12 Opportunities for HR in 2025: Thriving People, Thriving Organisation
This quote, most commonly attributed to Sun Tzu, aptly captures the essence of the 2020s as we reach the halfway point of what has been a turbulent decade thus far. The chaos element has been to the fore with a global pandemic, geopolitical tension, and economic uncertainty leading to an increasingly complex and volatile business environment. Sprinkle in the rapid advances in technology and artificial intelligence, then it’s not hard to see why 45% of CEOs believe their company will not be viable in ten years if it stays on its current trajectory (1).
Here comes the opportunity element. For the HR profession, there’s a strong case to be made this perfect storm has accelerated the transformation of the field from a support function to a strategic partner to the C-suite and the board. Josh Bersin argues that the chief people officer may now be the most important C-suite role of them all (2). Certainly, the opening words of Deloitte’s latest Global Human Capital Trends report encapsulates that many of the major challenges organisations face have people topics at their heart (3):
We’re operating in a world where work is no longer defined by jobs, the workplace is no longer a specific place, many workers are no longer traditional employees, and human resources is no longer a siloed function
Herein lies the opportunity for chief people officers: to align people strategy, analytics and technology to enable company growth, lead transformation both for the business and the function, act as the steward for ethical AI (4), and upskill HR professionals. Thriving people, thriving organisation.
During the 10+ years I’ve been publishing this annual look at the year ahead, it has evolved from a framing of predictions or trends to opportunities, given that much of what follows will likely take years to play out. As ever, the 2025 opportunities are informed by the research and work we do at Insight222 (5), interviews with guests on the Digital HR Leaders podcast (6), conversations with leaders in the field and market analysis. References are numbered throughout, and a comprehensive list with links is included at the end.
Get involved – what should opportunities #11 and #12 be?
Readers may note that the title and accompanying image indicate 12 opportunities, whereas only ten are outlined. That is because – as was the case in previous years - I’m keen to crowdsource the final two opportunities from readers. What other opportunities should be included? Please let me know in the comments section below, and I’ll add my favourite two to an updated version in January.
THE 2025 OPPORTUNITIES FOR HR
Ten opportunities for HR to realise in 2025…
1. Cultivating the thriving organisation
Ask not what your people can do for you, but ask instead what you can do for your people
A 2024 study by McKinsey estimates that the total global opportunity for optimising employee health and wellbeing could be up to $11.7 trillion (7). Numerous studies, including by Oxford University, find a strong positive relationship between employee wellbeing and firm financial performance (8). Indeed, according to Accenture, companies that take a people-centric approach could create $10.3 trillion in economic value (9). When people thrive, organisations thrive. Yet, employee burnout levels remain at an all-time high (10, 11). This presents an opportunity for HR to flip the script and, to paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, ask not what your people can do for you, but ask instead what you can do for your people. By focusing on creating value for employees and helping them to thrive, companies can create a virtuous cycle whereby employee outcomes enhance organisational outcomes and vice-versa (12, 13). For example, one PwC study found that making investments in 11 key areas of employee experience can yield savings equivalent to 12.6% of revenues (14). While Deloitte reports that the organisations that score highest on treatment of their workforce had a 2.2% higher five-year return on equity (15). Reimagining work as a product (16), becoming a listening organisation focused on turning employee feedback into action (17), as well as using people analytics to measure how wellbeing, purpose, learning, and attrition connect to business outcomes (18, 19), are three ways to create value. If successful in this mission, HR could elevate the function from its traditional role as a cost centre to a true value creation centre, while creating a fairer, healthier, and more humane organisation (20). What could be a bigger and better opportunity than that?
An organization that views its employees as its most important resource can maximize its return on talent (21)
FIG 1: Thriving stars have an outsize influence on organisations (Source: McKinsey)
2. Transforming HR into a strategic partner
The CHRO must transform the HR team, moving from the “service delivery” model to an HR team of consultants, problem-solvers, and analysts. (22)
With CEOs increasingly demanding more from HR and with data and AI enabling the transformation of HR into a more strategic, value-added and insight-driven function (23, 24), chief people officers have the opportunity to elevate HR from its traditional role as a support function into a true strategic partner (25). Six areas to consider are: i) Rethinking the HR operating model. Nearly two-thirds of companies have done so in the past two years (26). There’s certainly no shortage advice (27 – see FIG 2, 28, 29, 30). ii) Putting people analytics at the right-hand of the CHRO.Our research at Insight222 finds that a strong connection with the people analytics leader together with combining people strategy and analytics enhances the credibility and impact of the CHRO with the board (31, 32), as does embedding it as part of the HR service model (33). iii) Reimagining key HR roles and processes through automation toincrease the focus on high-value strategic work (34, 35). iv) Prioritising high-impact use cases for deploying AI across HR programs and the employee lifecycle (36, 37). v) Identifying future skills and capabilities of HR professionals together with a strategy to close any gaps. vi) Leading on the development of ethical and responsible AI policies and enablement programs (38) – and never forgetting the ‘H’ in HR.
FIG 2: Assessment of Ten Dimensions of HR Effectiveness (Source: The RBL Group)
3. Setting the agents to work
We're using AI in three broad categories: recommendations, assistants, and agents. This is transforming our HR function. (39)
The topic du jour is agentic AI – the next frontier of generative AI (40). Gartner predicts that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously through agentic AI, up from 0% in 2024 (41). Josh Bersin believes that agentic AI will change the HR tech stack and make our HR roles easier (42, 43). The likes of SAP (Joule), Workday (Illuminate) and ServiceNow (AI Agents) have already launched tools (44). Early use cases in HR are also emerging such as HiRO, a digital worker, IBM has used to save 50,000 hours in its quarterly promotion process (45, 46). From what I’ve learned in the last few months (and I’m still learning about this too), agentic AI – in essence a shift from Large Language Models to Large Action Models - provides a huge opportunity to rapidly accelerate HR’s progress from support function to strategic partner. Some suggestions for chief people officers to prepare: i) stay informed with the latest developments by keeping in touch with your peers, enterprise and HR tech partners, ii) identify and prioritise potential use cases, iii) upskill and prepare your team, iv) double down on ethics, privacy and responsible AI (47, 48, 49). One additional recommendation is to engage your people analytics team. Our research at Insight222 identified that AI strategy for the HR function is increasingly coming under the auspices of the people analytics leader (50). Moreover, this is also seeing the people analytics leader in some companies taking on a wider portfolio for disciplines such as HR tech and digital transformation, people strategy and operations (51, 52, 53).
FIG 3: A System of Agents (Source: Foundation Capital)
4. Elevating hybrid from where to how
What we need isn’t an office mandate—it’s a ‘collaboration mandate.’ (54)
There’s still too much focus on where people work rather than how work gets done. Despite executives being 3x more likely to say the how is more important (55). Indeed, with more than 90% of companies having hybrid workers (56) and with employees working remotely on average more than 25% of the time (57) it’s time to elevate the conversation from an office to a collaboration mandate (58). HR has an opportunity to lead the redesign of work through conducting experiments and collecting data to learn how work is getting done, and how employees are feeling (59). The shift to hybrid has been one of the key factors driving growth in people analytics (60). The body of published research is growing with several studies finding that in comparison to their fully in-person or remote colleagues, hybrid workers have higher wellbeing (61), engagement (62) and retention but no difference in collaboration and innovation (63). Additional research provides guidance on when in-person matters (64), making the office a magnet not a mandate (65), cultivating culture (66), fostering trust (67), and focusing on outcomes (68 – FIG 4) including broadening how we measure productivity (69). Hybrid is here to stay, so let’s make hybrid work – for companies, and for workers – and let’s follow the science rather than the headlines (70).
FIG 4: Focus on Productivity, Not Physical Presence (Source: Brian Elliott)
5. Investing in a people analytics “A Team”
In “A” Teams, people analytics is embedded in the people strategy. “A” Teams regularly and dynamically prioritise their work according to the needs of the C-suite and the business agenda (71)
People analytics is now widely acknowledged as an organisational imperative (72), with chief people officers recognising that they need data and insights to gain traction with the board (73). Recent studies by Deloitte (74), Josh Bersin (75) and PwC (76), as well as our own fifth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study (77), all show significant growth in people analytics. Yet, together, they also highlight that most organisations are still only scratching the surface of what is possible. Only 10% of the 348 companies that participated in the Insight222 study are defined as “A” Teams (see FIG 4). Our research – and experience of working directly with over 100 organisations through the Insight222 People Analytics Program® – finds virtually all “A” Teams play a key role in defining the people strategy and effectively align their work to the most important business priorities accordingly (78), echoing other studies (79, 80). Additionally, chief people officers can realise more value with people analytics by focusing on: i) Improving the adoption and consumption of people data and insights by employees and managers. ii) Using intelligent automation to personalise analytics solutions. iii) Measuring the value of people analytics, working closely with finance (81). Success istarts with the right people analytics leader (82), who should be executive influencers, consultants, storytellers and marketeers. The role of the people analytics leader continues to evolve, and chief people officers should carefully consider the type of leader they need (83, 84). People analytics - and the ability to drive actions with insights – is the silver thread to unlock and realise all the opportunities outlined in this article, and a critical element of the drive to make HR more evidence-based (85). Remember, as Jonathan Ferrar and I wrote in our book, Excellence in People Analytics:
People Analytics is not about HR. People Analytics is about the business (86, 87).
