超级员工的崛起 -The Rise of the Superworker: Delivering On The Promise Of AI《超级员工的崛起》研究报告揭示了AI如何深刻改变工作场所与工作方式。随着AI技术融入工作流程，传统工作模型被重新定义，AI正助力“超级员工”以创新的方式提升生产力和创造力。
报告指出，企业若想在AI时代中保持竞争力，必须重新设计工作与组织模式。首先，需要通过AI实现任务自动化并提高工作效率；其次，推动工作流程的整合，利用智能代理提升整体生产力；最后，培养员工适应变化的能力，推动动态化的工作环境。
AI并不是简单地取代工作，而是通过赋能实现员工能力的跃升。例如，一些企业利用AI快速生成培训计划，将原本需要数月的工作缩短为数天。报告也强调，随着AI成为“同事”，全新岗位将随之出现，如知识库维护员、AI数据隐私与伦理管理者等。
为了迎接这一变革，报告提出了五大关键战略：重新设计工作与组织模式，构建动态人才模型，调整薪酬与绩效体系，加强以人为本的领导力，以及加速系统性HR®的转型。只有将技术与人的因素完美结合，企业才能成功实现AI转型。
报告强调，AI的核心并非技术，而是通过创新推动人与组织的共同成长。1月28日的发布会将深入剖析这些趋势与战略。
We’re excited to launch our groundbreaking research “The Rise of the Superworker,” a deep dive into the impact of AI on the future of work. As our hallmark research for the year, it defines the roadmap for leadership, technology, and HR. (Register for the launch webinar on January 28.)
The Workforce and Workplace Environment
We are entering a year of political change, economic disruption, and changing labor markets. As I discussed recently (The Tumultuous Year Ahead), the world is experiencing talent shortages in front-line and blue collar work (US unemployment remains at 4.1%) while white-collar employment is softening. CEOs are investing in AI in a quest for productivity and workers are asking to be retrained. And many core values (diversity and inclusion, pay equity, remote work) remain challenging.
Companies believe that AI will transform their business, so investment in technology is exploding. Yet as history tells us, this “trillian dollar AI-based re-engineering” effort is about people, not technology. As the research points out, the AI revolution, as exciting as it feels, is all about redesigning the way we get things done. And that lands in the laps of HR: how we redesign, reskill, and redeploy people in a world of highly intelligent systems.
Understanding The Superworker and The Superworker Company
Let’s start with the basics. Companies are filled with business processes, tools, and job models designed around traditional people-centric work. Every job function, from sales to marketing to manufacturing, has been designed around the old-fashioned job families of the past.
In other words, we’ve run our companies as “people machines.” We design a set of jobs and job families, then hire, train, and promote people to grow. This model creates a sprawling company filled with skills challenges, people wanting promotion, and fragility as the business goes through change.
The digital revolution, which defines the last 27 years of transformation, did speed things up. It automated many processes and opened up the ideas of self-service, e-commerce, and direct consumer transactions. But it didn’t fundamentally change how companies are organized: rather it accelerated the processes we had.
Suddenly, with AI everything is different. As the most intelligent and data hungry technology ever, AI stands to integrate and redefine every business process and “superpower” every employee. And this shift, toward copilots, agents, digital twins, and intelligent platforms, forces us to rethink how we’re organized, what we do, and what we define as a “job.”
We are building a company of Superworkers.
What exactly is a “Superworker?”
A Superworker is an individual who uses AI to dramatically enhance their productivity, performance, and creativity. As routine work gets automated, AI has the potential to empower everyone, eliminating some roles while empowering many others.
A “Superworker company” is an organization that embraces this transformation, building a culture of adaptability where people reinvent themselves. Our new Dynamic Organization research shows that such change-ready companies outperform their peers by six-times.
Just as Superman Clark Kent learned to channel his powers, we must learn to harness AI for individual and team performance. This means not just automating existing tasks, but rethinking how work gets done, empowering people to do more, and creating opportunities for growth.
The Historical Perspective: From Automation to Autonomy
We’ve seen waves of automation before, but this time it’s different.
In the past we used machines to automate the work of craftsmen and tradespeople. A welder, farmer, or shoemaker had his or her expertise built into a machine so their craft could scale at low cost. The expert didn’t go away, rather he or she helped design the machine.
AI does the same for white collar work. Writers, analysts, marketers, and sales people are now superpowered, leveraging their skills to drive scale. AI will not replace these special individuals: it empowers them to scale and expand their impact.
But in the case of AI we go further: it doesn’t just automate tasks; it becomes a co-worker itself: listening, learning, reasoning, and acting. So new and better jobs are created, designing, training, and managing the AI.
And the shift to Superworker happens everywhere: from the retail clerk to the nursing supervisor to the senior executive.
The New Corporate Imperative: Redesign Work and Jobs
This transformation won’t happen without effort.
Today, as AI systems still mature, our challenge is not implementing AI, but redesigning jobs, and business processes around AI. And that’s why success with AI is a people problem, not a technology one. And if you don’t get this right, your AI transformation will lag.
Academic studies show that 45% of change management programs fail, and 72% of the reason is “people resistance.” So consider this:
For each dollar spent on machine learning technology, companies may need to spend nine dollars on intangible human capital,” Erik Brynjolfsson wrote in 2022, citing research by him and others.
Consider the four stage model below, where we look at “current jobs” vs “re-engineered jobs” on the horizontal, and level of output on the vertical.
AI transformation begins with assistance, then moves to augmentation, then to work replacement and then to autonomy. The level of performance improvement goes up exponentially.
This process of rethinking business processes takes time. When electricity was invented companies replaced horse-driven machines with motors. Decades later engineers realized we could redesign the entire manufacturing process by integrating the entire supply chain.
The same will happen again. We may start by automating emails and data access, but over time we build “digital twins” and configurable agents to manage entire projects and business processes.
One of our clients built an entire platform that can interview stakeholders, import documentation, build training programs, and publish training and certification programs by AI. Humans are still needed, but now they’re the “super-curators” and “craftsmen” perfecting the product. New programs that took 3-6 months can be generated in a few days.
This kind of redesign is now being used for claims analysis, sales enablement, RFP generation, and workplace design. (Our report 100 Use Cases For Galileo explains dozens of such solutions available now for HR.)
The Work Redesign Challenge
How do we get there? Business and HR teams work together, following these stages.
Improve efficiency at current job: Use AI to make existing work more efficient: same job as before, new tools to make it easier. Examples include an office worker using MS Copilot.
Automate tasks to increase scale: An engineer uses AI to write code. A marketer builds videos and campaigns automatically. An HR manager rapidly builds job descriptions or analyzes performance.
Integrate processes to improve productivity: Agents now handle multiple connected steps. A retail clerk automatically checks out customers; a nurse uses a machine to monitor dozens of patients and make diagnostics; an HR manager builds learning programs in minutes.
Leverage autonomy for more: The AI manages multi-step processes (customer service, candidate communications, recruiting, campaign design) and the people “manage” the digital employee.
This creates four types of Superworker:
An Example: The HR Business Partner
Consider the role of HR Business Partner (HRBP), a complex job that’s constantly changing.
An HR business partner (HRBP) equipped with AI like Galileo™ can automatically analyze turnover, productivity, individual performance, and leadership potential. The AI HR Agent can help compare job candidates against multiple requirements. Analysis, coaching, and hiring speed goes up, and the HRBP is now a Superworker.
Then the transformation continues. What if we give the AI to managers. Do we need the HRBP at all? (IBM has made this step.)
Yes, now the HRBP manages the AI. Just as Wayze may drive you automatically, someone behind the scenes is monitoring your trip to help you when things go wrong. This “Superworker” job is the upgraded role of the HRBP.
AI As A Job Creation Technology
Many new jobs will be created. Who maintains the knowledge base that feeds the AI? Who ensures data privacy and security? Who handles the ethical issues that arise? Who monitors the AI to make sure it’s trained well? And once these multi-step digital employees exist, who will manage them?
These are new Superworker jobs.
Five Imperatives for 2025
How do we make this transition a success?
Here are five key imperatives detailed in our study:
Redesign Work, Jobs, and Organizational Models: Focus on the customer, how success is measured, then apply AI. This is what we call “productivity-based job design”. Deconstruct work into activities, evaluate AI solutions, and determine the human role alongside AI, using the models above.
Create a Dynamic Talent Model: The traditional “prehire to retire” model is becoming obsolete. We need a more dynamic approach where people move across roles and projects. Prioritize internal mobility and foster a culture of growth. Focus on “doing more with what we have” by upgrading the productivity of our existing workforce. Focus on building “talent density“.
Rethink Pay, Rewards, and Performance: Move from traditional pay models to “systemic rewards,” based on role, skills, and output. New roles may warrant higher pay, not lower. (Lightcast sees a $45,000 premium for workers with AI skills.)
Refine Leadership and Culture: Focus on human-centered leadership: this is a time of change. Ensure leaders understand AI, foster innovation, and focus on productivity, not headcount. Start co-design projects in every functional areas. Get line employees involved in transformation efforts.
Accelerate the Shift to Systemic HR®: HR must operate in a consulting role. Integrate HR silos, develop a change-enablement team. Experiment with AI tools in HR and train the HR team about AI.
Let me give you an example.
One of our large clients, a healthcare company, created a “transformation enablement” team in HR that does co-design workshops throughout the business, helping with process redesign, role design, job changes and pay and rewards changes. They built a set of tools and methodologies which are well established. HR professionals rotate into this team for education. Every HR function should set up “AI transformation teams” like this.
AI isn’t here to replace us; it’s here to empower us.
How To Get The Research and Learn
The Rise of the Superworker predictions report is available to all users of Galileo™, The Josh Bersin Academy, or Corporate Members. (A Galileo Pro membership is only $39 per month, and JBA membership is $49 per month.)
If you want to learn more and follow our ongoing case studies, briefs, and AI tools, download the Rise of the Superworker Overview today. You will be registered for regular updates. And please register for our launch webinar on January 28 where I will detail this entire story.
The Superworker era has arrived, join us in the journey!
AI
2025年01月16日
AI
The best HR & People Analytics articles of December 2024
The December edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is an opportunity to reflect on the year that is about to pass into history and look forward to what lies ahead. 2024 has proved to be another tumultuous year of geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty, and upheaval in the world of work. Perhaps for HR and people analytics it is a case of “in chaos, there is opportunity,” as we move into 2025.
Enjoy this month’s collection of resources, and to all readers who are taking a break over the festive season, I wish you Happy Holidays, and a prosperous and healthy 2025. Thank you to everyone who has supported Insight222, the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, and the Data Driven HR Monthly in 2024. It means a lot and is much appreciated.
This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at TechWolf
Task Intelligence: rethink work, redefine skills
Work happens at the task level, where skills meet action. But are your skills aligned with the work that drives impact?
TechWolf has proven that bridging the gap between tasks and skills is the key to workforce transformation. By applying Task Intelligence within our own teams, we’ve unlocked measurable results:
$76,000 saved in productivity gains by automating repetitive tasks.
Freed up time for strategic, high-value work.
Reshaped hiring strategies by focusing on the skills that truly matter.
At TechWolf, we believe that getting close enough to the work being done is the key to doing skills right. As our own 'customer zero'; we’ve put our AI to the test, integrating it with JIRA to analyze and optimize our work processes.
