• David Green
    The best HR & People Analytics articles of July 2025 HR如何在AI时代掌握主动？David Green发布的7月《Data Driven HR Monthly》汇集全球顶尖报告与实践，聚焦“技能+任务”新范式、AI对员工体验与倦怠的双面影响，以及CHRO在企业AI战略中的领导地位。BCG数据显示，印度AI使用率达92%，但全球员工对AI培训满意度仅36%。Upwork报告揭示：高效AI用户更易疲惫离职。McKinsey与Gartner呼吁HR重构组织模型与人才规划体系。本期还探讨神经多元、NASA人才图谱与“Vibe Coding”等创新实践。 I always enjoy spending time in India, so I was delighted to arrive in Delhi yesterday ahead of People Matters Tech HR later this week. I’ll be delivering the opening keynote on how HR leaders can ace the next curve of change as well as leading a workshop on the science of better decisions. I’m looking forward to catching up with fellow speakers such as Jason Averbook (tip: subscribe to his Now to Next blog, if you don’t already), Pushkaraj Bidwai, Mukesh Jain, and Shefali Raias well as immersing myself in what is happening in the Indian HR tech scene. In this month’s edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, which comes against the backdrop of CEOs flexing on the impact of AI on jobs, I’ve included new research from BCG and Upwork on AI at work, and the role of HR. Marc Effron is spot on here with his assessment that CHROs need to be leading the strategic conversation with the executive team on their desire to reduce costs through job reduction enabled by AI: “CHROs can lead this conversation through organization, operating model and job design, where we should be experts.” I expect plenty of discussion at Tech HR on this topic as well as the wider impact of AI on work, the workforce, and the workplace. One of the messages, I’ll look to get across in my keynote is: AI guides, but humans decide. We must prioritise the ‘H’ in HR. This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at TechWolf Skills, Tasks, and Workforce Intelligence: Navigating the AI Transformation This month’s edition highlights an important conversation from the TechWolf Podcast, recorded live in New York, featuring Marc Steven Ramos, global learning leader with 25+ years’ global transformation experience with Google, Microsoft, Accenture, Novartis, Oracle, and Cornerstone, and Jeroen Van Hautte ?, CTO & Co-Founder of TechWolf. The discussion explores how task-based intelligence complements skills data to create a complete view of workforce capabilities, empowering organizations to navigate one of the largest business transformations in history: the AI-driven redefinition of work. Skills without context can be ambiguous. Tasks ground them in real work, and that’s where change, productivity, and AI come together — Marc Ramos Why This Matters Now: The pace of change in the workforce is unprecedented. Leading enterprises are already recognizing that workforce intelligence - the ability to understand, predict, and act on how work is changing in real time - is no longer optional. From skills to skills + tasks + jobs: Combining these data points allows organizations to connect individual capabilities to tangible outputs and outcomes. AI as a catalyst: AI is accelerating job evolution, making real-time visibility into tasks and skills essential for workforce planning and redeployment. Strategic urgency for boards: Workforce automation isn’t a distant trend — it is reshaping workforces today, creating pressure on executives to act on reskilling, redeployment, and workforce design at speed. To really understand a skill, you need to understand the context in which it’s applied — the tasks. And that’s where AI can add transformative clarity — Jeroen Van Hautte For HR leaders, this is an opportunity to lead. With skills and tasks as the foundation, HR is uniquely positioned to drive cultural alignment, manage change, and deliver on the board-level mandate to prepare workforces for the AI era. Listen to the Episode: ?️ Marc Ramos & Jeroen Van Hautte on Tasks, Skills & the Future of Work (TechWolf website summary) To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 145,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org. JULY ROAD REPORT Until flying to Delhi yesterday, as mentioned above for Tech HR India later this week, July had been a light month of travel other than a short trip to Switzerland to run an AI workshop with the HR leadership team of one of the companies that are part of the Insight222 People Analytics Program. For those interested, one of my speaking engagements from earlier this year, at the Wharton People Analytics Conference, is now available to view (see below). In the talk, I explore the critical role of data democratisation and adoption in driving workforce insights, enhancing decision-making, and scaling HR’s strategic impact. I also share best practices from our work and research at Insight222 for making people analytics accessible to leaders and employees alike, the challenges of adoption, and the key investments required to unlock the full potential of workforce data. Enjoy! Share the love! Enjoy reading the collection of resources for July 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 June’s compendium. If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is usually published every other Tuesday – subscribe here – and read the latest edition. HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK BCG - AI at Work: Momentum Builds, but Gaps Remain | JOHN BRAZIER AND NICK SOUTH - BCG’s AI at Work 2025 report: Four takeaways for HR leaders Companies are realizing that merely introducing AI tools into existing ways of working isn’t enough to unlock their full potential. The real magic happens—and value generated —when businesses go further and reshape their workflows end-to-end. BCG’s annual AI at work global survey of employees is packed full of insights and guidance for business and HR leaders looking to maximise value, adoption and employee experience with AI. The key takeaways include: (1) AI is now part of our daily work lives: 72% of respondents are regular AI users (although adoption amongst frontline employees has stalled at 51%). (2) Investment in training, leadership support and access to the right tools can break this ceiling: Yet only 36% of employees are satisfied with their AI training. (3) The Global South is showing higher adoption of AI. India leads the pack with 92% of regular users compared to the US (64%), UK (68%) and Japan (51%). (4) The next frontier: from adoption to value with end-to-end redesign. One-half of respondents say their company is starting to reshape processes. These companies also invest more in their people – and it pays off (see FIG 1). (5) AI agents are not widely deployed. Only 13% see agents integrated into broader workflows (see FIG 2). Kudos to the authors: Vinciane Beauchene, Sylvain Duranton, Nipun Kalra, and David Martin. For HR leaders, I also recommend reading John Brazier’s interview with BCG’s Nick South about the implications of the report’s findings for HR on the UNLEASH blog. FIG 1: The relationship between workflow redesign due to AI and investment in people (Source: BCG) FIG 2: Use of AI agents (Source: BCG) GABBY BURLACU AND KELLY MONAHAN - From Tools to Teammates: Navigating the New Human-AI Relationship Full time employees getting the most done with AI are also the most burned out, disengaged, and disconnected from their teams. In their study for the Upwork Research Institute, Gabriela (Gabby) Burlacu and Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. identify a crucial message for the future of work: while AI is undeniably boosting productivity – with a reported 40% jump for many workers – it's also creating a human paradox. Alarmingly, top AI performers are experiencing high burnout (88%) and are twice as likely to leave, often feeling disconnected from strategy and even trusting AI more than human colleagues (see FIG 3 and 4). The report offers three urgent calls to action for business leaders: (1) Redesign work for human-centered, AI-empowered talent and workflows, prioritising autonomy, trust and psychological safety. (2) Cultivate flexible and resilient talent ecosystems, combining full-time employees, freelancers, and AI capabilities to create agile, resilient, and high-performing teams. (3) Redefine AI strategies to focus on the end-to-end human experience, including new roles, norms, and governance. For HR leaders, these findings are a wake-up call. We must prioritise the relational side of AI, ensuring human connection, well-being, and purpose are augmented, not eroded. It's about preventing burnout in our most productive AI users, fostering alignment, and learning from agile models like freelancers to build a truly sustainable human-AI collaborative future. FIG 3: The human cost of AI productivity (Source: The Upwork Research Institute) FIG 4: The rise of human-like relationships with AI (Source: The Upwork Research Institute) COBUS GREYLING - Do AI Agents Substitute Human Workers — Or Enable Humans To Succeed In New Ways? | L. ELISA CELIS, LINGXIAO HUANG, AND NISHEETH K. VISHNOI - A Mathematical Framework for AI-Human Integration in Work AI Agents are good at tasks not jobs… In his article, Cobus Greyling provides an insightful and accessible analysis of a new study by Elisa Celis, Lingxiao Huang, and Nisheeth Vishnoi, which presents a mathematical framework that models jobs, workers, and worker-job fit, and introduces a novel decomposition of skills into decision-level and action-level subskills to reflect the complementary strengths of humans and GenAI. Greyling’s incisive analysis offers a helpful perspective for HR leaders navigating the future of work. His core message is clear: AI agents are fantastic at tasks, not entire jobs. They're not just substitutes, but powerful amplifiers of human capability, especially for less experienced workers, effectively compressing productivity gaps and fostering extraordinary collaboration. Here are four key learnings for HR: (1) Agentic AI Augments Human Potential: AI agents boost efficiency and performance, particularly for junior talent, by handling structured tasks and freeing humans for higher-order work. (2) Redefine Skills & Development: While AI takes on the mundane, HR must strategically ensure continuous skill development, focusing on uniquely human capabilities like judgment, creativity, and complex problem-solving. (3) Design for Human-AI Synergy: Organisational design must pivot to foster premium collaborations between humans and AI. It's about combining complementary strengths to achieve outcomes greater than the sum of the parts. (4) HR Leads Strategic Integration: Our role in HR is pivotal. We must orchestrate the strategic integration of agentic AI, balancing its efficiency gains with the imperative to preserve and nurture human ingenuity, driving both innovation and connection. FIG 5: Al for work: skill difficulty continuum (Source: Cobus Greyling) PEOPLE ANALYTICS KETAKI SODHI AND COLE NAPPER - Who Needs a “Human in the Loop” When AI Gives Itself Feedback Ketaki Sodhi, PhD, Program Owner for Agentic Listening and Analytics at Microsoft, and Cole Napper provide a fascinating perspective on the "human in the loop" concept for Generative AI, provocatively asking: which human, and how? This isn't just a technical question; it's where I/O Psychology and People Analytics come into their own. The article frames AI "evals"— the systems for assessing whether AI outputs are useful, accurate or aligned —as essentially performance management for Large Language Models. Just as we've wrestled with defining "good" in complex human knowledge work for decades, we now face the same challenge in building AI systems. In a world of infinite " " answers, AI evals demand the same nuance we apply to human systems: competency models, multi-rater input, calibration, and context. One of the key takeaways from Ketaki and Cole is that true success lies not in chasing perfect answers from AI, but in designing smart, human-informed systems. These are the systems that can discern between good, better, and what genuinely drives impact for your organisation. For people analytics leaders and I/O psychologists, this is a clarion call to leverage their deep expertise in human performance to shape the very fabric of our AI-driven future. FIG 6: Source – Ketaki Sodhi BEN BERRY - The future is built by everyone: What is Vibe Coding and why should People Analytics teams adopt it | ROSARIO GERMINO - From People Analytics to People Economics and Impact | ADRIAN PEREZ – GitLab People Analytics Team Handbook | DOMINIK TOMICEVIC - Can NASA’s People Graph and LLMs Revolutionize Workforce Planning? | MORGAN DEPENBUSCH - How to let color do the storytelling 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. Five are highlighted in this month’s edition: (1) In a particularly insightful piece, Ben Berry examines whether vibe coding, a product management practice of using AI tools to rapidly build functional prototypes to help turn rough ideas into working concepts, should be adopted in people analytics. (2) In her thoughtful article, Rosario Germino argues that to elevate people decisions to the same level of strategic investment as product or finance, we need a new way of thinking—and a new kind of function – People Economics and Impact, which she then breaks down into the why (see FIG 7 on the multi-dimensional aspect of informed decision making), what and how. (3) In a recent post, Adrian M. Pérez provides open source access to GitHub’s People Analytics Team Handbook, a rich resources covering areas such as (i) data governance framework, (ii) tools and methodologies, (iii) survey administration, and (iv) Tableau dashboard strategies. (4) Dominik Tomicevic provides a compelling account of how NASA’s People Graph is supporting a range of priorities from upskilling to workforce planning – with insights from the NASA team of David Meza, Madison Ostermann and Katharine Knott, MBA: “Knowledge graphs offer flexibility, since you don’t need a full schema upfront. We began with known relationships and expanded as we uncovered more insights in the data.” (5) In an edition of her excellent Trending Up newsletter, Morgan Depenbusch, PhD offers some compelling guidance on the use of colour in data visualisation and storytelling. FIG 7: Informed decisions are multi-dimensional. Financial logic makes them investable (Source: Rosario Germino) THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE MCKINSEY - HR Monitor 2025 The gap is widening between what is needed from an efficient, effective HR function and what most organizations currently offer McKinsey's HR Monitor 2025 benchmark study of workforce and HR trends across Europe, delivers a sharp analysis of the critical shifts shaping the HR profession, emphasising that the next 12-24 months are decisive for the function. The report identifies five key trends: (1) Workforce planning is not approached strategically enough – see FIG 8 - (“…with rapid changes driven by gen AI and shifting skill needs, workforce planning must move beyond short-term staffing forecasts to include a longer-term view and future-scenario planning”). (2) Talent acquisition is becoming more complex: with only 56% offer acceptance rates, 18% of new hires leaving during their probationary period and the overall hiring success rate in Europe standing at a lowly 46%, a more strategic and coordinated approach to attracting and hiring talent is required. (3) Employee development continues to be highly fragmented (“To prepare the workforce for future challenges, organizations must connect performance management, learning and development, and talent development in one cohesive strategy”). (4) Employee experience is essential—and underdeveloped (“A more tailored, data-driven approach to the employee experience is needed to build motivation and long-term commitment to employers”). (5) Gen AI and shared-services centres could boost efficiency and effectiveness (“HR departments must modernize their operating models by expanding SSC adoption and using automation and gen AI to increase speed, scalability, and strategic impact”). For Chief People Officers, the message is clear: You must align HR strategy directly with business priorities, strengthen your HR operating model, and aggressively build digital and AI skills within HR. This is about laying the foundation for a modern, AI-enabled HR function that is both deeply people-centric and laser-focused on organizational performance. Kudos to the authors: Julian Kirchherr, Vincent Bérubé, Charlotte Seiler, Dr. Kira Alexandra Rupietta, Kristina Stoerk, Nina-Marlene Senst, and Simon Gallot Lavallée. ...with rapid changes driven by gen AI and shifting skill needs, workforce planning must move beyond short-term staffing forecasts to include a longer-term view and future-scenario planning FIG 8: Engagement in workforce planning (Source: McKinsey) FIG 9: Predicted impact of gen AI on HR department (Source: McKinsey) ESER RIZAOGLU AND STEPHANIE CLEMENT - How CHROs Can Prepare Their Function and the Enterprise for AI Transformation CHROs play a key role in safely using AI at scale to deliver business outcomes. Recent research by Eser Rizaoglu and Stephanie Clement for Gartner provides a helpful roadmap for CHROs steering their organisations through AI transformation, by focusing on HR's pivotal role in shaping the future of work. The report highlights three key actions for CHROs to enable their organisation's AI approach: (1) Assist in delivering business outcomes using AI: Leverage GenAI for HR productivity first, then expand to drive enterprise-wide improvements with a broader AI portfolio. (2) Manage behavioural outcomes of AI: Cultivate a culture of innovation, build human-centred change management plans, and introduce new HR roles to foster human-machine partnerships. (3) Enable workforce readiness for AI: Implement AI literacy programs for all (see FIG 10), while targeting upskilling efforts on segments most impacted, building empathy, and tracking readiness indicators. For CHROs in Steady-AI-Pace organisations, the focus is on foundational AI literacy and policy. Those at an Accelerated-AI-Pace must deepen this by targeting high-impact workforce segments and deploying AI champions to drive effective, human-centric change. FIG 10: AI Literacy Program Roadmap (Source: Gartner) DAVE ULRICH - Navigating Eight Paradoxes of AI for HR When algorithms combine with human empathy, judgement, and creativity, sustained progress occurs. In his article, Dave Ulrich highlights eight paradoxes on the AI for HR agenda that he believes business and HR leaders need to navigate to move up the s-curve and waves of HR impact (see FIG 11) to deliver more value. As Dave explains: “Navigating (not just managing) paradox means highlighting and working through opposing ideas—each of which is valid—that combine to create more value.” The eight paradoxes identified in the article are: (1) AI and AI: Artificial Intelligence * Authentic Intimacy. (2) Remove jobs and redefine work. (3) Bottom line efficiency and top line growth. (4) Distribute and concentrate power. (5) Lower and increase risk. (6) Expand perspective and reduce cognition. (7) Provide answers and explore questions. (8) Isolate and connect. FIG 11: Five stages of AI for HR evolution (Source: Dave Ulrich) EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING JARED WEINTRAUB - A day in the life of a GenAI-enabled workforce Deloitte forecasts that 25 percent of companies currently using GenAI will launch agentic pilots this year, rising to 50 percent by 2027 Jared Weintraub, PhD, SPHR's article for Deloitte paints a tantalising picture of a 'Gen-AI enabled workforce,' showcasing how AI agents are already transforming our daily work. Through a fictional Fortune500 company, Jared brings to life three key personas: (1) New Hire (Riley): Experiences personalised onboarding, with AI agents helping her navigate culture and quickly excel in her role. (2) VP (Taylor): Sees optimised leadership workflows, receiving instant summaries, personalised action items, and even real-time feedback on calls. (3) CEO (Angelina): Gains powerful support for strategic decision-making, with AI agents providing real-time insights and even coaching for high-stakes events like public town halls. These examples demonstrate AI's profound potential not to replace workers, but to fundamentally enhance human potential, leading to a significantly improved employee experience where individuals, teams, and organisations can thrive and perform at their absolute best. Thanks to Brian Heger for highlighting in his excellent Talent Edge Weekly. WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS SCOTT REIDA AND KRISTIN SABOE - Applying the Rule of 72 to Workforce Skill Obsolescence and Productivity Degradation Amazon's Scott Reida and Google's Kristin Saboe, Ph.D. introduce a powerful financial concept to HR: the "Rule of 72." Traditionally, it's a shortcut to estimate how long an investment takes to double, by dividing 72 by its annual growth rate. They ingeniously flip this, applying it to skill evolution: by dividing 72 by a role's weighted average 3-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of its skills, one estimates the "years to obsolescence" if no upskilling occurs. This provides critical directional clarity on how fast job competencies are shifting. Their framework, illustrated in FIG 12, categorises skills into four key zones: (1) Emerging (low adoption, high growth, representing the cutting edge). (2) Table Stakes (widely adopted, foundational must-haves with steady growth). (3) On the Cusp (moderate adoption, sustained expansion, offering long-term value). (4) Sunset (declining demand, requiring intentional upskilling). This enables smarter workforce planning. HR can now target training budgets where skill erosion is rapid, shifting from reactive to proactive strategies. It transforms talent into a dynamic portfolio , informing sharper hiring and career development in our accelerating world. FIG 12: Categorising skills into four key zones (Source – Scott Reida and Kristin Saboe) McKINSEY - The new rules for getting your operating model redesign right When people feel invested in and supported, they are more likely to embrace change, contribute meaningfully, and sustain the behaviors that drive long-term impact. New research from McKinsey updating their