaden the scope to groups such as parents, new immigrants, and people with disabilities. Moreover, he explains why these efforts should be enriched with people analytics approaches like organisational network analysis, and smart compensation tools. For more from Paul, please tune in to his recent conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How to transform HR practices with data.
Pledges and statements are nice, but data lights the path to accountability and change.
STELA LUPUSHOR - Let’s talk about age(ism) in the age of generative AI
Stela Lupushor explains the business benefits of investing in age-diverse teams: (1) More productive teams (“Age-diverse teams are generally more productive and can lead to an increase in overall productivity by up to 12%”). (2) Better decisions (“Age-diverse teams make better decisions 73% of the time”). (3) Higher retention. Stela also outlines ways that generative AI can be used to influence gendered ageism at work.
Organizations that choose to fight ageism and embrace an age-diverse workforce position themselves for long-term success and competitive advantage
HR TECH VOICES
Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from November that I recommend readers delve into:
JEROEN VAN HAUTTE - How unlocking skills lies in capturing business data – Jeroen Van Hautte ? of TechWolf explains why in order to get skills data deep in your organisation, it is key to combine business and people data together (see FIG 17).
FIG 17: Source - TechWolf
PHILIP ARKCOLL - Using ONA to Find the Optimal Team Size – Another good example from Philip Arkcoll of Worklytics on how organisational network analysis can be used to provide fresh insights on common people questions - in this case: What is the optimal team size? Does flattening middle management have a negative impact on culture? The analysis suggests that a span of 3-7 is associated with the optimal manager support (see FIG 18).
FIG 18: Using ONA to find optimal team (Source: Worklytics)
FRANCISCO MARIN - Unlocking Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with Organizational Network Analysis – Another good example of an ONA use case comes from Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions. In his article, Francisco explores the many ways that ONA can support initiatives on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
FIG 19: Source – Cognitive Talent Solutions
BEN ZWEIG AND STEPHANIE HAO - Demand for Compensation Professionals Soars – Ben Zweig and Stephanie Hao of Revelio Labs provide insights that finds demand for compensation professionals has surged in recent years especially from companies exposed to pay transparency regulations, and that these professionals are increasingly required to have skills in data analytics tools.
FIG 20: Source – Revelio Labs
KAYLA BAUM - Shaping the Future: White House Unveils Groundbreaking AI Executive Order – Kayla Baum of FairNow (where former people analytics leader Guru Sethupathy is CEO) digs into the recent AI Executive Order from President Biden, and looks at the implications including for HR and CHROs:
CHROs should be aware of global AI trends and regulations, especially if their organization operates internationally.”
PODCASTS OF THE MONTH
In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected six gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below):
SHANNON CUSTARD, DANI JOHNSON AND STACIA GARR - Partnerships Focused on Learning Equity - Shannon Custard, Global Competence Development Manager at Ingka Group, joins Dani Johnson and Stacia Sherman Garr on RedThread Research ’s Workplace Stories podcast to share insights on the transition to a skills-based organisation, why the Ingka Group believes it’s important, and the impact it’s making on their frontline population.
JOSH BERSIN - Performance Management Revisited and The Ray Dalio Dot Collector | Trailblazer HR Technology Vendors – Two episodes from Josh Bersin’s podcast. In the first, Josh explores performance management and feedback using insights from the ‘feedback-rich example of Ray Dalio and Bridgewater Associates. In the second episode, Josh walks through six of his ‘Trailblazer HR Technology vendors’: STRIVR, SeekOut, Sana, HiBob, Rippling, and ServiceNow.
ANEESH RAMAN AND MOLLY WOOD - Why Adaptability Is the Skill of the Moment – Aneesh Raman joins Molly Wood on Microsoft’s WorkLab podcast to break down the significance of key findings from LinkedIn’s research on how generative AI is changing work.
BRYAN HANCOCK, BROOKE WEDDLE, AND LUCIA RAHILLY - Right skills, right person, right role – in this episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast, Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle join host Lucia Rahilly to discuss how a shift from credential-based to skills-based hiring could be a key to filling technical roles amid talent shortages.
Q HAMIRANI AND LARS SCHMIDT - The Impact of GPTs in HR Explained – In an episode of Redefining Work, Q Hamirani and Lars Schmidt break down GPTs, discuss real-world applications for HR, ethical considerations, and where they see this developing in the future.
KRISTIN SABOE, COLE NAPPER AND SCOTT HINES – Employee Voice, Policy and the Army - Kristin Saboe, Ph.D., Head of Employee Voice at Google, joins Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD on the Directionally Correct podcast to discuss using science and research to drive strategy and policy through an employee voice function.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
DAVID WHITE AND SHUJAAT AHMAD - Driving culture change for business outcomes
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the recent LinkedIn Talent Connect in New York, but fortunately all the sessions from the event are now available to view here. I particularly enjoyed this session with David White and Shujaat Ahmad, leaders inLinkedIn’s People Analytics team. In their talk, David and Shujaat explain how to use analytics to shape culture and drive business outcomes.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
FRANCES FREI AND ANNE MORRISS - Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems
The new book from leadership experts Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, who have just been included on the prestigious Thinkers 50 list for 2023, is a highly recommended read. In Move Fast and Fix Things, Frances and Anne reinvent the playbook for how to lead change, based on their work with companies including Uber, Riot Games and ServiceNow. The book lays out a five-step process to moving fast and fixing things: (1). Identify the real problem holding you back. (2) Build and rebuild trust in your company. (3) Create a culture where everyone can thrive. (4) Communicate powerfully as a leader. (5) Go fast by empowering your team.
FROM MY DESK
November saw the final three episodes of Series 34 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by eQ8, and the first episode of Series 35, sponsored by HiBob. Thank you to Angela Shori at eQ8, and Louis Gordon at HiBob.