FIG 5: Insight222 Leading Companies in People Analytics model (Source: Insight222)
6. Making workforce planning strategic
Strategic workforce planning is a perennial challenge. Although the core principles are not new, the urgency to act has increased, and the availability of data-driven insights has changed the competitive landscape (88)
Strategic workforce planning (SWP) is essentially a systematic and data-led approach for an organisation to ensure it has the right workforce to achieve its business objectives (89). With the speed and extent of change arising from the fifth industrial revolution, talent shortages and the shift to skills, SWP has arguably never been so important. It is consistently cited as a top three priority for people leaders (90, 91), a challenge compounded by studies suggesting that only 15% of organisations currently practice SWP (92). Our research at Insight222 finds a growing number of companies – 50% in a 2024 study - combine SWP with people strategy and analytics (93). These companies are more successful in connecting their SWP activities to their business priorities (94), have a better view of their future talent needs, and the strategies to close any gaps (95). Four other steps to increase success with SWP are: i) Aligning SWP efforts with business strategy (96, 97 – see example from Merck Group in FIG 6) including prioritising business critical roles and skills (98); ii) Bringing together people, business and external data to get the full picture (99); iii) Connecting SWP to other talent capabilities such as internal mobility, recruiting and learning (100); and, iv) Measuring the impact of workforce planning activities and linking these to business outcomes (101).
FIG 6: How Merck prioritises SWP needs by relevance and actionability (Source: Gartner)
7. Orchestrating skills for Impact
A cultural shift to skills-first approaches needs both sponsorship from executives and governance from human-resources professionals (102)
While ‘skills’ has been an opportunity for HR for several years, the topic continues to gather momentum. Skills gaps and shortages are one of the most pressing concerns for companies (103). Rapid advances in technology only exacerbate the challenge (104), with 44% of workers’ skills expected to be disrupted by 2028 (105) and reskilling workers a primary objective for many companies (106). Consequently, one study reports that 90% of companies are experimenting with a skills-based approach (107). Why? Because becoming skills-based can lead to greater agility, resilience, and flexibility in the face of rapid change (108). EPAM, which has adopted a skills-based approach for 30 years, believes it catalyses its business agility and enables the company to attract, develop and retain some of the best tech talent in a highly competitive market (109). Meanwhile, Standard Chartered has generated over 1,700 gigs and $6m of productivity from its initial talent marketplace pilot in India (110, 111) and has also calculated that reskilling and redeploying internal talent generates a saving of $49,000 per role versus hiring externally (112). We are continually learning more about what drives success in this space including at companies such as Ericsson (113), J&J (114, 115), IBM (116), Google (117), Mastercard (118) and Lloyds Banking Group (119). Some steps to consider: i) Do your homework – shifting to a skills-based approach is not cheap or easy, make sure there is a business problem to solve (120, 121, 122 – see FIG 7). ii) Experiment – a skills-based approach will likely not be right for every role in your company. Focus on critical roles, start with a pilot and an executive sponsor (123). iii) Focus on data quality – data is the foundation on which your skills initiative will succeed or fail (124). iv) Get your people analytics team involved – our research at Insight222 finds that 50% of people analytics teams are supporting their company in becoming skills-based (125). v) Communicate the value and use skills as the glue to connect recruiting, learning, mobility, compensation and workforce planning together.
FIG 7: Skills-based talent management strategy, business outcomes can guide your actions (Source: Gartner)
8. Turning up the volume on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
The backlash against DEI is out of sync with the opinions held by the most important set of stakeholders: your employees (126)
Some companies – particularly in the US – are backtracking on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) even inexplicably decided to drop the ‘E’ from its IED framework, despite this flying in the face of years of research on DEI in the workplace (127, 128). This is an opportunity for HR to lead the fightback and protect the networks of people engaged in DEI work (129). It was certainly good to hear L’Oreal CHRO Jean Claude Le Grand on the main stage at UNLEASH declare that “DEI is not a trend. DEI is part of our DNA (130).” In 2025, despite fears about what Trump’s second term could mean for DEI (131), let’s hope we hear more chief people officers – especially those based in the US – making similar declarations, and backing it up with action. They will be helping their companies if they do. Firstly, because DEI programs are getting more popular with employees, not less (132) and help organisations attract, retain and engage talent (133). Secondly, research finds DEI, particularly at the leadership level, is connected to financial performance, innovation, and societal impact (134). Thirdly, incorporating DEI practices into core business planning can provide a competitive edge (135). People analytics has an important role to play in measuring DEI efforts and connecting them to outcomes (136) including using advanced analytics to get deeper insights on belonging (137), inclusion (138) and psychological safety (139). Indeed, our own research at Insight222 finds, for the fourth consecutive year, that DEI is one of the top three areas where people analytics is adding the most business value (140). While some companies pause or roll back their DEI programs, those that stay the course and redouble their efforts will drive organisational performance. So, let’s turn up the volume to maximum on DEI in 2025 and beyond.
FIG 8: The business case for diversity on executive teams and financial outperformance
9. Advancing social capital
If ‘human capital’ is about what an individual knows, ‘social capital’ is about how well positioned that individual is to use what they know to get work done.
Social capital represents the next frontier for HR in gaining a deeper understanding of what drives individual, team and organisational effectiveness. As Michael Arena explains, if ‘human capital’ is about what an individual knows, ‘social capital’ is about how well positioned that individual is to use what they know to get work done. (141). The study of social capital is not new. Indeed, the likes of Arena and Rob Cross have been doing this work for decades – and specialist firms such as Worklytics, Cognitive Talent Solutions, Polinode and Innovisor have grown by specialising in this field. But like a lot of the 2025 opportunities presented here, a combination of the pandemic, the rise of distributed and hybrid work, and advances in technology mean that the need for analysing social capital and the ability to do so have increased dramatically. We can see this in the passive element of employee listening programs, which enables organisations to combine active data from surveys with passive data to understand the impact of topics such as hybrid working, meetings, and focus time on outcomes such as wellbeing, collaboration, innovation, productivity and attrition (142,143,144,145,146, 147, 148). Other use cases for network data exist to support work around topics as diverse as: M&A (149), performance (150), DEIB (151, 152), skills mapping (153), team effectiveness (154) and the identification of key influencers (155). For those looking to get started with a pilot, I recommend identifying a specific business problem to solve, getting a business sponsor, keeping the scope manageable, involving your IT and privacy team (and works council if appropriate), and considering partnering with a vendor (156).
FIG 9: Organization network analysis can help uncover collaboration within an organization (Source: Deloitte)
10. Enabling the HR professional of the future
41% of chief people officers wish they had had greater depth in people analytics prior to assuming their roles (157)
If HR is to become a true strategic partner to the business, then we must upskill ourselves, focusing on developing competencies that create value (158, 159). Chief people officers need to invest in attracting and developing HR professionals with the vision, agility and business acumen to navigate an everchanging landscape, raising the technology and analytical expertise of the function (160). Let’s take one area where the function needs to upskill that I know well from the work we do at Insight222 around improving the data literacy of HR professionals (161). Our research highlights five key skills to elevate data of literacy for HR: i) consulting, ii) influencing stakeholders, iii) interpreting data, iv) building recommendations from insights, and v) storytelling (162). While there has been steady progress with 58% of companies (163) now saying they have a data driven culture in HR (up from 42% in 2021), there is still some way to go – and the opportunities afforded by AI make it even more important for HR professionals to acquire these skills. Tellingly, this is an area of development for senior HR leaders too with 41% of chief people officers wishing they had had greater depth in people analytics prior to assuming their roles (164). With Insight222 research also finding that role-modelling of people data and analytics by the chief people officer and HR leadership team is paramount for the improvement of data literacy across the HR function overall (165), this is an opportunity that chief people officers can ill afford to squander. The HR function will continue to evolve with new roles emerging (166). We need to take the ethos of continuous learning that we advocate for the rest of the organisation and apply it to ourselves in HR.
