David Green:The best HR & People Analytics articles of August 2024
I’ve just returned from a three-week family holiday in the South of France and am feeling refreshed, recharged and ready for the final four months of the year. These are invariably the busiest for the team at Insight222, and 2024 is set to be no different.
The Digital HR Leaders podcast returns from its summer sojourn on September 3 with a special episode on how HR can help their organisations embrace the blended workforce, featuring Diane Gherson and Lynda Gratton, and based on their brilliant recent HBRarticle,
The Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, which we host annually for leaders of 100+ companies that are part of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, takes place in Amsterdam from September 24-26 with guest speakers including: Erin Meyer, Prasad Setty, Janine Vos, and a workshop on storytelling with Duarte, Inc..
The fifth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends report, which studies how leading companies are using people analytics to generate business value will be published in October – you can read the 2023 study here.
Additionally, I will be speaking at a number of conferences before the end of the year including Workday Rising (Las Vegas, September 16-19), People Analytics World (New York, October 2-3), UNLEASH World (Paris, October 16-17), and Workday Rising EMEA (London, November 12-14).
This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at 365Talents
365Talents goes beyond traditional approaches, offering more than just technology for Skills-Based Organizations. Our approach is not just about managing skills; it's about making the entire process seamless, effective, and enjoyable. Picture real-time insights into your workforce's skills, coupled with the expertise to implement strategic HR projects aligning with your business goals.
Our experience in talent mobility and skill development contribute to creating a more democratic, inclusive, and future-ready world of work where every individual has the power to shape their professional path. Start your skills journey with 365Talents today and join the ranks of trailblazers like Veolia, SLB, TotalEnergies, SocGen, and more! To find out more click here: https://www.365talents.com/en/lp/experience-365talents
2024 Skills Impact Report
In today’s fast-paced and increasingly disruptive environment, companies need to adopt a more flexible approach that puts its people and their skills at the center of its talent management strategies. This has become more and more imperative as:
59% of the global workforce are disengaged.
69% of job candidates say they would reject a job offer from an employer with a negative reputation, even if they were unemployed.
87% of organizations currently have an existing skills gap or expect to within the next two to ten years.
Enter the 2024 Skills Impact Report. It explores the business imperative of talent experience for Skills-Based Organizations, the impact it has on your employees, the pillars of design thinking for HR and how to start applying it to your strategy with 5 intuitive roadmap worksheets.
CASE STUDY: SEGULA Technologies Group
In 2020, as the world faced significant engineering transformations, the COVID crisis, talent shortages, and the rise of AI, SEGULA Technologies Group launched a strategic initiative to plan and manage the resources and skills of its workforce. The goal of this ambitious project was to identify and leverage the talents of the Group's 15,000 employees across 30 countries, using AI to drive innovative skills management and enhance overall performance.
Read the Case Study to learn all the steps and actions taken to successfully tackle the challenge!
To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 130,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org.
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Enjoy reading the collection of resources for August 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 July’s compendium.
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NEW: Insight222 research report on the People Analytics Ecosystem
Access the new Insight222 study here: Building the People Analytics Ecosystem: Operating Model v 2.0.
HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
MCKINSEY - Gen AI’s next inflection point: From employee experimentation to organizational transformation
HR plays an especially important role in gen AI, both by transforming the people domain and by acting as a gen AI copilot for all employees. One executive noted that for every $1 spent on technology, $5 should be spent on people.
A new study by McKinsey finds that to generate value from the momentum associated with GenAI, businesses must transform their processes, structures, and approach to talent. The article, penned by Charlotte Relyea, Dana Maor, Sandra Durth, and Jan Bouly, outlines the key findings from the research: (1) Employee use is at an inflection point, while their organisations lag behind. (2) The next inflection point will see organisations shift from individual experimentation to strategic value capture. (3) Reinvent domains by translating vision into value. (4) Reimagine talent and skilling by putting people at the centre (see FIG 1). (5) Reinforce the changes to continue transforming (“To make gen AI changes stick, organizations need the right infrastructure to support continuous change and win over hearts and minds”).
FIG 1: Early adopters prioritise talent and the human side of GenAI more than other companies (Source: McKinsey)
DAVE ULRICH - How are You Doing at AI for HR? A Ten-Item Assessment to Evaluate Your Progress
Getting started in AI for HR often begins with initiatives that can be done relatively quickly and easily.
Dave Ulrich shares key takeaways from a recent deep-dive, he and his colleagues at The RBL Group facilitated with senior HR leaders on AI in HR. He distils these into ten dimensions designed to help HR leaders assess how they are doing at applying AI for HR to their organisation (see FIG 2). These include: (1) Articulate a business case. (2) Develop Talent who can ‘do’ AI. (3) Create Responsible AI policies. (4) Create metrics to guide and measure success. (5) Start with low-hanging fruit.