nine golden rules for operating model redesign, which finds that five original (evergreen) rules have stood the test of time while four new (evolved) rules have emerged (see FIG 13). The study identifies a key finding: redesign success jumps from 59 percent when using all nine original rules to 97 percent when using all nine in the refreshed set. The article also presents four broad redesign themes for leaders to focus on: (1) Create alignment among leaders and decision-makers, grounded in strategy. (2) Invest deeply in rewiring workflows. (3) Make significant investments in people. (4) Create a performance-oriented culture for durable impact. For Chief People Officers, the key takeaway is that they need to become the architects of dynamic, human-centric operating models. Their focus shifts from traditional talent management to proactively designing how work gets done, emphasising skills and capabilities over static roles. CPOs should also lead on ethical AI integration, foster a culture of continuous learning, and empower leaders. This creates a workforce built for perpetual reinvention, driving sustained value in an increasingly uncertain world. Kudos to the authors: Brooke Weddle, J.R. Maxwell, Tristan Allen, Deepak Mahadevan, Elizabeth Mygatt, and Olli Salo. FIG 13: The refreshed golden rules of organisational redesign (Source: McKinsey) LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING JEFF WETZLER - The Right Way to Prepare for a High-Stakes Conversation Curiosity increases your ability to process new information and respond creatively to complex problems. It activates the brain’s learning and reward centers, increasing your capacity for insight and creative problem-solving. In his recent HBR article, Jeff Wetzler introduces a helpful concept for leaders: The Curiosity Check (see FIG 14). This diagnostic is designed to fundamentally shift your mindset from defensive certainty to productive curiosity, and so improve your effectiveness in high-stakes discussions and boost your influence. It’s all about unlocking crucial, often hidden, insights. Wetzler outlines three actionable steps: (1) Choose Curiosity Over Certainty: Actively ask yourself "What am I missing?" challenging your assumptions. (2) Make It Safe to Speak Up: Create an environment where people feel secure sharing their true thoughts, proving safety through action, not just words. (3) Pose Quality Questions: Shift from shallow or leading questions to open-ended, neutral, and deeper inquiries that encourage genuine reflection. Wetzler brings this to life with examples, highlighting how leaders often miss critical information when they assume team alignment, never probing for the "unspoken thoughts" that hold the real insights. This approach empowers you to tap into wisdom you might otherwise completely overlook. Thanks to Amy Edmondson for highlighting. FIG 14: The Curiosity Curve (Source: Jeff Wetzler) MCKINSEY RESEARCH AND INNOVATION LEARNING LAB – Reimagined: Development for the Future of Work – Evolving Trends in L&D Article | Full report Leaders must prepare for a future defined by radical candor regarding the impacts of AI on work and the workforce. The 2025 McKinsey Learning Perspective spotlights three interconnected themes crucial for people development in a rapidly changing world: (1) Fluid Development Ecosystems: Organisations must design work to be inherently developmental, shifting from rigid structures to dynamic, data-driven ecosystems. This means de-siloing HR functions and embedding learning into daily work, making growth continuous and seamless. The goal is to make daily challenges catalysts for growth, supported by real-time data and foresight. (2) Responsible AI Adoption: This defining moment demands leaders preserve employee trust by showing AI will help them thrive, not just automate work. It's about fostering powerful human-AI collaboration, offloading repetitive tasks to AI to unlock human creativity and higher-order skills. Responsible adoption hinges on equipping employees with uniquely human capabilities like critical thinking and judgment. (3) Resilient and Adaptable Individuals and Organisations: Thriving organisations anticipate challenges, adapt, and grow, building structural and cultural foundations for resilience. This involves unlocking the potential of diverse, multigenerational workforces, supporting recuperation to prevent burnout, and enabling organisational resilience through sustainable workflows. It means seeing resilience as a shared, cultivated capability, not just an individual trait. Read the article by Heather Stefanski, Benjamin Hall, Jake Gittleson, and Jessica Glazer, and then dive into the full report, which also includes contributions from the likes of Sandra Durth. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING ROBERT D. AUSTIN, NEIL BARNETT, CHLOE R. CAMERON, HIREN SHUKLA, THORKIL SONNE, AND JOSE VELASCO - How Neuroinclusion Builds Organizational Capabilities Leaders should consider neuro-inclusion as a strategic capability-building opportunity rather than a diversity initiative In a rapidly evolving world, neuro-inclusion is emerging as a critical organisational capability, as highlighted by Robert Austin, Neil Barnett, Chloe Cameron, Hiren Shukla, Thorkil Sonne, and Jose Velasco in the MIT Sloan Management Review. This isn't merely a diversity initiative; it's a strategic imperative that unlocks competitive advantage by leveraging the rich, natural variation in human cognition. By intentionally designing processes for neurodistinct individuals, organisations can profoundly improve: (1) Hiring, by tapping into overlooked talent pools with unique skills (as seen with SAP attracting highly credentialed candidates often missed by traditional interviews); (2) Innovation, through diverse perspectives that spark novel solutions (Microsoft's Teams ‘Blur’ feature emerged from a neurodistinct engineer's insights); and ultimately, (3) Culture, by fostering a more adaptive and truly inclusive environment for everyone. As the article reveals, EY, Microsoft, and SAP are prime examples of organisations already reaping these benefits, demonstrating that embracing neurodiversity enhances collective intelligence and drives superior business outcomes. FRANK DOBBIN AND ALEXANDRA KALEV - Achieve DEI Goals Without DEI Programs Many management innovations designed to improve performance actually boost workforce diversity as well, without inviting the backlash of formal DEI programs. Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev, in their recent HBR article, challenge the traditional view of DEI. They argue that as formal DEI programs face headwinds, HR leaders can still drive significant diversity, equity, and inclusion by focusing on high-performance management techniques that naturally foster inclusion and improve business outcomes, all without the ‘DEI program’ label. They highlight five powerful techniques and provide examples of how these have been implemented by companies: (1) Referral programs: Companies like Oracle use these effectively, often boosting representation organically. (2) Skills upgrading: Walmart exemplifies this, investing in employee upskilling that broadens opportunities for diverse talent (see FIG 15). (3) Mentoring programs: IBM has long leveraged robust mentoring to support career progression across all groups. (4) Scheduling flexibility and stability: Gap demonstrates how providing predictable yet flexible schedules empowers diverse workforces. (5) Performance-based retention: Amazon uses data-driven approaches to identify and retain top performers, inherently benefiting those who excel regardless of background (also see FIG 15). This approach embeds DEI within the fabric of how we manage and develop our people, making it an undeniable component of business success. It’s about doing good by doing well. FIG 15: Walmart and Amazon’s changing workforces (Source: Dobbin and Kalev) HR TECH VOICES Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor and analyst community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from July that I recommend readers delve into: LISA K. SIMON - How Much Is a Skill Worth? In her article, Lisa K. Simon, Chief Economist at Revelio Labs, presents the findings of a new paper, she co-authored with David Dorn, Ludger Woessmann, Moritz Seebacher and Florian Schoner, which finds that the number and type of skills workers report are strong predictors of how much they earn: “In fact, differences in skills predict earnings better than differences in education or past experience. Workers who list more skills tend to be in better-paid jobs. On average, each additional skill listed on a resume is associated with 0.67 percentage points higher earnings.” Another finding is that not all skills are valued equally, with occupation-specific and managerial skills providing the largest boost to income, while a higher prevalence of general skills is associated with lower earnings (see FIG 16). Thanks to Seth Hollander, MBA for highlighting the article and paper. Workers who list more skills tend to be in better-paid jobs. On average, each additional skill listed on a resume is associated with 0.67 percentage points higher earnings. FIG 16: Only having general skills on a resume is associated with lower earnings (Source: Revelio Labs) WARDEN AI - State of AI Bias in Talent Acquisition This is an excellent new report from Jeffrey Pole and the team at Warden AI, which provides a comprehensive and data-driven review of AI bias, compliance and responsible AI practices in talent acquisition – the area of HR, which perhaps has the most significant adoption of AI. With a foreword by Kyle Lagunas, and contributions from the likes of Hung Lee (see quote below) and Sarah Smart, Sultan Murad Saidov and Trent Cotton, key findings include: (1) 75% of HR leaders say bias is a top concern when adopting AI. (2) 15% of AI systems fail to meet fairness metrics for one or more demographic group. (3) AI scores 0.94 vs 0.67 for humans, outperforming on average across fairness metrics (see FIG 17). (4) AI is up to 45% more fair than humans for women and racial minority candidates. Congrats too to Jeff and the team for raising $1.6m in a recent funding round. We are right to worry about AI bias, but we should not forget that the baseline, human only judgment, is far from bias-free - Hung Lee FIG 17: AI outperforms humans across fairness metrics (Source - Warden AI, State of AI Bias in Talent Acquisition) COLE NAPPER - From HR Skills…to HR Jobs When new trends emerge at work, they are likely to first appear as skills. As skills evolve, they consolidate into job titles and full occupations. The prolific Cole Napper highlights Lightcast data to paint a compelling analysis on the journey of people analytics, workforce planning and talent intelligence from trends to skills to jobs: “When new trends emerge at work, they are likely to first appear as skills. As skills evolve, they consolidate into job titles and full occupations.” In the article, Cole presents data visualisations and analysis on how job postings mentioning each of the three skills fluctuated over time, how this translated into job titles, and the wage premium (see FIG 18) that these three categories have on HR salaries in general (on the theme of people strategy and analytics salaries, read this post by Pallavi Narang) Look out for Cole’s book, People Analytics: Using data-driven HR and Gen AI as a business asset, which is available for pre-order now ahead of being published on August 26. FIG 18: Median salaries in HR areas (Source: Lightcast) PODCASTS OF THE MONTH In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected four gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below): PETER FASOLO - Leading with impact as a chief human resources officer – In this must-listen episode of Capital H, Peter Fasolo, Ph.D., former chief human resources officer at Johnson & Johnson, joins host Kyle Forrest to discuss the power of systems thinking, board collaboration, aligning your people agenda with enterprise strategy, and more. ANGELA LE MATHON - AI-Native HR Operating Model & AI Agents for Skills/Tasks – The brilliant Angela LE MATHON joins Cole Napper to discuss how AI is transforming the work that people analytics does and how the function operates as well as envisioning a new AI-native operating model for HR. SVENJA GUDELL, BROOKE WEDDLE, AND BRYAN HANCOCK - What the labor market isn’t telling you—yet – Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Indeed, joins Brooke Weddle, Bryan Hancock, and host Lucia Rahilly, on an episode of McKinsey Talks Talent to help leaders make sense of the current collision of labour market trends: generative AI, agentic AI, an aging workforce, shifting priorities, and more. BEN WEIN – How Bristol-Myers Squibb used skills data to solve a life-or-death talent shortage – Ben Wein, Director of Workforce Skills Enablement at Bristol Myers Squibb, joins Julius Schelstraete ? on The TechWolf Podcast to share how BMS is becoming a skills-based organisation—starting with a business-critical talent shortage in cell therapy manufacturing. Ben explains how BMS uses skills data to drive faster hiring, smarter workforce planning, and ultimately, patient impact. VIDEO OF THE MONTH DJ PATIL - Data, Decisions, and the Future of Work: How AI and Curiosity Are Redefining Careers Many of the videos of the talks at the recent Wharton People Analytics Conference are now available on the Wharton School YouTube channel, including my talk on How Top Companies Scale People Analytics Adoption. There are some wonderful talks from the likes of Amy Edmondson, Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, Ben Waber, Karalee Close, Guru Sethupathy and Michael Fraccaro, but perhaps my favourite session of the two days was former US Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil’s fireside chat with Eric Bradlow on how firms can harness data science to navigate the future of work. They explore the evolving relationship between AI and human collaboration, the promises and pitfalls of algorithmic management, and how leaders can build ethical, resilient, and high-performing organizations in an increasingly data-driven world. BOOKS OF THE MONTH Given it’s the summer in Europe and North America, here are two books to read while you are getting some well-earned relaxation time: PETER HINSSEN – The Uncertainty Principle - Peter Hinssen's The Uncertainty Principle, his fifth book, is a vital read for HR leaders. It argues we're in a "Never Normal" world, where constant change is inevitable. Hinssen transforms uncertainty from a threat to an opportunity, urging us to move faster and think bigger. For HR, this means embracing ambiguity, leading cultural shifts, leveraging people data, and redefining talent and leadership for relentless evolution. It's about equipping our people to thrive and transform every challenge into a strategic advantage. For a preview of the book, I recommend Peter’s recent discussion with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: Uncertainty as an Opportunity: HR's role in Shaping the Future. JENNY DEARBORN AND KELLY RIDER - The Insight-Driven Leader: How High-Performing Companies are Using Analytics to Unlock Business Value - Jenny Dearborn, MBA and Kelly Rider's The Insight-Driven Leader is an inspirational guide to unlocking serious business value through people analytics. This book shows how to transform raw data into powerful workforce insights, solving critical challenges and driving success. You'll learn: (1) How to move beyond traditional rear-view HR metrics to actionable insights. (2) Real-life case studies from leading organisations, as well as cautionary tales. (3) Recommendations for becoming an insights-driven organization using workforce analytics. The book is a must-read for leaders aiming to align data with strategy and build a truly insight-driven culture. FROM MY DESK July saw four new episodes of the Digital HR Leaders podcast – all sponsored by our friends at Mercer (thanks IŞIL ÇAYIRLI KETENCI): ANSHUL SHEOPURI - How People Analytics is Powering Business Strategy - Anshul Sheopuri, Executive Vice President of People Operations & Insights at Mastercard, joins me for a conversation on how to embed analytics into enterprise-wide decision-making at scale. Thanks to Sasha Houlihan for organising. PETER HINSSEN - Uncertainty as an Opportunity: HR's role in Shaping the Future – As highlighted in the Books of the Month above, Peter Hinssen joined me to discuss what it really takes for HR to embrace uncertainty and lead in this era of the ‘Never Normal.’ RAVIN JESUTHASAN AND BRIAN FISHER - The Skills Revolution: Your Playbook for Workforce Agility – Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA and Brian Fisher join me to explore why skills-based workforce planning has surged to the top of the HR agenda - and what leading companies are doing to turn intent into action. AMY BAXENDALE - How Arcadis Built a Skills-Powered Organisation – Amy Baxendale , Global Future of Workforce Director at Arcadis, provides a detailed guide on the journey the company has embarked to become a skills-powered organisation. The episode includes discussion on the business case, securing sponsorship, setting up governance, the partnership with Mercer and Eightfold, and the early benefits: We are early in the journey, but we are seeing some promising signs of progress. Our time to hire is trending downwards - that has a direct commercial impact for the business. We've also actually been able to calculate the financial impact of work that's being completed through gigs and show the actual impact on EBITDA LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH? I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers over 525 roles with half of these being new. THANK YOU To HR magazine and Charissa King for including me again in their annual HR Most Influential list as one of the ten most influential practitioners The Talent Games for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast at #6 in its 27 Best Leadership Podcasts for HR Leaders. Steve Sands for including my work as part of his Human Resource Management Analytics night class at the National College of Ireland. A huge thank you to the following people who either shared the June edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Emmanuel Duncan, Rob Baker, FCIPD, MAPP, Richard Hall, Robert Rogowski, Catherine de la Poer, Caroline Lambe, Jeremy Sholl, Narelle Burke, Edan Halili, Francesca Caroleo (SHRM-SCP, ICF-ACC), Uwe Gohr, Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM, Randeep Kaur, Aaron Chasan, Danial Singh Kang, Jorge-Luis Gonzalez, Anisha Moosaأنيشا موسى?????, Carlos Lopes, Danielle Farrell, MA, CSM, Kris Saling, Hiroyuki MIYAI, Ph.D., Yukiko Hosomi, Dr. Christoph Spöck, Joachim Rotzinger, Kevin Le Vaillant, Seung Won Yoon, Alexis Fink, Timo Tischer, Dr. Tobias Bartholomé, Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez, Meg Bear, Abhinav Tiwari, Esther Abraas, Gareth Flynn, Elizabeth Musso, Jana Glogowski, Maarten van Beek, K Nair, Joonghak Lee, Sameer Tahir, Robert Allen, Volker Jacobs, Bilal Laouah, Florent Maire, Oliver Kasper, Jaap Veldkamp, Patrick Coolen, Jeff Wellstead, Jean-Francois (Jeff) BOUBANGA MIGOLET, Dan George, Shujaat Ahmad, Alexandra Nawrat, People Edge Consulting Ltd., Andrew Spence, Roshaunda Green, MBA, CDSP, Phenom Certified Recruiter ?, Austin Brockert, MBA, Dan Riley, Sanja Licina, Ph.D., Anna A. Tavis, PhD, Stela Lupushor, Jeremy Shapiro, David Simmonds FCIPD, Catriona Lindsay, Aravind Warrier, Michael Arena, Greg Pryor, Isabella Cheshire, Amardeep Singh, MBA, Aline Costa, Anis Alexandros El Namparaoui, Adam Treitler, Helder Figueiredo, Sebastian Knepper, Sebastian Kolberg, Lewis Garrad, Kerry Ghize, Preetha Ghatak Mukharjee, Jacob Nielsen, Pete Jaworski, Søren Kold, Prabhakar Pandey, Avani Solanki Prabhakar, Ian Grant FCIPD, Erik Samdahl, Max Blumberg, Sergey Puchka, Romy Hobson, Bettina Dietsche, Hernan Chiosso, CSPO, SPHR ?, Paola Alfaro Alpízar, Sergio Garcia Mora, Hanadi El Sayyed, David van Lochem, Maria Nolazco Masson, David McLean, Clara W Estanqueiro, Shonna Waters, PhD, Kevin Martin, Kathi Enderes, Serena H. Huang, Ph.D., Smadar Tadmor, Tobias W. Goers ツ, Dr. Denise Turley AI.Impact.Equity, Stella Ioannidou, Apeksha Awaji, Evan Franz, MBA, L N Divya Mudundi, Ross Sparkman, Salman Farooq, Megan Reitz, Todd Tauber, Heather Muir, AJ Herrmann, Priyanka Mehrotra, Oliver Auty, Priya Subrahmanyan, Naotake Momiyama, Bill Banham, Matthew Yerbury, Prachi Agasti, Robin Haag, Fabian Stokes, MBA, SWP, Monika Manova, Barry Swales, Dean Carter, Ian OKeefe, Ying Li, Alexandre Monin, Mike Zarrilli, Natasha Fearon, Pedro Pereira, David Balls (FCIPD), Naomi Verghese, Geetanjali Gamel, Frankie Close, Warren Howlett, Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D., John Gunawan, Jesse Clark, MBA, Caitie Jacobson Mikulis, Meghan M. Biro, Dan Trares, Kouros Behzad, Kathleen Kruse, Nick Lynn, Mariana Allain Carrasqueira, Marina Pearce, PhD, Dawn Klinghoffer, Raquel Mitie Harano, Delia Majarín, Deborah M. Weiss, Courtney McMahon, Nirit Peled-Muntz, Hanne Hoberg, Adam McKinnon, PhD., Don Dela Paz, Matt Elk, Sophia Houziaux, Danielle Bushen, Nabil Dewsi, Sai Bon Timmy Cheung 張世邦, Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga Agnes Garaba, Wouter Minten, Olly Britnell, Nick Hudgell, Roxanne Laczo, PhD, Claire Masson, Daisy Grewal, Ph.D., Laura Cole, Brian Elliott, Erin Eatough, PhD Henrik Håkansson Gabe Horwitz Russell Klosk (智能虎) The final note this month is a sad one - rest in peace Diogo Jota and André Silva. 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 2025: July 31 - August 1 - People Matters TechHR India 2025, Delhi August 13-16 - GCHRA Africa, Accra, Ghana (I will join virtually) September 25 - Visier Outsmart Local London, London October 7-9 - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, Atlanta (exclusive to the people analytics leader in member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®) October 15-16 - People Analytics World, New York October 21-22 - UNLEASH World, Paris November 12-13 - HR Forum 2025, Oslo More events will be added as they are confirmed.