FIG 10: Example of a learning journey Insight222 delivers to HR leaders, BPs and professionals (see here)
FIG 11: 13 HR Jobs of the Future (Source: Jeanne Meister)
References
(1) PwC 27th Annual Global CEO Survey: Thriving in an age of continuous reinvention (PwC 2024)
(2) Josh Bersin Why Is It So Hard To Be A Chief HR Officer (CHRO)? (Josh Bersin 2024)
(3) 2024 Global Human Capital Trends: Thriving beyond boundaries – Human performance in a boundaryless world (Deloitte 2024)
(4) Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA Miriam Daucher Alexandra Zea - The future of human resources: Who will care for the human at work? (Mercer 2024)
(5) Insight222 Research Homepage (Insight222)
(6) Digital HR Leaders Podcast Homepage (Insight222)
(7) Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten) Lars Hartenstein Barbara Jeffery Dr. Patrick Simon Working nine to thrive (McKinsey 2024)
(8) Jan-Emmanuel De Neve Micah Kaats George Ward Workplace Wellbeing and Firm Performance (University of Oxford 2023)
(9) Ellyn Shook Paul Daugherty, Work, workforce, workers: Reinvented in the age of generative AI (Accenture 2024)
(10) Dawn Klinghoffer Katie Kirkpatrick-Husk PhD - With Burnout on the Rise, What Can Companies Do About It? (MIT SMR 2023)
(11) @Jacqui Brassey Erica Hutchins Coe Martin Dewhurst Kana Enomoto Renata Giarola Brad Herbig Barbara Jeffery, Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem? (McKinsey Health Institute 2022)
(12) Susan Cantrell Jen Fisher Joanne Stephane Jason Flynn Amy Fields Yves Van Durme, When people thrive, business thrives: The case for human sustainability (Deloitte 2024)
(13) Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten), Aaron De Smet, Emily Field, Taylor Lauricella Brooke Weddle, To defend against disruption, build a thriving workforce (McKinsey 2024)
(14) Bastiaan Starink Jan Willem Velthuijsen - What every HR leader needs to show the CFO (PwC 2023)
(15) Cantrell et al (see 11)
(16) Eric Anicich Dart Lindsley, Reimagining Work as a Product (HBR, 2024)
(17) Ethan Burris Benjamin Thomas Ketaki Sodhi, PhD Dawn Klinghoffer , Turn Employee Feedback into Action (HBR 2024)
(18) Brassey et al (see 10)
(19) Peter Cappelli Ranya Nehmeh, HR’s New Role (HBR 2024)
(20) Vincent Bérubé Ben Fogarty Neel Gandhi Rahul Mathew Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi Charlotte Seiler, Increasing your return on talent: The moves and metrics that matter (McKinsey 2024)
(21) Berube et al (see 20)
(22) Bersin (see 2)
(23) Julie Bedard, Katie Lavoie, Renée Laverdière, Allison Bailey, Vinciane Beauchene, and Jens Stefan Baier, How Generative AI will Transform HR (BCG 2023)
(24) Volker Jacobs, Squaring the Circle: Why the old promise of P&O transformation –more for less – can finally be fulfilled (TI PEOPLE 2024)
(25) Bersin (see 2)
(26) Marc Effron, It’s (Still) the Mortar not the Bricks (Talent Strategy Group 2024)
(27) Dave Ulrich Joe Grochowski Norm Smallwood Joe Hanson Ernesto Uscher, What Makes an Effective HR Function? (LinkedIn, 2023)
(28) Sandra Durth Neel Gandhi Asmus Komm Florian Pollner – HR’s new operating model (McKinsey 2022)
(29) Kraig Eaton Susan Cantrell Kim Eberbach Julie Duda, From function to discipline: The rise of boundaryless HR (Deloitte 2024)
(30) Josh Bersin Kathi Enderes, The Definitive Guide to Human Resources: Systemic HR (2023)
(31) Naomi Verghese Jonathan Ferrar Jordan Pettman, Building the People Analytics Ecosystem: Operating Model v 2.0 (Insight222 2024)
(32) Jay Dorio How CHROs Can Drive Strategic Influence with People Analytics: Insights from Rabobank’s Janine Vos (myHRfuture 2024)
(33) Jaap Veldkamp - Positioning People Analytics into the HR Service Model: A Path to Sustainable Impact (2024)
(34) Nickle LaMoreaux David Green ??, How IBM Uses AI to Transform Their HR Strategies (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode 2024)
(35) Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA Helen White Kate Bravery Jason Averbook Todd Lambrugo – Generative AI will transform three key HR roles (Mercer 2023)
(36) Bedard et al (see 23)
(37) Josh Bersin Job Task Re-Engineering With AI: A Massive Opportunity Ahead (2024)
(38) Jesuthasan et al (see 4)
(39) LaMoreaux and Green (see 34)
(40) Lareina Yee Michael Chui Roger Roberts Stephen Xu, Why agents are the next frontier of generative AI (McKinsey 2024)
(41) Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2025 (2024)
(42) Josh Bersin AI Agents, The New Workforce We’re Not Quite Ready For (Agentic AI) (2024)
(43) Joanne Chen Jaya Gupta, A System of Agents brings Service-as-Software to life (2024)
(44) Felipe Jara, HR - Let's Prepare for a Big Wave of Multi-Agents AI Systems (2024)
(45) LaMoreaux, Green (see 34)
(46) Jon Lester A Future for HR (IBM, 2024)
(47) Jason Averbook, AI Agents: The Next Frontier in HR Technology, and, How AI Agents are Revolutionizing HR—and How to Get Ready (2024)
(48) Lars Schmidt Agents of (Massive) Change: How AI Agents Are Poised to Alter Work (LinkedIn Talent Blog, 2024)
(49) Anshul Sheopuri Lucrecia Borgonovo, At the inflection of AI and HR: How we’re equipping employees for the AI era (Mastercard, 2024)
(50, 51) Verghese, et al (see 31)
(52) Richard Rosenow From Data to Strategy: The New Role of Workforce Systems Leaders in Transforming HR (One Model, 2024)
(53) Andrés García Ayala People analytics at the heart of AI’s successful workplace adoption (2024)
(54) Michael Arena Philip Arkcoll, The collaboration mandate: Does returning to the office improve innovation? (PEX, 2024)
(55) Annie Dean, Lessons Learned: 1,000 Days of Distributed at Atlassian (Atlassian, 2024)
(56) Debra Clark, Hybrid Working Trends (The HR Director, 2024)
(57) Jose Maria Barrero Nick Bloom Shelby Buckman Steven J. Davis – SWAA December 2024 Updates (WFH Research, 2024)
(58) Arena, Arkcoll (see 54)
(59) Lynda Gratton, Redesigning How We Work (HBR 2023)
(60) Insight222, What Are The Five Trends Shaping People Analytics in 2024? (myHRfuture, 2024)
(61) Heidi Grant Ginnie Carlier Frank Giampietro, Using Data to Design Your Hybrid Work Policies
(62) Heidi Manna David Green ??, How to Create a Flexible Work Model That Enhances Inclusion and Employee Experience (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode)
(63) Nick Bloom James Liang Ruobing Han, One Company A/B Tested Hybrid Work. Here’s What They Found (HBR 2024)
(64) Dawn Klinghoffer Karen Kocher Maryleen Emeric Leal Jared Spataro, In the Changing Role of the Office, It’s All about Moments That Matter (Microsoft 2023)
(65) Kelly Jones, Unlocking the Power of Hybrid Work: 5 Guiding Principles from Cisco's 3-Year Study Article | White Paper | Executive Summary
(66) Michael Arena Andras Vicsek John Golden, Ph.D. Scott Hines, PhD, Cultivating Culture in a Hybrid Context
(67) Alexandra Camp Phil Kirschner Laura Pineault Dr. Patrick Simon, Hybrid can be healthy for your organization—when done right
(68) Brian Elliott, Return-to-Office Mandates: How to Lose Your Best Performers (MIT SMR 2024)
(69) Lynda Gratton - Seven Truths About Hybrid Work and Productivity MIT SMR 2024)
(70) Marc Effron , Above the Fray: What We Know About How WFH and Hybrid Affect Work
(71) Jonathan Ferrar Naomi Verghese Madhura Chakrabarti, PhD, Harnessing Data for Growth: The Impact of People Analytics (Insight222, 2024)
(72) Eric Lesser Peter DeBellis Marc Solow, 2023 High-Impact People Analytics Research (Deloitte, 2024)
(73) Shari Chernack Jonathan Gordin, 2024 Voice of the CHRO: Maximizing HR effectiveness in a changing landscape (Mercer, 2024)
(74) Lesser et al (see 72)
(75) Josh Bersin, People Analytics, A Complex Domain, Is About To Be Transformed by AI (2024)
(76) PwC Saratoga, Saratoga Annual Benchmarking Report 2024 (PwC, 2024)
(77, 78) Ferrar et al (see reference 71)
(79) Dave Ulrich Harrison James, Human Capability and Stakeholder Value: Updating the Organization Guidance System (LinkedIn, 2024)
(80) Thomas Hedegaard Rasmussen, Mike Ulrich Dave Ulrich - Moving People Analytics From Insight to Impact (Sage Journals, 2023)
(81) Jasmine Panayides, Partnering with Finance to Drive Greater Business Impact with People Analytics (myHRfuture, 2024)
(82) Patrick Coolen, The 10 golden rules for establishing a people analytics practice (LinkedIn, 2024)
(83) Verghese et al (see 31)
(84) Rosenow (see 52)
(85) Rob Briner David Green ??, What is Evidence Based HR and Why is it Important? (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, 2024)
(86) Jonathan Ferrar David Green ??, Excellence in People Analytics (Kogan Page Publishing, 2021)
(87) David Green ??, A History of People Analytics in Five Ages (LinkedIn, 2021)
(88) Jens Stefan Baier, Vinciane Beauchene, Julie Bedard, Jean-Michel Caye, Dr. Philipp Kolo, Fang Ruan, Alexander Alonso, PhD SHRM-SCP, Anthony Ariganello, Kai H. Helfritz, Bob Morton, Chartered CCIPD, Lucas van Wees, Wilson Wong - Creating People Advantage: Set the Right People Priorities for Challenging Times (BCG, 2023)
(89) Adam Gibson Nicola Oldroyd, Agile Workforce Planning (Strategic Workforce Planning, Best Practices and Emerging Directions, Oxford University Press, 2024)
(90) Baier et al (see 88)
(91) Kate Bravery Joana Silva Jens Peterson, 2024 Global Talent Trends (Mercer, 2024)
(92) Mark Whittle Liana Passantino, PhD Maggie Schroeder-O’Neal, Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025 (Gartner, 2024)
(93) Verghese et al (see 31)
(94) Laura Wright Shubert David Green ??, How MetLife Made a Success of their Strategic Workforce Planning (Digital HR Leaders podcast, 2022)
(95) Alex Browne David Green ??, Nestlé's 4B Methodology to Strategic Workforce Planning (Digital HR Leaders podcast, 2023)
(96) Alicia Roach, Chris Hare David Green ??, How to Democratise Strategic Workforce Planning (Digital HR Leaders podcast, 2023)
(97) Whittle et al (see 92)
(98) Rebecca Thielen and David Green ??, Microsoft's Key to Strategic Workforce Planning Success (Digital HR Leaders podcast, 2024)