ALICIA ROACH AND CHRIS HARE - How to Democratise Strategic Workforce Planning – Two of my go-to experts on workforce planning – Alicia Roach and Chris Hare, co-CEOs at eQ8, join me to discuss how to democratise and derive business value from strategic workforce planning.
NICK BLOOM - Unmasking Common Myths Around Remote Work – Stanford professor Nick Bloom, who has been studying working from home for over 20 years, shares the past, present and future of remote and hybrid work, and provides guidance on how to develop work models that help organisations and employees thrive.
ALEX BROWNE - Nestlé's 4B Methodology to Strategic Workforce Planning – Alex Browne, Head of People Analytics Innovation and Data Science at Nestlé, takes us on the ten year journey of strategic workforce planning at the company, how it has shifted to a skills-based approach, and their 4B model: build, buy, borrow and bot.
JACOB MORGAN - How to Lead with Vulnerability in Uncertain Times – Jacob Morgan joins me to share insights from his new book, Leading with Vulnerability, which was informed by interviews with over 100 CEOs and a survey of 14,000 employees. As Jacob explains: “People want to work for leaders who they can connect with, because connection is where trust, motivation, engagement, and inspiration comes from. (They) also want to work for a leader who is good at their job, who they can learn from, who can coach them, who can mentor them.”
THANK YOU
Finally, this month I’d like to thank:
Caroline O'Reilly, Shannon Paschal, and Charlie Yuan for inviting me to join them on stage at Workday Rising in Barcelona for their session on Workday Workforce Analytics and Planning
Thinkers360 for including me on their Top Voices EMEA 2023 list
The Workday Analyst Relations team of Angela Barbato, Alexandros Stratis, Chris Phillips, Jennifer Neumann, and Brienne Steinke, as well as Sophie Barnes and Ankita Jha for their brilliant organisation and hospitality at Workday Rising EMEA.
APERHU - Asociación Peruana de Recursos Humanos (here), Pacífico Business School (here) and Miguel Augusto Huerta Valverde (here) for all posting about my recent talk at the Human Capital Congress in Lima
Sebastian Szachnowski for referencing Insight222’s research on Upskilling HR in his article - This is the Last Call: Data Literacy for HR
Konstantin Tskhay, PhD for referencing the recent Insight222 webinar with Naomi Verghese, Courtney McMahon and me on the importance of data literacy in HR in his article: Data Literacy 101
Dariush Franczak for including the October edition of Data Driven HR in his list of resources for HR professionals
Luciana Langhanz (here) Jui Hasan (here) and Mehedi Hasan Soykot (here) for including me in their lists of people to follow on LinkedIn for HR and people analytics content
Riley Moore for including two episodes of the Digital HR Leaders podcast with Alicia Roach and Rupert Morrison in his collection: A Strategic Workforce Planning Guide
Jeremy Shapiro for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast on his list of favourite podcasts
Lanteria HR for including the episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast with Piyush Mehta in their list of 10 podcasts not to miss
Michael Corrigan for posting on LinkedIn about Excellence in People Analytics
Kerstin Rothermel for featuring me in her ‘Leading Voices’ series – see here.
__________________________________________________________________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
SEE ME AT THESE EVENTS
I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2023:
30 November - Indeed FutureWorks (Bengaluru)
David Green
2023年11月27日
Josh Bersin
Josh Bersin：Introducing Galileo™, The World’s First AI-Powered Expert Assistant For HRAs many of you know, HR professionals play a vital, complex, and constantly changing role in business. These 30 million professionals hold more than 250 job roles and leverage over 400 skills to help companies with all aspects of management: recruiting, development, leadership, coaching, diversity, pay, benefits, hybrid work, and more. And they must also select and implement a wide array of technologies and tools to help their companies grow.
The Josh Bersin Company, through 25 years of research and interviews with thousands of companies and vendors, has amassed the most trusted library of best-practices, vendor information, benchmarks, case studies, and professional development tools for HR.
Last Spring we embarked on a project to build an “HR Copilot”, consolidating our content into a Generative AI platform. The results were amazing: using Gen AI we were able to build an amazing new experience: users can ask questions, compare vendors, dig into solutions, and generate implementation plans, RFP templates, and more.
Today, in our ongoing effort to help HR professionals drive value for their companies, we’re ready to launch this offering. I’m excited to introduce Galileo™, the world’s first AI-powered expert assistant for HR. (Join the waitlist.)
Every HR Question Answered
Just as Galileo mapped the heavens to explain the universe, our Galileo™ gives HR teams the ability to understand, learn, and seek out best-practices in every area of HR. Powered by Sana’s AI platform, Galileo™ gives users complete access to all of The Josh Bersin Company’s comprehensive research, articles, and tools. And unlike internet-based AI tools, Galileo is free of promotional material, giving you trusted, detailed, verifiable accurate information.
We designed Galileo™ to be the HR professional’s ‘always-on’ resource to learn, ask questions, and develop solutions.
Galileo™ can answer questions on hundreds of topics, provide detailed information on vendors and HR technology, draft RFPs and implementation plans, and give users guidance, case studies, and benchmarks. All of the Josh Bersin Company research is instantly available, with access to in-depth reports, podcasts, articles, and courses. This includes access to our maturity models, frameworks, case studies, and our new definition of terms, The Josh Bersin Company Lexicon™.
Galileo™ will revolutionize the way HR Professionals do their jobs. No longer will you have to guess how to develop a new program or understand a vendor – accurate information is available at your fingertips.
Galileo Is A Learning, Design, And Problem Solving Assistant
Many HR problems are complex. To make problem-solving easy, Galileo includes a library of more than 50 pre-defined “prompts” which help professionals with topics like hiring, onboarding, performance management, training, and multi-disciplinary topics like building a skills taxonomy, implementing pay equity, workforce planning, or designing a capability academy.