The results speak for themselves in our first Task Intelligence Impact Case:
$76,000 saved in productivity gains by automating repetitive tasks.
Freed up time for strategic, high-value work.
Reshaped hiring strategies to focus on the skills that truly matter.
What is Task Intelligence?
It’s a new way to connect real-time task data with workforce skills to:
Identify tasks that drive the most value.
Adapt skills as work evolves.
Streamline processes and unlock productivity.
As Jeroen Van Hautte ?, TechWolf CTO, says:
Skills tell us what people can do. Tasks show us why it matters. Task Intelligence brings it all together.
? Discover Task Intelligence
? Insights from the Experts: Explore how Gina Jeneroux, MBA FLPI, Chief Skills & Innovation Officer at Executive Networks, is helping organizations move beyond learning to embed skills strategies into their business.
? Read Gina’s interview
The future of work demands more than adapting—it demands leading. Task Intelligence is how you get there.
To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 140,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org.
What are the biggest opportunities for HR in 2025?
HR’s role in creating a thriving workforce and organisation is the underlying theme of my recently published 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025 article (see FIG 1). I’m crowdsourcing the final two opportunities, so 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 2025 (Source: David Green)
December Road Report
The main event for December was the publication of the fifth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study, which was our biggest yet with 348 participating organisations. A summary of the key findings follows in the ‘People Analytics’ section below, but one is that 62% of companies told us that they were in the first year of their AI journey in HR. Click here to download the report, and see how the people analytics function in your company compares to ‘A Teams’ by taking the Leading Companies Diagnostic.
I had the privilege of taking the findings from the study out on the road to two events in December. First, I delivered the opening keynote at Visier Inc. Outsmart Local in London, which also featured the likes of Nick Hudgell, Rosemary Byde, Kevin Metherell, and Neera Ridler-Mayor, AIA (see more here). The following week I was in Amsterdam for Workday Rising EMEA, where I was interviewed on stage by Phil Willburn, as well as delivering a keynote on the characteristics of People Analytics ‘A Teams’ (see more on Workday Rising here).
2024 seemed like the year when the 'in-person' event fully returned - and as such it proved to be a busy year on stage. I emceed Unleash World in Paris, People Analytics World events in Zurich, London, and New York, and the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat in Amsterdam. I keynoted at the three People Analytics World events, Workday Rising in Las Vegas and Amsterdam, Gloat Live in New York, the Deloitte Workforce Innovation Forum in Dallas, a Mercer/Corporate Research Forum event on Productivity, Purpose and Profit in London, and Visier Outsmart Local in London. I moderated panels at a number of these events as well as at Strategic HR Analytics MeetUp in New York.
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.
If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is published on Tuesday: subscribe here.
2024 REFLECTIONS
HUNG LEE - What Happened in Recruiting in 2024 - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |
Don't be fooled by the title, Hung Lee's 2024 reflections covers topics much broader than recruiting, and contains a plethora of data, analysis and visualisations that should act as a guide for the year ahead too. Taking one highlight from each of the four-part series (and 20 reflections in total), I'd go with AI and Automation (Part 1), the re-emergence of Talent Density (Part 2), Atlantic Divergence on DEI - see FIG 2 (Part 3), and War on Middle Managers (Part 4). If you don't already follow Hung's twin newsletters, Recruiting Brainfood, and This Week in Recruiting, I highly recommend you do.
FIG 2: Is DEI a 'good thing'? (Source: Pew Research Center)
2025 HR PREDICTIONS, TRENDS AND PRIORITIES
STEVE HUNT - A guide to HR predictions, trends, and forecasts | ANDREW SPENCE - 5 Big Questions for Work in 2025 | DANIEL ZHAO - Glassdoor Worklife Trends 2025 | VISIER – Embracing the AI Driven Workforce: 5 Workforce Trends for 2025 | i4CP – 2025 Priorities and Predictions | LARS SCHMIDT - 7 ways HR will look different in 2025 | JOSH BERSIN - A Tumultuous Year Behind: A Challenging, Important 2025
A people analytics team cannot sit on the sidelines while AI is poised to transform the world of HR. If you don't embrace AI to surface insights and support data-driven decisions, you may miss out on the ability to scale decision intelligence
Putting my own 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025 to one side, there are a plethora of other HR trends, predictions, and priorities being published. Here are seven resources that I recommend digging deeper into. (1) Firstly, Steve Hunt provides a helpful ‘buyer beware’ guide on eight lessons to consuming HR predictions, trends and forecasts, including a warning that most HR forecasts are designed to influence buying behaviour. (2) Despite being a Man United fan, Andrew Spence’s Workforce Futurist newsletter is one of the best around. In a recent edition, Andrew ponders five big questions for work in 2025 including: Is the office dead or just evolving (see FIG 3)? (3) Daniel Zhao presents five trends based on Glassdoor data including: Employers are investing in holistic wellbeing. (4) Visier Inc.’s five workforce trends for 2025 includes the need for organisations to build the backbone of data infrastructure to fully realise the promise of AI in HR and workforce topics, and features contributions from the likes of Dawn Klinghoffer, Eric Bokelberg (see quote above), Angela LE MATHON, Ryan Wong and Adam McKinnon, PhD. (5) As Kevin Oakes writes in his Foreword to The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp)’s thoughtful annual look at the year ahead: “perhaps the safest prediction we can make is those who embrace agility will have much more success than those who resist change.” (6) Lars Schmidt takes his annual look at how HR is likely to evolve as a function in the year ahead, with my favourite of his seven being that "Learning and development will take center stage." (7) Josh Bersin looks back at a tumultuous 2024 to highlight the priorities for the year ahead in his big idea of 'Citizenship': "Our job in HR is to help our leaders and organizations practice this kind of citizenship. In a year of tumultuous change, Citizenship will serve us well."
FIG 2: Office utilisation 2020-now (Sources: Andrew Spence, Nicolas BEHBAHANI)
HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
BRIAN ELLIOTT - Five Hybrid Work Trends to Watch in 2025 | JOSE MARIA BARRERO, NICK BLOOM, SHELBY BUCKMAN, AND STEVEN J. DAVIS - SWAA December 2024 Updates | LYNDA GRATTON - Seven Truths About Hybrid Work and Productivity | BETH SCHINOFF, ASHLEY E. HARDIN, KRIS BYRON, AND RACHEL BALVEN - Research: How WFH Can Actually Strengthen Bonds Between Coworkers
Forward-looking organizations will shift toward measuring performance based on results, not attendance
As I wrote in 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025, HR has the opportunity to help their organisations elevate the conversation on hybrid working from where to how. With outliers like Amazon getting a lot of column inches about their decision to bring employees back to the office five days a week (although this move may not be working out well), HR leaders in other firms may come under pressure from their CEOs to follow suit. Five articles that can help resist this move are included here. (1) First, Brian Elliott outlines five hybrid work trends to look out for in 2025 including: “Organizations that embrace flexible work will steal talent from organizations that impose harsh return-to-office mandates.” (2) The latest data from Nick Bloom and his WFH Research team finds that only 44% of employees would comply if their company imposed a five-day return to office (compared to 53% in 2022), which suggests Elliott’s prediction is likely to be prescient. (3) Lynda Gratton unveils seven key findings from what she is seeing from experiments in hybrid working including: (i) Hybrid work is a continuum. (ii) Productivity is usually challenging — and measurement is always complex. (iii) It’s useful to view hybrid work as fundamentally a job design option. (4) Beth Schinoff, Ashley Hardin, Kris Byron, and Rachel McCullagh Balven present research that finds (contrary to beliefs that employees are able to form richer relationships in person than they can working remotely), remote work can actually make coworkers feel closer by giving them authentic glimpses into each others non-work lives through video calls.
FIG 4: Compared to Fall 2022, Persons Who WFH 1+ Days/Week Are Less Willing to Comply With RTO Mandates (Source: WFH Research, December 2024)
RASMUS HOUGAARD AND JACQUELINE CARTER - How AI Can Make Us Better Leaders
In their article for Harvard Business Review, Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter outline their research, which finds that AI can enhance and empower leaders, and actually help them to be more human. They explain why leaders need to focus on the core leadership qualities of awareness, wisdom, and compassion, as well as take on a both/and mindset. In this way, the “AI-augmented leader” can leverage both the power of AI and develop their most human qualities, bringing the best of both human and machine to their leadership practice.
FIG 5: The AI Augmented leader (Source: Potential Project)
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
JONATHAN FERRAR, NAOMI VERGHESE, AND MADHURA CHAKRABARTI - Harnessing Data for Growth: The Impact of People Analytics Article | Full Report
The fifth annual People Analytics Trends study was our biggest yet at Insight222, with 348 participating organisations. The four key findings were: (1) Growth: people analytics continues to expand in scope and investment. (2) Intelligent automation: the advent of GenAI has catalysed HR’s use of AI with people analytics at the core and central to AI strategy in HR. (3) Adoption crisis: the adoption of people analytics remains a challenge with a significant gap between the democratisation of people insights and data (71% of organisations) and a high-level of adoption within HR (47%) and outside HR (28%) – see FIG 6. (4) Value: measuring and demonstrating value is now essential for people analytics teams to increase their impact and drive greater ROI. Kudos to the authors: Jonathan Ferrar, Naomi Verghese, and Madhura Chakrabarti, PhD. Thanks too to the practitioners featured in the study: Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski), Peter Ryan, and Phil Willburn.
FIG 6: Trends in the democratisation and adoption of analytics (Source: Insight222)
RICHARD ROSENOW – People Analytics is Growing | People Analytics Roles Review
Richard Rosenow devotes part of his monthly People Analytics Roles Update newsletter to data highlighting the growth of people analytics. He cites three sources: (1) The 30% increase in people analytics roles that Richard and the One Model team have tracked between 2023 and 2024. (2) The aforementioned Insight222 study, which found that the ratio of people analytics professionals to total employee headcount has improved from 1:4000 in 2020 to 1:2500 in 2024. (3) Data by Jason Saltzman at Live Data Technologies, which finds that both core and specialist people analytics roles are on the rise (see FIG 7).
FIG 7: The growth of people analytics jobs (Source: Live Data Technologies)
BENJAMIN ROGOJAN – Data Science v Data Engineering | PATRICK COOLEN – What Is Not People Analytics | PIETRO MAZZOLENI - The Power of Integration: Why People Data Thrives Within Enterprise Frameworks | JACKSON ROATCH - From Correlation to Causation: Levelling Up People Analytics with Econometrics | SCOTT REIDA - Transform Performance Evaluations with GenAI: Smarter Grading, Visual Insights, and Next Steps | CHRISTOPHER ROSETT – Storytelling: The Story Arc and The Journalist’s Pyramid
In each edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, I feature a collection of articles by current and recent people analytics leaders. These are intended to act as a spur and inspiration to the field. Six are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Thanks to Richard Rosenow for highlighting Benjamin Rogojan’s post, which may be the best explanation (and visualisation – see FIG 8) yet on why you need data scientists and data engineers in an effective analytics team. (2) Patrick Coolen provides a powerful list of what is not people analytics – my favourite is: “People Analytics is ??? about HR (only). It should be strongly focused on high impact business threats and opportunities.” (3) In a recent edition of his (excellent) People Data Platform newsletter, Pietro Mazzoleni explains how HR and people analytics leaders can increase their impact by integrating people data with broader organisational impacts. (4) Jackson Roatch outlines how people analytics teams can create more impact by adding econometric methods to its tools and capabilities. (5) Scott Reida explains how to use GenAI to transform employee performance evaluations from vague feedback into actionable insights. (6) Christopher Rosett breaks down two models – The Story Arc and The Journalist’s Pyramid (see FIG 9) – that can be used to underpin storytelling with data in different contexts.