(99) Jeroen Van Hautte ?, How unlocking skills lies in capturing business data (TechWolf, 2023)
(100) Brian Heger, Enabling Strategic Workforce Planning Through Skills, Artificial Intelligence, and Internal Talent Marketplace (Strategic Workforce Planning, Best Practices and Emerging Directions, Oxford University Press, 2024)
(101) Jonathan Ferrar, How to Build a Workforce Planning Strategy that Delivers Business Value (myHRfuture, 2021)
(102) World Economic Forum and PwC, Putting Skills First: Opportunities for Building Efficient and Equitable Labour Markets (World Economic Forum, 2024)
(103) Baier et al (see reference 88)
(104) MIT SMR Connections and Mercer, Strategic Shift: Skills-Powered Organizations in the Age of AI (MIT, 2024)
(105) Attilio Di Battista, Sam Grayling, Elselot Hasselaar, Till Alexander Leopold, Ricky LI, Mark Rayner and Saadia Zahidi – The Future of Jobs Report 2023 (World Economic Forum, 2023)
(106) Anish Lalchandani and David Green ??, The Four Reskilling Principles Every HR Leader Should Know (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(107) Susan Cantrell, Michael Griffiths, Robin Jones, and Julie Hiipakka - The skills-based organization: A new operating model for work and the workforce (Deloitte, 2022)
(108) Allan Schweyer, Barbara Lombardo, PhD, Matt Rosenbaum and Peter Sheppard, The Long but Rewarding Journey to Becoming a Skills-Driven Organization (The Conference Board, 2024)
(109) Sandra Loughlin, PhD and David Green ??, Building a Skills-Based Organisation: Lessons from a 30-Year Journey (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(110) World Economic Forum and PwC (see reference 102)
(111) Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA and Tanuj Kapilashrami, The Skills-Powered Organization: The Journey to the Next Generation Enterprise (MIT Press, 2024)
(112) Tanuj Kapilashrami, Michael Fraccaro, Tamla Oates-Forney, and David Green ??, CHRO Panel: Delivering against the transformation imperative (Gloat, 2024) – see extract
(113) Schweyer et al (see reference 108)
(114) Nick van der Meulen, Olgerta Tona, and Dorothy Leidner, Resolving Workforce Skills Gaps with AI-Powered Insights (MIT, 2024)
(115) Christina Norris-Watts, Doug Shagam, and David Green ?? - How Johnson & Johnson are Scaling Their Skills-Based Approach to Talent (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2023)
(116) Lamoreaux and Green (see reference 34)
(117) Bo Cowgill, Jonathan Davis, Pablo Montagnes, Patryk Perkowski and Bettina Hammer - How to Design an Internal Talent Marketplace (Harvard Business Review, 2023)
(118) Michael Fraccaro and David Green ??, How Mastercard is Using AI to Drive Employee Success and Leadership Growth (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(119) Lara Wainwright, Duncan Reynell and David Green ??, How Digital Transformation Fuels Skills and EX at Lloyds Banking Group (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(120) Marc Effron, Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? Questions About Becoming a Skills-based Organization (The Talent Strategy Group , 2024)
(121) Jaejin Lee, Skill-based Transformation: “Don't Start with Skills, Start with Work!” (LinkedIn, 2024)
(122) Gartner, Skills-based talent management strategy, business outcomes can guide your actions – Gareth Flynn, LinkedIn post (Gartner, 2024)
(123) Mikaël Wornoo? and David Green ??, How to Use Skills Data to Solve Business Challenges Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(124) Sandra Loughlin, PhD, Seven Elements of Skills Data Quality (LinkedIn, 2024)
(125) Verghese et al (see reference 31)
(126) Brian Elliott, How to Stand Up When It Comes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2024)
(127) Enrica Ruggs and Oscar Holmes IV, Why Dropping the E in DEI Is a Mistake (Harvard Business Review, 2024)
(128) Josh Bersin, DEI Attacked by SHRM, Civility In The Workplace, And The ROI of AI (Josh Bersin, 2024)
(129) Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Sarah Soule, Shelley J. Correll, and Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt, How DEI Can Survive This Era of Backlash (Harvard Business Review, 2024)
(130) David Green ??, Key Learnings from Unleash World 2024 (LinkedIn, 2024)
(131) Kenji Yoshino, David Glasgow, and Christina Joseph, What Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for DEI (Harvard Business Review, 2024)
(132) Elliott (see reference 126)
(133) BCG, It’s Time to Highlight the Business Opportunity of DEI Initiatives (BCG, 2024)
(134) Dame Vivian Hunt, Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle, Celia Huber, Maria del Mar Martinez, Sara Prince, and Ashley Thomas - Diversity matters even more: The case for holistic impact (McKinsey, 2023)
(135) Quinetta Roberson, How Integrating DEI Into Strategy Lifts Performance (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2024)
(136) Lily Zheng, To Make Lasting Progress on DEI, Measure Outcomes (Harvard Business Review, 2023)
(137) Shujaat Ahmad, Real Measures that Matter for Real Change on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) (Belong & Lead, 2024)
(138) Serena H. Huang, Ph.D., DEI Funding Cuts? You Need Data Analytics and AI More Than Ever (LinkedIn, 2024)
(139) Henrik Bresman and Amy Edmondson, Research: To Excel, Diverse Teams Need Psychological Safety (Harvard Business Review, 2022)
(140) Ferrar et al (see reference 71)
(141) Michael Arena, Leveraging Social Capital (HR Exchange Network, 2018)
(142) Klinghoffer et al (see reference 64)
(143) Rob Cross, Mike Benson, Jack Kostal, PhD, and RJ Milnor, Collaboration Overload is Sinking Productivity (Harvard Business Review, 2021)
(144) Arena et al (see reference 66)
(145) Michael Arena, Adaptive Space (McGraw Hill, 2018)
(146) Rob Cross, Beyond Collaboration Overload (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021)
(147) Rob Cross and Karen Dillon, The Microstress Effect (Harvard Business Review Press, 2023)
(148) Michael Arena and David Green ??, What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management, (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(149) Francisco Marin, 5 Ways ONA Creates Value in Mergers and Acquisitions, (LinkedIn, 2020)
(150) Maya Bodan, Don Miller, Susan Cantrell, Gary Parilis, and Carissa Kilgour, Harnessing organization network analysis (ONA): Measure workforce performance and optimize strategies (Deloitte, 2024)
(151) Inga Carboni, Andrew Parker, and Nan Langowitz, Mapping Exclusion in the Organization (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2021)
(152) Jonathan Ferrar and David Green ??, How Can Passive ONA Highlight the Impact of Relationships on Diversity and Inclusion? (MyHRfuture, 2021)
(153) Lee (see reference 121)
(154) Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll, Enabling High-Velocity Teams (HR Exchange Network, 2024)
(155) Jeppe Vilstrup Hansgaard, How to Rethink Change with the Three Percent Rule (Innovisor, 2019)
(156) Manish Goel and David Green ??, The Role of Network Analytics (ONA) in Ensuring Team Collaboration and Well Being (myHRfuture, 2020)
(157) Jonathan Gordin, Shari Chernack, Karen Shellenback, and Yamile Bruzza, Evolving the CHRO role in a rapidly changing world of work (Mercer 2023)
(158) Dave Ulrich, Update on HR Business Partner Model Continuing Evolution and Relevance (LinkedIn, 2024)
(159) Dave Ulrich, Patrick Wright, Mike Ulrich, Erin Wilson Burns, Do you want to be more effective as an HR professional? Here’s how (The RBL Group, 2021)
(160) Chernack and Gordin (see reference 67)
(161) Insight222 Building a Data-Driven Culture in HR, Immersive Learning Experiences, (Insight222, 2024)
(162) Naomi Verghese, Jonathan Ferrar - Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale (Insight222, 2023)
(163) Ferrer et al (see reference 71)
(164) Gordin et al (see reference 157)
(165) Naomi Verghese Why is Role-modelling by the CHRO and HRLT Essential for Building Data Literacy in HR? (myHRfuture, 2023)
(166) Jeanne C M. 13 HR jobs of the future (HR Executive, 2024)
A selection of other 2025 HR predictions, opportunities and trends
There are a plethora of other resources documenting predictions, opportunities and trends for HR and the future of work in 2025 including (in alphabetical order):
Alexandra Nawrat, Five New Year’s resolutions for HR leaders in 2025
Andrew Spence, Beyond Prediction: Shaping Your Work Story in an Uncertain World - Andrew walks through seven dominant narratives on the Future of Work - from 'Dataism' to the 'Singularity' via 'Job Destruction.'
Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor Worklife Trends 2025 - includes data showing that Gen Z will make up 1 in 10 managers in 2025.
Gartner, Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025
The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), 2025 Priorities & Predictions
Jen Colletta, 5 CHROs share what’s topping their 2025 HR strategy agenda - includes Melissa Werneck highlighting the HR's role as the ambassador for the responsible implementation of generative AI at work.
LinkedIn, Global Talent Trends
Dr. Solange Charas and Stela Lupushor, Crystal Balls and Cold Reality: HR Predictions for 2025
Steve Hunt, A guide to HR predictions, trends, and forecasts
Visier Inc., Embracing the AI Driven Workforce: 5 Workforce Trends for 2025
Unlock the potential of your people analytics function through the Insight222 People Analytics Program
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 early 2025:
January 21 - People Analytics in Italy: Insights from Research and Practice with Martha Curioni and Aizhan Tursunbayeva, PhD, GRP (VIRTUAL - Register here)
January 23 - The Strategic Outlook for People Analytics in 2025 with Ian Cook and Dawn Klinghoffer (WEBINAR - Register here)
February 26-27 - People Analytics World, Zürich
April 29-30 - People Analytics World, London
More events will be added as they are confirmed.