We designed these prompts in chains, so as you ask a question, Galileo will take you down a path to learn, explore, and further assist you in your query. (The Galileo Getting Started Guide shows you some of the solutions available.)
Enterprise Ready: Galileo Is Your Company’s Expert Assistant
And there’s more. As you use Galileo, you will want to put your own HR policies and internal information into the system. Thanks to the architecture of Sana, Galileo lets users and teams add your information to the corpus, turning Galileo into your company’s in-house HR and employee assistant. In this private workspace your data and privacy are protected: Galileo is an enterprise grade, secure platform that isolates your data from others, pre-trained by The Josh Bersin Company research.
And our partnership with Sana goes further. Not only does the Sana platform provide scale and speed, it lets us build multiple AI assistants. If you want an expert assistant tailored to specific HR disciplines, like Talent Acquisition, L&D, DEI, or line managers, we can create them without writing code.
“This is just the beginning,” said Josh Bersin, CEO and Founder of The Josh Bersin Company. “This paradigm-shattering offering will change the way companies run their HR organizations and manage their people, enabling any professional to operate like a world-class expert in a short period of time. Galileo is a supportive, developmental assistant, ready to give users detailed answers, real-world examples, and guidance at any time.”
Initially Galileo will be available to our corporate members and later next year we will roll out a version available to members of The Josh Bersin Academy.
We want to thank Sana for their partnership and look forward to evolving Galileo rapidly in the coming months. Anyone interested in experiencing Galileo can sign up for the wait list. We expect general availability in early 2024.
Questions:
What Topics Are Covered by Galileo?
Galileo stores more than 50,000 pages of Josh Bersin Company research, including podcasts, articles, and comprehensive data and analysis on a wide variety of topics. These include talent acquisition, talent management, corporate training, diversity and inclusion, organization design, rewards and recognition, pay and pay equity, performance management, leadership development, global HR operations, hybrid work, culture, change management, and every major area of HR technology.
More than 500 vendors are covered by Galileo and the database is growing and updated every week. Over time Galileo will also include real-time information on new vendor offerings, the labor market, skills and capabilities, and important regulatory changes in HR.
To get just a glimpse of what Galileo can do, review the “Galileo Getting Started Guide.”
Is Galileo Generative AI?
Yes, Galileo is an advanced Generative AI solution that lets users ask questions and prompt the system to compare vendors, list best practices, and even create implementation plans, historical perspectives, and in-depth analysis. This means an HR professional can ask any simple question and Galileo will not only answer the question but give the user follow-on prompts to help them learn more, find examples, or download detailed reports, articles, podcasts, or tools.
What Is The Research and Information Provided?
Over the last three decades The Josh Bersin Company has studied nearly every domain of HR, developing in-depth maturity models, frameworks, benchmarks, and case studies. We have also added all of Josh’s blogs, podcasts, and videos – and we will be adding much more. While Galileo does not include legal and regulatory guidelines (these can be discovered in local jurisdictional systems), it covers every major domain of HR, empowering any HR leader or professional to quickly learn, find examples, and solve a problem.
How Do We Know Galileo Information Is Accurate?
Unlike public domain tools, Galileo is trained exclusively on The Josh Bersin Company’s large corpus of information and research. This means it does not suffer from the “AI drift” problem experienced by internet-sourced systems. In fact the opposite is true: as users query and use the system, it enables them to rate the generated answers and get smarter over time.
How Do I Know That Galileo Is Secure?
Galileo does not train any underlying language models on user input, thereby eliminating the risk of data leakage. Sana, which powers Galileo, is single tenant, ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. All data is encrypted at rest with AES 256 and in transit with TLS 1.2+. The platform follows data privacy regulations and guidelines to protect each individual user.
Can I Use Galileo To Create My Own HR Assistant?
Yes, Galileo is built on the highly configurable Sana platform, enabling users and teams to add their own content and create new AI assistants. We will offer these private workspace features to corporate clients and then roll them out to individual JBA members later in 2024.
How does Galileo Differ From Other AI Tools?
Many companies are experimenting with Generative AI through public internet tools. Galileo differs from these existing AI tools for the following reasons:
Enterprise Scale, Scope, and Security. Galileo is built on an enterprise scale AI platform capable of loading massive volumes of your own company information. This means you can build on the Josh Bersin Company corpus to safely add your own processes, training, compliance documents, and support material for HR professionals and other users throughout your company.
Depth of expertise. The answers and support you receive from Galileo are based on an extensive library from The Josh Bersin Company, one of the world’s leading advisory companies for corporate learning, talent management, and HR. The Josh Bersin Company has customized Galileo to answer and behave as if it were an expert consultant from their organization.
Source attribution. While other AI chat tools don’t consistently back up their answers, Galileo attributes sources to each answer with specific references and further learning content from The Josh Bersin Company library. And for corporate members, you can download and read the detailed sources.
Privacy. While other assistants may get trained on your data and usage, risking data leakage, Galileo lets you upload your own content without training any underlying large language models on your data.
Workflow support. Beyond answering questions and brainstorming ideas, Galileo helps you solve day-to-day tasks like drafting implementation plans because it can generate content based on both expert HR resources and your organization’s information.
How Does Galileo Get Smarter Over Time?
As we say, Galileo is smart and always getting smarter. It does this through many features.
First, Galileo integrates, tags, transcribes, and indexes all of The Josh Bersin Company’s content on an ongoing basis, making sure the system is always trained on the latest research, findings, and vendor information. Every day we add new information.
Second, answers to questions are generated with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), identifying the semantically relevant videos, audio, and texts, ranking the sources, and attributing the generated answers to the underlying references. We monitor questions and continuously improve results to provide detail and actionable answers.
Third, we take advantage of user-generated feedback. When users upvote or downvote answers the system learns to provide more accurate answers. The Bersin team works with Sana to improve the detailed answers in commonly asked questions. During the 9-month pilot we already optimized hundreds of questions.