FIG 8: How data engineers and data scientists deliver value (Source: Benjamin Rogojan)
FIG 9: The Story Arc and The Journalist’s Pyramid (Source: Christopher Rosett)
THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
DAVE ULRICH - The Next Agenda for Human Resources: What’s So? So What? Now What?
Evidence shows that organizational capability has 4x more impact on results than individual talent efforts alone - yet most of the HR field remains heavily focused on talent.
Dave Ulrich provides some astute observations on the current state of the HR field, and concludes that most of the focus is on the talent domain of his human capability model (see FIG 10) and so on individuals rather than organisational capability. He then provides four ‘next agenda’ recommendations to shift the profession to creating stakeholder value through human capability: (1) Advance that HR is less about HR and more on creating stakeholder value. (2) Offer a complete human capability agenda and assessment. (3) Prioritise using analytics and AI. (4) Upgrading HR professionals.
FIG 10: Human Capability Taxonomy (Source: Dave Ulrich)
KENNETH KUK, DONALD DELVES, AND JOHN BREMEN - A Board Outlook on Effective Human Capital Governance
Human capital governance can be an overwhelming subject for the board. They do not want to get stuck with minute detail about HR policies or programs. Best practice is for the board to focus their oversight on human capital areas most material to the business, either because they pose a significant risk or are a differentiator for competitive advantage.
Kenneth Kuk, Don Delves, and John Bremen present the findings of WTW research into board prioritisation of human capital governance. Findings include: (1) Boards do not spend enough time on long-term strategic workforce planning. (2) Leadership succession and development, talent attraction and retention, and workforce planning and skills for the future were identified as the top three priority human capital topics. (3) Only one-third of board members agree that human capital governance is effective on their boards. (4) Boards do not spend enough time, nor do they receive the right level of information, to engage in meaningful and strategic discussions about human capital governance (see FIG 11).
FIG 11: Boards do not spend enough time or receive enough information on human capital governance topics (Source: WTW, Directors & Boards)
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM AND PwC - Leveraging Generative AI for Job Augmentation and Workforce Productivity: Scenarios, Case Studies and a Framework for Action
The organizations quickest to adopt GenAI in their workforce are those that could be described as “data-driven”
In their new report, the World Economic Forum and PwC present the findings of their study into how early adopters are leveraging GenAI across the workplace, the impact it is having, and the lessons they have learned along the way. The big takeaway is that they found that success depends as much on people as it does technology. Workers need to understand, trust and adopt GenAI. The report also presents four different scenarios for how the deployment of GenAI in organisations could play out (see FIG 12). With the recent Insight222 People Analytics Trends study finding that 62% of companies are in the first year of their journey with AI in HR, this report will be required reading. Credit to the authors: Adèle Jacquard, Isabelle Leliaert, Till Alexander Leopold, Shuvasish Sharma, Peter Brown MBE, Marlene De Koning, Kiera Thomas, and Astrid van der Werf.
FIG 12: Four scenarios for the near future of GenAI (Source: PwC and World Economic Forum)
THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE - Measuring the Impact of Skills-Based Talent Initiatives
A helpful and practical guide from The Business Roundtable group of companies to help other organisations effectively implement skills-based hiring and talent management strategies. The report provides a blueprint for how to measure the success of skills-based talent strategies, which is comprised of four components: (1) Aligning on goals and selecting the right metrics to achieve them. (2) Enhancing internal data reporting (see sample balance scorecard in FIG 13). (3) Leveraging data for strategic change management. (4) Collaborating to report success at scale. Thanks to Brian Heger for highlighting in his Talent Edge newsletter.
FIG 13: Measuring the impact of skills-based talent initiatives – sample balance scorecard (Source: The Business Roundtable)
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
SHARON K. PARKER AND CAROLINE KNIGHT - Design Work to Prevent Burnout
Small, locally led work design changes can have a powerful effect on work quality.
Employee burnout and disengagement is bad for business and bad for workers. A much better approach is to create healthier and more sustainable jobs through good work design. In their article, Sharon Parker and Caroline Knight, outline their SMART Work Design model (see FIG 14), which is designed to improve worker wellbeing and performance. The authors describe each of the five characteristics in the model, before emphasising that the first step in improving work design is to start with data: “The first step in improving work design is to assess its current state, using employee surveys, interviews, and observations. The most comprehensive assessment would incorporate all three.” They then provide guidance on five ways to use the model to drive positive collaboration between managers and their teams to: (1) Redesign teams' work, (2) Align people management systems, (3) Build leader capability for SMART work design, (4) Guide and evaluate operational change, and (5) Encourage and support employee job crafting.
FIG 14: A model for making work smarter (Source: Sharon K. Parker and Caroline Knight)
JACQUELINE BRASSEY, AARON DE SMET, AND DANA MAOR WITH SHEIDA RABIPOUR - Developing a resilient, adaptable workforce for an uncertain future
To successfully move their business strategies forward, 21st-century leaders need an engaged and innovative workforce that can change course quickly, effectively, and fluidly.
A recent study by the McKinsey Health Institute finds that when employees experience strong levels of organisational support, psychological safety, resiliency and adaptability, these are associated with high levels of engagement and innovation (see FIG 15). In their article, Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten), Aaron De Smet, Dana Maor, and Sheida Rabipour, PhD present a blueprint composed of four actions for leaders to develop their own capacity for change while in parallel fostering resilience and adaptability in the workforce: (1) Setting a North Star for the organisation. (2) Building a psychologically safe community, not just a workforce. (3) Ensuring that leaders themselves are resilient, adaptable, and can serve as role models. (4) Encouraging teams to build resilience and adaptability skills in groups.
FIG 15: The relationship between organisational support, psychological safety, resilience and adaptability with engagement and innovation (Source: McKinsey)
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING
STEVEN LEVY - Relevance! Relevance! Relevance! Microsoft at 50 Is an AI Giant—and Still Hellbent on Domination | KATHLEEN HOGAN AND DAWN KAWAMOTO - How Microsoft’s chief people officer built a dynamic company culture
In 2015, Nadella called for a major transformation of Microsoft’s culture: from a ‘know-it-all,’ fixed mindset culture to a ‘learn-it-all’ growth culture
When Satya Nadella took over as CEO in 2014, Microsoft was seen as lumbering and uncool. Together, with Kathleen Hogan, who he appointed as Chief People Office, Nadella cleaned up a toxic culture, crafted the deal of the decade, and put Microsoft back on top. These two resources provide the context from a business perspective and a people one, on who this was achieved. The first article, in Wired, tells the business story: including the acquisitions of LinkedIn and GitHub, the partnership with OpenAI, and how Microsoft closed the AI gap with its competitors. The second article and video, sees Kathleen Hogan sharing how the company changed its company culture and how that evolution continues: “We always joke, the minute you think you’ve arrived and have a growth mindset is the minute you have a fixed mindset.”
MICHAEL ARENA AND PHILIP ARKCOLL - When flatter isn’t better: The hidden cost of collaborative demand
In an effort to create flatter organizational structures, indiscriminately cutting managers without first assessing collaborative demand can have detrimental consequences.
In order to speed up decision making, companies like Meta and Amazon have cut managers as part of a ‘flatter is faster’ approach. The theory is that fewer managers means more speed, more agility, and more innovation. In their article, Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll provide a counterpoint through Worklytics data showing that when managers are stretched thin—leading teams of seven or more— they encounter overwhelming workloads, rising burnout, and reduced ability to effectively support their teams (see FIG 16). To strike the right balance, Arena and Arkcoll advocate the use of data to assess collaborative demand and drive targeted actions. They provide guidance on (1) Optimising span of control , (2) Focusing on managerial overload, (3) Providing delegation strategies, and (4) Monitoring workloads.
FIG 16: Manager hours worked compared to team size (Source: Worklytics)
ARNE GAST, ERIK MANDERSLOOT, KAI GRUNEWALD, AND NEIL PEARSE WITH CARMEN JAMES AND NATACHA CATALINO - All about teams: A new approach to organizational transformation
Team-focused transformations can lead to 30 percent efficiency gains in organizations that implement these strategies effectively.
According to McKinsey, when it comes to organisational transformations there is a third way beyond the top-down or bottom-up approaches that are typically employed. That is a team-centric approach. Indeed, in their article, Arne Gast, Erik Mandersloot, Kai Grünewald, Neil Pearse, Carmen James, and Natacha (Simon) Catalino reveal that a team-centric approach can lead to 30 percent efficiency gains in organisations that implement these strategies effectively. The article provides guidance on four practical steps to empowering teams and unleashing their potential: (1) Identifying the highest-value teams, (2) Activating the value-creating teams (see FIG 17), (3) Lifting the leaders to support their teams, and; (4) Scaling this approach to more and more teams.
FIG 17: Transformation requires collaboration within and across teams throughout the organisation (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:
FRANCISCO MARIN - Unlocking HR Potential with Organizational Network Analysis: Insights from Gartner’s 2025 HR Priorities – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions takes inspiration from Gartner’s Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025 report to highlight the role ONA can play in areas such as change management and leadership development – highlighting a case study by Allstate that is contained in the Gartner report (see FIG 18).
FIG 18: Network model for change planning and execution (Source: Gartner)
LISA K. SIMON - AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job—Unless You Ignore It – Lisa K. Simon reveals insightful data from Revelio Labs, on the exposure and adoption of different roles to AI. Findings include: (1) High AI exposure is positively correlated with higher salaries: A ten percentage point increase in AI exposure is associated with 25% higher salaries. (2) The higher the AI exposure, the higher the adoption of AI tools (see FIG 19).
FIG 19: Data scientists lead the way in AI adoption (Source: Revelio Labs)
BEN WIGERT AND COREY TATEL - The Great Detachment: Why Employees Feel Stuck – Ben Wigert, Ph.D, MBA and Corey Tatel, Ph.D. present data from Gallup that finds that employees across the US are increasingly detached from their jobs – hence The Great Detachment – with satisfaction at record lows, employees seeking new opportunities at the highest rate since 2015, but with a cooling job market organisations face risks with regards to productivity and future talent loss (see FIG 20).
FIG 20: Overall satisfaction and intent to leave, among US employees (Source: Gallup)
PODCASTS OF THE MONTH
In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected five gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below):
NICK HUDGELL - AI And Data Governance – Nick Hudgell, Global Head of People Insights at Sanofi, joins hosts Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson on Workplace Stories, to discuss how his team has built an infrastructure that connects disparate systems, improves data quality, and uses machine learning to unlock insights that genuinely improve employee experiences.
LASZLO BOCK - Becoming a Courageous, Data-Driven HR Leader - Laszlo Bock, co-founder of the Berkeley Transformative CHRO Academy joins Lars Schmidt on what looks like the last episode of Redefining Work (for now at least – see here) to share his journey from shaping Google’s data-driven HR practices to mentoring the next generation of CHROs. If it does prove to be the final episode, Lars you certainly went out on top.