    David Green
    2025年07月27日
  • David Green
    David Green: The best HR & People Analytics articles of June 2025 AI is reshaping industries, companies, workforces and the way we work. As with previous industrial revolutions, this will mean that companies will need fewer people to perform some tasks, and more people to undertake other (including many new) tasks. Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, addressed this very topic in a recent message to Amazon’s employees while recent remarks by Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs — and spike unemployment by 10-20% in the next one to five years have been widely reported. The truth is that it is probably too early to judge how this will play out over time, and whether this industrial revolution will differ from all others in history by being a net destroyer rather than a net creator of jobs. Whatever direction we go in, it’s clearly going to be a disruptive few years ahead. HR needs to play an active role in terms of leading organisational transformation, redesigning work, upskilling the workforce, building a culture of continuous agility, and transforming the HR function itself. HR can be the crucial link ensuring employees can thrive alongside technology. This month’s collection of resources addresses many of these topics, and if I could highlight one in particular, it would be a new Stanford paper on the Future of Work with AI Agents, which amongst other findings lays out a framework for human-agent collaboration. Enjoy! This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at Draup Prepare your workforce for the AI Era Prepare your workforce for the AI era | Strategic HR Insights | Etter Etter is Draup’s flagship AI transformation engine designed to help enterprises systematically reimagine job roles, skills, and workforce structures in the AI era. Built as an adaptive, modular solution, Etter integrates proprietary labor intelligence, enterprise data, and market signals to provide hyper-contextual, execution-ready recommendations for HR and business leaders. Etter’s methodology is anchored on three foundational pillars: Draup Models: This includes the Role Disruption Index, Workload Disaggregation, Skills Evolution, and Talent Density Models to identify which roles are most susceptible to AI disruption, what tasks can be automated or augmented, and how skills are shifting across industries. It generates AI-ready job descriptions and quantifies AI’s productivity and time-saving impacts at a task level. Agentic Workflows: These simulate real-time strategic decisions—like reskilling paths, CoE creation, and role redesign—tailored to the organization’s structure, metrics, and technology ecosystem. They dynamically adapt to changes in business strategy or external environments such as regulatory shifts. Sustainability Engine: Ensures responsible transformation by embedding fairness, inclusion, and long-term workforce resilience into every recommendation. Real-time dashboards track transformation maturity and enable scenario planning to balance automation with talent retention. The document details advanced models like Tech Stack Mapping, Similar Role Identification, and Location Optimization to help organizations design AI-augmented ecosystems. It also outlines the data needed—from job descriptions to transformation signals—and a 4–6 week pilot approach to assess 10–12 roles for quick wins. Etter moves beyond theoretical AI strategy to deliver measurable, role-level change—empowering CHROs, CTOs, and transformation teams to redesign workforces that are future-proof, agile, and ethically AI-enabled. Learn more about Etter here. To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 140,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org. Invitation: If you are a people analytics leader, participate in the 6th annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends survey... The Insight222 People Analytics Trends study is now in its sixth year, and has grown to be the biggest and most important annual study in the field of people analytics. The survey for 2025 is open, and is intended to gain insights into: (1) HR's role in shaping your AI strategy. (2)AI usage & adoption (3) Upskilling and enabling factors, and AI outcomes If you are the people analytics leader at your company and would like to participate in the People Analytics Trends study for 2025, click this link and please join over 400 companies and complete the survey by the new closing date of July 6. JUNE ROAD REPORT A trio of highlights from June: I finally got to attend TALREOS, which is curated and organised annually by Deborah M. Weiss and Derek Gundersen at Northwestern in Chicago. It proved to a memorable three days, with 200 participants and plenty of learning, collaboration and networking. I had the privilege of speaking on two panels. The first, hosted by the inimitable Ian OKeefe, and also featuring Dan Trares, Nicholas Garbis and Cole Napper, discussed how to build a successful people analytics function. The second, which I moderated, and featured Dean Carter, Courtney McMahon and Ryan Colthorp, discussed the critical topic of how to create and measure the value of people analytics. Participants at TALREOS 2025 From Chicago, it was a short hop to Toronto for the first ever Canadian Peer Meeting for 40 members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which was hosted by Don Dela Paz and the team at RBC. Speakers over the two days included Don as well as Ujjwal Sehgal, Maria Grazia (Grace) Guma, Rachel Beaulieu-Salamido, Kunal Thakkar, MS, PMP, Rob Dees, Travis Windling, Patrick Joseph Tuason, David Holmes, Foteini Agrafioti and Arjun Asokakumar, MMA, CHRL. Participants at the Insight222 Peer Meeting at RBC in Toronto, June 2025 Finally, last week saw David Duewel and his team at BT Group host a Peer Meeting for more than 60 European members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program in London. Speakers over the two days included: Elaine Bergin, Julie-Anne Sivajoti, Fiona Vines, Stefaan De Keyser, Julien Legret, Stefanos Adamantiadis, Nick Hudgell, Mariana Allain Carrasqueira, Olly Britnell and Ashar Khan. Across all three events I left with a number of reflections including: (1) When people analytics is closely with business strategy it delivers exponential value. (2) AI is elevating and disrupting people analytics in equal measure. (3) Employee listening is the 'human' face of people analytics. Just to highlight to my Indian network and readers that I'm speaking at TechHR India 2025 in Delhi, which is organised by People Matters, at the end of July. I'll be delivering a keynote on July 31 after a pre-conference workshop on July 30 on The Science of Better Decisions - I hope to see some of you there. Share the love! Enjoy reading the collection of resources for June 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 May’s compendium. If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is usually published every other Tuesday – subscribe here – and read the latest edition. HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK IBM - 5 Mindshifts to Supercharge Business Growth It’s no longer a question of whether to use AI—but where AI will give you the greatest lift and how you should redeploy your people to accelerate growth. IBM’s recently published 2025 CEO Outlook is required reading for all chief people officers and heads of people analytics. The study highlights that talent recruiting and retention is ranked #2 in the top challenges of CEOs (see FIG 1). The report highlights five mindshifts to supercharge growth in the age of AI – all of these apply for HR too: (1) Make courage your core (“The power and potential of AI is pushing organizations to transform faster, even if they’re not sure what exactly what that entails.”) (2) Embrace AI-fuelled creative destruction (“Establish metrics and monitoring systems to assess AI effectiveness and create a culture of accountability.”) (3) Cultivate a vibrant data environment (“Start with data. If CEOs get their data environment right, they can accelerate change, impact, and stakeholder value.”) (4) Ignore FOMO, lean into ROI (“Only 25% of AI initiatives have delivered expected ROI—and only 16% have scaled enterprise-wide. Fail fast and move on.”) (5) Borrow the talent you can’t buy: CEOs are looking to reskill the talent they already have (build), hire the talent they need (buy), add AI assistants and agents to workflows wherever they can (bot), and rely on partners to borrow what they can’t find another way (borrow). FIG 1: Top CEO Challenges 2025 (Source: IBM Institute for Business Value) MCKINSEY - Seizing the agentic AI advantage To realize the potential of agents, companies must reinvent the way work gets done—changing task flows, redefining human roles, and building agent-centric processes from the ground up. According to McKinsey, there is a ‘GenAI paradox’ with nearly eight in ten companies reporting they are using Gen AI—yet just as many reporting no significant bottom-line impact. To break out of this morass, the authors argue that Agentic AI—autonomous, goal-oriented systems—is the true game-changer, poised to automate complex processes and fundamentally transform workflows. For HR leaders guiding workforce transformation, the core insight of the study is profound: successful integration means redesigning work around AI agents, not merely layering AI onto old processes. This strategic pivot promises enhanced operational agility, accelerated execution, and newfound organisational resilience. However, realising this potential hinges on critical human factors. Driving adoption and earning trust are paramount, alongside robust governance for agent autonomy. This necessitates a shift from fragmented AI initiatives to strategic, cross-functional programs, coupled with significant upskilling across the workforce. While the article doesn't explicitly detail the Chief People Officer's role, the implications are clear: HR must champion the human-AI partnership, ensuring ethical deployment and preparing talent for this profound evolution of work. Kudos to the authors: Alexander Sukharevsky, Dave Kerr, Klemens Hjartar, Lari Hamalainen, Stéphane Bout, and Vito Di Leo, with Guillaume Dagorret. HR must champion the human-AI partnership, ensuring ethical deployment and preparing talent for this profound evolution of work. FIG 2: Maximising value from AI agents requires process reinvention (Source: McKinsey) STANFORD - Future of Work with AI Agents: Auditing Automation and Augmentation Potential across the U.S. Workforce Project | Paper | COBUS GREYLING - The Future of Work with AI Agents — Insights from a Stanford Study | SERENA HUANG - AI Agents Are Ready to Work With Us, but Are We Ready to Work with Them? [As] AI agents start to enter the workforce, key human competencies may be shifting from information-processing skills to interpersonal and organizational skills. For anyone looking to understand how the AI agents might shape the future of work, I recommend diving into a new study from Stanford University – warning, you may get lost as the paper is absorbing! The paper presents a framework, the Human Agency Scale (HAS – see FIG 3), which has a five-level scale from H1 (no human involvement) to H5 (human involvement essential) and is designed to help quantify the desired level of human involvement across various tasks. Other findings from the study include: (1) Lack of trust (45%) is the most common fear workers have about AI automation in their work. (2) Workers want automation for low-level and repetitive tasks with 46.1% expressing positive attitudes towards AI automation. (3) Workers generally prefer higher levels of human agency, potentially foreshadowing frictions as AI capabilities advance. Kudos to the authors of the Stanford Study: Yijia Shao, Humishka Zope, Yucheng Jiang, Jiaxin Pei, David Nguyen, Erik Brynjolfsson, Yang Diyi. I also recommend the shorter and more accessible summaries of the key findings from the paper and their potential implications by Cobus Greyling and Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. (see links above) as well as Ross Dawson (see here). FIG 3: Levels of Human-Agency scale (Source: Stanford University, Shao et al) PETER CAPPELLI AND RANYA NEHMEH – Hybrid Still Isn’t Working | BRIAN ELLIOTT - When Academics Ignore Research (and Reality) The contentious debate about the merits – or otherwise – of hybrid work continues as these two articles demonstrate. Firstly, in their article for Harvard Business Review, Peter Cappelli and Ranya Nehmeh present the case that hybrid is harming collaboration, deepening social isolation, weakening culture, and is leading to lower performance. They argue that this is primarily because of the way that many companies manage hybrid and remote workers: “You can’t effectively manage remote and hybrid workers using the same methods you did when employees were still all together in the office.” They then suggest eight strategies including: creating and enforcing rules, revamping performance appraisals, and establishing in-office anchor days. Brian Elliott, who along with the likes of Nick Bloom (see latest WFH Research here) and Annie Dean (listen to my podcast discussion with Annie on using behavioural science for distributed working) is one of my go-to experts on hybrid and distributed work, provides a 'teardown' (his words!) of Hybrid Still Isn’t Working. He examines some of the research cited in the HBR article and compares this to the available data e.g. contrary to everyone going back to five days in the office, Brian highlights Flex Index data (see FIG 4) showing that hybrid dominates at 43% of firms. Brain also highlights that the article ignores research on return to office mandates such as: “no financial benefit, no stock market boost, but declining engagement and retention issues among experienced talent and women at 3X the rate of men.” I’ll let readers make their own minds up but recommend that any companies considering a change in their approach analyse their own data and make considered decisions. As Brian concludes in his article: Instead of debating days per week, focus on what drives results: clear team goals, intentional collaboration rhythms, and management practices that work anywhere. The magic isn't in the location—it's in how well you lead distributed teams doing complex work. FIG 4: Structured Hybrid continues to dominate as the preferred work model for US companies (Source: Flex Index) PEOPLE ANALYTICS MICHAEL ARENA AND AARON CHASAN - The social signals behind employee retention Research has long shown that employees at the center of an organizational network—those with many active connections—are 24 percent less likely to leave. In their article, Michael Arena and Aaron Chasan highlight an important insight: employee connection, not just engagement, is the true bedrock of retention: “In today’s networked workplace, social withdrawal is often the first—and most reliable—indicator that someone’s already halfway out the door.” For HR to genuinely impact business performance and employee experience, we must leverage social signals to build robust internal networks. The authors outline four high-impact ways HR can proactively employee connection and significantly reduce attrition: (1) Utilise network analysis: Identify early flight risks by spotting employees with few or declining connections. (2) Facilitate connection moments: Deliberately create opportunities for interaction, especially in hybrid settings, using tools like interest-based matching. (3) Support relationship-rich teams: Encourage cross-functional initiatives and invest in psychologically safe team cultures. (4) Routinely pulse central employees: Their engagement profoundly influences the entire network. In today’s networked workplace, social withdrawal is often the first—and most reliable—indicator that someone’s already halfway out the door. PIETRO MAZZOLENI AND ERIC BOKELBERG - The right owner, the right impact: mastering people analytics accountability Clear ownership ensures that sensitive data is handled responsibly, analytics initiatives are aligned with business priorities, and AI solutions deliver trustworthy, actionable insights. Pietro Mazzoleni and Eric Bokelberg provide guidance on mastering people analytics by defining clear ownership – a cornerstone for unlocking business value from people data. Many organisations falter due to unclear accountability, risking inefficiencies and mistrust. Pietro and Eric outline four essential domains for assigning ownership: (1) Data Governance. (2) Stakeholder Management. (3) Data & AI Platforms. (4) Functional AI. They then recommend ownership across five key functional roles: the People Analytics Team, CHRO and HR Leadership Team, Business Function Leaders, Chief Data Office, and IT/AI Technology Team. By aligning accountability with expertise, HR leaders can ensure data is handled responsibly, initiatives drive strategic priorities, and AI delivers trustworthy, actionable insights, ultimately generating real business impact. LUDEK STEHLIK AND COLE NAPPER - Beyond Prediction: Exploiting Organizational Events for Causal Inference in People Analytics | KEITH MCNULTY – R for People Analytics | MARIA NOLAZCO MASSON - The People Analytics Staircase | PATRICK COOLEN – People Analytics Spotlight: Oliver Kasper, Giovanna Constant, and Marcela Mury 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. Four are highlighted in this month’s edition: (1) Ludek Stehlik, Ph.D. and Cole Napper examine one of the Holy Grails of people analytics – understanding causality, including exploring why randomised experiments (see FIG 5) are the ‘gold standard’ (but rarely feasible), and how real-world organisational events can be used as natural experiments. (2) Keith McNulty offers a set of open source materials for a 2-day course on explanatory technical methods in People Analytics using R. (3) For anyone early in their people analytics career and looking to accelerate their development, I recommend diving into Maria Nolazco Masson’s excellent series: The People Analytics Staircase, which provides a practical framework to advance in People Analytics, from foundational concepts to deep strategic dives. (4) Finally, in this section, I recommend checking out Patrick Coolen’s excellent People Analytics Spotlight Series, which to date has insights from Oliver Kasper, Giovanna Constant and Marcela Mury. FIG 5: Randomised controlled trial (Source: Simply Psychology) THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE MICHELLE CHAN CROUSE, TED MOORE, ANNA PENFOLD, BRAD PUGH, AND ALISON HUNTINGTON - The CHRO of the future: How CHROs and organizations can prepare for what’s next The CHRO role is no longer just about managing human capital—it's about unleashing the potential of your workforce, whether they’re a human or a bot. This report by Russell Reynolds Associates dissects the evolving role of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and provides a helpful guide on how the CHRO can lead workforce transformation. It is structured into three chapters: (1) How the CHRO role has changed: highlighting the CHRO's transition from operational support to a strategic leader, now deeply embedded in C-suite succession, transformation, and even technology, crucial for organisational stability. (2) Who will be the CHROs of the future? capturing the need for a new CHRO profile, demanding broader strategic, technological, and operational experience beyond traditional HR, coupled with acute emotional intelligence to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes. This chapter also highlights new roles and responsibilities that may emerge in the HR