Finally, we have developed “prompt chains” of more than 100 known use-cases in HR and management. Galileo literally prompts you to dive into a problem to learn more, explore vendors, read case studies, and learn best-practices. We will accelerate these solutions over time.
The Josh Bersin Company uses Sana AI’s assistant builder to tailor Galileo’s instructions, specifically adapted to various HR roles and tuned with hundreds of archetypical HR scenarios.
Who Is Sana and What is Sana AI?
Sana is an AI company transforming how organizations learn and access knowledge. Their end-to-end learning platform is trusted by hundreds and thousands of users at leading enterprises like Kry/Livi, Merck, and Svea Solar. Backed by top-tier investors, operators, and founders, they have raised over $80m to date. The company’s headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in London and New York. Galileo is powered by Sana AI, the company’s newest product.
To learn more about Sana, go to https://www.sanalabs.com/galileo.
How Is Galileo Sold and Offered?
Initially Galileo is being offered to Josh Bersin Company Corporate Members, enabling these organizations to empower and support their HR teams in an exciting new way. These individuals can access all the information, download all materials, take courses, and share the tools and information with their teams.
In the coming months there will be a version of Galileo for members of The Josh Bersin Academy. We encourage anyone interested to register on our waitlist so that we can provide updates on availability.
How Do I Get Access To Galileo Now?
Please join our wait list, we are now rolling out Galileo to corporate members and look forward to supporting you.
Josh Bersin
2023年11月17日
David Green
David Green:The best HR & People Analytics articles of October 2023
HR is the CEO’s right-hand in enlightened organisations.
Those were the words of Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO at L’Oreal, while speaking as part of a panel of CEOs on the main stage at the recent UNLEASH World in Paris. The declaration captures one of my key takeaways from the show: HR has made significant progress in its journey from support function to strategic partner.
One of the key drivers enabling this journey is people analytics. Two of the findings in the 4th Annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study, are: (1) 21% of people analytics leaders now report directly to the chief people officer (compared to 13% in 2020). (2) People analytics teams have grown by 43% since 2020. As Isabel Naidoo, chief people officer at Wise, said recently at the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat in Colorado:
People analytics is the fastest route to credibility as a chief people officer.
FIG 1
One of my highlights from October was hosting the Main Stage at the aforementioned UNLEASH World show in Paris. I've shared my key learnings from UNLEASH in a LinkedIn post, but would like to highlight what makes UNLEASH unique: a vibrant mix of content, learning, community, and innovation topped off with fabulous production. A huge thank you to Marc Coleman, Paige Richmond, Amelia Donovan, Zoltán Kőváry and Nidal Elfadil – it was a joy to work with you all again. See more on Day 1 and Day 2 at UNLEASH World.
UNLEASH World 2023
What’s in store for November?
The next few weeks are set to be busy. I’m currently in Chicago ahead of a Peer Meeting for North American members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, hosted by Berube, Derek and his team at McDonalds. In mid-November, I’ll be speaking on the key findings of the Insight222 2023 People Analytics Trends at Workday Rising EMEA. On November 21 and 22, I’ll be in Copenhagen for another Insight222 Peer Meeting, this time for European members of the People Analytics Program. Finally, on November 30, I’ll be in Bangalore to speak at Indeed FutureWorks. If any of you are going to these events, I look forward to seeing you there.
Looking for a new role in people analytics or HR tech?
I’d like keep highlighting the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers over 450 roles, as well as now also including roles for interns.
Participate in a study on the Modern Work Experience
RedThread Research is collecting data to understand the Modern Work Experience and how it has changed over the last year. This study is for individuals employed full-time at organizations with more than 100 people and will remain open until Monday, November 13, 2023. As a thank you for every response collected, RedThread will:
Donate $10 to DonorsChoose to support students and classrooms
Provide respondents with a free copy of the final report, “2023 Performance Management Trends: The Rise of Employee Expectations”
Share a free copy of the new report summary once published
Take the survey!
Share the love!
Enjoy reading the collection of resources for October and, if you do, please share some data driven HR love with your colleagues and networks. Thanks to the many of you who liked, shared and/or commented on September’s compendium including those highlighted in the comments below.
If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is published every Tuesday – subscribe here.
GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK AND HR
DIANE GHERSON – The New Deal of Work | DAVID ROCK – Irreconcilable Differences | JOSH BERSIN - The Pixelated Workforce Has Arrived ... Are We Ready? | RJ MILNOR – Fractional Work and Your Talent Strategy | JUDITH WIESE – Growth Talks
I can’t recommend the Fall edition of SHRM’s People + Strategy on Rethinking Work and the Workplace highly enough. The guest editor is Diane Gherson, one of the deepest and most original thinkers about the future role of HR. As Diane articulates in her editor’s preface: “New work models, new business requirements and new employee expectations are coming together at full speed, putting at risk our status quo arrangements in the organization—and even the role and scope of HR.” These themes flow through all of the articles in the edition – all of which I happily recommend, they include. (1) David Rock highlights what neuroscience can teach us about the tug of war between employers and employees particularly with regards to the return to office debate. (2) Josh Bersin examines the implications for organisations of the “blowing up” of the traditional model for full-time long-term employees (FIG 2). (3) RJ Milnor highlights four questions for CHROs about the growth of fractional work and its impact on talent strategy. (4) Judith Wiese explains how Siemens replaced performance reviews with a new concept built on dialogues focused on growth.