AI adoption
2024年12月19日
AI adoption
How To Make Productivity Soar: Four Stages of AI TransformationWe’ve been doing a lot of advisory work on skills and job design and now that AI tools have arrived, we’re reinventing work faster than ever. So let me give you some thoughts on this process, and you can also learn more from my recent podcast.
As you know, there are many types of AI business tools: Copilots, Assistants, Agents, Talent Intelligence Systems, and embedded applications. Each of these products are built on an AI-first foundation and they layer on domain expertise, use-case analysis, and iterative design to build smarter and smarter systems.
Self-driving cars started as voice assistants, automatic braking, and lane warnings. Now they keep you in the lane and slow your car when the speed limit changes. And soon enough they’ll be driving for us, so we can sit in the back seat and read a book.
Our HR Assistant Galileo started as a research and problem solving tool, and it’s rapidly becoming an AI coach, benchmarking tool, recruiting, and change management system. So all these tools go from simple use-cases to deeper applications and autonomy over time.
As the tools get smarter and more domain focused we are going to have to rethink our jobs and business processes. And unlike ERP, where we essentially trained people to “adopt” the system, now a lot of the groundbreaking applications come from the bottom up. Individuals will discover capabilities for AI and then apply them in increasingly innovative ways.
And over time, as they get smarter, our jobs move more to “supervisors” and “trainers” of AI, not just consumers. For example if our self-driving car took a bumpy route, we may “retrain it” to take a longer but smoother road.
As I discuss in the podcast, I believe there are four stages of adoption today. And we’re in the middle of doing all four at the same time.
Level 1: Make existing work easier. (Same job, better tools.)
This is where we click on the Microsoft Copilot or Zoom or Teams and the system analyzes a meeting, summarizes emails, or writes a document with our help. We do our jobs the same way we did before, but we now have a “super-productivity” tool to make it easier. These “add-on” use cases are emerging everywhere, and they already feel like a commodity.
In most cases employees see 10-15% or more improvements here, but life isn’t that much different. And sometimes the tool slows us down (Copilot doesn’t create slides well at all yet) and may actually get in the way. But we can expect this mode to continue and most of us figure this out on our own.
Level 2: Major steps eliminated, but the job is the same. (Same job, tools eliminate work.)
At level 2 we automated a lot. Software engineers now use copilots to develop 70% of their code, so they’re spending more time testing and prompting the AI. Their individual coding skills may atrophy, but they can now work on more architectural issues.
The “job” of software engineer may still be the same, but the output is far greater. So we’re making the same pay, doing the same work, but using highly automated tools.
This includes scenarios like chip designers, software engineers, supermarket checkout clerks, nurse scheduling jobs, and even recruiting assistants. Paradox customers, for example, virtually eliminate “scheduling assistants” for recruiting.
At this level companies can see 50-75% productivity improvement, and free time to focus on quality management, customer service, and ongoing improvements to the tools.
Level 3: Re-engineered work, partnered with agents. (New job, redesigned process, agents automate work.)
At level 3 we go further: we re-engineer the process and the work. Imagine how McDonald’s replaced its counter workers with a kiosk, eliminating the “may I take you order please?” role.
This took some major design effort but resulted in a whole new set of roles, workflow, and management structure in the restaurants. The “cost per burger” went down, and the customer experience is almost as good (not quite).
Here we need to be careful because sometimes the “self-service, AI-enabled” experience doesn’t work. A good example is the supermarket self-checkout. It rarely works well and usually takes longer than standing in line. But it will get better, and the resulting experience is faster throughput, more data (the self-service agent might offer you a discount since it knows your buying history), and far superior employee roles.
In level 3 the employees are still involved, and we are more or less “working with the machine,” aiding and supporting the process.
Level 4: Autonomous intelligent agents, people training and managing the AI. (New job, redesigned process, people “manage” the agents.)
At level 4 we go even further. Imagine an AI recruiter (Paradox does this) that could email a hiring manager and his team, gain feedback and requirements on a job and role, consolidate input, and create a total description. This Agent could then review this job against the company culture and pay policies, compare the job against similar jobs in the external market, and tweak the level, job title, and description to be competitive. And then it could start sourcing, and give the hiring manager and human recruiter a set of candidates ranked by various criteria.
That process, which takes dozens of steps for a recruiter, could be fully automated and vastly improved. The Agent could even look at prior hires and get even smarter about who to source based on the success of other candidates.
Now the human job is to “train” and “monitor” and “manage” this AI Agent, who has effectively become a digital employee. (Note: Salesforce is doing a terrific job of building this out for sales and service.)
The Rise of the SuperWorker
Our thesis is that AI is not a “job-replacement” technology, it’s a “SuperWorker empowerment” technology. In other words, most of these scenarios result in higher value jobs, higher pay, and value creation (not cost reduction) in the business.
This is happening fast.
We’re in the middle of a big study in this area and I’ll be explaining this more in our upcoming 2025 Predictions report. The upside of all this will be new and higher paying jobs, faster response to business change, but a lot of IT, design, and data management to do. But based on our research, this is coming soon.
AI adoption
2024年12月01日
AI adoption
The best HR & People Analytics articles of February 2024
I’m writing the introduction to this month’s compendium in New York, ahead of two events this week in the Big Apple.
Firstly, I’m attending Gloat Live (thank you Ruslan Tovbulatov and the Gloat team), where I’ll be hosting a panel of three chief people officers – Michael Fraccaro Tanuj Kapilashrami and Tamla Oates-Forney– as well as sharing Insight222 research on building a data driven culture in HR. Also taking place this week is the Winter Peer Meeting for North American member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which is being hosted by Sally Masseyand Courtney McMahon at Colgate-Palmolive’s headquarters on Park Avenue.
After a weekend back in the UK for my birthday, I’ll be heading back to the US for the Wharton People AnalyticsConference on March 14 and 15. If you’re going to Gloat Live or Wharton PAC, then please do come and say hello. I was also in Switzerland a few days ago for People Analytics WorldZürich (thanks to Barry Swales Ralf Buechsenschuss), and just a fortnight ago, Rob Etheridgeand his team kindly hosted the European Peer Meeting of the Insight222People Analytics Program at HSBC’s headquarters in London – you can read some of takeaways from London here. It’s certainly a busy period of travel - and lots of vapour trail!
Attendees at the Insight222 Q1 European Peer Meeting for members of the People Analytics Program, hosted by HSBC in London
Some of you have written to me to advise that you weren't able to join the recent Insight222 webinar on Turning Insight into Impact with People Analytics. You can find out more by scolling down to the Video of the Month below or access the recording by clicking on the image below.
Looking for a new role in people analytics or HR tech?
Before we get to this month’s collection of resources, I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenowand the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers close to 500 roles.
Share the love!
Enjoy reading the collection of resources for February 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 January’s compendium (including those in the Comments below).
If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is published every Tuesday – subscribe here.
2024 HR TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS
DELOITTE – 2024 Global Human Capital Trends: Thriving beyond boundaries – Human performance in a boundaryless world
The opening words of Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends perfectly capture the opportunity and challenge for HR today: “We’re operating in a world where work is no longer defined by jobs, the workplace is no longer a specific place, many workers are no longer traditional employees, and human resources is no longer a siloed function.” The seven trends covered in the report, each with its own chapter, are: (1) Embracing human sustainability, (2) Moving beyond productivity to measure human performance, (3) Balancing privacy with transparency to build trust, (4) Overcoming the imagination deficit, (5) Creating digital playgrounds to explore, experiment and play, (6) Cultivating workplace microcultures, and (7) Making the shift to a boundaryless HR. The report, which has 122 pages, is packed full of thought-provoking insights, visualisations and data – including FIG 1 and FIG 2 below. Kudos to the authors: Susan Cantrell Corrie Commisso Julie Duda Kraig Eaton Jason Flynn John Forsythe Michael Griffiths John Guziak Lauren Kirby David Mallon Mari Marcotte Shannon Poynton Nicole Scoble-Williams GAICD Yves Van Durme and Matteo Zanza.
We’re operating in a world where work is no longer defined by jobs, the workplace is no longer a specific place, many workers are no longer traditional employees, and human resources is no longer a siloed function.
FIG 1: In the era of human performance, business and human outcomes are mutually reinforcing (Source: Deloitte 2024 Global Human Capital Trends)
FIG 2: Source: Deloitte 2024 Global Human Capital Trends
ERNEST NG - What are the most Important things HR will need to focus on in 2024? | ALLISON BAUM GATES - Six predictions for the future of health, wealth, and work in 2024 | LYNDA GRATTON - Predictions for the Workplace of 2025, Revisited
Continuing with the prediction vibe, here are two more thoughtful reflections on what lies ahead and one reflection, 15 years on, from Lynda Gratton on her previous predictions about the future of work. (1) Ernest Ng, PhD, now at HiredScore– who Workdayhas just announced their intent to acquire, highlights a number of predictions for the year ahead combining a focus on efficiency, incorporating AI into the way we work and supporting employees to navigate change. (2) Allison Baum Gates, General Partner at SemperVirens Venture Capital combines the future of health, wealth and work into her predictions including: “AI’s primary impact in 2024 will be accelerating a shift to skills-based organizations.” (3) Lynda Gratton reflects on her Predictions for the Workforce of 2025, which she originally made in 2010 covering what she got right, where she misjudged, and what she learned about experimenting.
It will be wise to expect the unexpected. And when it comes, be prepared to observe closely, pivot quickly, and experiment widely.
HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
ALEX CAMP, PHIL KIRSCHNER, LAURA PINEAULT, AND PATRICK SIMON - Hybrid can be healthy for your organization—when done right
Research from McKinsey suggesting that a fully remote organisation can demonstrate a level of organisational health that rivals, if not exceeds, the performance of most traditional companies. In the article, Alexandra Camp Phil Kirschner Laura Pineault and Dr. Patrick Simon highlight six priorities for companies aspiring to sustain a flexible or highly distributed workplace in parallel with top organisational health: (1) Remove ambiguity about working practices. (2) Reset performance expectations. (3) Be transparent. (4) Be purposeful about where people work. (5) Foster trust and a sense of support. (6) Test and learn.
Fully remote organizations can demonstrate a level of health that rivals, if not exceeds, the performance of most traditional companies.
FIG 3: Six priorities to sustain a flexible or highly distributed workplace (Source: McKinsey)
KELLY JONES - Unlocking the Power of Hybrid Work: 5 Guiding Principles from Cisco's 3-Year Study Article | White Paper | Executive Summary
Kelly Jones, Cisco's Chief People Officer, unveils the findings of a three year Future of Work study by Cisco’s People Intelligence Team, which was designed to explore the employee experience prior to the global pandemic, through the pandemic, to office re-opening and beyond. Kelly's article summarises five guiding principles for hybrid work including reimagining the office to create meaningful moments and encouraging leaders to be intentional with their attention. The executive summary also outlines five key findings and recommendations (see FIG 4): (1) People may be choosing to work from home, but in person touchpoints are still essential. (2) Effective collaboration is a balancing act. (3) Flexibility and choice positively influence engagement. (4) Leaders might be struggling the most. (5) Leader attention is the #1 predictor of engagement. Thanks to Roxanne Bisby Davis for highlighting.
Make the office a magnet, not a mandate
FIG 4: Source - Choice is Critical in the Future of Work (Cisco, 2024)
MICHAEL ARENA AND PHIL ARKCOLL - Enabling High-Velocity Teams
As Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll outline, the significance of teams has never been greater, yet their effectiveness depends on being able to operate with both speed and focus. The article presents the findings of their research as to why focused teams outperform, and then provides five practices designed for teams to imbue more intentional collaboration: (1) Leverage collaboration phases. (2) Focused team structure. (3) Minimise frequent team shifts. (4) Actively manage dependencies and distractions. (5) Formation of integration teams.
With the rapid advancements in technology today, optimal team performance and speed matter disproportionately in ensuring market success.
FIG 5: Internally and externally focused agile teams (Source: Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll)
GAD LEVANON | SHRM & THE BURNING GLASS INSTITUTE - Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Workforce
The Burning Glass Institute continues to publish fascinatingly insightful reports about the world of work. In their latest report, in collaboration with SHRM, Gad Levanon investigates how GenAI will impact industries, companies, and jobs, and reshape the economy. It reinforces that GenAI will have the greatest impact on high-skilled, professional work, provides indications of how GenAI will impact the economy (see FIG 6) and provides four actions for CHROs to: (1) Evaluate your organisation’s composition, (2) Evaluate the roles within your organisation, (3) Consider your current talent pipeline, and (4) Develop a game plan.
In the coming years, GenAI will both drive massive boosts in productivity and necessitate layoffs. Begin planning ways to leverage GenAI’s productivity benefits and prepare for the disruptions to your workforce through a combination of upskilling investments to give workers the skills to remain relevant and reskilling programs to reposition workers in areas of more stable demand.
FIG 6: Sequence of economic disruptions caused by GenAI (Source: SHRM and The Burning Glass Institute)
FIG 7: Implications of GenAI for HR functions (Source: SHRM and The Burning Glass Institute)
ANA KREACIC, AMY LASATER-WILLE, LUCIA URIBE, RAVIN JESUTHASAN, JOHN ROMEO, AND SIMON LUONG - How Generative AI Is Changing The Future Of Work | TED LIU, CARINA DENG, AND KELLY MONAHAN - How Generative AI Adds Value to the Future of Work
Two studies analysing the impact of GenAI on the world of work. The first by Ana Kreacic Amy Lasater-Wille Lucia Uribe Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA John Romeo and Simon Luong for the Oliver Wyman Forum finds that GenAI could add up to $20 trillion to global GDP by 2030 and save 300 billion work hours a year. It also finds that while 96% of employees believe AI can help them in their current job, 60% are afraid it will eventually automate them out of work. There are numerous other insights and visualisations in the 100 page report including a projection of the likely productivity gains at work from GenAI in the next decade (see FIG 8). The second study, by Ted Liu Carina Deng and Kelly Monahan, Ph.D.for the UpworkResearch Institute, provides a comprehensive analysis of the initial impact of GenAI on the Upwork marketplace for independent talent. It finds that the impacts may already being felt with reductions in demand for work such as writing and translation and a surge in demand for skills associated with GenAI such as data science and analytics.
Generative AI could add up to $20 trillion to global GDP by 2030 and save 300 billion work hours a year.
FIG 8: Phases of generative AI’s impact on productivity at work (Source: Oliver Wyman Forum)
GEORGE WESTERMAN, SAM RANSBOTHAM, AND CHIARA FARRONATO - Find the AI Approach That Fits the Problem You’re Trying to Solve | TOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC - 7 Strategies to Get Your Employees On Board with GenAI | ANDY BALDWIN - 3 Ways to Embed DEI Into Your Company’s AI Strategy | MARTHA CURIONI – Why is Explainable AI Important for HR? | BRETT DYKES - Why AI Isn’t Going To Solve All Your Data Culture Problems
There may be a far degree of hype around GenAI, but it does seem to be accelerating the engagement of HR leaders and professionals with AI, and is also leading to an increasing number of thoughtful studies and articles on AI, including these five resources: (1) George Westerman Sam Ransbotham and Chiara Farronatooutline four categories of advanced analytics – GenAI, traditional deep learning, econometrics, and rule-based automation, and offer five questions to ask about AI’s constraints including: What is the cost of being wrong? (2) As Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic observes: “the human factor — people and culture — will drive the adoption of AI, or lack thereof.” Tomas then presents seven strategies to get employees on board including i) focusing on the problem that GenAI can solve, and ii) being proactive about ethical concerns. (3) In his article for Harvard Business Review, Andy Baldwin outlines three ways to incorporate DEI into AI strategy through: i) embedding DEI into the design of your AI systems; ii) incorporating DEI into any AI-related upskilling programs; and iii) using AI as an opportunity to boost DEI. (4) Martha Curioni defines explainable AI and explains why it is critical to HR so it can provide transparency, build trust, mitigate bias and enable data driven decision making. (5) Finally, Brent Dykes cautions that while a recent study found that GenAI had catalysed a dramatic rise in the number of companies that reported they had ‘created a data-driven organization’ (from 23.9 percent in 2023 to 48.1 percent in 2024), AI is not a silver bullet for data culture. He illustrates this (see FIG 9) by referencing a study a European bank did to assess its own data culture, before highlighting two proven ways to build a data culture: executive sponsorship and role-modelling, and talent.
As with any aspect of digital transformation, the effective deployment of generative AI will depend less on technological capability than on human adaptability
FIG 9: Source: Brent Dykes, Analytics Hero
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
MARIËLLE SONNENBERG, FEDERICO BECHINI, SIETSE SCHRÖDER, AND CAITLIN VAN MIL - Our Real-Life Journey with GenAI in Skills and Talent Management (with code!!) | ADAM MCKINNON – Introducing Lex – Australian Employment Law Support AI | ALEC LEVENSON - A killer app with huge upsides and dangerous downsides: Applying AI to People Analytics
Two examples of GenAI in People Analytics in practice – and an article by Alec Levenson on AI in people analytics. (1) the Wolters Kluwer talent analytics team of Mariëlle Sonnenberg, PhD Federico Bechini Sietse Schröder and Caitlin van Mil share a case study of using GenAI to provide the foundation of their work to transition to a skills-based organisation. The article shares learnings from their journey (and the code!) including tips around data security, prompts, and system testing. (2) Adam McKinnon, PhD. presents Lex – an AI chatbot that has been trained on Australian workplace legislation. As Adam explains, Lex has been trained not to make up answers, and it should refuse to answer any question that cannot be answered using the legal documents it has been trained on. (3) Alec Levenson addresses the potential upsides and risks of applying AI to PA before providing a roadmap for ethical and effective application.
A human- and science-based perspective on any People Analytics model’s predictions is always needed, whether AI is applied or not.
PIETRO MAZZOLENI - Unlocking People Data: Lessons from Transforming IBM's Data Platform to Elevate People Analytics - The Why and the What | JON LESTER - Creating the future of human resources
Pietro Mazzoleni presents the first edition of what promises to be an interesting and insightful new LinkedIn newsletter, People Data Platform, which will explore the evolution of IBM's internal people data platform and its role in fostering data democratisation and people analytics. The first instalment covers the what and the why, and also provides an overview of Workforce 360 (W360 – see FIG 10), IBM’s internal people data platform. Pietro explains that the initial focus for W360 was (1) to digitalise People Scorecard, IBM´s main talent dashboard that measures the health of the workforce, and (2) to scale IBM’s advanced AI solutions like Job Recommendation, Attrition Risk Analysis, and Compensation Advisor. I recommend reading Pietro’s article alongside the second article, featuring Jon Lester on how in an initial pilot in IBM Consulting, a digital AI assistant (HiRo) saved 12,000 hours in one quarter, and halved the quarterly promotion process from 10 to 5 weeks.