function including a ‘Chief HR Bot’ reporting to the CHRO and responsible for data-driven decision making. (see FIG 6). (3) How CHROs and organisations can prepare for the future: with actionable guidance, emphasising the responsible integration of AI, significant investment in HR data and analytics, and clear communication around workforce transformation, ultimately elevating HR's strategic influence. This analysis by Michelle Chan Crouse, Ted Moore, Anna Penfold, Brad Pugh and Alison Huntington reinforces that the future CHRO is a critical architect of business success, leveraging data and strategic acumen to shape adaptive, resilient organisations. FIG 6: Potential roles in the HR team of the future (Source: Russell Reynolds) DAVE ULRICH, DICK BEATTY, AND PATRICK WRIGHT - What Competencies Define an Effective HR Professional? Past, Present, and Future In their article, Dave Ulrich, Dick Beatty, and Patrick Wright analyse a number of different HR competency models including their own, which has been developed through eight studies since 1987 across 120,000 participants. Their analysis leads them to recommend expected and emerging competencies across six HR skills domains (see FIG 7): (1) Accelerate business, (2) Advance human capability, (3) Make change happen, (4) Use GenAI and analytics for information, (5) Create organisation culture, and (6) Demonstrate personal proficiency. For HR leaders and professionals looking to learn more, I recommend learning about the Global HR Learning Experience programthat Dave, Dick and Patrick have developed. FIG 7: Expected and emerging competencies for HR professionals (Source: Dave Ulrich et al) WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS JEN STAVE, RYAN KURT AND JOHN WINSOR – Agentic AI is Already Changing the Workforce AI agents are fast becoming much more than just sidekicks for human workers. They’re becoming digital teammates—an emerging category of talent. The advent of Agentic AI is no longer a distant future; it's here, fundamentally reshaping our workforce. In their article, Jen Stave, PhD, Ryan Kurt and John Winsor explain that these autonomous, goal-oriented AI systems aren't just tools; they're becoming digital colleagues, capable of complex tasks and decision-making. For HR and business leaders, this demands a seismic shift in how we approach talent, roles, and organisational design. The article outlines seven critical actions to help your organisation thrive: (1) Map work tasks and outcomes (“Deconstruct each role or project into its component tasks and outcomes.”) (2) Assess AI capability. (3) Integrate your hybrid team (“Develop a hybrid-workforce strategy to define which tasks AI will own, which tasks people will own, and how the escalation of problems should happen.”) (4) Redesign your business and workforce model (“Envisioning new ways to procure and deploy talent, including full-time employees, temporary hires, freelancers and AI.”) (5) Set legal and ethical ground rules. (6) Capture value continuously as it evolves. (7) Remain human-centric (“AI reduces the need for people to conduct mundane tasks and elevates the importance of high-value, human-led tasks.”). For more from John Winsor, I recommend listening to his conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: Addressing the Global Skills Shortage with Open Talent Strategies. EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING MICROSOFT WORK TRENDS INDEX - Breaking down the infinite workday The future of work won’t be defined by how much drudgery we automate, but by what we choose to fundamentally reimagine. In this follow-up to their recently published 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report, this article from Microsoft exposes the modern "infinite workday" – a relentless cycle starting pre-dawn, peppered with incessant emails and messages, hijacked by meetings, and relentlessly spilling into evenings and weekends (see FIG 8). It's a chaotic, fragmented existence that HR leaders, focused on productivity and wellbeing, must address. The critical insight is that AI demands rethinking how work is structured and experienced. This isn't about simple automation; it's about fundamentally redesigning the rhythm of work. The article proposes a clear "path forward" with three vital starting points: (1) Follow the 80/20 rule: Leverage AI to streamline low-value tasks, allowing focus on the 20% that drives 80% of outcomes. (2) Redesign for the Work Chart: Shift from static teams to agile, outcome-driven units, using AI to bridge skill gaps. (3) Become an agent boss: Empower employees to utilize AI agents to supercharge their work and focus on high-quality insights. While the article itself doesn't explicitly detail the opportunity for HR and People Analytics to lean in and shape this future, the implications are clear: these functions are pivotal in orchestrating this transformation, ensuring a focused, productive, and ultimately more human-centric work environment. FIG 8: The infinite workday bleeds into evenings and weekends (Source: Microsoft Work Trends Index) LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING MEGAN REITZ AND JOHN HIGGINS - Create Mental Space to Be a Wiser Leader We live in complex times that demand complex thoughts and conversations — and those, in turn, demand the very time and space that is nowhere to be found. In their article for MIT Sloan Management Review, Megan Reitz and John Higgins explain the need for leaders and workers to balance ‘doing’ and ‘spacious’ modes (see FIG 9) and present their research that finds in our rush to do more we’re losing the critical space to think deeply. This has a detrimental effect on leadership and organisation effectiveness. In order to help leaders develop the capacity for the spacious mode, the authors present their SPACE Framework (Safety, People, Attention, Conflict, Environment). By consciously creating environments that foster reflection and broader thinking, HR can empower leaders to transcend short-term noise, perceive critical interdependencies, and ultimately drive superior business outcomes and a more human-centric employee experience. FIG 9: The Attentional Mode Framework (Source: Reitz and Higgins) ROB CROSS AND MOLLIE LOMBARDI - Leading from Anywhere: Driving Results in the Age of Distributed Work Improving the performance of bottom-quartile leaders yields a 32% productivity impact. In their recently released study for The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), authors Rob Cross and Mollie Lombardi highlight that leading distributed work is a greater challenge than is commonly acknowledged. While 86% of organisations say work has become more distributed, 58% of leaders admit they are only "somewhat" effective in this new environment, which increases burnout and limits productivity. The paper identifies six capabilities of leadership effectiveness of top-performing leaders that help employees thrive in a distributed work environment (see FIG 10). Three other key insights from the report are: (1) Fix the bottom, not just the top: Elevating poor managers to just average can result in a 32% productivity gain—and a 33% boost in engagement. (2) Culture is the new productivity engine: Leaders who curate healthy team cultures see a 34% overall market performance lift. (3) Distribute leadership, not just work: Empowering teams with ownership and shared leadership responsibilities is key to sustainability and innovation. Thanks to Heather Muir and Kevin Oakes for highlighting the study. FIG 10: Capabilities that most distinguish high-performing leaders (Source: i4CP) KATHI ENDERES AND STELLA IOANNIDOU - Pacesetters in the Superworker Era: The Six Secrets of High-Performing Organizations Pacesetters are reimagining HR through systemic approaches that integrate talent management, workforce planning, and organizational development to drive AI-powered transformation Kathi Enderes and Stella Ioannidou present the findings from a four-year collaborative study between The Josh Bersin Company and Eightfold, which analyses the leadership and HR strategies of ‘Pacesetter’ companies - the top 5% performers in every industry – with regards to AI transformation. The article – and paper – identifies six secrets as being key to AI transformation, which these companies approach as a people – rather than technology – transformation: (1) AI Transformation for Growth, Not Cost Control (“[Pacesetters] use AI to improve forecasting, personalize the employee experience, and significantly boost productivity across the enterprise”). (2) Continuous Innovation at the Core (“Pacesetters embed innovation skills, experimentation platforms, and design thinking capabilities across the entire organization”). (3) Productivity-Based Work Redesign (“Instead of layering new tools on top of old workflows, they strip out bureaucracy, clarify accountability, and focus on high-value, meaningful work”). (4) Talent Density: Skills Quality over Quantity (“[Pacesetters] continuously redesign work: removing friction, unlocking capability, and structuring around value rather than legacy” – see FIG 11). (5) From Change Management to Change Agility (“Pacesetters excel at identifying and nurturing the skills needed to navigate change, ensuring their workforces are equipped to adapt to new technologies and processes”). (6) Systemic HR®, Powered by AI (“Pacesetters are reimagining HR through systemic approaches that integrate talent management, workforce planning, and organizational development to drive AI-powered transformation”). FIG 11: The Four Stages of Work Redesign (Source: The Josh Bersin Company) DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING CURTIS L. ODOM, CHARN P. MCALLISTER, AND RYAN SOFFER - Why Belonging Matters More Than Just Diversity When leaders commit to fostering a culture of belonging, the connection between management practices and diversity-related outcomes becomes clearer In their article for MIT Sloan Management Review, Curtis Odom, Ed.D., Charn McAllister and Ryan Soffer argue that belonging and psychological safety are the true strategic goals of DEI. For HR leaders focused on impact, this is key. The authors critique the common misstep of viewing diversity as an end in itself, stressing that its value only materialises when people feel genuinely included and safe. Crucially, it outlines three targets for effective DEI. First, establishing belonging and psychological safety as the ultimate aim. Second, urging organisations to move beyond single-approach diversity practices, advocating for a multifaceted, integrated strategy. And third, emphasising the need for persistence to sustain diversity efforts through consistent, long-term action. This isn't just about ticking boxes; it's a strategic imperative for HR to unlock human potential, drive innovation, and deliver tangible business outcomes through a truly inclusive culture. HR TECH VOICES Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor and analyst community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from June that I recommend readers delve into: GABE HORWITZ – The Evolution of the People Analytics Leader - In a great post, Gabe Horwitz of Paradox, breaks down the evolution of the people analytics leader from ‘The Data Analyst’ of 2020 to ‘The Decision Architect’ of today (see FIG 12). FIG 12: The evolution of the people analytics leaders (Source: Gabe Horwitz) RICHARD ROSENOW - The Uncharted Path of a People Analytics Career - Richard Rosenow examines what a career in people analytics looks like (see FIG 13), why the path to leadership is still mostly undefined, why it's hard to grow and provides some tips on how to overcome these challenges. FIG 13: The People Analytics Leader's Journey (Source: One Model) ZANELE MUNYIKWA - White-Collar Workers Are Getting the Blues – Zanele Munyikwa shares more insightful research from Revelio Labs highlighting a slowing of demand and stagnating wages for white collar jobs with the latter being more pronounced for early career roles (see FIG 14). FIG 14: Wage stagnation is most pronounced in early-career roles (Source: Revelio Labs) DEGREED – How the Workforce Learns GenAI in 2025 – According to this new report by Degreed, while 48% of surveyed professionals expect their responsibilities to shift due to GenAI, 78% lack the confidence and skills to use Gen AI tools. The report urges collaboration between CHROs, CLOs and CIOs, and highlights that: “When CHROs and CIOs align on AI upskilling, cross-functional collaboration, and ethical governance, companies are three times more likely to develop a Gen AI-ready workforce.” Thanks to Todd Tauber for sharing. FIG 15: How to build GenAI confidence (Source: Degreed) LACE PARTNERS - What are sunrise and sunset skills and how do you use them? – A helpful primer from LACE Partners on ‘sunrise’, ‘evergreen’, and ‘sunset’ skills (see FIG 16) and when to use them. Thanks to Aaron Alburey for highlighting. FIG 16: Skills mapping horizon (Source: LACE Partners) PODCASTS OF THE MONTH In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected four gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below): JORGE AMAR, BROOKE WEDDLE AND BRYAN HANCOCK - The future of work is agentic – In a fascinating episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Jorge Amar, Brooke Weddle, and Bryan Hancock join host Lucia Rahilly to discuss AI agents, how they’re being used, and how leaders can prepare now for the workforce of the not-too-distant future. KRIS SALING - The US Army & Data Driven Talent Management – Kris Saling, Director of Talent Innovation at the U.S. Army, joins host Cole Napper on the Directionally Correct podcast to discuss her book, Data Driven Talent Management, implementing people analytics in the US Army, and integrating data and analytics into talent management programs. ALEXIS FINK, SEUNG WON YOON, AND BRAD SHUCK – How to Implement People Analytics – In this masterclass masquerading as a podcast, Alexis Fink, Seung Won Yoon, and Brad Shuck discuss how to implement people analytics. BAS DEBBINK - Stop Guessing: How J&J Gets Precise About Skills – Bas Debbink, learning strategist at J&J, joins Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson on Workplace Stories to discuss how J&J utilises both talent leader insight and AI-driven inference to build a skills-based ecosystem that actually works, without overwhelming employees or managers. VIDEO OF THE MONTH NICKLE LAMOREAUX AND TEUILA HANSON: How IBM built a skills-based organisation LinkedIn has recently released an excellent report, CHRO Case Studies: Leading from the Front, which features case studies from five top-notch CHROs, which examine how BCG (Amber Grewal) has fully embraced AI; how IBM (Nickle LaMoreaux) has rethought performance management; how leaders at Allianz (Bettina Dietsche) are modelling the change they want to see; how Wood ( Marla Storm ) is addressing burnout and well-being; and how LinkedIn ( Teuila Hanson ) has introduced Coaching for All. The video featuring Nickle speaking to Teuila, provides a snapshot of the content in the report, and focuses on how IBM has built a skills-based organisation by starting with the data and tracking how skills are changing for each and every job role. BOOK OF THE MONTH ROSS SPARKMAN - Strategic Workforce Planning: Developing Optimized Talent Strategies for Future Growth Ross Sparkman is widely recognised as one of the most accomplished expert practitioners in workforce planning, and the first version of Strategic Workforce Planning was an excellent guide to the fundamentals of this critically important business practice. The second edition provides a deep dive into what it takes to embed SWP and provides new guidance on areas such as: SWP in the age of GenAI, skills-based SWP, leading the SWP function and the future of SWP. RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH FRACTIONAL INSIGHTS – The Adaptive Organization: Building and Evolving Culture Across Growth Stages The latest white paper from the Fractional Insights team of Shonna Waters, PhD, Laura Lomelí Russert, Ph.D. and Erin Eatough, PhD, provides an immensely helpful, research-backed framework for building and evolving culture intentionally, as your business scales. The paper details a stage-based model to guide culture through four stages of growth: early, growth, mid-size and enterprise as well as tools to align systems, behaviours, and values, practical insights from organisational psychology and systems thinking, and pitfalls to avoid as complexity increases. FROM MY DESK June saw four new episodes of the Digital HR Leaders podcast – three sponsored by HiBob (thanks Louis Gordon ), and a special bonus episode sponsored by Gloat (thanks Ruslan Tovbulatov ), as well as a round-up of series 47, and a role-reversal as I guested on the HR Leaders podcast. JANINE VOS – The CHRO’s Playbook: How to Build an Agile and Data-Driven HR Function – Janine Vos, Chief Human Resources Officer and Managing Board Member at Rabobank, joins me to discuss how she has built an HR function that's not only agile and data led but also grounded in trust and strong relationships across the business. MATTHEW BROWN - From Deployment to Impact: Maximizing Business Value with HR Tech - Matthew Brown, Director of Research, HCM at ISG (Information Services Group) joins me to discuss why the disconnect between HR and tech adoption persists, and how to bridge it. RAMI TZAFRIR – Why HR must confront 'Covering' to build inclusion and psychological safety - Rami Tzafrir, Senior Director of Talent, Organisation and Learning at HiBob, to unpack powerful new research on covering in the workplace. Together, we explore why this behaviour is not just a personal issue but a signal of deeper organisational challenges - and what HR can do about it. PATRICIA FROST AND RUSLAN TOVBULATOV - The AI Pivot: Seagate’s Workforce Transformation in the Age of AI - Patricia Frost, Chief People and Places Officer at Seagate Technology, and Ruslan Tovbulatov, Chief Marketing Officer at Gloat, the platform partner behind Seagate’s internal talent marketplace, TalentLink, join me to share insights from Seagate’s workforce transformation journey. DAVID GREEN - How can HR use AI to improve Employee Experience and Wellbeing? – Highlights from series 47 of the podcast featuring episodes with Dave Ulrich, Volker Jacobs, Janine Vos, Matthew Brown, and Rami Tzafrir. DAVID GREEN - How people analytics is driving organizational excellence – At the recent UNLEASH America show in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of speaking to Christopher Rainey as part of a marathon series of interviews he conducted at the event for HR Leaders and Achievers. Chris and I discussed the past, present and future of people analytics and evidence-based decision making in HR. BONUS RESOURCES There continues to be so much interesting content around on AI and its impact on business, leadership and HR that this month’s bonus resources are all focused on aspects of this topic: ANNA OTT - How AI is Rewriting the Playbook for Talent in European Tech Startups - Anna Ott analyses a dataset of 1,800+ job postings across nearly 100 European startups in HV Capital's portfolio to answer the question: How should founders and HR leaders adjust their workforce planning to this new landscape? ETHAN MOLLICK - Using AI Right Now: A Quick Guide - Wharton professor Ethan Mollick's One Useful Thing is the go-to blog for all things AI. In a recent post, Ethan examines what AI tool you should use for specific tasks (see FIG 17) with Claude, Gemini and Chat GPT being the three systems he recommends. FIG 17: Source - Ethan Mollick LASZLO BOCK - The Impact of AI on the Future of Work - Laszlo Bockshares the deck he is using to speak about AI and the future of work. As Laszlo astutely observes: HR is uniquely positioned to make sure the future of work is both productive and humane. TOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC - Want to Use AI as a Career Coach? Use These Prompts - As ever, Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic provides an insightful guide on how you can use Gen AI tools for career coaching, with practical prompts and strategies to maximise your experience, learnings, and success. STEVEN KIRZ - Why CHROs are critical to unleashing the transformational productivity of AI - Writing for UNLEASH, Steven Kirz explains why when CHROs treat AI as another tech tool, they are missing out on opportunities. Instead, he urges, they need to see AI as a form of talent, not a technology, particularly in this new era of AI agents. LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH? I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers over 500 roles with 60% these being new. THANK YOU Million Podcasts for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast at number 6 in their list of the Top 100 Future of Work Podcasts of 2025 Max Blumberg for conducting and publishing an experiment: ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ??'