MARK MA - RTOs: Research-backed Realities and Recommendations - Mark Ma, a research professor at the University of Pittsburgh, joins host Sophie Wade on the Transforming Work podcast to shares his discoveries that stock market declines generated RTO mandates but not improved corporate results. In the episode, he advocates for workplace flexibility – giving choices to employees and teams.
ERIN SPENCER AND MACKENZIE WILSON - AI and innovations in HR technology – In this episode of the Capital H podcast, hosts David Mallon and Franz Gilbert sit down with Human Capital analysts Erin Spencer and Mackenzie Wilson to discuss innovative AI solutions emerging in the market from established vendors and agile startups.
BRYAN HANCOCK AND BROOKE WEDDLE - What works—and doesn’t—in performance management – In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle join host Lucia Rahilly to share their research on what drives performance: what motivates employees most, what matters less than you think, and the changes organisations need to make to ensure their feedback, ratings, and review processes are on track.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
BRIAN ELLIOTT, LAURIANNE MCLAUGHLIN, AND M. SHAWN READ - RTO Mandates: Hard Truths for Leaders
In this video, Brian Elliott, who we featured earlier in the special on hybrid working, discusses the impact of RTO mandates with Laurianne McLaughlin and M. Shawn Read. Brian highlights data and examples that shines a light on return-to-office directives, offers predictions for those companies who have implemented these mandates. He also provides alternative, evidence-based strategies that forward-thinking leaders can use to boost productivity without hurting employee trust, engagement, or talent retention.
RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH
SHONNA WATERS, ERIN EATOUGH, SHEHZAD BASHIR - People Analytics Across Company Growth Stages: Evolving Your Approach as You Scale
In an era where people are at the heart of organizational success, making data-driven talent decisions is no longer optional - it's a strategic imperative.
In their white paper, four esteemed experts in people analytics - Shonna Waters, PhD, Erin Eatough, PhD, Shehzad Bashir, and Ian OKeefe, break down how to build and refine people analytics capabilities that grow with your organisation. The authors introduce a practical framework for people analytics based on four pillars - each with its own set of capabilities: Governance (with seven capabilities including strategy, ethics and compliance), Infrastructure (also with seven capabilities such as storage, performance and security), Methods (with eight capabilities including primary research, statistical models and machine learning), and Products (with nine capabilities including metrics, dashboards, and nudges), which they state form the basis for organisations to build and subsequently scale their people analytics function. This is a well-researched, practical and helpful paper.
HR Analytics adoption is associated with higher return on investment by an average of 6.2% for return on capital employed
BOOK OF THE MONTH
KATARINA BERG – Bold: A New Era of Strategic HR
Behind every innovative company there should be an innovative HR function. That certainly applies to Spotify and Katarina Berg, the company’s Chief People Officer where being bold is etched into the DNA of the HR function she leads. This is evident in the Spotify HR Blog, and now in Bold, which is finally available in English. As I describe in my endorsement of the book:
The pandemic has thrust HR into the spotlight and given the function the opportunity to lead in shaping the new model of work. To do this, HR has to embrace data and digital. It must deliver for leaders and employees alike. Above all, HR must be bold. Spotify’s HR function, under the leadership of Katarina Berg, is setting the template for other to follow. With ‘Bold’, Katarina and her team build on the visionary Spotify HR Blog, providing a rich vein of insights on the practice of a leading-edge HR function and how it delivers value for employees and the business.
BONUS RESOURCES
Some bonus resources to also consume this month:
Andrew Kilshaw provides data, insights and guidance to companies looking to streamline their organisations in Middle Management Is Tough Enough As It Is.... If You're Going to Streamline Your Organization, Do It Right And Give Them "Space to Lead".
The latest edition of Gareth Flynn’s consistently excellent newsletter summarises the findings of his research into skills-based approaches to talent management: 2024 Skills Research - You Don't Need to Become a SBO or SPO to Drive Value From Skills.
Tejas Kumar provides some helpful guidance on how to grow professional relationships (see FIG 21).
Madeline Laurano and Kyle Lagunas provide some helpful guidance on how HR Tech vendors can build better partnerships in 2025.
Donald Sull highlights here the excellent series of 'Culture Champions' based on a webinar series and research by Donald and the CultureX team, which features interviews with leaders including Sharon MacBeath, Manny Maceda, Jim Whitehurst, Marvin Boakye, and Katie Burke.
Rob Briner provides a cautionary tale about telling stories with data.
FIG 21: The Journey to Synergy (Source: Tejas Kumar)
FROM MY DESK
December saw the final three episodes of Series 43 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by TechWolf (thanks Maaike Standaert, Andreas De Neve ?).
MIKAËL WORNOO - How to Use Skills Data to Solve Business Challenges – Mikaël Wornoo? joins me to explore how organisations can move beyond surface-level discussions centred on build a skills-based organisation to drive real business impact.
MELISSA DAIMLER - Drive Success Through Intentional and Adaptive Company Cultures – Melissa Daimler, Chief Learning Officer at Udemy and author of ReCulturing: Design Your Company Culture to Connect with Strategy and Purpose for Lasting Success, joins me to share how HR leaders can design company cultures that are intentional, adaptive, and aligned with business goals.
CHRISTOPHE CABRERA - How to Navigate Challenges in Skills-Based Transformation Journeys - Christophe Cabrera, Director and Head of IT Talent and Company Reputation at UCB, joins me to share how UCB kicked off its skills transformation with an initial proof-of-concept for 500 employees, how it used AI, and its rollout across additional parts of the company.
LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH?
I’d like to highlight once again 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 550 roles.
THANK YOU
Oli Meager for including me in his list of HR Tech Analysts you can Trust along with a number of people I really respects such as Stacia Sherman Garr, David Perring, FLPI, Kyle Lagunas, and Dani Johnson
Gareth Flynn for posting about the Digital HR Leaders podcast episodes with Sandra Loughlin, PhD and Mikaël Wornoo? as part of sharing his insightful learnings on skills
Josh Tarr for also posting about the Digital HR Leaders podcast episodes with Sandra and Mikael here
Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. for including Excellence in People Analytics as one of ten books that inspired her to write her first book, The Inclusion Equation, which is published in January 2025
Laureano Pérez Caballero for including Excellence in People Analytics in his selection of five books to give as gifts
Thomas Kohler for including the November edition of Data Driven HR Monthly in his list of HR resources
Thinkers360 for including me in their list of Top Voices EMEA 2024
Teamflect for including me on their list of leaders redefining HR
Paul's Job for including me in their list of Experts Shaping the Future of HR
Voxeon Communicationsfor including me in their list of Visionaries redefining the Future of Work
Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the November edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Tanguy Dulac Joseph Nabarro Sven Hultin Alan Susi Sibusiso Mkhize Sebastian Knepper Samir Murgude , SPHR®, SHRM-SCP, IHRP-SP Catriona Lindsay Amardeep Singh, MBA Kouros Behzad Matthew Hamilton Ian Grant FCIPD Dave Millner Vijay Patnaik, MBA Kathleen Kruse Danielle Farrell, MA Aravind Warrier Alexis Fink Errol Kruger Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez Marijana Brasiello, MHRM Andrew Pitts Joachim Decock David Simmonds FCIPD Dr. Jeeta Sarkar Maximilian Lankheit Chris Long Maria Alice Jovinski Felipe Jara David McLean Danielle Bushen Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD) Lukasz Sowinski Geetanjali Gamel Timo Tischer Henrik Håkansson Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. Sander de Bruijn, Kristin Saboe, Ph.D. Giovanna Constant Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA Russ Fatum BS, BS, MSA, MBB, PMP Ekta Lall Mittal Luis Maria Cravino Sameer Raut Chandresh Natu Praful Tickoo Ron Ben Oz Emanuele Magrone Laurent Reich Scott Nemeth Chris Lovato Philippa Penfold FCIPD Gal Mozes, PhD Christina Bui Matt Burns Bhawna Bist Melissa Hopper Fritz Rex Blodgett Delia Majarín Asaf Jackoby Joonghak Lee Jaejin Lee Mark Lawrence Kimberly Rose Mariami Lolashvili Malgorzata Langlois Irene Wong Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. Doug Chartier Sophia Huang, Ed.D. Caitie Jacobson Roxanne Bisby Davis Hanna Salo Toon van der Veer David Littlechild Jeff Wellstead Pedro Pereira Dr. Sebastian Projahn Melissa Arronte Linda Jonas John Healy Greg Pryor Kristina Kersiene, PhD Kris Saling Dr Philip Gibbs John Golden, Ph.D. Irada Sadykhova Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga, Phil Inskip Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM Lina Makneviciute Alexandra Nawrat John Brazier Marcela Mury Jacob Nielsen Søren Kold Lucie Vottova Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. John Gunawan Gawain Wang Dave Fineman Craig Starbuck, PhD Ralf Buechsenschuss Bob Pulver Daniel Ivezaj Nico Orie Greg Newman Brandon Mistry Elizabeth Esarove Julia Brandon, PhD Evan Franz, MBA Erik Otteson Higor Gomes Ken Clar Ruben Santos Dr. Peter Schulz-Rittich Mattijs Mol Tina Peeters, PhD Tim Peffers Ludek Stehlik, Ph.D. Abhilash Bodanapu Mukesh Jain Ohad Geron Jonathon Frampton
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 100 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.
The best HR & People Analytics articles of October 2024
Never forget what the ‘H’ in HR stands for...
This was the unanimous advice of the CEO panel, skilfully moderated by Charles-Henri Besseyre des Horts, at the recent Unleash World show in Paris, where I had the privilege of being emcee of the Main Stage. One of the main themes that emerged from the show (see my key learnings from Unleash) is that HR continues to make significant progress in its journey from support function to strategic partner. To complete this transition, HR must embrace data (as opening keynote Peter Hinssen put it: “You can’t connect the dots, if you don’t collect the dots”). Moreover, as I said in my opening words:
HR can’t lead the charge on AI, skills and new ways of working, if it doesn’t upskill itself.
This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at Visier
Pay Equity: A Critical Workforce Challenge You Can No Longer Ignore.
According to a recent study by The Josh Bersin Company on pay equity, as it stands today, the gender pay gap won't close until 2048. Even worse: progress in some areas is slowing with less than 5% of companies excelling in pay equity despite it having 13 times the impact on employee experience compared to pay levels. Read the report.
The report, “The Surprising Truth about Gender Pay Equity”., examines:
The current state of gender pay equity
Barriers companies face in addressing pay
The projected timeline for closing the gender pay gap
Examples of companies implementing strategies to achieve pay equity
It’s time to face the challenge head-on, embed pay equity into everyday practices, and have informed conversations about compensation.
Get the report.
Visier gives you a Workforce AI Edge: the set of AI-powered capabilities every leader needs to confidently navigate an exponentially more challenging business environment.
October road report
October was a busy month. It started in New York, where I moderated a panel on Workestration at the NY Strategic HR Analytics Meetup Group before co-chairing the first People Analytics World to take place in the US. The next stop was Paris, for the aforementioned UNLEASH World, which had over 7,000 attendees. Finally, it was back to the US for a Peer Meeting for North American members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®, which was hosted by Phil Wilburn and his team at Workday.
For more on People Analytics World, I recommend reading takeaways from Craig Starbuck, PhD (here), Al Adamsen (here), Christopher Cerasoli (here), Lore Muraina, PMP, PMI-ACP, CPP (here), Lydia Wu (here), and Melissa Arronte (here). Thanks to Barry Swales for entrusting me to co-chair with Michael M. Moon, PhD.