FIG 2: Criteria to evaluate how well your organisation is using AI for HR (Source: Dave Ulrich)
DUNCAN HARRIS AND KATE ZOLNER - 5 Employee Fears of AI and How to Overcome Them
If companies want to get the most out of AI, they need employee trust. Securing it is not easy. More than three-quarters of employees don’t think their organization’s future use of the technology will be ethical.
Duncan Harris and Kate Zolner present the findings of Gartner research on the five main employee fears of AI use by their organisations (see FIG 3), which have a negative impact on employee trust. They then explain how leaders can address these fears through initiatives in areas such as learning, co-creation, effective communications, ethics and data privacy. As well as enabling the organisation to benefit from AI, Harris and Zolner argue that these solutions will lead to higher levels of inclusion, engagement and effort.
FIG 3: Five Employee Fears of Organizational AI Use (Source: Gartner)
STACIA GARR - How is HR using Gen AI today? | MAX BLUMBERG - GenAI in HR: Slashing Costs, Boosting Efficiency | SWANAND DEODHAR, FAVOUR BOROKINI, AND BEN WABER - How Companies Can Take a Global Approach to AI Ethics | BAIN - AI Survey: Four Themes Emerging
Four more resources tracking topics related to GenAI in HR. (1) Stacia Sherman Garr’s LinkedIn post summarises RedThread Research analysis of how HR is using GenAI today (see FIG 4). (2) Max Blumberg (JA) ?? provides a summary of his report on Slashing HR Costs: The Ultimate Blueprint for Implementing GenAI in HR, which provides guidance on implementing GenAI to transform HR cost efficiency, and includes Max’s GenAI HR Cost Reduction Maturity Model (see FIG 5). (3) Ben Waber teams up with Swanand Deodhar and Favour Borokini in a Harvard Business Review article offering guidance on how companies can take a global approach to AI ethics: “Because AI and related data regulations are rarely uniform across geographies, compliance can be difficult. To address this problem, companies need to develop a contextual global AI ethics model that prioritizes collaboration with local teams and stakeholders and devolves decision-making authority to those local teams.” (4) Gene R., Sanjin Bicanic, Jue Wang, Richard Lichtenstein, and Arjun Dutt share the four key themes that emerged from Bain’s recent AI survey, which includes that the emphasis has shifted from experimentation in 2023 to delivering real value 12 months later – thanks to Hung Lee for sharing Bain’s research in a recent edition of Recruiting Brainfood.
FIG 4: How HR is using GenAI (Source: RedThread Research)
FIG 5: GenAI HR Cost Reduction Maturity Model (Source: Max Blumberg)
MARC EFFRON - Above the Fray: What We Know About How WFH and Hybrid Affect Work
We should approach solving this problem in the same intelligent way as we suggest all human problems be solved – start with the science.
As his article on skills-based organisations testified, Marc Effron has a penchant for cutting through the hype and getting to the heart of an issue. As such, I highly recommend digging into his new analysis on what the science and evidence says are the trade-offs among WFO, WFH and hybrid work. Firstly, Effron dispels four myths propagated by proponents and opponents on CEOs, real estate, proximity bias and employees who prefer WFH. Then he examines the consequences of different work arrangements on (1) performance, (2) creativity, (3) innovation (4) work relationships, (5) collaboration, and (6) managing based on the emerging knowledge available via Google Scholar.
LYNDA GRATTON - Seven Truths About Hybrid Work and Productivity | BRIAN ELLIOTT - Hybrid Work: How Leaders Build In-Person Moments That Matter | REBECCA KNIGHT - 17 Team-Building Activities for In-Person, Remote, and Hybrid Teams
To get the most from hybrid work, leaders should prepare for trade-offs, make expectations clear, and think harder about how productivity is measured.
Three more resources on hybrid work to read in conjunction with Marc Effron’s article above. First, Lynda Gratton unveils seven key findings from what she is seeing from experiments in hybrid working including: (1) Hybrid work is a continuum. (2) Productivity is usually challenging — and measurement is always complex. (3) It’s useful to view hybrid work as fundamentally a job design option. Second, Brian Elliott provides guidance on the four essential times leaders should be intentional about building moments that matter for hybrid workers: (1) Team development (“Get people together three or four times a year, with a 50-50 mix of business and social”). (2) Onboarding and training. (3) New-team formation and major-initiative kick-offs (“Grapple together over the objectives and norms of a project”). (4) Business-function-specific activities (“Let teams figure out the best in-person schedules for their needs”). Finally, Rebecca M. Knight provides guidance to leaders on team-building activities for in-person, remote and hybrid teams.