? ????: ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ??????????? Alexandra Nawrat for including my contribution in her article summarising some of the key takeaways from the recent UNLEASH America: Analyst takeaways: UNLEASH America 2025 raised ‘the bar for what a HR technology conference should be’ Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the June edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Charlotte Copeman Gareth Flynn Gulce Guleli Scott Rogers Piyush Mathur AJ Herrmann James Griffin Hernan Chiosso, CSPO, SPHR ? Rochelle Carland Jesse Clark, MBA Miralem Masic Helder Figueiredo Kevin Le Vaillant Emily Killham Marina Pearce, PhD Lida Chahipeyma Dr. Christoph Spöck Dr. Tobias Bartholomé Sergio Garcia Mora Shujaat Ahmad Ali Nawab Lindsey McDevitt Cristian Gabriel Alvarez Nirit Peled-Muntz William Werhane Amardeep Singh, MBA Tsevelmaa Khorloo Debbie Harrison Aravind Warrier Scott Reida Joy Kolb Emily Klein Graham Tollit Dan George Sai Bon Timmy Cheung 張世邦 Margad B Catriona Lindsay Erin Fleming Fiona Jamison, Ph.D. Lewis Garrad Francesca Caroleo (SHRM-SCP, ICF-ACC) Judi Casey Kouros Behzad Rupert Bader Rosemary Byde Preetha Ghatak Mukharjee Amy Huber-Smith Danielle Farrell, MA, CSM Aline Costa Timo Tischer Meghan R. Lowery, Ph.D., M.S. David Simmonds FCIPD Prabhakar Pandey Adam McKinnon, PhD. Greg Newman Kyle Forrest John Barrand Elson P. Kuriakose Jeffrey Pole David van Lochem Hanadi El Sayyed Matt Elk Al Adamsen Kyle Winterbottom Luka Babic Eric Guidice Monika Manova Ankit Saxena, MBA Kirsty Coral Baynton ??? Irada Sadykhova Dawn Klinghoffer Dr. Denise Turley AI.Impact.Equity Evan Franz, MBA Philip Arkcoll Toby Culshaw Dan Riley Sanja Licina, Ph.D. Daniyal Wali Azima Mavlonazarova Julius Schelstraete ? Angela LE MATHON Joonghak Lee, Serap Zel, PhD, Milou Wesdijk, Ingi Finnsson ?, Joanna Thompson (Kempiak), Heather Muir, Summer Pan, Anna Kuzmenko, Olivier Bougarel, Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi, Tobias W. Goers ツ, Bence Gősi, Roxanne Laczo, PhD, Michelle Deneau, Don Gray, Marc Caslani, Claire Masson, Fabian Stokes, MBA, SWP, Delia Majarín, Barry Swales, Narelle Burke, Stela Lupushor, Anna A. Tavis, PhD, Jeremy Shapiro, Kanwal Rai, Patrick Davis, Placid Jover, Francisco Marin, Matthew Shannon, Rashmita Lenka, Henrik Håkansson, Alexandre Monin, Dale Clareburt, Dana Shoff, Warren Howlett, Agnes Garaba, Greg Pryor, Phil Inskip, Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D., Gaëtan Bonny, Nicola Forbes-Taylor FCIPD, Ian Grant FCIPD, Neil Vyner, Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM, Mila Pascual-Nodusso, Adam Treitler, Fábio Priori, Johann Cheminelle, Alex Browne, Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga, Megan Kraus Langdon, Bill Banham, Tom Reid David Balls (FCIPD) Juan Antonio Vega Frankie Close Asaf Jackoby, John Gunawan, Daisy Grewal, Ph.D. Amit Mohindra Sonia Mooney Oliver Auty Caitie Jacobson Mikulis Pedro Pereira Ben Berry Natasha Fearon Andrew Spence Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA 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 2025: July 31 - August 1 - People Matters TechHR India 2025, Delhi August 13-16 - GCHRA Africa, Accra, Ghana (I will join virtually) September 25 - Visier Outsmart Local London, London October 7-9 - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, Atlanta (exclusive to the people analytics leader in member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®) October 15-16 - People Analytics World, New York October 21-22 - UNLEASH World, Paris November 12-13 - HR Forum 2025, Oslo More events will be added as they are confirmed.
    David Green
    2025年07月01日
  • David Green
    The best HR & People Analytics articles of March 2025 2025年3月的《Data Driven HR Monthly》由人力分析专家David Green主编，汇集了全球最新的HR与人力分析领域的重要洞察。文章聚焦于“技能驱动型组织”、“CHRO领导力崛起”与“生成式AI在HR中的落地应用”等核心主题。Insight222最新研究指出，若CHRO和高管团队以身作则地使用数据，HR人员在日常工作中应用人力分析的可能性将提高三倍。Mercer报告显示，高技能效能企业中有73%建立了系统的技能目录。此外，Deloitte《2025全球人力资本趋势》强调，应在“组织文化”“员工个人成长”“企业社会价值”三者之间平衡张力。McKinsey指出，25%的企业通过应用生成式AI，HR成本下降超过10%。Josh Bersin研究则揭示，13%的CHRO已跻身企业前五高薪高管，展现出其日益增强的战略地位。本期还涵盖了关于员工体验设计、DEI策略调整、混合办公模式下的设计思维、HR技术成熟度评估、员工聆听模型等多项实务建议，是HR从业者和决策者必读的专业内容合集。 I was reflecting this weekend that I have now been in the people analytics field for over a decade. Much has changed during that time, but three constants have been the Wharton People Analytics Conference, People Analytics World and UNLEASH. All have acted as a source of inspiration to me and an unmissable opportunity to connect with others in our field. As such, I am looking forward to attending and speaking at all three events in the coming weeks. First, I’m excited to be speaking for the first time at the Wharton People Analytics Conference in Philadelphia on April 10 and 11 on Unlocking the Power of Data: The Case for Analytics Democratization. Other speakers include: Amy Edmondson, Ravin Jesuthasan, Ben Waber, Jennifer Kurkoski, Guru Sethupathy, Siri Chilazi, and Michael Fraccaro. Next up, I’ll be co-chair and opening keynote speaker at People Analytics World in London on April 29 and 30, where I’ll be sharing some of the research and work we do at Insight222. Other speakers include: Dawn Klinghoffer, Alexis Saussinan, and Cole Nussbaumer. The week after, I’ll be heading back to the US for Unleash America, which takes place in Las Vegas, and where I’ll be moderating the Unleash Talent Summit on May 6, and the AI Track on May 7 and 8. Other speakers include; Adam Holton, Anshul Sheopuri, Sue Lam, Avani Prabhakar, Christy Pambianchi, and Amy Coleman. I hope to see some of you in Philadelphia, London and/or Las Vegas. This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at Mercer Putting skills to work: Benchmarking skills-powered success The scale of skills gaps poses an existential threat to businesses’ ability to get work done. The velocity and volatility of change associated with these gaps stems from compounding trends across geopolitics, climate, demographics and the AI revolution. How can organizations keep pace when supply fails to meet shifting demand? Accelerating agility is one answer. By connecting the dots between skills and the specific tasks that are changing, employers can unlock new ways to connect people to work (beyond moving them from one job to another). A skills taxonomy lays the groundwork: Mercer’s 2024-2025 Skills Snapshot Survey Report shows that 73% of companies with high skills effectiveness have a skills catalog. While technology makes skills mapping easier, the overall journey can feel overwhelming. HR capacity concerns often stop teams from taking the first step to becoming skills-powered. To put skills to work in a manageable way, think big but start small with a pilot program. This may be for a specific talent process like internal mobility or talent acquisition in the context of a fast-changing business area. Find more strategic skills insights in Mercer’s 2024-2025 Skills Snapshot Survey report, including: Building the path to a skills-powered organization Mapping skills to employees Linking skills with rewards Overcoming obstacles Get the Snapshot Enterprises who realize the full potential of Skills-Powered Organization practices use skills to revolutionize how they work, modernize talent deployment, and rethink development and rewards. Their journeys are underpinned by a shared vision and a strong data foundation. To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 140,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org. MARCH ROAD REPORT March turned into a month of highs and lows. Focusing on the former, the first week of March witnessed the most successful and well-attended Peer Meeting yet for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®, hosted by NBC Universal at their iconic global headquarters at the Rockefeller Center in New York. A huge thank you to Jamie Nevshehir and Jennifer Mandelson for hosting as well as our speakers at the event: Dawn Klinghoffer, Lynette Carlson, Olga Dobromyrova, Geetanjali Gamel, Anshul Sheopuri and Jeremy Shapiro. March also saw me deliver two conference keynotes in my home city of London. First up, I had the privilege of delivering the closing keynote at HiBob’s Heartcore HR event in London (see here) – thanks to Emily Hanssen Arent for inviting me and Toby Hough for hosting. The following week, I had the pleasure of delivering another closing keynote – this time at the Workhuman Forum Live – on how data-driven storytelling can elevate HR’s impact and role in shaping the future (see here) – thanks to Maya Lane and Kathryn Santora for inviting me. Join me for an Insight222 webinar on April 2 on building data literacy in HR at scale. In our research at Insight222, we have found that when both the CHRO and the HR leadership team role-model the use of people data and analytics, HR practitioners are three times more likely to use those insights in their day-to-day work. That’s the kind of cultural shift that unlocks business impact, strategic alignment, and organisational capability. If you’re interested in learning more about why data literacy is central to the success of both the HR function and the wider business—please join Naomi Verghese along with Shannon Rutledge, Director of People Analytics & Data Solutions at T. Rowe Price, and me on 2 April 2025 at 4:00 PM BST for our upcoming webinar, “Upskilling the HR Profession – Building Data Literacy at Scale”. Share the love! Enjoy reading the collection of resources for March 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 February’s compendium. If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is usually published every other Tuesday – subscribe here – and read the latest edition. HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK HELEN POITEVIN - AI in HR: Hits, Misses and Growing Pains Skills-based talent management cannot scale or be sustainable long-term without AI-enabled skills management. Writing for Gartner, Helen Poitevin presents a AI use-case prism for human capital management (see FIG 1) before providing detailed insights on AI in HR across three key areas: recruiting, virtual assistants and skills in terms of what’s working and what isn’t as well as areas requiring more focus (growing pains) and what to expect next. For example, with AI-enabled skills management, AI is helping organisations to scale and personalise but is still struggling to incorporate unstructured skills data. Helen recommends starting with the teams that are most ready for using skills data alongside creating a long-term skills vision and ambition. She also highlights that growth in the use of AI based skills management tools is set to rise: “Gartner predicts that by 2028, 40% of large organizations will have invested in two or more AI-enabled skills management solutions with the aim of delivering business agility.” Thanks to Brian Heger for highlighting in his excellent Talent Edge Weekly newsletter. FIG 1: AI use-case prism for human capital management (Source: Gartner) McKINSEY - The state of AI: How organizations are rewiring to capture value The latest McKinsey Global Survey on AI finds that the use of AI (both generative and analytical) is increasing with three-quarters of organisations using AI in at least one business function. From a people and HR perspective there are a number of takeaways from the report including these five: (1) Just over 20% of companies have created a comprehensive approach to foster trust among employees in the use of GenAI. (2) 31% of large and 17% of small organisations have established capability-based training courses designed to help employees use GenAI appropriately. (3) AI is shifting the skills organisations need with roles on risk and ethics on the rise and those in data-visualisation reducing. (4) There is an increased focus on reskilling with companies expecting this to further increase in the next three years (see FIG 2). (5) Across industries 13% of companies report they are using GenAI regularly in HR with the media and telecom sector highest at 22%. (6) 25% of companies report cost reductions in HR of more than 10% in the second half of 2025. Kudos to the authors: Alex Singla, Alexander Sukharevsky, Lareina Yee, and Michael Chui, with Bryce Hall. FIG 2: Employee reskilling due to AI use (Source: McKinsey) DELOITTE - 2025 Global Human Capital Trends: Navigating complex tensions and choices in the worker-organization relationship Organizations that successfully increase the capacity of workers to grow personally, use their imagination, and think deeply are: 1.8 times more likely to report better financial results, 1.4 times more likely to say they are creating broad value for customers, community, and society, and 1.6 times more likely to say they provide workers with meaningful work. Deloitte’s annual Global Human Capital Trends report is always insightful, thought-provoking and forward-looking, and the 2025 edition does not disappoint. The introduction sets the scene and highlights the need for organisations and leaders to find a balance between competing tensions (see FIG 3). The report has eight chapters organised around three themes of work, workforce, and organisation and culture, and what it means to navigate the tensions in them. As ever, the report is packed full of insights, visualisations and data – I particularly found the analysis on AI’s potential silent impacts interesting (see FIG 4). Kudos to the authors who include: Susan Cantrell, David Mallon, Kevin Moss, Nicole Scoble-Williams GAICD, and Yves Van Durme. FIG 3: Navigating the tensions (Source: Deloitte) FIG 4: AI’s potential silent impacts (Source: Deloitte) PEOPLE ANALYTICS NAOMI VERGHESE - The Importance of Data Literacy Skills for HR Professionals By embracing people data and analytics, HR can move beyond traditional administrative functions and become a key driver of business success. Insight222’s most recent People Analytics Trends survey confirms that scaling data literacy is a strategic priority for CHROs, with 85% of companies confirming that the CHRO has emphasised people data and analytics as an essential component of the HR strategy. However, only 58% of companies report that they have a data-driven culture for people data and analytics today, and only 51% of companies report that HR Practitioners are actively developing their data literacy skills to become more data driven. In her article, Naomi Verghese provides examples of data literacy in practice (see FIG 5), and highlights five skills for HR professionals to develop data literacy (including being able to tell stories with data) FIG 5: Examples of data literacy in HR in practice (Source: Naomi Verghese, Insight222) MARTHA CURIONI - Analytical AI vs Gen AI – What’s the Difference? | PRABHAKAR PANDEY - Understanding the European Union's Pay Transparency Directive | ALEXIS FINK - The Power of Responding instead of Reacting | RICHARD ROSENOW - An (updated) interview with an unusual People Analytics Expert - ChatGPT 4.5 | SCOTT REIDA - Evaluating Talent Hubs: A Data-Driven Approach using GenAI w/Tableau 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. Five are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Martha Curioni provides a helpful primer on the differences between analytical AI and generative AI in a HR setting (see FIG 6).  (2) Prabhakar Pandey provides a detailed examination on the background, objectives, key provisions, and potential impacts of the EU’s Pay Transparency Directive on employers, employees, and the broader European economy. (3) Alexis Fink provides a timely guide on the power of responding instead of reacting. (4) Richard Rosenow fires a series of questions related to people analytics at ChatGPT 4.5, and gets a pretty good set of answers. (5) Scott Reida walks through a structured, GenAI-powered methodology for evaluating talent hubs using ChatGPT, which explains how to define clear objectives, select job families and locations, weight decision factors, and visualise results for smarter, faster insights. Thanks to Hung Lee and Toby Culshaw for highlighting Scott’s article. FIG 6: The differences between analytical and generative AI (Source: Martha Curioni) THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE DAVE ULRICH - Six Actions for HR to Create More Stakeholder Value How can HR create more value for all stakeholders? That’s the question posed by Dave Ulrich at the start of his article. As he explains, answering this pivotal question enables HR leaders to make informed choices about where to prioritise their work and then intentionally share what they are doing and its business impact. In the article, Dave outlines HR’s key stakeholders and the outcomes they require, a human capability framework that integrates 38 initiatives into four pathways, how to focus on outcomes as opposed to activities, and how we can get more precise when it comes to prioritising our work. FIG 7: Six actions, questions, next steps to create stakeholder value from human capability KATE BRAVERY, JOANA SILVA, AND JENS PETERSON | MERCER - Workforce 2.0: Unlocking human potential in a machine-augmented world - Global Talent Trends 2024-25 The world of work is in full metamorphosis, forever changed by the seismic shifts of recent years and accelerated by the imminent human-machine teaming revolution. The rise of generative AI has been met with equal measures of unease and excitement, changing not only how people work but the work experience itself…Unlocking the potential of this new world of work means keeping people at the heart of the transformation agenda. These are an abridged version of the opening words from the Mercer Global Talent Trends report for 2024-25, which has recently been published. As ever, the study, which is based on a survey of 14,400 executives, HR leaders, employees, and investors, and is authored by Kate Bravery Joana Silva and Jens Peterson – with contributions from the likes of Jason Averbook, Ilya Bonic, Lewis Garrad, Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, Jean Martin and JESS VON BANK is an absolute must-read. As in previous years, the study highlights a disconnect between what HR is prioritising for the 2025 people agenda and the initiatives that executives believe will have the most impact on business growth (see FIG 8). The analysis also highlights that improving people managers’ skills (up from 9th in 2024 to 1st in 2025) and designing talent processes around skills (up from 8th to 3rd) are high on HR’s agenda. The