For more on Unleash, read my key learnings, as well as checking out the Unleash site for articles by Alexandra Nawrat, John Brazier and Lucy Buchholz. A huge thank you to Marc Coleman, Paige Richmond, Zoltán Kőváry and the whole Unleash team – it was a joy to work with you all again.
A huge thank you too to Phil Willburn and the Workday team for hosting the Insight222 Peer Meeting at Pleasanton, as well as the speakers at the Peer Meeting: Shannon Vallina, Kanwal Safdar, Dr. Sebastian Projahn, Ashley Goldsmith, Rex Blodgett, Kun Gu, Victoria Holland, Greta Stahl, Kinnari Desai, Sven Linsmaier
Finally, thanks as well to Stela Lupushor for inviting me to chair the panel on Workestration, Anna A. Tavis, PhD for hosting us at NYU, and Annie Dean, Brydie Lear and Chris Butler for making it such a rich conversation.
Attendees at the Insight222 Peer Meeting for members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, hosted by Workday, October 22-23, 2024
Sign-up to receive the 5th annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends research report
The 5th Annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study will be released on December 2. The report, which is informed by a survey of 340 participating organisations, will uncover how AI, data democratisation, and impactful people analytics strategies drive business value and elevate workforce decision-making.
You can pre-register to receive the report on the day of release here or by clicking on the image below.
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.
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.
HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
ERIC ANICICH AND DART LINDSLEY - Reimagining Work as a Product
If companies listen to employees the way they do customers, they can increase retention and engagement.
In their Harvard Business Review article, Eric Anicich and Dart Lindsley challenge the traditional approaches to employee experience by painting a vision where work is viewed as a product employers offer to employees. Drawing on Clayton Christensen’s the jobs to be done theory, they suggest that employees ‘hire’ their jobs to fulfil specific needs, much as customers choose products. This perspective shifts the focus from maximising productivity to something akin to customer satisfaction. The authors share examples from a myriad of companies including Asana, Eli Lilly, Shopify and Dropbox, explain how companies can better balance company needs with employee satisfaction (see FIG 1), and discuss the merits of splitting the manager role in two (see also ‘Managers Can’t Do It All’ by Lynda Gratton and Diane Gherson). Finally, the article examines four challenges of implementing the model: (1) Changing HR (“Work-as-a-product requires a new HR mindset”). (2) Balancing employee preferences and organisational needs. (3) Maintaining flexibility and fairness. (4) Aligning incentives.
FIG 1: Balancing company needs with employee satisfaction (Source: Anicich and Lindsley)
NICHOLAS BLOOM, JAMES LIANG, AND RUOBING HAN - One Company A/B Tested Hybrid Work. Here’s What They Found
With Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently announcing that Amazon is going back to five days in the office: “to further strengthen our culture and teams”, this article by Nick Bloom, James Liang, and Ruobing Han based on A/B testing at Trip.com into different work modes makes for very interesting reading. The experiment involved 1600 employees being split into two groups. The first group worked five days a week in the office, with the second working three days in the office and two days a week at home. Over a two-year period, the experiment found no differences between the two groups in productivity, performance, promotion, learning or innovation. However, the study found that the hybrid group experienced higher satisfaction and lower attrition rates compared with their colleagues who worked exclusively from the office (see FIG 2). This reduction in turnover saved millions of dollars in recruiting and training costs, thereby increasing profits for the company. As the article explains, organisations can learn several valuable lessons from this study to implement a successful hybrid work model: (1) Establishing rigorous performance management systems, (2) Coordinating team or company-level hybrid schedules, (3) Securing support from firm leadership, and (4) A/B test their own management practices to find what works best for them.
Our results showed that under a hybrid-work policy, Trip.com was able to generate millions of dollars of profits by reducing expensive attrition without any impact on performance, innovation, or productivity.
FIG 2: Source: Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance
MICHAEL ARENA AND PHILIP ARKCOLL - The collaboration mandate: Does returning to the office improve innovation?
What we need isn’t an office mandate—it’s a “collaboration mandate.” Shifting our focus from where we work to how we work could unlock the innovation we’re seeking.
In all the hullabaloo of return to office mandates, there’s still too much focus on where employees work rather than how they collaborate. As Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll write in their excellent article, dragging employees back into the office won’t magically spark innovation. Instead of an office mandate, they advocate for a “collaboration mandate”. The article explains how innovation is generated through three critical phases of collaboration: (1) Discovery (“the generation of new ideas and insights, often benefiting from the intentional bridging of connections and in-person interactions”), (2) Development (“transforming those ideas into viable solutions, where the focused team interactions of experimentation and rapid iteration are essential. It also requires an environment with minimal distraction for focused concentration.” – see FIG 3) and (3) Scaling (“the process of implementing solutions across the organization, which requires more deliberate interactions with key influencers to ensure widespread adoption and buy-in.”). The article examines the impact of remote and in-person on each stage, and provides guidance on practices to improve collaboration in each. For more, I recommend listening to Michael on a recent episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast with me: What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management.
FIG 3: High levels of focus, such as 4.4 hours daily versus a low focus level of 2.7 hours, significantly drive productivity in development (Source: Worklytics)
https://youtu.be/-giwBOuYwio
BCG - Five Must-Haves for Effective AI Upskilling
Embedding AI in daily tasks at all levels creates a network effect: the more people use and understand it, the more the entire organization gains in knowledge, innovation, and efficiency.
Upskilling its workforce on AI helps a company maximise its investments in the technology and equips it with a competitive edge. In a new study by BCG, Hean-Ho Loh, Vinciane Beauchene, Vladimir Lukic, and Rajiv Shenoy provide guidance on five actions to help achieve this: (1) Assess needs and measure outcomes (the article recommends using the Kirkpatrick method). (2) Prepare workers for change - individually, at the team level, and organisation-wide. (3) Introduce appropriate incentives to unlock employees’ willingness to learn (e.g. nudges). (4) Position the C-suite at the forefront of adoption and training initiatives. (5) Use AI tools and the network effect to upskill people on AI (see FIG 4).
FIG 4: AI learning and support tools fall into four categories (Source: BCG)
KAI HAHN | INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE LEADERS ALLIANCE - AI & The Future of Work
Within People Analytics’ transformation into a strategic business partner the advance of AI is shaping up as an accelerator if used to drive business outcomes
Kai Hahn presents the results of a comprehensive study by the Intelligent Enterprise Leaders Alliance on the state of AI adoption in HR and people analytics. The report features a stellar list of contributors including: Arianna Huffington, Dave Ulrich, Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Amit Mohindra, Nicole Lettich, Kalifa Oliver, Ph.D. and Alim A. Dhanji. Key findings include: (1) Talent Acquisition is at the forefront of embracing AI tools with 70% currently piloting/leveraging AI, followed by People Analytics and L&D with 65%. (2) Priorities for People Analytics in the next 6-12 months with AI are first and foremost automating HR operations. (3) The biggest barrier to adoption is resistance to change, ahead of skills gaps, challenges with data quality and security, privacy and trust, and ethical concerns and bias.
FIG 5: Where organisations are leveraging AI in HR (Source: IELA)
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
JAAP VELDKAMP - Positioning People Analytics into the HR Service Model: A Path to Sustainable Impact
Embedding People Analytics within the HR Service Model is essential for creating a lasting and meaningful impact.
In his thoughtful article, Jaap Veldkamp, Global Head of People Analytics and Organisational Effectiveness at ABN AMRO, provides guidance on how people analytics should be positioned within the broader HR service model. Jaap provides a simplified view of the HR operating model (see FIG 6), which has three components: (1) Identifying needs. (2) Prioritising needs. (3) Executing and evaluating strategies. He then describes how the key capabilities of ABN AMRO’s people analytics function (Dashboarding and reporting, Employee listening, Data science and research, Organisational effectiveness, and Consulting) flow through the HR service model. As Jaap highlights: “the overall aim is to ensure that the capabilities of the People Analytics team are part of every step in the HR Service Model.”
FIG 6: Simplified HR Service Model (Source: Jaap Veldkamp)
RICHARD ROSENOW - From Data to Strategy: The New Role of Workforce Systems Leaders in Transforming HR
Without a Workforce Systems Leader, these decisions fall to the CHRO, pulling them into day-to-day inter-functional debates when they should focus on the strategic vision
In Insight222’s recent study, Building the People Analytics Ecosystem, we identified three types of people analytics leader that are emerging as the people analytics operating model continues to evolve. One of these – the Portfolio Analytics leader – has similarities to a trend identified by Richard Rosenow in his new white paper for One Model. The findings are based on more than 40 HR teams hiring a Workforce Systems Leader combining people strategy, operations, technology, data and analytics (see FIG 7). In the paper, Richard covers: (1) Key challenges in people analytics – how the role of people analytics often extends far beyond their original role description. (2) Mastering the People Data Supply Chain – highlighting the essential steps to building a robust people analytics function. (3) The emergence of Workforce Systems Leaders. Read a preview in Richard’s LinkedIn post and download the full paper here.
FIG 7: The role of a Workforce Systems Leader (Source: One Model)
SCOTT ROGERS - People Analytics & HRBPs - Navigating the art of imperfect collaboration | ALDAR NIKOLAEV - People Analytics Recipes: Advancing Employee Turnover Story P.1 | RALF BUECHSENSCHUSS - Becoming a data-driven (HR) organization - Leveraging generative AI to democratize data and insights | PETER MEYLER – How much time do People Analytics teams spend on reporting vs. analytics? | PATRICK COOLEN – The Four Faces of People Analytics | YUYAN SUN - 5 Ways to Use AI in People Analytics Everyday
In each edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, I feature a collection of articles by current and recent people analytics leaders. These are intended to act as a spur and inspiration to the field. Six are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Having worked in both domains, Scott Rogers is well-qualified to explore the dynamics of the HRBP-People Analytics relationship. He presents a framework identifying the key focus areas for people analytics leaders (e.g. championing HR operational excellence) and HRBPs (e.g. engaging with and advocating for people analytics). (2) Aldar Nikolaev provides a practical guide on how to analyse and visualise employee turnover and conduct scenario planning (see FIG 8). (3) Ralf Buechsenschuss offers a practical guide – including videos – to showcase what is already possible when embedding generative AI into the flow of work in the context of people analytics. (4) Peter Meyler presents the findings of his survey, which finds that 48% of people analytics teams spend at least 75% of their time on data and reporting. (5) Patrick Coolen documents the four faces of people analytics practices: the strategist (see FIG 9), the gatekeeper, the specialist, and the designer. (6) Yuyan Sun breaks down five ways to use AI everyday in people analytics:
Don't just use AI as a tool. Use it as a thought partner.
FIG 8: Measuring employee turnover (Source: Aldar Nikolaev)
FIG 9: The Four Faces of People Analytics: The Strategist (Source: Patrick Coolen)
THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
MARC EFFRON - It’s (Still) the Mortar not the Bricks
Some CHROs are not willing to drive significant change in reducing headcount, upgrading the capabilities of their team or holding their HRLT accountable to “wire” the business properly.