New work models, new business requirements and new employee expectations are coming together at full speed, putting at risk our status quo arrangements in the organization—and even the role and scope of HR
FIG 2
FRANÇOIS CANDELON, LISA KRAYER, SARAN RAJENDRAN, AND DAVID ZULUAGA MARTÍNEZ - How People Can Create—and Destroy—Value with Generative AI
Together with a group of scholars from Harvard, MIT, Wharton, and the University of Warwick, BCG conducted an experiment on 750 of its own consultants around the globe to test the use of generative AI (GAI). The results, as documented in the article by François Candelon, Lisa Krayer, Saran Rajendran, and David Zuluaga Martínezfind that people mistrust GAI in areas where it can contribute tremendous value and trust it too much where the technology isn’t competent. For example, 90% of participants improved their performance when using GenAI for creative ideation. However, on the flip side, when the consultants participating in the study where focused on business problem solving, a task outside the tool’s current competence, many participants took GPT-4's misleading output at face value. Their performance was 23% worse than those who didn’t use the tool at all. The article also examines some key guidance on related topics including data strategy, roles and workflows, strategic workforce planning and experimentation.
FIG 3
FIG 4
OTHER RESOURCES ON GENERATIVE AI AND THE WORLD OF WORK
LYNDA GRATTON - Want More Clarity on Generative AI? Experiment Widely | LIZ GRENNAN, ANDREAS KREMER, ALEX SINGLA, AND PETER ZIPPARO - Why businesses need explainable AI—and how to deliver it | DONNA SCAROLA - What Most People Get Wrong about AI & Bias | FANGFANG ZHANG AND SHARON K. PARKER - How ChatGPT Can and Can’t Help Managers Design Better Job Roles | KEVIN OAKES - Is HR Already Behind in the AI Revolution?
Many of the topics discussed at Unleash World were related to the remarkable acceleration of AI tools and technologies, and their impact on work, organisations and workers. I recommend digging into these five resources: (1) Lynda Gratton shares insights from a webinar she recently ran with 260 global executives, which highlighted that: “Figuring out the right approaches to generative AI is a process replete with ambiguity, experiments, and changes of mind.” Lynda also provides details on what companies are already using generative AI for in HR with the top two areas being internal knowledge management and recruitment. (2) Writing for McKinsey, Liz Grennan, Andreas Kremer, Alex Singla, and Peter Zipparo break down explainable AI (see FIG 5), and why it is important Including to enhance productivity, build trust and deliver value. (3) Donna Scarola provides a helpful primer providing guidance on how to prevent bias – including the creation of an ethics committee. (4) Fangfang Zhang and Sharon Parker unveil their research, pros and cons, and guidance for using ChatGPT for work design and job roles (see FIG 6). (5) Finally, Kevin Oakes summarises the key findings from i4CP’s recent study: Is HR Already Behind in the AI Revolution? Thanks Erik Samdahl for the heads up.
People use what they understand and trust. This is especially true of AI
FIG 5
FIG 6
THE EVOLUTION OF HR AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
DAVE ULRICH AND NORM SMALLWOOD - Six Actions for HR to Create More Stakeholder Value
How can HR create more value for all stakeholders? This is the exam question Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood seek to answer in their article. The article highlights six specific actions and questions that enable organisations to create more value from HR (see FIG 7). The six actions are: (1) Articulate a point-of-view. (2) Define, seek, and track outcomes more than activities. (3) Prioritise what matters most. (4) Apply innovative and relevant methodology. (5) Translate to stakeholder value. (6) Scale, leverage and improve work.
FIG 7:
ROB BRINER - Aligning HR with the business through the evidence-based HR process
Rob Briner makes the case for evidence-based practice and how it applies to HR, explaining what it is and why it is effective. Rob breaks down six key steps in the evidence-based HR process (see FIG 8). He then applies the evidence-based approach to a case study to understand and solve high employee turnover.
FIG 8
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
NAOMI VERGHESE - The Growing Influence of People Analytics in Strategic Business Decisions
In a taster from the Insight222 People Analytics Trends report, Naomi Verghese digs into one of the key findings from the study: developing relationships with C-suite and senior stakeholders. The article focuses on four key elements of influence. (1) What ‘influence’ means in the context of people analytics. (2) Data on how people analytics as a field has grown in influence (including FIG 9, which highlights the growing number of people analytics leaders reporting directly to the CHRO). (3) How a people analytics leader can gain access to senior business stakeholders. (4) Why it is important that a people analytics leader has executive-level influence in organisations today.
FIG 9
THOMAS RASMUSSEN, MIKE ULRICH, AND DAVE ULRICH - Moving People Analytics From Insight to Impact
While I wouldn’t normally include a resource that isn’t open access in this compendium, I’m making an exception for this must-read paper by Thomas Hedegaard Rasmussen, Mike Ulrich and Dave Ulrich, which can be accessed for a fee of a very worthwhile £29.00. The abstract to the paper (see below), which can be considered a follow up to the seminal paper, authored by Thomas and Dave, which was published in 2015: How HR analytics avoids being a management fad, provides a compelling narrative.
KEVIN METHERELL - Intentionality Matters - a GER2023 review | JAY DORIO - How to Get Remote and Hybrid Working Right | HEIDI BINDER-MATSUO - From People Analytics to Chief People Officer: How to Effectively Influence the C-suite JASDEEP KAREER - Why is Adaptive Teaming and Intentional Collaboration Important in a New World of Work?
Perhaps the highlight so far of my year was the recent Insight222 Global Executive Retreat in Colorado. It has already inspired several articles, which are collected here. (1) Kevin Metherell, one of the people analytics leaders present, summarises his takeaways from the three days with the linking thread being the “need for intentionality in everything we do” (2) Jay Dorio explores ways to get remote and hybrid working right through intentionally co-ordinating in-person days, encouraging collaboration by scheduling in-person meetings, and setting the standard that attendance on anchor days is mandatory. (3) Heidi Binder-Matsuo provides insights on what CEOs and CHROs are looking for from their people analytics leaders. (4) Jasdeep Kareer, PhD (née Bhambra) breaks down the role of collaboration modes (see FIG 10) and provides ten steps people analytics professionals can take to gain a deeper understanding of collaboration within their organisations.