study identifies and breaks down four priorities that firms that outpace their competitors are focusing on: (1) Driving human-centric productivity. (2) Anchoring to trust and equity. (3) Boosting the corporate immune system (including highlighting the importance of insights and analytics – see FIG 9). (4) Cultivating a digital-first culture. My tip to enjoy the study: find a couple of hours, make yourself a cup of tea and have a pen and paper to hand. FIG 8: HR priorities for the 2025 people agenda (Source: Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024-25) FIG 9: What gets measured gets managed (Source: Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024-25) JOSH BERSIN AND KATHI ENDERES - Secrets Of The High Performing CHRO The CHRO role is critical for business success, with CHROs serving as C-suite leaders first, and HR function leaders second. In his article previewing his new paper with Kathi Enderes, Understanding the Path to CHRO, Josh Bersin cites a recent study by Nick Bloom and Mert Akan (see here), which finds that 13% of CHROs are among the top five highest-paid executives in their organisations, a sharp rise from just 0.5% thirty years ago. The paper outlines the role of the CHRO, career trajectories, education, experiences, and high-level success drivers, along with the implications for leaders. Findings include: (1) More than 75% of CHRO appointments come from the outside, indicating a lack of CEO confidence in HR and/or a lack of succession planning for this job. (2) There are four major archetypes of CHRO (see FIG 10): Career CHRO (who change companies regularly), Company CHRO (who grow up inside the company), Business CHRO (who are rotated into the job from non-HR roles), and Operations CHRO (who come from legal, finance, or operations background). (3) Business CHROs drive the greatest change and impact. FIG 10: Four paths to the CHRO (Source: The Josh Bersin Company) WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS MCKINSEY - The critical role of strategic workforce planning in the age of AI S&P 500 companies that excel at maximizing their return on talent generate an astonishing 300 percent more revenue per employee compared with the median firm In many cases, these top performing firms are using strategic workforce planning to stay ahead of their competitors in the talent race, treating talent with the same rigour as managing their financial capital. In their article, Neel Gandhi, Sandra Durth, Vincent Bérubé, Charlotte Seiler, Kritvi Kedia and Randy Lim, highlight how the emergence of generative AI is making strategic workforce planning even more important (see FIG 11), and discuss five best practices for building a holistic talent plan through SWP: (1) Prioritise talent investments as much as financial investments. (2) Consider both capacity and capabilities. (3) Plan for multiple business scenarios. (4) Take an innovative approach to filling talent gaps – by refocusing from hiring to reskilling and upskilling. (5) Embed SWP into business as usual: Strategic workforce planning should become a business-as-usual process, not just a one-off exercise in the face of a single threat to an organization’s talent pipeline or business goals. FIG 11: The impact of GenAI on tasks that previously had low potential for automation  (Source: McKinsey) JOSH TARR - Key Skills-Based Strategies for Building a More Agile and Resilient Workforce | WORKDAY – The Global State of Skills Skills-based strategies are transforming the workplace into a more dynamic, adaptable, and equitable environment. Josh Tarr shares key findings from Workday’s recently published The Global State of Skills report, which finds that 51% of business leaders are concerned about a looming talent shortage, with only 32% in agreement that their organisation possesses the skills needed for future success. The article examines three key skills-based strategies: (1) Skill Identification: Building an Accurate Picture of Workforce Capabilities. (2) Skills-Based Hiring: Focusing on What People Can Do, not Their Credentials. (3) Upskilling and Reskilling: Elevating the Workforce. Thanks to Sophie Barnes for highlighting. FIG 12: Top drivers and anticipated outcomes for becoming a skills-based organisation (Source: Workday) EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING PATRICK COOLEN AND SANDER DE BRUIJN - 7 Golden Rules For Improving Employee Experience Effective EX solutions are built on an iterative and evidence-based approach while co-creating with employees. In their article, Patrick Coolen and Sander de Bruijn of KennedyFitch share their experience and insights on how to do continuous employee listening and improve employee experience. They share seven ‘Golden Rules’ for improving employee experience including: (1) Applying the ‘Triple Diamond Model’ (see FIG 13) in order to capture, understand and act on your employees' needs and ambitions. (2) Ensuring strategic positioning (“EX is a strategic capability, so the responsible team should be positioned in HR accordingly”). (3) Aiming for hyper-personalisation (“By understanding employee differences, organisations can tailor experiences to be more personalised and meaningful”). Read the article to learn about the other golden rules as well as letting Patrick and Sander know what rules eight, nine and ten should be. FIG 13: The ‘Triple Diamond Model’ to drive employee experience (Source: Patrick Coolen and Sander De Brujin) DANIEL WENTZEL, ALICE MINET, STEFAN RAFF-HEINEN, AND JANINA GARBAS - How Remote Work Changes Design Thinking A key advantage of the design-thinking process over other innovation methods is its emphasis on the user experience. Design thinking and user centred design are critical tools in building an exceptional employee experience – and HR practitioners can learn much from how these tools are applied to customer experience. In their article for MIT Sloan Management Review, Daniel Wentzel, Alice Minet, Dr. Stefan Raff-Heinen, and Dr. Janina Garbas share advice for leaders on structuring the design-thinking process to exploit the best features of both physical and virtual environments for more effective ideation, customer experience research, and other design-thinking steps. As outlined in FIG 14, effectively combining physical and virtual formats throughout the design-thinking process allows innovation leaders to harness the distinct advantages of each setting. FIG 14: How to set up hybrid design thinking processes (Source: Wentzel et al) LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING STUART L. HART - How to Embed Purpose at Every Level In his article, drawn from his book, Beyond Shareholder Primacy: Remaking Capitalism for a Sustainable Future, Stuart L. Hart presents a practical framework and approach for truly embedding societal purpose, drawing upon the experience of several innovative companies. This framework imagines the company as a house of transformational sustainability – see FIG 15 – where the shared values are the foundation, the roof is the company purpose, the middle floor is the core elements of strategy. The article examines of the elements of the corporate architecture in more depth, along with examples from the 15 companies Hart and his team studied as part of their work: (1) What We Believe: Values (“The transformational companies we examined established a strong foundation built on their organizations’ values”). (2) Why We Exist: Purpose. (3) What We Solve: Aspirations and Quests: (“Together, aspirations and quests serve as the fulcrum for change in leading-edge companies, translating purpose and intention into strategy and operating reality”). (4) How We Win: Strategies and Initiatives. (5) What We Track and How We Accelerate: Goals and Metrics, Rewards and Incentives. FIG 15: The House of Transformational Sustainability (Source: Stuart L. Hart) DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING DANIEL ZHAO – DEI Data Points on Glassdoor | JOELLE EMERSON – Analysis on EEOC Assessment of Unlawful DEI Initiatives | MEG A. WARREN – Amid DEI Rollbacks, Champion Allyship | JEREMIE BRECHEISEN, TERESA ALMEIDA AND NIKITA - When Does a Regional Approach to DEI Make Sense for Multinational Companies? | BRANDON DENON - In the US, DEI is under attack. But under a different name, it might live on With the continuing uncertainty around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, as with the February edition of Data Driven HR Monthly, I wanted to share some of the resources I’ve consumed on this topic with readers: (1) Daniel Zhao shares a number of DEI related data points from Glassdoor, which perhaps not surprisingly has seen that conservations on DEI have surged on Glassdoor’s community platform (see FIG 16). (2) DEI expert Joelle Emerson provides an initial assessment of the EEOC’s recent guidance on unlawful DEI initiatives. (3) Meg Warren, Ph.D. presents research that finds that abandoning DEI initiatives can harm both performance and workplace culture – with inclusive workplaces being better for workers and our businesses. (4) Jeremie K Brecheisen, Teresa Almeida, and Nikita present findings from a study by Gallup and the London School of Economics that found that 77% of companies had centralised DEI operations, but that the companies with decentralised regional operations reported greater business impact. (5) Finally, in a BBC InDepth article, Brandon Drenon writes on how companies in the US are adopting different stances to Trump’s Executive Orders. FIG 16: The rise of DEI conversations on Glassdoor (Source: Glassdoor) HR TECH VOICES Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor and analyst community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from March that I recommend readers delve into: EMILY KILLHAM | PERCEPTYX - The State of Employee Listening 2025 – Perceptyx's annual analysis of employee listening, authored by Emily Killham, is always a compulsory read. The 2025 edition continues the high standard with highlights including (1) How the top barriers to listening and action have changed in the last 12 months. (2) The critical risks associated with increasing burnout of HR leaders. (3) An update to Perceptyx’s 4-stage maturity model that describes the progression of an employee listening and action program from its most fundamental to its most robust. FIG 17: Employee listening maturity model (Source: Perceptyx) PHILIP ARKCOLL - The AI Maturity Curve: Measuring AI Adoption in your Organization – Philip Arkcoll, CEO at Worklytics , sets out a compelling framework for measuring the impact of AI on your organisation – the AI Maturity Curve (see FIG 18), which is comprised of three stages: Adoption (focused on uptake), Proficiency (focused on impact), and Leverage (focused on productivity gains). FIG 18: Measuring the impact of AI on your organisation (Source: Worklytics) DIRK JONKER AND RALF BOVERS - How common are people analytics teams? – In a recent edition of Crunchr’s newsletter, The HR Crunch, Dirk Jonker and Ralf Bovers provide some illuminating insights into the size and location of companies that have people analytics teams (see FIG 19) with the US and larger companies leading the way. FIG 19: Companies with people analytics teams (Source: Crunchr) ERNEST NG - AI Holds the Potential to Lead Organizations Into an Era of Abundance – Workday’s Ernest Ng, PhD discusses how AI agents will impact how we think about the organisation and challenge common HR orthodoxies. His article outlines how we can reimagine the organisation with a ‘beginners mind’ if we were not bound by the limitations of time and human attention, why AI is potentially transformational, and where to go from here. FRANCISCO MARIN - Measuring the Impact of Organizational Network Analysis (ONA): From Insights to Tangible ROI - Francisco Marin and the Cognitive Talent Solutions team share a helpful primer on how to measure the ROI of organisational network analysis (ONA), which includes a table (see FIG 20) with example use cases and ROI estimates. FIG 20: ONA Use Cases & Hard Savings Estimations (Source: Cognitive Talent Solutions) 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): DR. HOLLY LAM - Bridging the Chasm Between People Analytics & the Business – Holly Lam, PhD joins hosts Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD on the Directionally Correct podcast to discuss what it’s like to be decision maker in the business and move back to people analytics. BRENDA KOWSKE - Strategic Workforce Planning in the Age of AI – In an episode of Workplace Stories, hosts Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson speak with Brenda Kowske about how her people analytics and workforce planning team is breaking down traditional HR silos, integrating workforce planning into business decisions, and staying ahead of the curve with AI and skills-based planning at Boston Scientific. ARNE-CHRISTIAN VAN DER TANG – CHRO Insights – Arne-Christian Van Der Tang, CHRO at TomTom, joins Kathi Enderes on the What Works podcast to explain why the CHRO is no longer an HR leader, but now a business transformation executive. IAN WILSON - How Amazon Builds High-Performing Teams – Ian Wilson, VP HR at Amazon, speaks to Christopher Rainey on the HR Leaders podcast about how Amazon builds high-performing teams, the role of psychological safety, and HR’s role in driving business impact. BRYAN HANCOCK AND BROOKE WEDDLE - How to get return to office right - In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle speak with host Lucia Rahilly about their recent research on the opportunities and challenges of RTO—and how leaders can drive productivity, collaboration, and innovation successfully. VIDEO OF THE MONTH AMIT MOHINDRA AND HEATHER WHITEMAN – People Analytics Career Skills Live! Two giants of people analytics – Amit Mohindra and Heather Whiteman, Ph.D., who both featured on the recent list of Top 20 People Analytics Influencers join forces as Amit shares his career journey, the key skills for success in people analytics, and a wealth of invaluable advice. The webinar includes a demonstration of how to leverage basic descriptive analytics to perform predictive analytics. BOOK OF THE MONTH KWEILIN ELLINGRUD, LAREINA YEE, AND MARÍA DEL MAR MARTÍNEZ – The Broken Rung: When the Career Ladder Breaks for Women and How They Can Succeed in Spite of It For every 100 men who are promoted to manager, only 81 women get promoted. This causes women to fall behind men early on – far below the ‘glass ceiling’. This is what Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and Maria del Mar Martinez have coined “the broken rung”. Their book is based on a decade of research, their own experiences as the first three chief diversity and inclusion officers for McKinsey, interviews with 50 leaders, and is a guide to help women accelerate their career growth. For a preview of the book, I recommend reading a recent article by the authors: How Women Can Win in the Workplace. RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH FABRIZIO DELL’ACQUA ET AL - The Cybernetic Teammate: A Field Experiment on Generative AI Reshaping Teamwork and Expertise Our results suggest that AI adoption at scale in knowledge work reshapes not only performance but also how expertise and social connectivity manifest within teams, compelling organizations to rethink the very structure of collaborative work. This new paper summarises the findings from a study of how AI transforms the core pillars of collaboration – namely performance, expertise sharing, and social engagement – through a field experiment with 776 workers at Procter & Gamble. The findings include: (1) AI significantly enhances performance, (2) AL breaks down functional silos. (3) AI’s language-based interface prompted more positive self-reported emotional responses among participants (see FIG 21). The paper is a collaboration between Fabrizio Dell'Acqua, Charles Ayoubi and Karim Lakhani from the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard along with Hila Lifshitz, Raffaella Sadun, Ethan Mollick, and Lilach M., and Yi Han, Jeff Goldman, Hari Nair, and Stewart Taub from Procter & Gamble. You can also read Ethan Mollick’s article on the research: The Cybernetic Teammate. FIG 21: Working with AI leads to better emotional experiences (Source: Ethan Mollick) BONUS RESOURCES Some bonus resources to consume this month feature articles from five of my favourite newsletters: Lars Schmidt ’s personal and compelling Confessions of a Reluctant Thought Leader explains why he has shifted back from being an influencer to an operator. Much of this really resonates. In AI’s battle of the skills: upskilling vs deskilling, Laetitia Vitaud asks and then answers the question: “Does generative AI mostly amplify the skills of experienced workers, or does it level the playing field by enabling less experienced, less qualified workers to perform at higher levels?” Andrew Spence’s Workforce Futurist is consistently one of the most insightful newsletters out there – his latest: Seven Ways Technology is Making Us More Human, Not Less is a must-read. Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.’s From Data to Action has close to 10,000 subscribers, and it’s easy to see why as the latest edition: The Future of Work is Wellbeing—And It’s Broken Without Inclusion, tackles an important and timely topic in her typically insightful and personal style. Not many understand the world of HR Tech better than Thomas Otter as his excellent Work in Progress substack consistently testifies. In Explaining M&A through the lens of Income Statement v Balance Sheet analyses two very different recent acquisitions: ServiceNow and Moveworks. and Deel and the global payroll business of Safeguard. As an additional bonus, I also want to highlight the inaugural edition of Phil Kirschner’s The Workline, which features an exclusive interview with Annie Dean of Atlassian on their “Cost Per Visit” metric. See: Exclusive Case Study: Atlassian Humanized the Office with One New Metric. FROM MY DESK March saw the final four episodes of series 45 the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by our friends at Amazing Workplace, Inc. KATHERINE MACNAUGHTON - How Manulife Improved Employee Experience Through Transforming Its Organisational Culture - In this episode I talk to Katherine Macnaughton, CHRL, Vice President of Global Talent Management and Development at Manulife, about how Manulife is embedding purpose into every stage of the employee journey. SHON HOLYFIELD - Why Measuring Happiness Matters Just as Much as Engagement - Shon Holyfield, Founder and CEO of Amazing Workplace, Inc., joins me to explore how focusing on employee happiness can transform business outcomes. LUCY ADAMS - How HR Can Lead Successful Digital Transformation Initiatives – Lucy Adams, CEO of Disruptive HR and former CHRO at the BBC and Eversheds, joins me to discuss how HR can lead digital transformation and enable business leaders to be change champions. ANNA TAVIS - How to Drive Workforce Experience and Learning with Digital Coaching - Anna A. Tavis, PhD, Chair of the Human Capital Management Department at New York University and co-author (with Dr. Woody Woodward, PhD, PCC) of The Digital Coaching Revolution, joins me to explore how organisations can move from traditional coaching methods to scalable AI-powered solutions. 