Marc Effron and his team at The Talent Strategy Group cut through the hyperbole to analyse the state of the HR operating model, critique what the consulting firms (EY, Deloitte, Gartner, Mercer and McKinsey) propose and where they fit with the Ulrich Model, and offer guidance on how to structure, upskill and wire your HR operating mode for success. Highlights include Effron’s views that: (1) Dave Ulrich’s model is the reference standard for good HR operating models. (2) That despite statements to the contrary by the consulting firms advocating why the HR operations model needs to change, the world of work remains largely the same. (3) HRBP’s should be fewer in number, stronger in capabilities and deployed against major business units and/or geographies. (4) The future HR service centre will perform a far larger percentage of overall HR work and do at least 80% of this through technology. (5) Companies should create an ‘HR Wiring Team’ to assess where the HR wiring is either not fully developed or isn’t being followed. Effron defines wiring as “Wiring means the agreement among HR team members about how vital processes will flow – the steps, the accountabilities, the technology, etc.” A compulsory read for any chief people officer considering whether to revamp their HR operating model.
FIG 10: People Value Chain (Source: EY)
SHARI CHERNACK AND JONATHAN GORDIN | MERCER - 2024 Voice of the CHRO: Maximizing HR effectiveness in a changing landscape Article | Full Report
While much of the focus and headlines of Mercer’s 2024 Voice of the CHRO report, authored by Shari Chernack and Jonathan Gordin, is understandably on the challenges and opportunities associated with AI (see FIG 11), what really stands out for me is the section on maximising HR’s influence with the C-suite and board. The results demonstrate that HR is increasingly a strategic partner: 56% of CHROs meet with the board every week, 51% report higher levels of C-suite engagement than previous years, and 71% report high alignment on HR and people priorities. Data is increasingly key, with 76% of CHROs believing that using data to showcase HR’s impact on business performance will help drive further engagement with the C-suite and board. The report highlights six key actions for CHROs: (1) Accelerate AI for HR readiness. (2) Drive AI adoption across the enterprise. (3) Strengthen C-suite relationships and alignment. (4) Understand and plan to bolster key skills. (5) Don’t sleep on employee experience. (6) Build your HR team for the future.
Build your HR team for the future. Reshape and develop your team to reflect the cross pressures of increasingly complex demands on HR, including an anticipated need for greater technology and analytical expertise on the team, and the lean HR team size in most organizations.
FIG 11: AI’s anticipated impact (Source: Mercer)
MARK WHITTLE, LIANA PASSANTINO AND MAGGIE SCHROEDER-O’NEAL | GARTNER - Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025
Leader and manager development remains the No. 1 priority in 2025 for HR leaders for the third consecutive year, according to Gartner, with organisational culture, strategic workforce planning, change management and HR technology rounding off the top five (see FIG 12). The report (authors: Mark Whittle, Liana Passantino, PhD, and Maggie Schroeder-O’Neal) provides detailed analysis on each of the top five priorities, defining the problem statement and imperative for each along with a case study. My eyes were drawn to the section on Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) and the rather stark finding that only 15% of organisations currently practice SWP. Guidance is provided on expanding the scope and complexity of SWP through small phases and a powerful case study is provided on Merck (kudos Ruben Groen Alexis Saussinan) (see FIG 13):
Instead of striving for perfection and getting stuck gathering every piece of information available, Merck’s SWP team reduces the complexity of SWP by narrowing their team’s focus to solving a problem, enabling them to take action and drive impact.
FIG 12: Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025 (Source: Gartner)
FIG 13: How Merck prioritizes SWP needs by relevance and actionability (Source: Gartner)
ROB BRINER | CORPORATE RESEARCH FORUM - Driving Organisational Performance: HR’s Critical Role
HR functions can and should do more to contribute to organisational performance. But, in order to do this, they need to be able to identify for themselves and in their context what specifically they need to do to help the business meet its strategic objectives.
The purpose of this excellent new report, authored by Rob Briner for the Corporate Research Forum (CRF), is to provide a framework for HR functions to more effectively drive performance – within their own organisational context. There’s lots to unpack in the report, but highlights include: (1) The evaluation of six ways of thinking about how HR impacts organisational performance (see FIG 14). (2) Key questions HR should be able to answer about the business, its strategic objectives, and how HR can help achieve these objectives. (3) Guidance on joining the causal dots between HR practices and strategic objectives. (4) A self-assessment for HR leaders to assess how well their own function contributes to organisational performance. (5) An eight-step process model of how HR can drive organisational performance. For more from Rob Briner, I recommend listening to his conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: What is Evidence Based HR and Why is it Important?
FIG 14: Perspectives of how HR contributes to organisational performance and likely value (Source: CRF, Rob Briner)
PwC - Saratoga Annual Benchmarking Report 2024
As the introduction to this report highlights, PwC Saratoga has over 30,000 benchmarks for 1000+ metrics covering a wide variety of HR and workforce topics. This annual report includes benchmarks for 400 organisations across 20 industries including those related to employee attrition, talent attraction, and diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as benchmarks relating to HR and people analytics FTE ratios (see FIG 15 for FTE ratios for business partners and people analytics). Similar to the annual People Analytics Trends study we publish at Insight222, Saratoga finds that people analytics is showing rapid growth in many industries including technology, financial services and manufacturing/engineering.
There is an increasing focus on people analytics as organizations invest deeper into digital capabilities and as the importance of data is elevated across industries.
FIG 15: HR Business Partners and People Analytics FTE ratios 2022 and 2023 (Source: PwC Saratoga)
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
JAEJIN LEE - Skill-based Transformation: “Don't Start with Skills, Start with Work!”
Jaejin Lee takes an incredibly thoughtful deep-dive on the shift towards a skills-based organisation. He analyses a number of factors driving this shift including why the consensus is shifting towards skills, the technology changes driving the movement, and the need to start with the work while viewing the transformation through an employee-centric lens. Jaejin also shares two examples from his consulting work of skills-based network analysis (see FIG 16 for example that clusters the company’s employees' skills based on their similar attributes). Finally, Jaejin shares resources from experts including John Boudreau, Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, and Tanuj Kapilashrami, and rounds proceedings off by providing a checklist for companies to conduct a self-diagnosis with regards to skills (see FIG 17). A tour de force.
FIG 16: Using network analysis to group skills with similar attributes into categories (Source: Jaejin Lee.
FIG 17: Skills-based organisational diagnostic self-checklist (Source; Jaejin Lee)
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
ETHAN BURRIS, BENJAMIN THOMAS, KETAKI SODHI, AND DAWN KLINGHOFFER - Turn Employee Feedback into Action
Ultimately, success (in employee listening) lies in empowering leaders to translate insights into concrete actions, effectively communicating progress, and fostering a continual feedback loop that values and respects the diverse voices within the organization.
"To manage the employee experience, leaders must deeply understand employees’ perceptions, feelings, and desires and respond thoughtfully. This is particularly crucial when immense resources are invested in gathering employee feedback through pulse surveys, town halls, and data scraping from internal communications. But leaders are often overwhelmed by the data and struggle to translate it into actionable insights." In their Harvard Business Review article, Ethan Burris, Benjamin Thomas, Ph. D, SHRM-CP, Ketaki Sodhi, PhD, and Dawn Klinghoffer, share insights from interviews with more than two dozen companies to outline seven challenges and demonstrate how leading places to work have built an integrated process for assembling and understanding employee input and translating it into action. The seven challenges are: (1) Making sense of all that data. (2) Making sure employees feel heard. (3) Identifying the actual underlying problems. (4) Protecting employee privacy. (5) Navigating conflicting views. (6) Not burying bad news. (7) Providing meaningful follow-up.
STEPHANIE DENINO - Moving Beyond Work as a Black Box: Uncovering & Addressing the Hidden Friction
Work is more than just a black box of outputs—it’s a complex system with hidden friction that we often overlook. In her thoughtful article, Stephanie Denino, Managing Director at TI PEOPLE, examines the consequences of treating work like a black box. She breaks down the core components that make up work: “(1) a worker that is (2) trying to do something (key activities or moments of their work experience), in which (3) they interact with things like technology, people, and processes” (see FIG 18). Stephanie identifies that by capturing data on how work unfolds from the worker’s perspective, leaders can better identify and reduce work friction, ensuring productivity gains and enhancing employee satisfaction. The article presents strategies to move beyond surface-level metrics and focus on the intricate moments of work that truly drive business outcomes.
FIG 18: Work can be broken down into three components (Source: Stephanie Denino)
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING
MCKINSEY - Going all in: Why employee ‘will’ can make or break transformations
For a company undergoing transformation, cultivating employee “will” to change the way it operates is critical for success.
Writing for McKinsey, Dominic Skerritt, John Parsons, Mary Lass Stewart, Matthew Schrimper, and Nicolette Rainone, Ph.D. highlight the people element of successful transformations. They set out a three step-process (see FIG 19): Elevate, empower, energize to cultivate employees’ will to drive transformation. (1) Elevate a strong core of employees across all levels to lead the transformation. (2) Empower a broad coalition of change leaders to embody new ways of thinking and working. (3) Energize all employees to transform.
FIG 19: Organisations can galvanise a workforce’s will to transform with three actions (Source: McKinsey)
CONSTANCE NOONAN HADLEY AND SARAH L. WRIGHT – We’re Still Lonely at Work
In recent years, the huge impact that work loneliness is having on healthcare costs, absenteeism, and turnover has received widespread attention. Despite growing awareness, the problem remains, with one in five employees worldwide feeling lonely at work. In their article for Harvard Business Review, Connie Noonan Hadley and Sarah Wright debunk myths about work loneliness, such as the belief that in-person work or team assignments can solve the issue. They provide guidance on seven actions companies can take to put loneliness on the agenda: (1) Measure loneliness (see FIG 20); (2) Design slack into the workflow; (3) Create a culture of connections; (4) Build socialising into the rhythm of work; (5) Keep social activities simple; (6) Maximise each work mode for connection; (7) Actively recruit participants.
FIG 20: A tool for measuring work loneliness (Source: Constance Noonan Hadley and Sarah L. Wright)
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
McKINSEY AND LEANIN.ORG – Women in the Workplace: The 10th Anniversary Report
Organizational change is a marathon, not a sprint, and making meaningful strides for women requires both hope and resilience. When leaders create a compelling vision of what’s possible, workplaces are better equipped to drive and sustain progress.
Despite progress over the past decade, parity for all women in the workspace is almost 50 years away according to the 10th Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey and Leanin.Org. At the current trajectory, it will take 22 years for white women to achieve leadership parity—and more than twice as long for women of colour (see FIG 21). As ever, the report is an absorbing read with part 4, A Data-Driven Approach to Solutions, being required reading for people analytics professionals. In terms of implementing consistent processes, the report recommends four key building blocks: (1) making sure employees understand why a new practice is important; (2) teaching employees the skills they need to do their part; (3) putting mechanisms in place to support the practice; and (4) ensuring leaders role model the right behaviours. Finally, the report also provides guidance on tackling three areas that are especially important for advancing women and fostering inclusion: (1) De-biasing hiring and promotion (see FIG 22); (2) Inspiring and equipping employees to curb bias and practice allyship; and (3) Unlocking the power of managers to influence careers and team culture. Kudos to the authors: Alexis Krivkovich, Emily Field, Lareina Yee, and Megan McConnell, with Hannah Smith.