FIG 10
LYDIA WU - Seven Lessons I Learned About People Analytics | ADAM TOMBOR – People Analytics Hands-On | ANKIT SAXENA - How does a Global Head of People Insights create a people analytics roadmap? | JACKSON ROATCH - The Lindy Effect in People Analytics | JENNA EAGLESON - R Toolkit for People Analytics: Telling Your Headcount Story JAEJIN LEE - What Career and Academic Backgrounds Do People Analytics Leaders Possess? (Analysis of 279 Global People Analytics Leaders)
October has seen a number of people analytics leaders publishing articles, which is always to be encouraged as insights from practitioners really help the field advance. Six leaders are featured here. (1) As part of her excellent 'Oops, did I think that out loud' series of articles, Lydia Wu documents seven lessons she has learned from working in the people analytics field – my favourite is: “Stakeholders are more important than numbers”. (2) Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski), Global Head of People Analytics at Julius Baer, shares how the three key ingredients of the right technology, the right process and the right skills have helped reshape people analytics at Julius Baer. (3) Ankit Saxena, MBA shares his methodology for developing a progressive people analytics roadmap. (4) Jackson Roatch breaks down The Lindy Effect by using a powerful example using turnover (look at FIG 11 – and decide which worker has the highest turnover risk before reading Jackson’s article). (5) Jenna Eagleson provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to tackle a common people analytics challenge: telling the story of company headcount entirely in R. (6) Jaejin Lee analyses the career and academic backgrounds of 279 people analytics leaders.
FIG 11
MAX BLUMBERG - What to Avoid When Choosing a People Analytics Operating Model
A short but instructive article by Max Blumberg (JA) ?? on the key areas to consider when evaluating whether to implement a people analytics model including trust, investment and the extent of change management required.
Regulations continue to evolve - models that appear compliant today may not be tomorrow.
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
STEPHANIE DENINO, ANDRÉ FORTANGE, TIMO TISCHER, AND MARIS GARCIA - The APEX model: How organizations can systemically improve employee experience Website | Summary Report
I always learn from TI PEOPLE’s research and analysis on employee experience ever since the company was formed by Volker Jacobs in 2016. In their new study, the team of Stephanie Denino, André Fortange, Timo Tischer and Maris García, present the APEX (Activities driving the Practice of EX) model, which is comprised of 3 focus areas, 6 goals and 28 activities (see FIG 12) which uncovers what it takes to improve EX in ways that are sustainable and replicable. This model, based on research with dozens of global EX leaders and vast client experience, highlights two important threads that run through the model: being data-driven and human-centered. The report also covers big questions like “Is an EX leader essential?” and explains that guided by this model, EX leaders can bring about an EX-centric operating system in their organisations.
FIG 12
BASTIAAN STARINK AND JAN WILLEM VELTHUIJSEN - What every HR leader needs to show the CFO | The benefits of investing in People Where should companies invest to improve the employee experience?
I was drawn to this study, authored by Bastiaan Starink and Jan Willem Velthuijsen for PwC, by one of the key findings: Making investments in 11 key areas of employee experience can yield savings equivalent to 12.6% of revenues (see FIG 13) encompassing reducing absenteeism, reducing employee turnover and boosting productivity. Two additional findings are: (1) Out of the eleven employee experience drivers analysed in the study, well-being, developmental opportunities, and training lead to the best outcomes in terms of benefits. (2) Companies will always have to analyse their own employee experience - effective interventions can only be made on that basis.
FIG 13:
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
KATHI ENDERES - Building the Dynamic Organization: Critical for the Post-Industrial Era | ANN ANN LOW - Unlocking Talent Agility to Future-Proof Organizations
Kathi Enderes breaks down the recent research she and Josh Bersin have conducted with Gloat. It highlights that instead of designing a company around jobs, Dynamic Organizations instead organise around people and skills. Kathi’s article provides a framework (see FIG 14), a maturity model, and data on the impact of Dynamic Organizations. Agility is also a key feature of Ann Ann Low’s article, which summarises the recent talk by Amy Schultz of Canva at LinkedIn Talent Connect including their 5Bs Framework (see FIG 15).
FIG 14
FIG 15
LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
JONATHAN KNOWLES, B. TOM HUNSAKER, AND MELANIE HUGHES – The Role of Culture in Enabling Change
While culture is often described as “how we do things around here”, Jonathan Knowles, Dr. Tom Hunsaker, and Melanie Hughes argue in their article that “It’s more helpful to think of culture as the nervous system of an organization.” They highlight that one of the most important responsibilities of HR is to analyse the aspects of culture that are enabling or hindering performance. They proceed to explain that the first step is to investigate the type of change the team, business unit or organisation requires, and then document three approaches to making such changes: (1) Reinforce magnitude. (2) Reimagine activity. (3) Rethink direction (see also FIG 16)
FIG 16
FRANCES X. FREI AND ANNE MORRISS - Storytelling That Drives Bold Change
“Research has shown that storytelling has a remarkable ability to connect people and inspire them to take action,” write Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, in the cover article of the current issue of Harvard Business Review. In the article, which is a taster from their new book, Move Fast and Fix Things, the duo outline an effective way to leverage the power of storytelling, through four key steps: (1) Understand your story so well that you can describe it in simple terms, (2) honour the past, (3) articulate a persuasive mandate for change, and (4) lay out a rigorous and optimistic path forward. Then they explain how emotions can bring your story to life and help drive stakeholder commitment to change, and highlight ten underrated emotions in change narratives (see FIG 17).
FIG 17
EMILY FIELD, BRYAN HANCOCK, MARC METAKIS, AND DONNIE STUART - Activating middle managers through capability building
As one of the best books I’ve read this year – Power to the Middle (by Bill Schaninger, Ph.D., Bryan Hancock and Emily Field) - outlines middle managers who are equipped with the skills and support they need to succeed can reduce friction, accelerate action, and ensure that an organisation achieves its vision. This article, by Emily and Bryan together with Marc Metakis and Donnie Stuart, provides examples of companies that have built the capabilities of their middle managers (including a global not-for-profit who broke the problem-solving process into seven actions and four distinct phases for their middle managers – see FIG 18), common hurdles to doing this successfully, and how these obstacles can be overcome.