FIG 10: Benefits of Workforce 360 (Source: IBM, Pietro Mazzoleni)
WILLIS JENSEN - Why Is It So Hard to Get Finance and HR Aligned? | JACKSON ROATCH - The Behavioral Economics of Return to Office | LYDIA WU - The Problem with “I Don’t Disagree” in People Analytics | JARED VALDRON - An FAQ on Generative AI in People Analytics | ANSHUL SHEOPURI - People Operations As A Critical Differentiator For Employee Experience | JUSTIN PURL - The People Analytics Method: Why TikTok's Head of Global People Analytics prioritizes context not control
As has also been the case in recent months, February saw a number of articles from current and recent people analytics leaders. These act as a spur and inspiration to the field. Six are highlighted here. (1) Willis Jensenboils down the traditional disconnect between HR and Finance teams on headcount: “There are some fundamental differences in counting the number of people (headcount) versus counting the amount of worker productivity (FTE) and both are necessary for different goals.” (2) Jackson Roatchanalyses the return to office topic through the lens of behavioural economics. (3) Lydia Wubreaks down why hearing “I don’t disagree” is a problem for people analytics, and in doing so highlights the importance of building trust with key stakeholders. (4) Jared Valdronprovides a set of answers to 18 frequently asked questions about GenAI in people analytics including i)) Is generative AI a good co-pilot for programming? ii) How will generative AI change the People Analytics job market? (5) Anshul Sheopurihighlights five areas where providing a frictionless experience is key to a successful EX program including i) Design with the user in mind and build for scale, and ii) Trusted data enables a solid foundation and responsible AI delivers personalised experiences. (6) Justin Purl Head of Global People Analytics of TikTok, introduces The People Analytics Method (see FIG 11) as a scientific approach for accumulating context that delivers impactful insights and supports HR decision-making
While it can be challenging to measure the financial impact of HR projects, that shouldn’t stop HR from trying to build those business cases.
FIG 11: The People Analytics Method (Source: Justin Purl)
Two key parts of The People Analytics Method are understanding context and engaging employees.
THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
J. PUCKETT, VINCIANE BEAUCHENE, PATRICK ERKER, AND ZHDAN SHAKIROV – Is Your Upskilling Program Paying Off
Measuring the Return on Learning Investment is arguably the Holy Grail of upskilling programs, but according to this article by BCG it is in fact possible. In their article, J. Puckett Vinciane Beauchene C. Patrick G. E. and Ƶhdan Shakirovpresent a three-step approach: (1) Identify the desired business impact upfront. (2) Define the metrics for holding the program accountable to that impact and measuring progress. (3) Determine whether the targeted impact has been achieved.
Before embarking on any upskilling program, organizations first need to establish the business impact they will measure after the program is over.
FIG 12: Metrics for assessing the impact of learning programs (Source: BCG)
DAVE ULRICH AND HARRISON JAMES - How to Ensure that Human Capability Investments Deliver Stakeholder Value
As Dave Ulrich and Harrison James explain in their article, organisations typically rely on benchmarking and best practices to evaluate the return from human capital investments. They argue that these methods are often limited and do not provide the specific guidance to impact the business results of individual companies. Their article sets out an alternative: an Organization Guidance System (OGS), which begins by identifying the stakeholder outcomes relevant in your company as a precursor to then determining through providing an opportunity score (see FIG 13) for which human capability initiatives best deliver those outcomes.
FIG 13: Source: Dave Ulrich, The RBL Group
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
MARC EFFRON - Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? Questions About Becoming a Skills-based Organization
As Marc Effron of The Talent Strategy Group highlights in his remarkable must-read article, there have been many claims made by consulting firms and technology providers about the case for shifting to being a skills-based organisation. In the article, Marc examines these claims, asking and answering 17 questions about skills-based organisations. The questions include: (1) If a skills-based approach is needed, why is it needed? (2) What changes will my organisation have to make to become a skill-based organisation? (3) Is there any proof that a skills-based approach delivers results? (4) Will AI and technology solutions better enable companies to track, manage and match skills? (5) How predictively accurate are skills in determining performance? Whatever side of the skills-based organisation debate you are on, I highly recommend reading Marc’s article.
At best, shifting to a skills-based environment can help some people in some situations at a large cost. It is likely best suited to industries where there is financial largess including pharmaceutical, banking, and larger consumer products firms. At worst, it reflects HR’s continued pursuit of novelty with the giddy support of technology and consulting firms that are all-too willing to promote and enable this questionable solution.
SCOTT REIDA - Draft priority role competency needs over time using ChatGPT4 and Tableau
A practical and technical guide from Scott Reida a workforce strategist at AWS, as he demonstrates how to use ChatGPT to drive talent intelligence by identifying current and future developments for key roles within an organisation. Scott visualises the outputs from ChatGPT in Tableau over a time horizon of ten years using the example of competencies for a data scientist.
FIG 14: Source – Scott Reida (access here)
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
ALICE DAMONTE, DANIEL MORALES, AND SARAH TOBEY - Employee listening programs and how to keep employees talking | IT SURVEY GROUP - What’s on the Horizon? Three Trends That Will Shape Employee Listening in 2024
Alice Damonte Daniel Morales and Sarah Tobeyfrom McKinsey’s internal people analytics and measurement team share learnings from Pulse, their continuous listening program. This capability has already enabled the team to shape more than 300 different initiatives since it was established three years ago. Their article focuses on two key elements of a successful employee listening program: (1) Making it easy and meaningful for employees to participate, which is enabled by providing transparency through firm-wide readouts, community dialogues, and individualised insights with support. (2) Making it straightforward for leaders to listen and act, which the team enable through ‘care packages’ to help leaders focus their attention on what matters most. For readers that enjoy this, I also recommend the second article, which features EX/HR leaders such as Kristin Saboe, Ph.D. Caitie Jacobson Stephanie Andel, PhD Patrick Gallen, MSOD Madison Beard and Ronald Ivan Dela Cruz forecasting three key trends for employee listening in 2024.
To ensure an employee listening channel is sufficiently well stocked with timely insights, it must be easy and meaningful for employees to participate, and straightforward for leaders to listen and act.
FIG 15: Source: McKinsey
FIG 16: Three key trends shaping employee listening in 2024 (Source: IT Survey Group)
LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
AMY C. LEWIS, ANDREA DERLER, CUTHBERT CHOW, MANDA WINLAW, AND DANI HAIG – Designing Impactful Teams: Data-backed insights about effective team size
What does team size have to do with designing high-performing teams? That was the exam question, the Visier Inc.team of Andrea Derler, Ph.D. Cuthbert Chow Manda Winlaw and Dani Haigsought to answer in a collaborative study with Amy C. Lewis, PhD Professor of Management at the College of Business at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Key findings include: (1) Most people work in teams of six to ten. (2) Team size varies by the nature of the work. (3) Smaller teams have more high performers. (4) Smaller teams have lower resignation rates (see FIG 17). The report has some helpful insights for those studying team effectiveness and involved in organisational design work.
FIG 17: Smaller teams have lower resignation rates (Source: Visier)
SPENCER HARRISON AND KRISTIE ROGERS - Building Culture From the Middle Out
The premise of a study by Spencer Harrisonand Kristie Rogersis for a business to harness the power of culture, it needs managers and team leaders to go beyond believing that they are responsible for culture to actively building it. Their research finds that managers that successfully achieve this are able to link the ‘big-C’ culture of their organisation (e.g. the official set of values) with the ‘small-c’ culture that plays out in the narrower and vibrant daily patterns of interaction (see FIG 18). The article highlights four successful strategies: (1) Endorse big-C culture through celebration and preservation of select features. (2) Endorse big-C culture by learning from other managers. (3) Enrich small-c culture through cultural innovations. (4) Enrich small-c culture by empowering employees to innovate.
FIG 18: Endorse and Enrich Your Way to Corporate Culture (Source: Harrison and Rogers)
JOSH BERSIN - How to Actually Execute a 4-Day Workweek | DOUGLAS BROOM - Four-day work week trial in Spain leads to healthier workers, less pollution | BENJAMIN LAKER – How Far-Reaching Could the Four-Day Workweek Become? AVA MARTINEZ – A 3-Day Workweek Could Complicate The Future of Work
Four articles on the four-day week, a concept that seems to be gathering momentum with pilots suggesting that business outcomes can be maintained while employee wellbeing and retention is enhanced. (1) Josh Bersinpresents findings from his study that finds companies need to undertake substantial work redesign to reduce hours while maintaining business outcomes to make the four-day week work. (2) Writing for the World Economic Forum, Douglas Broom shares results from a four-day work week pilot in Valencia, which found that giving workers an extra day off a week actually increases productivity, boosts physical and mental health and reduces CO2 emissions. (3) Benjamin Laker, who has been studying the four-day week for a number of years, outlines the findings from a UK study on the four-day week, which finds that 92% of the 61 companies that participated in the pilot are continuing with the four-day week. Laker also highlights that research conducted before and after the trial revealed that 39% of employees experienced lower stress levels and 71% noticed less burnout while working shorter weeks (see FIG 19). (4) From being one of the CEO outliers on return to the office, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon suggests that AI may precipitate a future of work where the working week is three days – as reported by Ava Martinez for The HR Digest.
FIG 19: Source: The UK’s four-day week pilot (Autonomy)
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
SERENA HUANG - DEI Funding Cuts? You Need Data Analytics and AI More Than Ever | BOGDAN YAMKOVENKO AND STEPHEN TAVARES - To Understand Whether Your Company Is Inclusive, Map How Your Employees Interact
With many companies and institutions – particularly in the US – cutting back on their DEI programs, a recent edition of Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. From Data to Action newsletter is well timed. Serena explains how people data and analytics can help reverse this trend and highlights a number of helpful resources. One of the resources Serena highlights is a seminal article by Bogdan Yamkovenko, PhD and Stephen Tavares first published in Harvard Business Review in 2017. It provides a case study of a professional services firm that used organisational network analysis to identify that that women were largely shut out of its decision making, idea sharing, and emotional support networks (see FIG 20). For more from Serena, please tune into her recent conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How to Enhance Your Career in People Analytics.