FIG 21: It will take nearly 50 years to achieve gender parity for all women (Source: McKinsey)
FIG 22: Research based tips for making hiring and performance reviews fairer (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 October that I recommend readers delve into:
LOUJAINA ABDELWAHED, LISA K. SIMON, TOBY CULSHAW, AND REMY GLAISNER - Stuck in Neutral: Why Employees are Staying Put – Loujaina Abdelwahed, PhD, Lisa K. Simon, Toby Culshaw, and Remy Glaisner highlight Revelio Labs data finding that employee attrition rates are at their lowest in a decade. They explore the reasons for this and outline the conditions that would return attrition rates to their long-term average e.g. an increase in demand (15% increase in job postings), combined with 10% higher salaries and a tighter labour market (job postings taking 10% longer to fill).
FIG 23: The decline in attrition in 2024 is unexplained by common factors (Source: Revelio Labs)
DIDIER ELZINGA AND AMY LAVOIE - Research: The Long-Term Costs of Layoffs – Didier Elzinga and Amy Lavoie share the findings of a study by Culture Amp to understand the impact of company layoffs on employee engagement. These include: (1) After layoffs, companies see a significant drop in employee experience in many key areas. (2) High employee engagement prior to layoffs won’t protect you from the negative impact of doing layoffs. (3) Recovery takes time (see FIG 24).
FIG 24: Change in favourability from pre-layoff (Source: Culture Amp)
FRANCISCO MARIN - The Power of Collaborative Freedom: Aligning Interests, Collaborators, and Schedules – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions explains how collaborative freedom, which he sees as the underlying principle of a network-first future of work, discusses how the key facets of collaborative freedom – from increased autonomy and cross-functional cooperation to enhanced transparency - contribute to creating a more effective, agile, and rewarding work environment, “where employees are motivated not just by individual success but by the shared goals and achievements of the organization.”
VISIER - Visier's Top 50 HR Leaders To Watch in 2025 – It’s a nice move (and a clever marketing one!) by Visier Inc. to highlight a group of their data-driven innovator clients. It’s certainly good to see the likes of Adam McKinnon, PhD., Angela LE MATHON, Jeremy Shapiro, Katherine Ward, Doug Shagam, Poonam Sirigidi, Julien Legret, Annalyn Jacob, Ph.D., Erik Otteson, Shannon Rutledge, Kai Wehmeyer, Jill Larsen, Ian Bailie, Alan Susi, and Scott Judd get some well-deserved recognition.
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):
MARK PRICE AND BRUCE DAISLEY - Can happy workers improve your company results? – Mark Price, former CEO at Waitrose, joins Bruce Daisley on the consistently excellent Eat Sleep Work Repeat to discuss the business benefits of investing in happy employees. The episode features a powerful example of how after acquiring Somerfield, and focusing on motivating the inherited workforce, Mark was able to reduce employee turnover from 75% to 17% within months.
ETHAN BERNSTEIN AND MICHAEL HORN - The Real Reasons Employees Quit — and How to Retain Them – Ethan Bernstein and Michael Horn join Alison Beard on HBR IdeaCast to share their research on employee turnover, which points to a host of push and pull forces that cause workers to jump ship, and also outlines better retention strategies.
NICK LYNN - “Small Changes Can Add Up To Something Big” – Culture, Change Management and the Employee Experience – Nick Lynn joins Mike Petrusky on the Workplace Innovator podcast to discuss the current world of the workplace and how leaders can build a culture of trust and higher engagement
BRYAN HANCOCK AND EMILY FIELD - Will generative AI hurt middle managers—or help them? – In an episode of The McKinsey Podcast, together with host Lucia Rahilly, Emily Field and Bryan Hancock revisit their book, Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work, one year on to share how middle managers can use gen AI to support their teams more effectively—and update their image while they’re at it.
KELLY MONAHAN - What trends will have the most impact on the future of work? – Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. joins host JP Elliott, PhD on The Future of Work Podcast to discuss the key trends that are impacting the future of work including why she believes that the skills-based organisation movement is stuck in the theory phase and the challenges it faces in implementation.
GREG PRYOR - Why Social Network Perspective Matters – Greg Pryor joins Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson on Workplace Stories to share how social capital—our connections and relationships—drives business outcomes, sparks innovation, and boosts career growth. Listen to Greg, and then tune in to his sparring partner, Michael Arena, on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
NICKLE LAMOREAUX - How IBM Uses AI to Transform HR
In celebration of IBM's CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux recently being recognised as HR Executive of the Year, this month's Video of the Month features Nickle in discussion with me earlier this year on the Digital HR Leaders podcast where she shares how IBM is pioneering the use of AI in HR, and how this is revolutionising its approach to talent management, employee engagement, and predictive analytics.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
YUVAL NOAH HARARI - Nexus
While I was on my travels at People Analytics World in New York and then Unleash World in Paris, at least ten people I respect told me that I simply had to read Nexus, the new book by Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari. So, I ordered it in time to take with me to the US the week after Unleash – and they were right. It’s brilliant. It’s basically the story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world. With the opportunity – and threat of AI – this is a book everyone in our field should read. Rory Stewart describes Nexus as: “Bold, original, erudite, provocative and entrancing,” and I couldn’t agree more.
RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH
ALEXIS FINK AND COLE NAPPER - The World of HR Is Changing Rapidly: I-O Psychology Can Help – In their new paper for Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), Alexis Fink and Cole Napper, people analytics leaders at Meta and FedEx respectively, break down the role of the industrial-organisational (IO) psychologist, and how they are helping organisations to manage the transformation being driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and evolving cultural landscapes. Insight222 ’s research on Leading Companies in People Analytics, identified I/O psychology as one of three key skills these companies are focused on hiring, developing and retaining to drive success (along with data scientists, and consultants), so this paper is an important read for chief people officers looking to advance their people analytics function.
FROM MY DESK
October saw the final episode of Series 41 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by Visier Inc. (thanks Adedamola Adeleke), and the first three episodes of Series 42, sponsored by Workday (thanks Sophie Barnes and Jennifer Neumann) as well as a number of articles penned by yours truly.
Key Learnings from Unleash World 2024 – My key learnings from the main stage at the recent Unleash World show in Paris - together with the slides I used to kick off the event.
Key Learnings from Insight222 Global Executive Retreat 2024 Insights: Shaping the Future of People Analytics – My key learnings from the recent 7th Annual Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, which features learnings from speakers including: Janine Vos , Prasad Setty, and Erin Meyer.
How can workforce analytics enhance HR decision-making and drive business success? – A round-up of Series 41 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, with insights from episodes featuring: Diane Gherson, Lynda Gratton, Angela LE MATHON, Keith Bigelow, Tanuj Kapilashrami and Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA.
Three ways to Upskill HR in Data Literacy – The team at Workday shared a summary of insights from my recent speech at Rising on how to improve the data literacy of HR professionals.
SHARON TAYLOR AND JACO VAN VUUREN - Digitising HR for 55,000 Employees: Lessons from Standard Bank – Sharon Taylor, Chief People and Culture Officer, and Jaco Van Vuuren, Chief Operating Officer for Human Capital, join me to share the HR transformation journey at Standard Bank.
MICHAEL FRACCARO - How Mastercard is Using AI to Drive Employee Success and Leadership Growth – Michael Fraccaro , Chief People Officer at Mastercard, shares how the company is using AI across HR, building a skills-based organisation, and how their Culture Health Index helps shape discussion and decisions with the Board.
MICHAEL ARENA - What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management – Michael Arena joins me to discuss what the latest research on network analysis teaches us about hybrid working, team sizes, and the importance of social capital.
JASON SCHECKNER - How Talent Orchestration Connects AI Investments to Real Business Results – Jason Scheckner of HiredScore by Workday joins me to discuss how talent orchestration is the key to unlocking AI’s full potential and transforming HR operations into a strategic powerhouse.
LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH?
I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers close to 500 roles – and has now been developed into a LinkedIn newsletter too.
THANK YOU
Nick Broughton for including me in his list of remote work leaders to follow.
Thomas Kohler for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Michael Fraccaro in his HR Resources of the Week.
Thinkers360 for including me in their Top Voices EMEA 2024.
Elaine Parr for sharing the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Nickle LaMoreaux on how IBM is pioneering the use of AI in HR.
Olimpiusz Papiez for his thoughtful learnings about the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Jason Scheckner.
Sven Hultin for publishing his analysis of Insight222's recent research on the People Analytics Operating Model: Democratizing workforce insight in a relevant context fuels adaption towards future relevance.
Stela Lupushor for inviting me to moderate a panel at the recent New York Strategic HR Analytics MeetUp on Workestration and Neeru Monga (here), Tony Ashton (here), Ekta Lall Mittal (here), Anna A. Tavis, PhD (here) and Olivia Li (here) for their LinkedIn posts sharing some of the key learnings and pictures from the event.
Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the September edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about my sessions at Unleash, People Analytics World, and Workday Rising. It's much appreciated: Craig Forman, Zornitza Iankova, SPHR, Brandon Merritt Johnson, Hrvoje Bulat, Rebecca Hone, Emma Mercer (Assoc CIPD, MLPI), Dr. Max Muge Bakkaloglu, Kerron Ramganesh, Kristina Schoemmel, Perri Ma, Justin Shemeley, Kelly Satterfield, Luis Maria Cravino, Zina Al Taie, MBA, Joachim Rotzinger, Tobias W. Goers ツ, Anna Gullstrand, Ian Bailie, John Guy, Ouarda Guergour, Markus Graf, Sydney Dolanch, Noam Mordechay, Dorothy Dalton, Victoria Holdsworth, Nima Sherpa Green, ✅ Sarah E. Danzl Nirit Cohen ?, Andrew Pitts, Pierre Dejonghe, Jane Bech, MA-OP, CODP, Shannon Peterson, Nicole Davis, Davina Erasmus, Blaine Ames, David Balls (FCIPD), Dan George, Amardeep Singh, MBA, Yotam Ainom, Roshaunda Green, MBA, CDSP, Phenom Certified Recruiter, Henrik Håkansson, Kouros Behzad, Marijana Brasiello, MHRM, Catriona Lindsay, Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski), María Esther Sánchez, Silvia Schleiffer-Gouveia, Rajarshee Mukherjee, Volker Jacobs, Laszlo Bock, Daniel Farrell, Kevin Legel, Aravind Warrier, Lewis Garrad, Francisca Solano Beneitez, Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez, Dr. Jeeta Sarkar, Jorge Arevalo, Andreea Lungulescu, Maria Alice Jovinski, Philip Arkcoll, Corine Boon, Pietro Mazzoleni, Dave Millner, Bob Pulver, Wayne Tarken, David McLean, Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD), Aurélie Crégut, David van Lochem, Vivek Ojha, Hanadi El Sayyed, Phil Kirschner, David Hodges, Jean-Francois Riand, Malgorzata Langlois, Shujaat Ahmad, Graham Tollit, Sebastian Kolberg, Phil Inskip, Sebastian Knepper, Caitie Jacobson, Asaf Jackoby, Melissa Hopper Fritz, Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. Paul Daley, Stephen Hickey, Sarajit Poddar, Søren Kold, Jacob Nielsen, Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga, Manisha Singh, Monalisa Routray, Courtney McMahon, Irada Sadykhova, Geetanjali Gamel, Dave Fineman, Megan Buttita, MLIS, Mariana Hebborn PhD, Rob Kok, Keran Dhillon, Alex Browne, Chris Long, Pedro Pereira, Gal Mozes, PhD, Aritra Majumdar, Mia Norgren, Matthew Fleisher, PhD, Matt Elk, Christina Bui, Agnes Garaba, Laurent Reich, Jeff Wellstead, Danielle Bushen, Nick Hudgell, Jordan Hartley, John Gunawan, Casey G. Brower, PMP, Serena H. Huang, Ph.D., Bo Vialle-Derksen, Trish Uhl, PMP ??, Ken Clar, Isabel Naidoo, Mariami Lolashvili, Sophia Huang, Ed.D., Philippa Penfold, Sonia Mooney, Ian Grant FCIPD, Dr. Peter Schulz-Rittich, Irene Wong, Tim Peffers, Marcela Mury, Andrés García Ayala, Giovanna Constant, John Golden, Ph.D. Tanguy Dulac
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 100 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.