Middle managers can accelerate the execution of a company’s strategy by translating ideas between layers of hierarchy and solving problems with data.
FIG 18:
MICHAEL ARENA - The Ripple Effect: Understanding organizational behavior contagion to cultivate culture at scale
Michael Arena summarises the findings of a study he undertook to investigate the impact of behaviour contagion (the notion that behaviours are akin to contagious viruses within social networks) on organisational culture. The study was based on a comprehensive360-degree review to assess individual behavioural strengths combined with organisational network analysis techniques. The results confirmed that all cultural attributes were contagious to some extent and transmitted among direct employee connections. Moreover, the contagion effect extends up to three degrees of separation in professional networks – ‘The Ripple Effect’. Michael also examines the implications for companies, and how they can harness The Ripple Effect to build a positive workplace culture including identifying key influencers and nurturing strong connections. FIG 19 provides an example of how ‘strong judgement’ spreads across the network.
FIG 19
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
EMILY FIELD, ALEXIS KRIVKOVICH, SANDRA KÜGELE, NICOLE ROBINSON AND LAREINA YEE - Women in the Workplace 2023
The ninth edition of the annual Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey and LeanIn.Org is based on analysis from 276 participating companies employing ten million people between them, and a survey of 27,000 employees and 270 senior HR leaders. It finds that while there have been gains at the top, with women’s representation in the C-suite at the highest it has ever been, progress in the middle of the pipeline is lagging—and with a persistent underrepresentation of women of colour—true parity remains painfully out of reach. The article by Emily Field, Alexis Krivkovich, Sandra Kuegele, Nicole Hardy Robinson and Lareina Yee, focuses on four myths about women at work that the study debunks. (1) Myth: Women are becoming less ambitious. Reality: Women are more ambitious than before the pandemic—and flexibility is fuelling that ambition. (2) Myth: The biggest barrier to women’s advancement is the “glass ceiling.” Reality: The “broken rung” is the greatest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership (see FIG 20). (3) Myth: Microaggressions have a ‘micro’ impact. Reality: Microaggressions have a large and lasting impact on women. (4): Myth: It’s mostly women who want—and benefit from—flexible work. Reality: Men and women see flexibility as a ‘top 3’ employee benefit and critical to their company’s success.
FIG 20
HR TECH VOICES
Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from October that I recommend readers delve into:
VISIER - Top 50 HR Leaders to Watch in 2024 – This is clever marketing from Jake Sorofman and the team at Visier Inc. as they highlight 50 HR (mostly people analytics) leaders to watch in 2024, including many who are customers. It’s certainly good to see the likes of Adam McKinnon, PhD., Angela LE MATHON, Dawn Klinghoffer, Doug Shagam, Erik Otteson, Jaclyn Lee PhD and IHRP-MP, Jeremy Shapiro, Kai Wehmeyer, Kanella Salapatas, Julien Legret, Kevin Moore SWP, Lydia Wu, Lydia Low, Kunal Thakkar, MS, PMP, Mark Berry, Matthew Hamilton, Mei Kim, Michael Salva, Nicholas Garbis, Pam Malone, Peter Meyler, Ramesh Karpagavinayagam, Richmond Tan, Sally Smith, Scott Judd, Shakti Jauhar, Shannon Vallina, and Steven Piperno getting some deserved recognition.
ANDREW PITTS - Mapping the Unleash World Exhibitors Network Using LinkedIn Data – Andrew Pitts continues Polinode’s excellent series by using ONA to map the network of the 175 exhibitors at the recent Unleash World show in Paris, which delivers some fascinating insights, not least the influence of The HR Lab.
ANNA AIROLDI - Is the Workplace Undergoing a Mental Health Revolution? – The latest gem from the Workforce Insights newsletter from Revelio Labs sees Anna A. providing analysis to highlight that companies are increasingly offering mental health and wellbeing benefits (see FIG 21). Thanks to Ben Zweig for highlighting.
FIG 21:
PHIL ARKCOLL - The Importance of Passive Listening – An excellent piece by Philip Arkcoll of Worklytics extolling the virtues of combining active listening (via surveys) with passive listening tools that allow forward-thinking organisations utilising both to understand the real-time behavioural drivers of employee attitudes.
FIG 22
FRANCISCO MARIN - Unlocking the Potential of Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) for Hybrid Work Adoption – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions breaks down how ONA can be used to gain insights on hybrid work adoption including by identifying informal communication networks, optimising office space, and assessing collaboration patterns.
FIG 23
MARC RAMOS - Transitioning your learning team to generative AI: Become the exemplar for your enterprise - Marc Steven Ramos of Cornerstone OnDemand writes on how Learning and Development teams are in prime position to be both pioneers in generative AI adoption and to lead by example, helping to conceptualise and implement the holistic generative AI strategy of the organisation.
COLE NAPPER, LUKA BABIC, AND STEFAN VUCICEVIC - People Analytics Operating Model in the Age of AI – In this paper, the Orgnostic team of Cole Napper, Luka Babic, and Stefan Vučićević, outlines how to set up a Lean People Analytics Operating Model that “connects technology, impactful consultation, and strategic decision-making, ultimately enabling ecosystems.”
FIG 24
PODCASTS OF THE MONTH
In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected four gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below):
ADAM GRANT – Why Meetings Suck and How to Fix Them? Podcast | Transcript – Adam Grant’s WorkLife podcast is always insightful, and this episode where, together with Steven Rogelberg, Rebecca Hinds, PhD, and Francesca Gentile, Adam investigates the science of improving meetings is mandatory listening.