FIG 6: Focus on Productivity, Not Physical Presence (Source: Brian Elliott, Future Forum)
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
NAOMI VERGHESE, JONATHAN FERRAR, AND JORDAN PETTMAN - Building the People Analytics Ecosystem: Operating Model v2.0 ARTICLE | FULL REPORT
One of the questions we get asked most by the people analytics leaders and chief people officers we work with at Insight222 is: What capabilities do I need to build into our people analytics function? Based on research of more than 250 companies, focus interviews with 20 organisations, and our experience of working with more than 120 global companies as part of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, my colleagues Naomi Verghese, Jonathan Ferrar and Jordan Pettman have developed a new report: Building the People Analytics Ecosystem: Operating Model v 2.0. The executive article provides a summary of the key highlights, while the full report breaks down the six elements of the People Analytics Ecosystem (see FIG 7): (1) A Value Chain: from client drivers to business outcomes. (2) People Strategy at the Centre: a symbiotic relationship exists between people strategy and people analytics. (3) Five Core Capabilities: consulting, data science and research, employee listening, analytics at scale, adoption. (4) Four Additional Capabilities: reporting, data governance, workforce planning, AI strategy. (5) Internal Partnerships: HR and other business stakeholders are key to operational effectiveness. (6) External Partnerships: external suppliers and expertise are important for enabling success.
FIG 7: The People Analytics Ecosystem (Source: Insight222 Building the People Analytics Ecosystem: Operating Model v 2.0)
NELSON SPENCER - Introducing the S.T.A.R.T. Framework
The strategy pillar is all about aligning with your overall HR and Business goals. You should be able to connect how your strategy is driving business outcomes.
Nelson Spencer, who has worked in both sports and people analytics, presents his S.T.A.R.T Framework (see FIG 8), which is designed to solve a perennial problem for many HR functions: the disconnect between analytics, technology and operations. As Nelson explains, S.T.A.R.T has been designed “to consider these three critical functions holistically, acknowledging that they are part of a bigger puzzle and are all deeply interconnected.” The five pillars, which Nelson describes in detail in his article, are: (1) Strategy, (2) Technology, (3) Analytics, (4) Results, and (5) Transformation. He then provides guidance on how to implement the framework in organisations of varying sizes, from small to large.
FIG 8: The S.T.A.R.T Framework (Source: Nelson Spencer)
MICHAEL LUCA AND AMY EDMONDSON - Where Data-Driven Decision-Making Can Go Wrong
When making decisions (using data), managers should consider internal validity—whether an analysis accurately answers a question in the context in which it was studied. They should also consider external validity—the extent to which they can generalize results from one context to another.
Drawing on their research and work with companies, Michael Luca and Amy Edmondson present an approach that considers internal validity and external validity that leaders can apply to discussions of data to support better decision-making. This approach is designed to help leaders avoid five common pitfalls (see FIG 9) associated with data-driven decision-making.
FIG 9: How to avoid predictable errors (Source: Michael Luca and Amy Edmondson)
WILLIS JENSEN - Building a Network View of Data | MARTHA CURIONI - Supporting HR Adoption of People Analytics | JACKSON ROATCH - Your Best Career Move could be Going for a Run | SERENA HUANG - The Future of Work is Wellbeing | JASPAR SPANJAART - How NVIDIA's Talent Intelligence approach helped fuel its trillion-dollar rise | TOBY CULSHAW - The Talent Nexus: Redefining Business Agility for the 21st Century CEO
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) In another excellent edition of his Making People Analytics Real blog, Willis Jensen discusses how to get a network view of data: “Linking your data together should be a top priority for any people analytics team.” (2) Martha Curioni provides guidance on how to support HR to adopt people analytics harnessing insights from the likes of Isabel Naidoo, Patrick Coolen, Greg Newman, and Amit Mohindra. One of Martha’s tips focuses on the importance of including HRBP’s rather than going around them. (3) As someone whose best ideas invariably come when I’m on a run, I particularly enjoyed Jackson Roatch’s article exploring the link between physical exercise and workplace learning, performance and thriving. (4) In an edition of her From Data to Action blog, Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. explores how AI can support wellbeing and lays out a ten-point plan on responsible AI principles for workplace wellbeing (see FIG 10). (5) NVIDIA’s Meta McKinney, MLIS and Nickolas Dowler, MBA explain to Jasper Spanjaart how the company’s Talent Intelligence strategy helped fuel its growth: “A winning Talent Intelligence strategy requires several key ingredients: data-driven and tested theories, meticulous and thoughtful research, reliable data, creative problem-solving, clear communication of the rationale, trusted relationships with business leaders, and the financial support and freedom to execute.” (6) Toby Culshaw provides a compelling breakdown of what he describes as The Talent Nexus: “The Talent Nexus represents a revolutionary approach to talent management and acquisition in the modern business landscape. It's an AI-driven, quantum-computing-enhanced ecosystem that transforms how organizations interact with, deploy, and develop talent.” A must-read for all those involved in talent intelligence, people analytics and workforce planning.
FIG 10: Responsible AI Principles for Workplace Wellbeing (Source: Serena Huang)
THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
RAVIN JESUTHASAN - The AI revolution is coming to L&D
AI will empower the L&D function to support strategic workforce planning through skills-related insights and interventions. This will help organizations shift from costly ‘churn and burn’ strategies to more cost-effective and sustainable reskilling and upskilling programs.
Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA examines how AI is set to transform the learning and development function. He highlights Mercer analysis that finds that AI and automation will likely augment some L&D activities (see FIG 11), as well as outlining four potential AI uses cases for corporate L&D: (1) Producing L&D content. (2) Personalising L&D delivery. (3) Driving the skills-powered revolution. (4) Democratising knowledge. For more from Ravin, watch the recent LinkedIn Live on Skills-Powered Organisations in the Age of AI, which I moderated and featured Ravin alongside Tanuj Kapilashrami.
FIG 11: Time by task: L&D versus AI and Automation (Source: Mercer)
NANCY DUARTE - Are Your Presentations Too Emotional — or Too Analytical?
When making a presentation, leaders need to balance appeals to both logic and emotion — the head and the heart.
Nancy Duarte provides invaluable guidance on how to strike a balance between logic and emotion when making a presentation, and how credibility plays a crucial role in this balancing act. She explains that the first step in achieving this balance is understanding the audience: “Are they data-driven decision makers who thrive on statistics and factual evidence? Or are they more likely to be swayed by personal stories and emotional connections?”
FIG 12: An Analytical and Emotional Balance That’s Just Right (Source: Nancy Duarte)
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
SANDRA LOUGHLIN – Seven Elements of Skills Data Quality
Skills data quality isn’t talked about much despite being the foundation for the SBO value proposition, a critical input to selecting and gaining value from skills tech vendors, and arguably the most difficult part of a skills transformation.
These wise words open Sandra Loughlin, PhD’s excellent article, where she outlines seven aspects of skills data quality, why they matter and their trade-offs: (1) Relevance (“Skills that are tracked should be the skills that need to be tracked—there’s no point in collecting skills data that won’t help you make better business decisions”). (2) Accuracy. (3) Validity. (4) Completeness. (5) Consistency (“Skills data should be consistently defined, recorded, and categorized across systems and within the organization”). (6) Timeliness. (7) Uniqueness. Thanks to Victoria Holdsworth for highlighting Sandra’s article.
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
CATHERINE COPPINGER - Introducing Two New Metrics: Fragmented & Interrupted Time
Catherine Coppinger from Worklytics introduces two new metrics: (1) Fragmented Time (“the sum of the total number of hours people have in blocks of time that are too short to get any deep work done”) and (2) Interrupted Time (“a metric designed to measure those periods of the day where people keep getting interrupted and just can’t find enough concentrated time to finish an important task”). Understanding these can help individuals and managers organise time more productively while enhancing employee wellbeing (see FIG 13). Read as a follow-up to another recent article by Catherine: 4 New Ways to Model Work, which featured in the July edition of Data Driven HR Monthly.
FIG 13: Source: Catherine Coppinger, Worklytics
MCKINSEY - What employees say matters most to motivate performance
Performance management is most effective when it features strong, consistent internal logic that employees understand
In their article, Asmus Komm, Brooke Weddle, Dana Maor, Katharina Wagner and Vivian Morrow Breaux present the findings of a McKinsey study of more than 1,000 employees across the globe on what matters most to motivating employee performance. The findings provide insights to employers to guide their approach with regards to performance management. These include: (1) Performance management frameworks should be consistent and clearly articulated. (2) Goal setting has impact when goals are measurable and clearly linked to company priorities (see FIG 14). (3) Performance reviews with skilled managers are crucial to employee performance. (4) Rewards that include nonfinancial incentives provide a boost.
FIG 14: Employees are motivated by measurable goals linked to company/team (Source: McKinsey)
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING
MEGAN REITZ AND AMY EDMONDSON - When a Team Member Speaks Up — and It Doesn’t Go Well
Speaking up — and being heard — in organizations is critical. What gets said, and what doesn’t, directs ethical behavior, innovation, inclusion, and performance.
In their article for Harvard Business Review, Megan Reitz and Amy Edmondson explore how 'conversational failures' often cause breakdowns in psychological safety rather than being used as opportunities to learn and develop. They discuss why they occur and the reasons why it is difficult to learn from these failures, before providing guidance on how these failures can become ‘intelligent’: (1) Prepare to learn from conversations. (2) Notice critical moments. (3) Implement process tools. (4) Attend to learning over the long term. For more on ‘intelligent failure’, tune in to Amy’s conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How Learning to Fail Can Help People and Organisations to Thrive.
If you’re not failing, you’re not journeying into new territory
JAMIE SMITH - How boards can champion a resilient talent strategy
Talent strategy is increasingly vital to driving overall strategy.
Based on a study of by EY and Corporate Board Member magazine of US public company directors across a range of industries, Jamie Carroll Smith presents analysis of the four opportunities identified in the research for boards to champion a resilient talent strategy: (1) Gain deeper insight into the employee experience. (2) Enable a workforce for the future (“Directors recognize that AI developments demand a reskilling of the workforce”). (3) Harness the value of diversity, equity and inclusion (“The future talent pool may depend on companies prioritizing DEI”). (4) Identify opportunities to strengthen talent governance. Thanks to Brian Heger for highlighting in an edition of his excellent Talent Edge newsletter.