MEET 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 2024 and early 2025:
November 19-20 - Insight222 European Peer Meeting (hosted by Merck in Darmstadt, Germany) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
December 5 - Visier Outsmart Local - Building Your People Data Strategy, London
December 10-12 - Workday Rising EMEA, Amsterdam
February 26-27 - People Analytics World, Zürich
April 29-30 - People Analytics World, London
More events will be added as they are confirmed.
主要作者和贡献者：
David Green - Insight222的管理合伙人，专注于HR数据分析和未来工作趋势。
Eric Anicich 和 Dart Lindsley - 探讨“将工作视为产品”的方法。
Nicholas Bloom, James Liang, Ruobing Han - 基于Trip.com的混合办公A/B测试研究。
Michael Arena 和 Philip Arkcoll - 关于协作的重要性，倡导“协作要求”而非“办公要求”。
Hean-Ho Loh, Vinciane Beauchene, Vladimir Lukic, Rajiv Shenoy - 来自波士顿咨询公司（BCG），探讨AI技能提升的关键因素。
Kai Hahn - 智能企业领袖联盟的报告撰写者，探讨AI在HR中的应用。
Jaap Veldkamp - ABN AMRO的全球HR数据分析负责人。
Richard Rosenow - Insight222的一份研究报告撰写者，讨论HR系统的演变。
Scott Rogers, Aldar Nikolaev, Ralf Buechsenschuss, Peter Meyler, Patrick Coolen, Yuyan Sun - 各自讨论了HR数据分析在不同领域的应用。
Marc Effron - The Talent Strategy Group创始人，专注于HR运营模式。
Shari Chernack 和 Jonathan Gordin - Mercer的CHRO报告作者，探讨HR的战略角色。
Mark Whittle, Liana Passantino, Maggie Schroeder-O’Neal - 来自Gartner，讨论2025年HR的五大优先事项。
Rob Briner - Corporate Research Forum的作者，提供了HR推动组织绩效的框架。
Jaejin Lee - 探讨技能导向的组织转型。
Ethan Burris, Benjamin Thomas, Ketaki Sodhi, Dawn Klinghoffer - 在Harvard Business Review中讨论如何将员工反馈转化为行动。
Stephanie Denino - TI People的总监，讨论工作中隐藏摩擦的影响。
Dominic Skerritt, John Parsons, Mary Lass Stewart, Matthew Schrimper, Nicolette Rainone - McKinsey作者，探讨组织变革中的员工意愿。
Constance Noonan Hadley 和 Sarah L. Wright - 研究工作中的孤独感。
Alexis Krivkovich, Emily Field, Lareina Yee, Megan McConnell, Hannah Smith - 来自McKinsey和LeanIn.Org的性别平等报告的作者。
Loujaina Abdelwahed, Lisa K. Simon, Toby Culshaw, Remy Glaisner - Revelio Labs的数据分析师，研究员工流动率。
Didier Elzinga 和 Amy Lavoie - Culture Amp的研究人员，探讨裁员的长期影响。
Francisco Marin - Cognitive Talent Solutions的代表，关于协作自由的重要性。
Adam McKinnon, Angela LE MATHON, Jeremy Shapiro, Katherine Ward, Doug Shagam, Poonam Sirigidi, Julien Legret, Annalyn Jacob, Erik Otteson, Shannon Rutledge, Kai Wehmeyer, Jill Larsen, Ian Bailie, Alan Susi, Scott Judd - Visier公司列出的2025年HR领导者。
Mark Price 和 Bruce Daisley - 在Eat Sleep Work Repeat上探讨员工幸福感的影响。
Ethan Bernstein 和 Michael Horn - HBR IdeaCast上的嘉宾，讨论员工流失的原因。
Nick Lynn - Workplace Innovator的嘉宾，讨论文化和员工体验。
Bryan Hancock 和 Emily Field - 在McKinsey Podcast上讨论生成式AI对中层管理的影响。
Kelly Monahan - The Future of Work Podcast的嘉宾，讨论未来工作的关键趋势。
Greg Pryor - Workplace Stories的嘉宾，讨论社交资本的影响。
Nickle LaMoreaux - IBM的CHRO，讨论AI在HR中的应用（视频）。
Yuval Noah Harari - 其新书《Nexus》被推荐阅读，探讨信息网络对世界的影响。
Alexis Fink 和 Cole Napper - I-O心理学家，探讨心理学在HR转型中的作用。
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2024年11月03日
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Josh Bersin :SuccessFactors Leapfrogs HCM Capabilities: AI, Skills, Talent Intelligence, And More本周，SuccessFactors 宣布了一系列重大更新，巩固其在人力资本管理（HCM）市场的领先地位。这些新功能包括 AI 驱动的工作推荐、文本分析、绩效评估和全球工资单升级等。SuccessFactors 还推出了开放的技能系统，并与 Lightcast、Degreed 等技能供应商合作，提供更全面的职业发展工具。此外，通过整合 WalkMe，SuccessFactors 改善了用户体验，使其在实施和使用方面更具优势。Dan Beck 的领导下，SuccessFactors 持续推动 HR 技术的创新与发展。
有兴趣进一步了解下
This week SuccessFactors announced a vast array of new features, focused on taking the lead in the red hot HCM war against Workday, Oracle, and others. These capabilities fall into four areas, each of which bring SAP into a leading position in many areas of the global HCM market. (Product details here.)
As I learned about the release I noticed the fingerprints of Dan Beck, the company’s new president and chief product officer. Dan has been at SAP for 11 months and has accelerated the company’s technology roadmap and focus on total solutions.
Let me summarize what’s new.
1. More And More AI Capabilities Built-In
First, of course, is AI. Two years ago SAP announced its “Business AI” strategy, which describes how all SAP business applications are integrated and enhanced with AI. (Workday’s similar strategy Illuminate was launched a few months ago.) In the prior release SuccessFactors described 63 AI use-cases; this week they introduced 30 more. And all are integrated into Joule, SAP’s intelligent Agent.
Each “use-case” is essentially an AI application and many are quite complex: automatically developing job descriptions, analyzing performance reviews, setting and aligning goals, developing onboarding, creating growth plans, and evaluating pay inequities. In other words these AI “features” are really automation workflows that each eliminate hours of work for HR professionals. Since each is also integrated into Joule, you can use them through the conversational interface.
While many HR vendors are adding AI features, I find SAP’s particularly robust because they’re integrated into the entire lifecycle of an employee. SAP’s engineering focus really shows here.
Some of the new features include AI-based job recommendations to job seekers (and internal employees), text analysis and editing for performance reviews, and new mobile use-cases for Joule.
2. Upgrades to Global Payroll
The second set of announcements are a significant update to global payroll. SAP currently has the broadest global payroll solution in the market and now has a new UI, a Payroll Command Center, and a sophisticated AI offering called “Explain Pay Slip.” You will effectively be able to ask Joule “why has my pay changed from last month” and it will dig into all the details and explain the differences. This covers 70% or more of the questions employees ask HR service centers, so this feature has an enormous ROI.
Employee Central, the company’s core HR and payroll module, now has a more integrated view of all benefits and more integrations with Joule, making the 52-country payroll system the broadest in the market.
3. Open Skills System and Launch of Career and Talent Development
The third set of announcements will change the HR Tech market: SAP is formerly opening up its Talent Intelligence Hub to accommodate every skills and skillstech vendor. Providers like Lightcast, Korn Ferry, Techwolf (SAP invested in them), and Degreed can now feed the SuccessFactors skills system and SAP is going to build tools to normalize and harmonize skills.
This brings SAP to parity or beyond Workday Skills Cloud: the skills model is integrated into Opportunity Marketplace, Career and Talent Development (the new version of SuccessFactors learning), and SuccessFactors job architecture, team management, performance management, and recruiting.
The new Career and Talent Development offering also introduces AI-assisted career insights, leveraging skills and aspirations to find relevant jobs and career paths. The system lets managers create assignments, find and onboard internal candidates, and then use Work Zone (onboarding and enablement) to start their new internal position. This level of integration goes beyond tools from Gloat or Eightfold or others for internal talent marketplace.
Several years ago SuccessFactors introduced its comprehensive skills strategy and today it’s coming to fruition.
There are several major implications here. First, vendors like Eightfold, Gloat, Phenom, Beamery, and many others will have to decide how they partner or compete with SAP. Last month I met with both Delta Air Lines and Pepsi, both of which are using SuccessFactors Talent Intelligence hub as their new end-to-end platform. Each company told me that they no longer felt the need to use some of these other third party products.
Second, the SuccessFactors skills model is expansive. In addition to harmonizing and helping companies build technical and leadership models, the system itself has its “whole self” module which includes aspirations, styles, motivations, and preferences. Companies that use this can add subtle human needs to the model.
Other vendors have tried this (Cornerstone and Gloat both ask users to express career and personal work preferences) but SAP, with its enormous customer base, has the potential to leverage this across industries. Imagine an employee in IT who aspires to work in HR, for example – the system would find the HR Tech jobs within the company which leverage their architectural or technical skills.
SuccessFactors also includes a mature system for team-based work, which is missing in these other applications. This release adds AI-assisted 360 reviews, performance templates, and integration with Joule (employees and managers can share performance information through the agent.)
4. Integration of WalkMe into SuccessFactors.
The fourth major announcement is the bundling and integration of WalkMe. Given the vast and complex nature of SuccessFactors, there are many places to read documentation and learn how the system works. This forces customers to build large training programs for users. (All HCM platforms have this issue.)
WalkMe, which was acquired this year for $1.5 Billion, is the leading provider of “digital adoption platforms.” It is essentially an advanced AI system that watches a user’s interaction with a system to coach, train, and automate your work. Initially developed to help users learn how to use systems like SAP or Salesforce, WalkMe advanced into a highly intelligent real-time coach, similar to what we now expect out of an AI agent.
While I don’t know how this will be priced, this gives SuccessFactors an “ease of implementation” advantage. WalkMe is an open platform and does support many HCM applications, but now that it’s integrated and bundled into SAP customers will find SuccessFactors much easier to deploy and use.
(Just for your reference, the SuccessFactors and Workday “how to” manuals include nearly 1,000+ pages each.)
Bottom Line: SuccessFactors Leadership Emerges
SAP’s ambitious, long-term engineering approach to human capital management is clear. I’ve been watching SuccessFactors since it was a small independent company in California, now growing to a vast cloud business with 10,000+ customers and more than 150 million end users.
This release demonstrates how patience, engineering excellence, and relentless focus on customers pays off in enterprise software. Under the leadership of Dan Beck, SuccessFactors now offers industry-leading capabilities in most areas of HCM, giving customers an even deeper offering to consider as HR technology rapidly evolves.
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