FIG 20: 3 ways to look at employee networks at one professional services firm (Source: Heidrick & Struggles)
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 February that I recommend readers delve into:
LOÏC MICHEL | 365TALENTS – Your Absolute How to Guide to Skills Management – A handy guide to skills management from Loïc Michel and the 365Talentsteam featuring guidance and case studies.
ALICIA ROACH - Let's Talk About Lay-Offs – Alicia Roach of eQ8 frames the recent spate of layoffs from companies posting impressive profits in the context of culture and workforce planning (see FIG 21). As Alicia writes: “We can do better. We must do better.”
FIG 21: Scenario modelling and external shocks (Source: Alicia Roach, eQ8)
RICHARD ROSENOW - Embracing Remote Work for Senior People Analytics Roles: A Strategic Imperative – Richard Rosenow of One Model makes a persuasive case for why every organisation looking to lead in People Analytics should consider making their senior roles, if not all of their People Analytics roles, remote eligible. For more on people analytics jobs, check out this analysis of executive and director people analytics roles by Patrick Coolen.
BLEDI TASKA - SkyHive Data Reveals Greater Gender Disparity in the Generative AI Sector Compared to the Tech Industry at Large – Bledi Taska, Ph.D. presents SkyHive data and key findings on the impact of Generative Al on the U.S. job market and economy. His analysis highlights the urgent need for reskilling and upskilling initiatives to mitigate inequality in the workforce. Thanks to Todd Raphael for highlighting.
HAKKI OZDENOREN - Move Over HR, AI Is the New Recruiter! – Hakki Ozdenorenpresents data and analysis from Revelio Labs, which finds that HR job postings mentioning AI are surging ahead of other listings. This underscores the need for HR professionals to reskill in areas like AI and data literacy. Thanks to Ben Zweig for highlighting.
FIG 22: AI related job postings in HR roles are on the rise (Source: Revelio Labs)
MARC RAMOS - Learning & Development is the New Research & Development - How the Learning Function Can be the AI Accelerator Part 1 | Part 2 – Cornerstone OnDemand CLO Marc Steven Ramos presents his two-part series on the L&D function investigating, testing and extending the use of AI within organisations – includes FIG 23 on blending R&D and L&D approaches.
FIG 23: Complementing R&D and L&D approaches (Source: Marc Ramos)
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):
HEMERSON PAES, COLE NAPPER, AND SCOTT HINES - Active & Passive ONA Use Cases at Roche – Hemerson Paes joins hosts Cole Napperand Scott Hines, PhDon the Directionally Correct podcast to share his work rolling out active and passive ONA applications at scale at Roche.
BOB SUTTON AND ADAM GRANT - How to become a “friction-fixer” – Leading management thinker and organisational psychologist at Stanford, Bob Sutton, joins Adam Grant on ReThinking to discuss his new book, The Friction Project, on how to diagnose and then fix workplace problems. Unmissable.
JASON CORSELLO AND LAURIE RUETTIMANN - HR Technology 2024 – Jason Corsello from Acadian Ventures joins Laurie Ruettimannon Punk Rock HR to discuss the state of the HR tech market, the potential and concerns of AI, and the importance of future skills.
ANDREW SAIDY AND CHRIS RAINEY - Why a Talent Marketplace is Win-Win for Employees and Organisations - Andrew Saidy joins Christopher Rainey of HR Leaders to discuss his work at Ubisoft, where skills are becoming the currency for hiring, mobility and promotions rather than solely relying on degrees or tenure.
STEPHANIE DENINO, KIRAN MENON, AND DEBKANYA DHAR VYAVAHARKAR - Moving EX from boardroom to office floor - Stephanie Denino of TI PEOPLE speaks to hosts of the EXtra Extra podcast Kiran Menon and Debkanya Dhar Vyavaharkar about the findings of the State of EX report, and applying agile principles towards shipping EX ideas out of the boardroom and onto the office floor.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
NAOMI VERGHESE, ALAN SUSI AND DAVID GREEN | INSIGHT222 - How Leading Companies shift People Analytics from Insight to Impact
Please forgive the mild case of self-indulgence, but the ‘Video of the Month’ is actually a webinar we recently hosted at Insight222based on our People Analytics Trends research, which was informed by a survey of 271 participating companies. In the webinar, Naomi Vergheseand I walked through the findings from the Insight222 People Analytics Trends research, unveiling the distinctive characteristics of ABCD Teams that propel organisations to new heights. Naomi and I were joined by Alan Susi, VP and Global Head of Organisational Analytics and People Insights at S&P Global. Alan shared insights on how the firm successfully elevated their approach to people analytics, turning data into tangible business outcomes. You can access the webinar here – or by clicking the image below.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
JOHN WINSOR AND JIN H. PAIK – Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges
In Open Talent, John Winsor and Jin Paik advocate that companies need to shift to a more ‘distributed’ structure that revolves around talent (people) and projects in a networked organisation. In this model, talent is assembled from both inside the organisation (via an internal talent marketplace) and outside (via external talent clouds). The authors reveal how they implemented open talent strategies, and how other companies can adopt these techniques. A thoughtful and insightful read.
RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH
SHELLEY XIN LI, FRANK NAGLE, AND ANER ZHOU - Mapping Organizational-Level Networks Using Individual-Level Connections: Evidence from Online Professional Networks
An interesting paper by Shelley Xin Li, Frank Nagle, and Aner Zhou for the Harvard Business School Strategy Unit, which constructs and describes a comprehensive network for 7,715 publicly traded U.S. firms from 2004 to 2018, using data on over 9 million people with 2 billion connections from the professional social network LinkedIn. The key finding is that while employees do not necessarily make connections for the company’s benefit, the centrality of that company in the employee network positively predicts company value. Thanks to Nicolas BEHBAHANI for highlighting.
FIG 24: Firm-level Network Centrality and Economic Performance for U.S. Public Firms in 2018 (Source: Li, Nagle, and Zhou, 2023)
FROM MY DESK
February saw the final two episodes of Series 36 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by ScreenCloud as well as the first episode of Series 37 sponsored by Culture Amp. Thank you respectively to Luke Farrugia of ScreenCloud and Ellisa Packer and Jodie Evans of Culture Amp.
ERIC SIEGEL - How to Overcome AI Adoption Challenges in HR – Eric Siegel, the author of The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment, explains how to successfully deploy machine learning in organisations while remaining focused on outcomes, ethics, and improving decision making.
BERNARD MARR - Achieving AI & Human Synergy in Data-Driven HR – Bernard Marr, who always has his finger on the pulse when it comes to new technologies, shares insights from his book, Data-Driven HR: How to Use AI, Analytics and Data to Drive Performance, and how AI is already impacting HR, and how it will increasingly do so in the future.
REBECCA THIELEN - Microsoft's Key to Strategic Workforce Planning Success – Rebecca Thielen shares insights from the workforce planning journey at Microsoft, including the role of analytics, close partnership with finance, and the clear focus on the problem statement.
ANGELA LE MATHON, IAN COOK, AND DAVID GREEN - The Strategic Agenda for People Analytics in 2024 – I also hosted a webinar with Angela LE MATHON and Ian Cook, which was organised by Visier Inc. and People Analytics World, to discuss the agenda for people analytics in 2024. Topics discussed included the role of middle management in strategic decision-making, the impact of AI on people analytics, and the practical challenges and strategies for implementing AI and analytics within HR frameworks.
THANK YOU
Finally, this month I’d like to thank:
Matt Manners and the team at Inspiring Workplaces for once again including me on their Top 101 Global Employee Engagement & Experience Influencers 2024, sponsored by Huler.
Jennifer McClurefor including me in her list of recommendations for HR professionals looking to build a Personal Development Library.
Amit Mohindrafor including Excellence in People Analytics as one of the course materials for his people analytics course at Stanford University
Malgorzata (GOSIA) LANGLOIS for posting about the Microsoft case study contributed by Dawn Klinghoffer in Excellence in People Analytics.
Stephen Hickey for including me in his list of go-to resources on people analytics.
Dr. Divya Sainath for posting about our conversation at the recent Indeed Future Talent event in Bangalore.
Thomas Kohler for including the January edition of Data Driven HR Monthly in his list of HR Resources.
Teamflect for including the Digital Hr Leaders podcast at number six in its list of the top 20 HR podcasts.
Ekta Vyas Ph.D for posting about my article, A History of People Analytics in Five Ages.
Andrew Lafontaine for creating a post with highlights from the episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast on How to Overcome AI Adoption Challenges in HR with Eric Siegel.
Wendy Van Ierschot for including me in her post about her book, Scale Ups and Downs.
DOWNLOAD THE LATEST INSIGHT222 PEOPLE ANALYTICS TRENDS RESEARCH
We’ve recently released our fourth annual People Analytics Trends report at Insight222: Investing to Deliver Value: A new Model for People Analytics, which is now available to download via the link – or by clicking on the image below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
SEE ME AT THESE EVENTS
I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2024:
March 4-6 - Gloat Live! (New York)
March 14-15 - Wharton People Analytics Conference (Philadelphia)
April 24-25 - People Analytics World (London)
May 7-9 - UNLEASH America (Las Vegas)
September 24-26 - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat (Colorado, US) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
October 16-17 - UNLEASH World (Paris)
More events will be added as they are confirmed.
AI adoption
AI adoption
AI adoption
扫一扫
添加客服