FIG 15: The biggest impacts of AI on company workforce strategy (Source: EY)
JEN FISHER, SUE CANTRELL, JAY BHATT, AND PAUL SILVERGLATE - The important role of leaders in advancing human sustainability
More than eight out of 10 executives surveyed say a stronger commitment to prioritizing a positive human impact would increase their company’s ability to attract new talent (82%), appeal to customers and clients (81%), and profitability (81%).
Jen Fisher, Susan Cantrell, Jay Bhatt, and Paul Silverglate outline the key findings from Deloitte’s third annual Workplace Wellbeing report. The primary finding suggests that leaders can play a key role in prioritising and advancing a human sustainability agenda, particularly when it comes to measuring outcomes and holding their organizations accountable for progress. Insights identified in the study include: (1) The three trends impacting today’s workforce the most are skills, burnout and mental health. (2) The modern work experience doesn’t promote human sustainability but C-suite leaders aren’t seeing it. (3) While three out of four executives believe workforce wellbeing is excellent or good, workers are having a different experience (see FIG 16). The article then provides guidance on the metrics companies can implement to measure human sustainability including on skills development, purpose, DEI and societal impact.
FIG 16: Source – Deloitte Wellbeing at Work survey, 2024
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
JANINE LEE - Breaking Down Barriers to Belonging for Women of Color in Tech
In her article in Harvard Business Review, Dr. Janine Lee, MBA, Ed.D. Global Head of L&D at Google, outlines the findings from her doctoral research on workplace belonging for women of colour in the tech industry. Janine highlights the top belonging contributors and detractors identified in the study (see FIG 17), and then offers three recommendations to boost workplace belonging: 1) Invest in programs that foster peer-based relationships, 2) Enable sponsorship and mentoring opportunities, and 3) Hold leaders accountable to “walk the talk.”
FIG 17: Sense-of belonging contributors and detractors (Source: Janine Lee)
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 August that I recommend readers delve into:
GURU SETHUPATHY – Understanding the EU AI Act in Four Handy Charts – Guru Sethupathy of FairNow provides an invaluable breakdown of the EU AI Act and its implications.
FIG 18: The four risk levels under the EU AI Act (Source: FairNow)
EMILY KILLHAM - How to Build a Better Boss: What Leaders (and Their Teams) Need Now to Thrive – Emily Killham delivers a new study by Perceptyx identifying five key behaviours for managers, the positive and negative impacts of manager behaviour on employees and organisations, and the role of employee feedback in help managers take corrective action.
FRANCISCO MARIN - The Role of Active and Passive Organizational Network Analysis in Cybersecurity – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions breaks down how active and passive ONA can support organisational cybersecurity initiatives including the detection of anomalous communications, enhancing incident response and tailoring security strategies.
LOUJAINA ABDELWAHED - How To Lose an Employee in 10 Days – Loujaina Abdelwahed, PhD presents analysis by Revelio Labs highlighting the negative impact of return to office on employee reviews and attrition.
FIG 19: Negative reviews of RTO correlate positively with attrition (Source: Revelio Labs)
ALICIA ROACH – Not all ‘Workforce Planning’ is the Same – If you are interested in workforce planning and don’t follow Alicia Roach of eQ8 on LinkedIn, you really should. In her recent post, Alicia reflects on her ‘triangle of workforce planning’ (see FIG 20), which skilfully illustrates the value of ‘strategic’ workforce planning.
FIG 20: Source – Alicia Roach
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):
EMILY HACKER AND DAN WEISS - The Critical Role Data Plays in Skills Development - Emily Hacker, CPTD and Dan Weiss share insights from MetLife's skills journey with Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson of RedThread Research on the Workplace Stories podcast. The key learning from the conversation is that your skills data doesn't need to be perfect to benefit employees, improve talent acquisition, and enhance workforce planning.
JOSH BERSIN - The Future Of The Workforce Has Arrived, Can’t You See It? – Inspired by his recent trip to Europe, Josh Bersin explains why the traditional industrial work model has ended, gig work is now mainstream, reskilling should be given primacy, and why HR professionals need to reskill in AI to stay relevant.
BRYAN HANCOCK AND EMILY FIELD - Managing in the era of gen AI – In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Bryan Hancock and Emily Field, two of the authors along with Bill Schaninger, Ph.D. of Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work, join host Lucia Rahilly to explain why middle managers matter, what leaders could do differently to make more of the managers on their teams, and how gen AI could change middle managers’ jobs—for the better.
ANSHUL SHEOPURI - How Mastercard is Training Employees for the AI Era – Anshul Sheopuri, EVP People Operations and Insights at Mastercard, joins Christopher Rainey on the HR Leaders podcast to shares insights on leveraging AI in HR and the importance of continuous learning.