TOBY CULSHAW, COLE NAPPER, AND SCOTT HINES – Everything Talent Intelligence- Toby Culshaw joins Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD on the Directionally Correct podcast to discuss what talent intelligence is, what it isn’t, and how it can be effectively applied in organisations.
AMY WEBB AND MOLLY WOOD – The Most Plausible Outcomes for AI and Work – Futurist Amy Webb joins Molly Wood on Microsoft’s WorkLab podcast to discuss the most likely outcomes for how AI will impact humanity and what business leaders can do today to set up their organisations for success.
JOSH BERSIN - The HR Technology Trailblazers: How AI Is Disrupting This Market | Unleash Paris 2023: The Skills HR Tech Confusion. Trailblazers: Docebo, Arist, Cornerstone – Josh Bersin recently announced 15 ‘HR Tech Trailblazers’ who are successfully infusing AI into their products. In these two podcast episodes, he breaks down seven of them: Eightfold Paradox SAP SuccessFactors, Visier Inc. Docebo Arist & Cornerstone OnDemand.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
ANNE-MARIE ANDRIC AND GARY MUNRO – Bounce. A place to go, know and do
One of the people I was glad to catch up with at Unleash was Katarina Berg, Chief People Officer at Spotify, who shared insights from the company’s Work from Anywhere program on the main stage. One of Katarina’s team – Gary Munro, the Head of People Analytics, is the brain behind Bounce, an ingenious new platform that brings together all relevant workplace content in one place and offers employees a personalised experience. Read Gary’s article on the Spotify HR Blog, and then watch his discussion with the brilliant Anne-Marie Andric on an episode of HR The Real Deal.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
ADAM GRANT – Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things
The new book by Adam Grant is brilliantly written, sprinkled with humour, and incredibly insightful. In Hidden Potential, “Grant explores how to build the character skills and motivational structures to realize our own potential, and how to design systems that create opportunities for those who have been underrated and overlooked.” The book is also immensely readable – I read over half of it on my flight to Chicago yesterday. I also listened to the highly insightful and at times hilarious podcast on the book, where Grant talks to his old sparring partner, Malcolm Gladwell: Unlocking Hidden Potential with Malcolm Gladwell. A must-read and a must-listen.
RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH
YANQUI TAO, LONGAI YANG, SONIA JAFFE, FERESHTEH AMINI, PETER BERGEN, BRENT HECHT, AND FENGQI YOU - Climate mitigation potentials of teleworking are sensitive to changes in lifestyle and workplace rather than ICT usage
Nick Bloom highlighted this fascinating paper during his recent talk at the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, and summarises some of the key findings in his LinkedIn post here. The main finding of the paper is that, in the United States, switching from working onsite to working from home can reduce up to 58% of carbon footprint of work. Indeed, it finds moving to two days working from home a week reduces carbon use by 11% (see FIG 25). An important paper that highlights how hybrid and remote working can contribute to efforts to reduce an organisation’s carbon footprint.
FIG 25
FROM MY DESK
October saw the final episode of Series 33 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by Visier Inc., and the first two episodes of Series 34, sponsored by our friends at eQ8. Thank you to Adedamola Adeleke at Visier, and Chris Hare, Alicia Roach and Angela Shori at eQ8.
KAT BOOGAARD AND DAVID GREEN - 5 common people analytics challenges (and how to overcome them) – An interview with Kat Boogaard for Culture Amp, on the challenges today’s HR teams face in leveraging people analytics – as well as how they can effectively overcome them.
WENDY CUNNINGHAM AND PETER MEYLER - How to Achieve Data-Driven HR Excellence in a Highly Regulated Environment – Wendy Cunningham and Peter Meyler join me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast to share the evolution of people analytics at the Phoenix Group, how it supports the people strategy, and the role of technology.
NICK DALTON – Seven Waves: The Past, Present and Future of HR – Nick Dalton, formerly EVP of HR at Unilever and co-author of The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World, takes us on a journey through the past, present and future of the human resources function.
PIYUSH MEHTA - How to Create Personalised Employee Experiences – Piyush Mehta, chief human resources officer at Genpact, describes how the company uses technology and analytics to enhance and personalise the employee experience for its 120.000 employees: “The role of the CHRO is to make sure that the organisation has top-quality talent at the right place and at the right time, and then find a way to enable that talent to be able to stay on in the company and continue to build that talent engine.”
JESS VON BANK AND DAVID GREEN – Now of Work: Learnings from Unleash – I had the pleasure of joining the Mercer | Leapgen Now of Work Digital MeetUp to discuss learnings from Unleash with JESS VON BANK. Thanks to Jess and Jason Averbook for inviting me.
DAVID GREEN - Influencing the World of Work: Key learnings from The Insight222 Global Executive Retreat 2023 – My round-up of the key learnings from the recent Insight222 Global Executive Retreat in Colorado, which was attended by 60 people analytics leaders and senior HR executives from global organisations.
THANK YOU
Finally, this month I’d like to thank:
Racheli Gabel Shemueli and the teams at Pacífico Business School and APERHU - Asociación Peruana de Recursos Humanos for inviting me to speak at the 29th Human Capital Congress On October 24, 2023
The team at Thinkers360 for including me in their list of Top Voices 2023
Antonio Di Benedetto (here) and Rodrigo Santos (here) for posting about and recommending Excellence in People Analytics
Raja Sengupta for creating a heatmap topic model overview of some of the key topics covered in the Digital HR Leaders podcast over the years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
SEE ME AT THESE EVENTS
I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2023:
30 October - 1st People Analytics Conference Korea (Seoul - Virtual)
14-16 November - Workday Rising EMEA (Barcelona)
30 November - Indeed FutureWorks (Bengaluru)
David Green
Josh Bersin
David Green
David Green
Josh Bersin
Josh Bersin
David Green
Josh Bersin
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