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 – as Richard’s latest newsletter reveals - now numbers over 525 roles. Look out too for Richard's latest newsletter analysing the current job market. THANK YOU The Economic Times for including Excellence in People Analytics in their Top 20 books HR professionals should consider reading in 2025 Joachim Rotzinger for featuring me in the inaugural issue of his #OrgPeople series, which highlights individuals who are shaping the way we think about organisations and analytics: you can read Joachim’s post here. Chrishtica Sivakumar for including me in her list of 11 HR Professionals to follow and learn from. Similarly, K Nair for including me in his 25 Must-Follow LinkedIn Accounts for HR in 2025. Congratulations to Sukumaran Mariappan on 25 years of growth and gratitude – and thanks for including me as one of 20 people you highlight for having helped you on your journey. Marc Voi Chiuli. (MSc. HRM. Assoc CIPD. MIHRM.) for referencing Excellence in People Analytics in his recent article: HR Analytics Is Here! Are HR Practitioners Ready to Adopt this New Trend and Take Their Businesses to the Next Level? I always enjoy reading posts from listeners of the Digital HR Leaders podcast summarising their key takeaways and learnings from individual episodes. Two great examples (the first from the recent episode with Lucy Adams on HR’s role in transformation and the second with Anna Tavis on digital coaching come from Shrez Ghelani (here) and Olimpiusz Papiez (here). Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the February edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Sam Streak, Anja Leschly, Thomas Kohler, Raja Sengupta, Brandon Merritt Johnson, Galo Lopez Noriega, Mike Madelin FCIPD, Megan Reif, Johann Cheminelle, Gerard Kiely, Charlotte Copeman, Clodagh Scannell, Matthew Phelan, Catriona Lindsay, Aurélie Crégut, Keji Fakeye, MS, CSM, Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez, Kouros Behzad, Jarret O., Callum MacRae, Dan George, Francesca Gabetti, Susana Pires, Felipe Jara, Laurent Reich, Bob Pulver, Megan Sherman, Ph.D., Diego Miranda ??, Amardeep Singh, MBA, Viktoriia Kriukova (Вікторія Крюкова), Krista V., David Simmonds FCIPD, Danielle Farrell, MA, CSM, Ian OKeefe, Sanja Licina, Ph.D., Deborah M. Weiss, Dean Carter, Dan Riley, Sibusiso Mkhize, Nitish Kumar, Aravind Warrier, Sarajit Poddar, Preetha Ghatak Mukharjee, Lewis Garrad, Greg Pryor , Kris Saling, Nick Lynn, Shirley Mariole, MPNGHRI, Richard Bretzger, Till Alexander Leopold, Kyle Forrest, Erik Samdahl, Ralf Buechsenschuss, David Boyle, Ben Berry, Amanda Nolen, Andrew Pitts, Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD), Linpei Zhang, Moïra Taillefer, Sonia Mooney, Kathleen Kruse, Timo Tischer, Volodymyr Shevchenko Rebecca Ray, Anyuta Dhir, Tobias W. Goers ツ, John Guy, Kristin Saboe, Ph.D., Caitie Jacobson Mikulis, Hesham Ahmed, Daisy Grewal, Ph.D., Brian Elliott, Paola Alfaro Alpízar, Mila Pascual-Nodusso, John Golden, Ph.D., Heather Muir, Dan Lapporte, Tina Peeters, PhD, Frankie Close, Tonille Miller, Narelle Burke, Ying Li, Raquel Mitie Harano, Saumya Singh, Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM, John Perrian, Jill Larsen, Kelly Cartwright, Paul Boyle, Paulo Henrique Bolgar, Federico Bechini, Phil Inskip, Tammy Arnaud, Anushree Kabra Tatu Westling, Brad Hubbard, Marie-Hélène Gélinas, MBA (Cand.), Aimee Shirreffs, Delia Majarín, Jo Thackray FCIPD, Gishan Nissanka, Ali Nawab, Pedro Pereira, Natasha Ouslis, PhD, David Balls (FCIPD), Nikita D'Souza, Tanya Jain, Angela LE MATHON, Graham Tollit, Mino Thomas, Dave Millner, Ingi Finnsson ?, Maria Ursu, Craig Starbuck, PhD, Stela Lupushor, Dave Fineman, Monika Manova, Hanne Hoberg, Jacob Nielsen, James McKay, Morgan Baldwin, Mattijs Mol, Sebastian Knepper, Maria Alice Jovinski, Mariami Lolashvili, Shuang Yueh Pui, PhD, Ken Clar, Andrés García Ayala, Dr Philip Gibbs, Elizabeth Esarove, Higor Gomes, Olivier Bougarel, Ron Ben Oz, Louis Gordon, Jeff Wellstead, Agnes Garaba, Erik Otteson, Stephen Hickey 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 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 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: April 10-11 - Wharton People Analytics Conference, Philadelphia April 16 - Delegation Rewired: What HR Can Stop Doing, Thanks To Agentic AI, Webinar organised by People Matters April 29-30 - People Analytics World, London May 6-8 - UNLEASH America, Las Vegas June 4-6 - TALREOS (Talent Analytics Leadership Roundtable Economic Mobility Summit), Chicago June 10-11 - Insight222 Q2 North American Peer Meeting, Toronto, (hosted by Royal Bank of Canada, and exclusive to the people analytics leader in member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®) June 25-26 - Insight222 Q2 European Peer Meeting, London, (hosted by BT, and exclusive to the people analytics leader in member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®) July 31 - August 1 - People Matters TechHR India 2025, Delhi October 7-9 - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, Atlanta (exclusive to the people analytics leader in member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®) October 15-16 - People Analytics World, New York October 21-22 - UNLEASH World, Paris More events will be added as they are confirmed.
    David Green
    2025年04月14日
  • David Green
    David Green: The best HR & People Analytics articles of February 2025 2025年2月的 Data Driven HR Monthly 深入探讨了影响未来HR战略的关键趋势，涵盖了混合办公、AI驱动的技能管理、组织设计以及人力资源分析的最新发展。 麦肯锡提出了一种全新的HR运营模式，强调**“人力资源战略家、数据科学家和技术专家”** 的三位一体架构，以增强HR的战略影响力。同时，世界经济论坛（WEF）发布了**《全球技能分类法工具包》**，推动企业采用通用的技能语言，以提升人才管理能力。 另一个重要议题是任务智能（Task Intelligence），TechWolf的研究表明，企业应关注员工实际执行的任务，而不仅仅是他们具备的技能。这种方法有助于精准规划人才需求、优化招聘和培训，并挖掘自动化机会，以提升企业效能。 此外，混合办公和多样性、公平性、包容性（DEI）等议题正日益被政治化。美国最新数据表明，2025年1月仍有29%的工作日为远程办公，但企业对重返办公室（RTO）的讨论持续升温。随着AI的发展，HR部门如何平衡企业需求与员工期望，将成为未来几年最重要的挑战之一。 本期还关注了HR科技市场的发展，例如Gartner对2025年首席人力官（CHRO）的三大战略优先事项，以及AI在HR转型中的应用案例。对于希望在人力资源管理中充分利用数据和科技的HR领导者来说，本期内容不容错过！ February is supposed to be the shortest month but the 2025 version felt conspicuously long. We may be living in a post-truth world but it is an irrefutable fact that it was Ukraine that was invaded just over three years ago by 150,000 Russian troops. The Ukrainian people - and Volodymyr Zelenskyy - need to be supported not disparaged. Compiling this month’s edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly proved to be a welcome distraction from geopolitics, even if two hitherto work topics that are increasingly being politicised - hybrid work and diversity, equity and inclusion - feature prominently. Other selections include a fresh take on the HR operating model from McKinsey, which is founded upon a strategic triumvirate of people strategists, people scientists, and people technologists. Look out also for a Global Skills Taxonomy toolkit from the World Economic Forum, as well a list of 20 global people analytics influencers, which was compiled using active ONA data. Enjoy! This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at TechWolf Are we looking at skills the wrong way? AI and automation are reshaping work. By 2028, one-third of enterprise software will automate tasks and decisions (Gartner), and McKinsey estimates this could add 1.2% to annual GDP growth. Yet, 92% of HR leaders say (Gartner) they don’t have reliable data on the skills of their workforce. The challenge is clear: How do we ensure skills evolve as fast as work itself? Which skills actually drive business value? How can companies align business and talent strategies with real work? Most organizations track skills through self-reports, manager assessments, and outdated frameworks. An AI data layer like TechWolf revolutionizes that issue. But skills alone don’t tell the full story—tasks do. "Skills tell us what someone càn do, tasks tell us what they actually do" says Jeroen Van Hautte ?, TechWolf’s CTO & Co-Founder, "They explain why those skills are needed and what value they bring." So to understand skills, we need to understand work itself. That’s where Task Intelligence comes in. By analyzing real work data—from projects, collaboration tools, and enterprise systems—Task Intelligence connects skills to actual work, giving companies a real-time, unbiased view of workforce capabilities. Organizations using task intelligence to gain insights in the skills of their workforce can: Plan workforce needs with confidence Target learning & development where it matters Improve hiring by focusing on real skills Identify automation opportunities to free up time for high-value work Curious to see how task intelligence and AI-powered skills insights are shaping the future of work? Dive into our latest insights: ? How TechWolf Bridges Skills and Work ? Exploring the Task-Skill Connection TechWolf helps large enterprises understand the skills they have, the skills they need, and how to manage the gap in between—powered by AI. To explore how TechWolf’s AI can help your organization, reach out at hello@techwolf.ai or visit techwolf.ai. To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 140,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org. FEBRUARY ROAD REPORT In the last week of February, I had the privilege of chairing the second People Analytics World event in Zürich, which Ralf Buechsenschuss perfectly captures in his key takeaways and learnings.  Thanks to Barry Swales and his team for organising a great two days. From Zürich, I am now heading to New York where Jamie Nevshehir and his team at NBC Universal are hosting a peer meeting for members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®. It promises to be an enthralling two days with more than 70 people analytics professionals attending and a line-up of speakers including: Dawn Klinghoffer, Geetanjali Gamel, Anshul Sheopuri and Jeremy Shapiro. Also in March, I’m looking forward to delivering keynotes at HiBob’s Heartcore HR Live event in London on March 13, as well as the Workhuman Live Forum, also in London on March 19. I hope to see some of you there. February also saw the acquisition of eqtble by Paradox - congrats to Adam Godson, Gabe Horwitz, Joseph Ifiegbu and all concerned. 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. If you enjoy a dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is usually published every other Tuesday – subscribe here – and read the latest edition. HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK PHIL KIRSCHNER - McKinsey On Return To Office: Leaders Are Focused On The Wrong Thing | AARON DE SMET, BROOKE WEDDLE, BRYAN HANCOCK, MARIN MUGAYAR-BALDOCCHI, AND TAYLOR LAURICELLA - Returning to the office? Focus more on practices and less on the policy | NICK BLOOM - There are lies, damned lies and statistics | NICK BLOOM - The Future of Working from Home Leaders must stop obsessing over where work gets done and start improving how it gets done. February’s edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly has to start with this debate on RTO and hybrid. As Phil Kirschner’s article in Forbes explains, McKinsey has been publishing the findings of its ‘talent trends’ research through six studies since 2021. He observes that one clear trend has emerged: “The tension between where employees work and how effectively work gets done has been growing.” The latest McKinsey study finds that there was a surge in RTO from 2023 to 2024, with the proportion of mostly in-person workers (those working in person at least four days a week) doubling to 68 percent, from 34 percent in 2023. In his LinkedIn post citing Mark Twain’s infamous quote, Nick Bloom, who tracks work arrangements and attitudes monthly – see wfhresearch.com – questions the McKinsey data, explaining why he believes it is flawed and has both recall and sample biases. Bloom provides alternative data sources, which find that in January 2025, 29% of paid days in the US were work-from-home days (see FIG 1). Bloom’s supposition is that McKinsey may have felt pressurised by clients that want the narrative that work from home is failing in the media. One hopes that’s not the case, particularly as the main message the authors of the McKinsey article (Aaron De Smet, Brooke Weddle, Bryan Hancock, Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi and Taylor Lauricella) appear to be making is that: “The working model is far less important than the work environment leaders create.” They highlight five core practices to help firms implement a policy that fits their culture: collaboration, connectivity, innovation, mentorship, and skill development (see FIG 2). With the increasing politicisation – and even weaponisation by the new US Administration - of work topics such as flexible working and DEI, expect more debates like this as the year continues to unfurl. FIG 1: About 29% of Paid Days in the US in January 2025 Were Work-From-Home Days (Source: WFH Research) FIG 2: Employees’ ratings of their organization’s maturity in five practices by working model (Source: McKinsey) CALLUM MCRAE AND SAMUEL BAMIDELE - Redefining workplace flexibility: Harmonizing corporate culture and employee satisfaction | KIM PARKER - Many remote workers say they’d be likely to leave their job if they could no longer work from home | BRIAN ELLIOTT, ANNIE DEAN, AND KEVIN OAKES – Navigating the Return-to-Office, Hybrid and Remote Landscape Three more resources to help readers of the Data Driven HR Monthly navigate the latest research, challenges and discussions on flexible working. (1) Callum McRae and Samuel BAMIDELE present the key findings from WTW’s 2024 Workplace Flexibility Pulse Survey. One finding is that while 50% of 1,200 companies who participated in the study have policies in place requiring employees to be in the office for two to four days per week, the actual number of in-person days per week is lower (see FIG 3). (2) Similar to the WTW study, which also highlights the risk of employee attrition if companies fail to balance employer and employee needs, Kim Parker presents data from the Pew Research Center, which finds that nearly half of workers who currently work from home some of the time would likely leave if they were no longer able to do so (see FIG 4). (3) Finally, I highly recommend tuning into a recent The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) webinar, which saw Brian Elliott, Annie Dean, Kevin Oakes, and host Tom Stone get into the complexities of RTO, hybrid and remote work strategies. Topics covered included workplace design, how AI can augment human potential, and how blanket RTO mandates erode trust and engagement. FIG 3: In-office-days required vs. actual by country (Source: WTW) FIG 4: Source: Pew Research Center HANNAH MAYER, LAREINA YEE, MICHAEL CHUI, AND ROGER ROBERTS - Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential Almost all companies invest in AI, but just 1 percent believe they are at maturity. The biggest barrier to scaling is not employees—who are ready—but leaders, who are not steering fast enough. Inspired by Reid Hoffman’s book Superagency, this new report from McKinsey asks a similar question: How can companies harness AI to amplify human agency and unlock new levels of creativity and productivity in the workplace? Perhaps the standout conclusion is that employees are ready for AI but that the biggest barrier to success is leadership. The report is presented in five chapters. (1) An analysis of the rapid advancement of technology over the past two years and its implications for business adoption of AI. (2) The attitudes and perceptions of employees and leaders, with the former three times more likely than leaders realise to believe that AI will replace 30 percent of their work in the next year. (3) An examination of the need for speed and safety in AI deployment, with half of employees worrying about AI inaccuracy and cybersecurity risks. (4) A look at how companies risk losing ground in the AI race if leaders do not set bold goals. (5) Guidance on what is required for leaders to set their teams up for success with AI: “The challenge of AI in the workplace is not a technology challenge. It is a business challenge that calls upon leaders to align teams, address AI headwinds, and rewire their companies for change.” Finally, the article poses three questions each for leaders and employees to meet their AI future (see FIG 5). If you enjoy the article, I also recommend diving into AI in Action, an interactive four-part learning journey featuring Reid Hoffman and Lareina Yee, one of the authors of the McKinsey report. (Authors: Hannah M. Mayer, Lareina Yee, Michael Chui, and Roger Roberts). FIG 5: Questions to shape a company’s AI future (Adapted from McKinsey) FELIPE JARA - The Reality Check: Making AI in HR Actually Work While 75% of organisations are still in early stages of AI adoption, those taking a systematic, process-led approach will see remarkable results - from 40% efficiency gains to fundamental transformations in how HR operates. In his comprehensive and illuminating article, Felipe Jara analyses AI transformation in HR, breaking it down into four sections: (1) The Reality Check, which examines some of the barriers holding HR back: capability, financial constraints, delivery limitations, and technology. (2) The Process Revolution, examining the promise. With cases studies from the likes of Mastercard, IBM and Stanford Health Care, and how AI can augment the employee lifecycle (see FIG 6). (3) The Maturity Journey, which presents a maturity model from Deloitte and provides guidance on how to move forward. (4) The Implementation Framework, presenting a four-step approach to enabling AI in HR. FIG 6: The AI-Augmented Talent Lifecycle (Source: Felipe Jara) PEOPLE ANALYTICS ANDREW PITTS, MATTHEW DIABES, RICHARD ROSENOW AND STEPHANIE MURPHY - Top 20 People Analytics Influencers and more from the PANC Whilst I always appreciate being included on ‘influencer’ lists, most are wholly subjective and compiled using little or no data. This makes the People Analytics Network Census (PANC), all the more interesting. The initiative, which is the brainchild of Andrew Pitts, Matthew Diabes, PhD, Richard Rosenow and Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D., uses active organisational network analysis to map the global people analytics network. The results, which are based on more than 450 participants, are presented in five groups: (1) Top 20 Overall People Analytics Influencers, (2) Top 3 Networking Influencers, (3) Top 3 Mentorship Influencers, (4) Top 3 Technical Influencers (5) Top 10 Influencers from Outside of the United States. It’s a real honour to be included in the first list. Congrats to all those selected – many of whom I count as friends, colleagues and inspirations: Al Adamsen, Alexis Fink, Amit Mohindra, Andrew Pitts, Cole Napper, Dave Ulrich, Dawn Klinghoffer, Heather Whiteman, Ph.D., Ian OKeefe, John Boudreau, Josh Bersin, Mark H. Hanson, Michael Arena, Michael M. Moon, PhD, Patrick Coolen, Richard Rosenow, Rob Cross, Stacia Sherman Garr, Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D., Annika Schultz, Barry Swales, Greg Pryor, Lexy Martin, Michelle Deneau, Kevin Erikson, Kevin S., Michael Walsh, PhD, Adam McKinnon, PhD., David Shontz, Jaap Veldkamp, Kinsey Li, Leopoldo Torres, Ludek Stehlik, Ph.D., Martha Curioni, Rafael Uribe, Sanja Licina, Ph.D. MCKINSEY - What makes product teams effective? In episodes of the Digital HR Leaders podcast with leaders such as Ian OKeefe (here) and Aashish Sharma (here), we’ve talked about the importance of productisation in people analytics. Moreover, Insight222’s 2024 People Analytics Ecosystem study found that ‘analytics at scale’ teams (those teams that turn an insight, prediction, or algorithm into a product) have emerged as a core capability in the people analytics function of Leading Companies. As such, this article by Santiago Comella-Dorda, Vik Sohoni, Arun Sunderraj, Dan Gardner, and Lauren Gingerich McCoy for McKinsey is required reading for people analytics leaders. They analysed data from 1,700 teams, to measure how five capabilities (strategy, structure, people, process, and technology) impact four