JAMES GALLMAN - Bridging HR Technology, Analytics, AI Agents, LLMs, & Nudging at NetApp - James Gallman , VP HR PMO, Systems and Analytics at NetApp, joins hosts Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD on the Directionally Correct podcast to discuss the overlap between HR technology and people analytics.
LILY ZHENG - Ground Your DEI Efforts in Data – In an episode of Women at Work, DEI strategist and consultant Lily Zheng joins hosts Amy Bernstein and Amy Gallo to explain the role of data and analytics in DEI, and the importance of measuring outcomes to make lasting progress.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
JULIET SCHOR - Smarter Work for a Better World?
Studies suggest that the Four Day Week may reduce burnout and depression, while also offering significant opportunities to reduce our collective carbon footprint.
One of my favourite sessions at this year’s Wharton People Analytics Conference saw Professors Juliet Schor and Iwan Barankay discuss what we know about the four-day work week and share their different perspectives on what this alternate structure might mean for organisations and their employees.
BOOKS OF THE MONTH
One of the benefits of being on holiday the past few weeks has been that it enabled me to catch up on some reading, hence there being two books of the month for August:
NICK VAN DAM – Boosting Your Well-being: The Best Version of Me - A wonderful book – and a wonderful cause with 100% of the book’s royalties being donated to the e-Learning for Kids Foundation. Written by Prof. dr. Nick van Dam, and 20 co-authors, this is a comprehensive book on professional wellbeing. It delves into the interconnected aspects of four key dimensions: body, mind, purpose, and environment, and offers a compelling approach to self- improvement. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on resilience and adaptability (written by Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten) ), sleep (Dr Els van der Helm) and contribution (Emily Ricci). An uplifting and potentially life-changing read.
KALIFA OLIVER – I Think I Love My Job: Secrets To Designing A People-Centered Employer Value Proposition - At times a powerful and relatable story of the ups and downs of corporate life, and at others a compelling narrative on how to approach work, harness data and build a world-class employee experience. Kalifa Oliver, Ph.D. combines both an academic and a practitioner mindset that empowers the reader to take charge of their career, challenge workplace norms, and use data to revolutionise the employee experience.
FROM MY DESK
August saw us reach a notable milestone on the Digital HR Leaders podcast – our 200th episode, and we celebrated in style with a special guest, Amy Edmondson, Thank you to Louis Gordon and the team at HiBob for sponsoring series 40 of the podcast.
AMY EDMONDSON - How Learning to Fail Can Help People and Organisations to Thrive – Harvard professor, pioneer of psychological safety and Thinkers50 #1, Amy Edmondson joined me for our 200th episode, where we discussed intelligent failure, and how failing well can drive individual and organisational success.
DAVID GREEN - What key elements do you believe are essential to building a strong company culture? - A round up of series 40 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, with insights from John Winsor, Maureen N. Dunne, Ph.D., Nirit Peled-Muntz, Heidi Manna and Amy Edmondson.
DAVID GREEN - Five Key Elements For Building a Strong Company Culture? – A recent article for myHRfuture, where I break down five elements in building a strong company culture including aligning with organisational mission and using people data as your GPS.
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
Wayne Tarken for kindly writing a post about me on LinkedIn: Curious About People Analytics? - What Leaders Can Learn from Thursday's Thought Leader.
Ester Martinez and her team at People Matters for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast in their list of 100 must-read resources for HR and talent leaders.
Rachel Collins for her post emphasising the need to move from employment to employability, inspired by the LinkedIn Live I hosted recently with Ravin Jesuthasan and Tanuj Kapilashrami.
Similarly, thanks to James Elliott for also posting here about the LinkedIn Live with Ravin and Tanuj.
David McLean , whose post on learning from your failures references the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Amy Edmondson.
Veronika Birkheim , whose post on Culture Diagnostics, references the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Heidi Manna.
Andrew Gadomski for his post on how he uses the Data Driven HR Monthly as a learning tool at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Irada Sadykhova for her post on how to build a strong company culture, which was inspired by a recent series of the Digital HR Leaders podcast.
Ashley Utz for her post reflecting on the recent Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Nirit Peled-Muntz.
HR Executive Leadership Exchange for including me in their list of the Top 10 HR Leaders You Should Follow.
Mirro.io for including me in their list of Top HR Leaders to Follow in 2024.
Daniyal Wali and The Talent Games for including me in their list of the Top 10 HR Tech Leaders to Follow in 2024.
Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who shared the July edition of Data Driven HR Monthly. It's much appreciated: Jaqueline Oliveira-Cella Andrés García Ayala Kristhy Bartels Sandy Zou Danielle Farrell, M.A. David Hodges Jeff Wellstead Gord Johnston MA, BHJ, BA, CHRP Debbie Harrison Dave Millner Sharna Wiblen Aizhan Tursunbayeva, PhD, GRP Catriona Lindsay Amardeep Singh, MBA Walter Maes Marcano Gert-Jan Tretmans Tim Peffers Kouros Behzad Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski) Lewis Garrad Sebastian Szachnowski Bob Pulver John Golden, Ph.D. Ben Wigert, Ph.D, MBA Ken Oehler Alexis Fink Katia Simões Francisca Solano Beneitez Abbas Qaidari Onno Bouman Aravind Warrier Kathleen Kruse Adedamola Adeleke ☁️ Elodie MENAGER Susan Knolla John Healy David Simmonds FCIPD Andrews Cobbinah, MLPI, ACIHRM Deviprasad Panda Vanesa C. David McLean Timo Tischer Prachi Agasti Maria Alice Jovinski Tristan Hack Adam McKinnon, PhD. Nicole Hazard Michael Arena Andras Vicsek Jane Kuhn Emily Pelosi, PhD Malgorzata Langlois Ahmed Salah ?? Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD) Paul Daley Kyle Forrest Shivaani Talesra Ryan Wong Shujaat Ahmad Tessa Hilson-Greener Vivek Ojha Jacob Nielsen Søren Kold Tobias W. Goers ツ Terri Horton, EdD, MBA, MA, SHRM-CP, PHR Galo Lopez Noriega Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi Alexandra Nawrat Marian Stancik Hanadi El Sayyed Marcela Niemeyer Higor Gomes Kirsten Edwards Andreea Lungulescu Bradford Williams Faiza Tasneem(Associate CIPD) Alysson DuPont, SHRM-SCP, MBA Dr. Peter Schulz-Rittich Joaquin Hernandez Doug Shagam Mariami Lolashvili Caitie Jacobson Jaap Veldkamp Jaejin Lee Yvonne Bell (She/Her) John Gunawan Roberto Amatucci Philipp Heller Tina Peeters, PhD Gianni Giacomelli Lina Makneviciute Roshaunda Green, MBA, CDSP, Phenom Certified Recruiter Jacob Bradburn, Ph.D. Ying Li Phil Inskip Jack Liu Jonathan Berríos Leiva Stephen Hickey Lars Schmidt Geetanjali Gamel Dan George Anabel Fall Alejandra Barbarelli Adam Gibson Mia Norgren David van Lochem Nick Lynn Silja Kupiainen Heather Whiteman, Ph.D. Meghan M. Biro Martijn Wiertz Agnes Garaba Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga Laurent Reich Sebastian Kolberg Sebastián Mestre Chris Long Penny Newman Ralf Buechsenschuss Sebastian Knepper Marcela Mury Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM Dave Fineman Ron Ben Oz Danielle Bushen Kimberly Rose Daorong Lin Sukumaran Mariappan Abhilash Bodanapu Sonia Mooney Kerrian Soong Jay Polaki⚡️ SHRM-SCP/SPHR Remco van Es Ken Clar Matt Elk Aulia Raubien Natalie Wiseman Graham Irene Wong David Balls (FCIPD) Olivier Bougarel Ramesh Karpagavinayagam Oliver Kasper Andrew Kilshaw Nick Hudgell Gal Mozes, PhD Tatu Westling Brandon Merritt Johnson
UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR PEOPLE ANALYTICS FUNCTION THROUGH THE INSIGHT222 PEOPLE ANALYTICS PROGRAM
At Insight222, our mission is to make organisations better by putting people analytics at the centre of business and upskilling the HR profession The Insight222 People Analytics Program® is your gateway to a world of knowledge, networking, and growth. Developed exclusively for people analytics leaders and their teams, the program equips you with the frameworks, guidance, learnings, and connections you need to create greater impact.
As the landscape of people analytics becomes increasingly complex, with data, technology, and ethical considerations at the forefront, our program brings together over one hundred organisations to collectively address these shared challenges.
Insight222 Peer Meetings, like this event in London, are a core component of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®. They allow participants to learn, network and co-create solutions together with the purpose of ultimately growing the business value that people analytics can deliver to their organisations. If you would like to learn more, contact us today.
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.
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:
September 11 - Productivity, Purpose, and Profit: How to thrive in ‘25 (London)
September 16-19 - Workday Rising (Las Vegas)
September 24-26 - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat (Colorado, US) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
October 2-3 - People Analytics World (New York)
October 16-17 - UNLEASH World (Paris)
October 22-23 - Insight222 North American Peer Meeting (hosted by Workday in Pleasanton, CA) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
November 12-14 - Workday Rising EMEA (London)
November 19-20 - Insight222 European Peer Meeting (hosted by Merck in Darmstadt, Germany) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
More events will be added as they are confirmed.
Top 10 HR and People Analytics Themes of 2023
As we near the end of another successful year here at Insight222, we want to reflect on the top themes that have emerged in our content.
From data-driven insights to real-world examples, our team has worked meticulously to deliver informative and persuasive articles that aim to enhance the HR and people analytics function. And we have seen some exciting changes and advancements in the field this year.
So, without further ado, here are the top themes that have taken front stage in our content during 2023.
Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Psychological safety in the workplace has been proven time and time again that without it, a team cannot thrive. In fact, we like to think of it as the epitome of successful teams.
Therefore, it's no surprise that this theme carries over from last year. Some of our most popular blogs discuss measuring psychological safety in the workplace, understanding how organisational culture impacts it and exploring how companies like Microsoft are transforming their organisational culture to prioritise psychological safety and promote a positive work environment.
Behavioural Science in HR
(Source: People Analytics Trends 2021)
The integration of behavioural science into HR and people analytics practices has been gaining traction for the past few years, and this year was no exception. With the changing nature of skills and roles in HR, the need for understanding human behaviour and decision-making has become increasingly important in driving impactful business outcomes.
With this, our article on exploring the role of behavioural science in HR and how it can be leveraged to improve employee engagement, performance, and productivity was one of our most popular reads of 2023.
How AI is Changing the HR Landscape
No discussion about the future of work is complete without considering the role of artificial intelligence (AI).
(Source: The Impact of GPT and Generative AI Models on People Analytics (Interview with Andrew Marritt))
AI has been incorporated into HR for some time now. We have been using it to automate routine tasks, streamline recruitment processes and improve HR analytics. However, with the birth of generative AI models like Chat-GPT, it is an understatement to say that AI has revolutionised every aspect of HR. Better yet, it's safe to say that it has and will continue to revolutionise every business function within an organisation.
From utilising AI in people analytics to how it is transforming the HR landscape, our articles on the impact of Chat-GPT and generative AI models and how AI is changing HR analytics have been among the most popular reads of this year. And for good reason - with the potential to improve decision-making, streamline processes, and enhance employee experience, AI is a topic every HR and people analytics professional should pay attention to.
The Impact of Analytics on HR
Our Insight222 research has shown time and time again that organisations that invest in people analytics drive better business outcomes, which is why, this year, we continued to dig deeper into this topic by exploring the New Model for People Analytics.
With the rise of digital transformation and the increasing importance of data in driving strategic business decisions, our articles on using statistics to drive actionable outcomes, why people analytics is so important for HR, and how social capital can be measured have been highly sought-after reads.
Upskilling the HR Function and Building Data Literacy at Scale
Considering the previous points, it's understandable that upskilling the HR function and building data literacy at scale have emerged as key themes this year. To fully leverage the benefits of AI and data analytics, HR professionals must develop a strong understanding of data and how it can be used to drive strategic decision-making.
As such, in July, we released our research, Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale, which outlines the skills and competencies that HR professionals need to succeed in the digital age. It also highlights how HR leaders need to build an effective skill-based workforce planning capability.
(Source: Measuring the ROI of Employee Training and Development)
Interestingly, this research has also sparked discussions on who holds the responsibility for scaling data literacy across HR, which we explore in our article Who Holds the Responsibility for Scaling Data Literacy Across HR?
Measuring the ROI of Employee Development
Building upon the theme of upskilling and data literacy, it's important to also focus on measuring the ROI of employee development. As professionals in the HR sector, we know all too well that investing in employee training and development is crucial for an organisation's long-term success.
But with senior executives increasingly asking (and expecting) HR to demonstrate the value of these investments, our article on measuring the ROI of employee training and development has been one of the most popular reads this year.
Delivering Greater Value for the Business Through People Analytics
At its core, people analytics is about delivering greater value for the business. Our 2022 research, Impacting Business Value: Leading Companies in People Analytics, is a testament to this. Leading Companies (organisations that drive the most business impact through people analytics) have consistently shown better financial performance, higher employee engagement and retention rates, and overall greater success compared to their less data-driven counterparts.
This is why, in 2023, we have seen a surge of interest in articles on delivering greater value for the organisation with people analytics and the growing influence of people analytics in strategic business decisions.
And this trend will only continue as more and more organisations recognise the importance of incorporating data-driven insights into their decision-making processes.
Challenges to Building Data Literacy
If there is one thing we have identified as a common theme this year, it's the challenges of building data literacy within HR. From understanding the technical aspects of data analysis to gaining buy-in from senior leadership, organisations face various hurdles when trying to build a culture of data literacy.
(Source: Insight222 Research: Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale)
However, as we continue to uncover the value that analytics brings to HR and the business as a whole, these challenges will become easier to overcome. And with more resources and tools available to support data literacy efforts within organisations, we are confident that this theme will evolve in 2024.
Evolving the HR Practice
In all, as we wrap up another year, it's clear that people analytics and data-driven HR practices have become even more ingrained in our work. From the importance of psychological safety and behavioural science to the impact of AI, measuring ROI, and delivering greater value to the business - these are just a few key themes that have shaped our content this year.
However, as we move forward, HR professionals must continue developing their data literacy and upskilling themselves to drive the success of their organisations further.
To that end, we look forward to seeing how these themes will evolve and shape the future of HR in the coming years.
Manpreet RandhawaDecember 18, 2023
Data-Driven Decision Making
Data-Driven Decision Making
Data-Driven Decision Making
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