main outcomes (effectiveness, speed, productivity, and quality). This article focuses on the key capabilities required for three sub-outcomes of effectiveness: (1) Delivery predictability, (2) Value realisation (see FIG 7), and (3) Team engagement. FIG 7: The ten key capabilities of value realisation in product teams (Source: McKinsey) HELEN FRIEDMAN - Early Trends Influencing People Analytics Agendas In 2025 | BEN BERRY - The Rise of External Talent Intelligence as a Strategic Priority | DAVID BOYLE - Beyond Build-Buy-Borrow: "Blend" Emerges as a Pillar of Workforce Strategy | HESHAM AHMED - The three pillars of competitive advantage in data & analytics 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. Four are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Helen Friedman walks through three topics shaping many current people analytics agendas: workforce planning, AI in relation to skills and pay equity, and using data to drive decisions around turnover, pay and managing uncertainty. (2) Ben Berry explains why the use of external talent intelligence data by organisation is rising sharply, how they’re using this data and what we can expect to see in the future. (3) David Boyle writes on the emergence of ‘blend’ as a fourth pillar of workforce planning: “Workforce strategy and AI strategy have the potential to trip over each other if they are not synchronized.” (4) Hesham Ahmed outlines three ways data and analytics can drive competitive advantage: superiority of information, insight and action (see FIG 8): “Superiority of action: it is not sufficient to know something that others don’t. It is the ability to act on that information or insight that leads to an advantage or edge.” FIG 8: Three pillars of competitive advantage in data and analytics (Source: Hesham Ahmed) THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE ASMUS KOMM, FERNANDA MAYOL, NEEL GANDHI, SANDRA DURTH, AND JASMIN KIEFER - A new operating model for people management: More personal, more tech, more human Organizations that excel in both people development and financial performance are four times as likely as peers to outperform financially and one and a half times as likely as peers to remain top tier year on year. In the last three years, the most popular resource I have shared on LinkedIn, with over 1m views is McKinsey’s 2022 article, HR’s new Operating Model. The sequel is likely to drive just as much interest. In this article, which I was grateful to be invited to contribute to, the McKinsey team of Asmus Komm, Fernanda Mayol, Neel Gandhi, Sandra Durth, and Jasmin Kiefer explore a new vision of people management, centred on hyper-personalising the employee experience. Their findings conclude that that only about 20 percent of the most strategic activities in today’s HR portfolios will remain with two-thirds of current HR tasks being automated to a large degree (see FIG 9). They also outline the core elements of the operating system required to turn their vision into reality encompassing (1) Establishing a strategic triumvirate of people strategists, people scientists, and people technologists, (2) Streamlining the people operating model: more strategic, more fluid, and more tech-enabled (see FIG 10), and (3) Mastering complexity with technology. The authors also set out concrete steps organisations can take to implement a new people operating system. These steps include the need to experiment, a focus on continuous improvement and an onus on scaling what works. FIG 9: Two-thirds of today’s people management processes can be largely automated (Source: McKinsey) FIG 10: The future operating model for people management will be more strategic, fluid and tech-enabled (Source: McKinsey) GARTNER - Top 3 Strategic Priorities for Chief HR Officers CHROs are navigating a complex landscape shaped by several key trends. CEOs prioritizing growth through transformation, AI deployment challenges and shifting labor market pressures on talent strategies are influencing how the best organizations are leading HR to achieve business goals. New research from Gartner identifying the three top CHRO focus areas for 2025: (1) Elevating HR’s impact on the organisation’s growth strategy. (2) Building a deep bench of change leaders. (3) Creating a future-ready workforce. The report provides a deep-dive on the three priorities with guidance and methodologies on how to drive success in each, such as the Talent Risk Assessment Heat Map (see FIG 11). The report also contains a powerful section on the new capabilities required by chief people officers (see FIG 12) and HR professionals. A must-read. FIG 11: Example Talent Risk Assessment Heat Map (Source: Gartner) FIG 12: Model of a World-Class CHRO (Source: Gartner) DAVE ULRICH AND ROBERT DAVID - How HR Can Help Deliver Both Market Share and Customer Share through Human Capability The evidence shows that when HR engages customers in talent, organization, leadership, and HR department initiatives, both market share and customer share improve. What role can chief human resources officers play in helping their organisations to increase customer share while building market share? In their article, Dave Ulrich and Robert David outline five specific steps CHROs can take, which together demonstrate how HR can move from its traditional support role to help drive customer relationships and business growth: (1) Identify targeted customers – focus human capability investments on these. (2) Track customer share. (3) Define customer connection. (4) Engage with target customers (see FIG 13), and (5) Change HR conversations. For more on why and how HR professionals can increase their engagement with customers, do listen to Dave in discussion with Stacia Garr and me on this episode pf the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How HR Can Create Stakeholder Value and Drive Organisational Growth. FIG 13: Ways to connect and engage with customers (Source: Dave Ulrich and Robert David) WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM - Global Skills Taxonomy Adoption Toolkit: Defining a Common Skills Language for a Future-Ready Workforce Skills and talent shortages are critical challenges hindering economic growth, limiting business opportunities, and curbing individual potential. As technology rapidly advances and economic landscapes continue to shift, a common skills language is urgently needed to bridge gaps and enable workforce transformation. The World Economic Forum is spoiling us thus far in 2025. Not content with publishing the barnstorming Future of Jobs 2025 report, they have also released the Global Skills Taxonomy Adoption Toolkit, which will be a boon for workforce planners and people analysts everywhere. The toolkit is designed to equip leaders with actionable steps, evidence-based insights, and real-world case studies to adopt a common skills language and embed skills-first approaches into talent management strategies. Contents include (1) reasons for adopting a common skills taxonomy, (2) a Global Skills Taxonomy roadmap comprised of three phases (see FIG 14), and (3) key insights and methodologies for implementing each phase. Kudos to the authors - Neil Allison, Ximena Játiva, and Aarushi Singhania along with a stellar cast of contributors including Peter Brown MBE, Simon Brown ??, Shannon Custard, Soon Joo Gog, Kelli Jordan, and Jan Meyer. FIG 14: Global Skills Taxonomy adoption roadmap (Source: World Economic Forum) EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING IT SURVEY GROUP - The Future of Feedback: Trends Shaping Employee Listening in 2025 AI and technology advancement are game changers for the listening and survey space. They will allow us to synthesize and interpret data – particularly qualitative data – with unprecedented speed and complexity What are the key trends shaping the evolution of employee listening? Who better to ask than practitioners at the forefront of this important work. In their article, members of the IT Survey Group – including Megan Sherman, Ph.D., Kristin Saboe, Ph.D., Sophie Horneber, Anthony Ariano, Caitie Jacobson Mikulis, David Koch, Kellie Roberts, M.A., Stephanie Andel, PhD, and Robyn Petree-Guzman, Ph.D. present five trends shaping employee listening in 2025 (see FIG 15): (1) Supercharging sentiment, (2) “Silent” signaling, (3) Synergising surveys, (4) Guiding greatness, and (5) Refining the rhythm. FIG 15: Top five trends for employee listening (Source: IT Survey Group) NICK LYNN - Proactive Accountability: Turning Employee Insights into Action Proactive accountability is more than just a practice — it’s a cultural commitment to transforming insights into meaningful action. It thrives on clear ownership, well-defined goals, and unwavering transparency. Nick Lynn uses the concept of ‘proactive accountability’, which is commonplace in health and safety work, to solve the habitual challenge of turning insights gathered from employee listening work into meaningful actions (see FIG 16). Nick examines some of the common challenges from moving from insight to action such as the lack of a framework to prioritise feedback, slow decision-making, and poo communication. He explains why proactive accountability matters and how to foster it including developing a structured framework, assigning clear ownership, setting measurable goals, leveraging technology, building a community of change leaders, and celebrating success. FIG 16: Proactive accountability (Source: Nick Lynn) LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING DARRELL RIGBY AND ZACH FIRST – The Power of Strategic Fit Companies that excel at creating stakeholder value attract and retain the most valuable stakeholders, gaining a competitive advantage. In their article for Harvard Business Review, Bain partners Darrell Rigby and Zach First how to create a cohesive strategy that unleashes the power of ‘strategic fit’, which they define as: “Strategic fit is the degree of alignment and amount of synergy in a company’s business system.” They identify seven strategic factors: (1) the mental model, (2) purpose and ambitions, (3) stakeholder value creation, (4) macro forces, (5) markets and products, (6) competitive advantages, and (7) the operating model. They explain how aligning them generates beneficial multiplier effects, and – especially relevant for HR and people analytics professionals – demonstrate how creating value for employees and other stakeholders leads to higher returns (see FIG 17). FIG 17: Strategic Fit Leads to Higher Returns (Source: Bain) ANNE MCSILVER | LINKEDIN – Workplace Learning Report 2025: The rise of career champions Learning combined with career development — leadership training, coaching, internal mobility, and more — accelerates the flow of critical skills to keep pace with business needs The key theme of LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2025 is that the 36% of companies categorised as ‘career development champions’ (those companies with robust programs that yield business results) enjoy positive correlations with profitability outlook, confidence to attract and retain talent, and increased adoption of GAI. The report, with lead author Anne McSilver, features contributions from a host of talent leaders including: Vidya Krishnan (“The companies that outlearn other companies will outperform them.”), Chris Louie, Chris Foltz, Jennifer Shappley, Al Dea and Amanda Nolen (“You must be able to answer at least one of these three questions: How will this initiative help you to make money, save money, or mitigate risk for the company.”). The report also presents five talent foundations designed to accelerate career-driven learning: (1) Build the right skills, faster (see FIG 18). (2) Help people – and skills – move more easily. (3) Measure business impact. (4) Empower managers to support employee careers. (5) Inspire individual career growth. Thanks to Jennifer Gronski for making me aware of the report. FIG 18: Skills-based talent and career development champions (Source: LinkedIn) DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING STACIA GARR - Understanding the Impact of Recent DEI Executive Orders | KENJI YOSHINO, DAVID GLASGOW, AND CHRISTINA JOSEPH - The Legal Landscape Around DEI Is Shifting. Your Messaging Should, Too | JOSH BERSIN - Despite Political Firestorm, Diversity Investments Are Alive And Well | JOELLE EMERSON - Continuing the Work of DEI, No Matter What Your Company Calls It | While DEI the acronym may be on the decline, the work itself will remain vital for organizations that want to thrive today and in the future. President Trump’s two executive orders (EOs) to “end radical and wasteful” Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility initiatives, and litigate up to nine private companies as examples have set off a hailstorm of amazement and uncertainty. From what I’ve come across to date, here are some resources I recommend consuming: (1) Stacia Sherman Garr of RedThread Research was one of the first out of the blocks with a very helpful summary of the EOs and their implications. (2) Kenji Yoshino, David Glasgow, and Christina Joseph from the NYU School of Law’s Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, set out best practices on communicating about DEI, offer some sample language to avoid legal risk, and share strategies to disseminate these best practices throughout your organisation. (3) Josh Bersin offers a glimmer of hope in his article, first by highlighting organisations like Apple, Microsoft and JP Morgan that have all come out publicly against anti-DEI initiatives, and second by emphasising that rather than turning away from DEI, many companies are instead “embedding DEI into the disciplines of leadership, recruitment, performance management, and rewards.” (4) Joelle Emerson presents findings from a study by Paradigm, The State of Culture and Inclusion: 2024 Trends and a Look Ahead at 2025, which outlines three ways companies should consider shifting their approach to DEI: resetting the narrative, using data more effectively, and moving from siloed efforts to an embedded company-wide focus on creating cultures that work for everyone. 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. In a slight change-up this month, I’ll start with a couple of pieces that analyse the people analytics and wider HR technology market: FRANZ GILBERT AND MATTHEW SHANNON - How agentic AI is changing HR dynamics in 2025 – Deloitte's Human Capital Forward team of Franz Gilbert and Matthew Shannon unveil six trends that will likely change how humans and technology work together in the year ahead. Their first prediction is that: “Improved macroeconomic factors will drive increased investment and transactions in the HR technology market.” MERCER - The 2024/2025 Skills Snapshot Survey report – The Mercer team of Brian Fisher, Melba Gant, Katie Jenkins, ?Heather Ryan, and Peter Stevenson unveil the findings from their skills snapshot survey. One of the main findings is that the number of organisations attaining a high or very high level in skills maturity has increased significantly compared to 2023 (see FIG 19). FIG 19: Skills maturity across organisations in talent practices, 2024 vs 2023 (Source: Mercer) PHILIP ARKCOLL - How to get people to care about your insights – Philip Arkcoll, CEO at Worklytics, provides a five-step guide to help organisations turn insights from people data into meaningful outcomes. JOHN GUY AND GARETH FLYNN - Simply Skills Chat: SWP, Tasks, AI, Skills and HR – John Guy and Gareth Flynn explore how HR can take advantage of the latest data, toolsets and mindsets to advance the field and drive business value. LOUJAINA ABDELWAHED - Remote Companies Grow Twice as Fast – Loujaina Abdelwahed, PhD presents analysis by Revelio Labs, which finds that workforce growth in companies offering remote and hybrid work arrangements has outpaced that of in-person firms (see FIG 20). FIG 20: Remote and hybrid companies have grown twice as fast as in-person companies (Source: Revelio Labs) 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): HEATHER BUSSING – Navigating Trump’s DE&I Executive Orders: Clarity – In a must-listen episode of Workplace Stories, Heather Bussing joins Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson to unpick the recent executive orders on DE&I, what they mean for businesses, and how employers can navigate this complex landscape without overreacting. JEFFREY PFEFFER – Is Work Killing Us? – “An employer can be a good steward of the human beings whose lives have been entrusted to them — or not,” explains Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of Dying for a Paycheck, to host Kevin Cool, in this powerful episode of the if/then podcast from Stanford Business School. MARC EFFRON - The Science of Talent, 8 Steps to High Performance – Marc Effron joins Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD of the Directionally Correct podcast for an absorbing discussion covering topics such as why top I/O psychology Ph.D. programs aren’t more practitioner focused, as well as Marc’s two recent articles: “It’s not the mortar, it’s the bricks” and “Is the juice worth the squeeze”. RICHARD ROSENOW – Reimagining HR: Leveraging AI and Data for Better Outcomes – Richard Rosenow guests on the Capital H podcast with Kyle Forrest to discuss the role of data quality, governance, and AI in enabling HR teams to focus on strategic insights and drive business outcomes. DEBORAH PERRY PISCIONE - Employment Is Changing Forever – Sharing insights from her new book with Josh Drean, Employment is Dead: How Disruptive Technologies are Revolutionizing the Way We Work, Deborah Perry Piscione joins host Alison Beard on HBR IdeaCast to explain why we’re at a pivot point where old models of employment will be replaced by entirely new ones, and how mindset shifts and upskilling can help us prepare. VIDEO OF THE MONTH NAOMI VERGHESE, MADHURA CHAKRABARTI, AND DAVID GREEN | INSIGHT22 – People Analytics Trends Webinar Hopefully, I’ll be excused the mild dose of self-indulgence here, but this month’s ‘Video of the Month’ is the recent webinar I hosted with Naomi Verghese and Madhura Chakrabarti, PhD on the key findings of fifth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends report. The webinar includes a deep dive on the four main findings of the study, which include insights on the impact of AI on people analytics, how leading companies measure the value of their work, and what we’ve identified as the adoption gap in people analytics. BOOK OF THE MONTH SERENA HUANG - The Inclusion Equation: Leveraging Data & AI For Organizational Diversity and Well-being Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.’s debut book is incredibly well-timed given the current assault on diversity, equity and inclusion. The Inclusion Equation provides a compelling guide to merging DEI and wellbeing initiatives with people analytics and AI to deliver outcomes for employees – and the business. As I wrote in my endorsement of the book: “The Inclusion Equation acts as a guide for chief people officers to harness data, analytics and technology to create a truly inclusive and healthy environment where workers can thrive.” RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH KYLE LAGUNAS - Unlocking AI’s Potential in HR: A Practical Guide for Leaders This new report from Kyle Lagunas and the team at Aptitude Research is certainly worth a read. It features insights from seasoned HR thinkers and executives like Bob Pulver, Manjuri Sinha, Dustin Cann, and Meghan Rhatigan as well as a practical framework – impact, complexity, and risk - for assessing AI use cases, helping HR and operations professionals cut through the hype and so making smarter technology decisions. FIG 21: Adoption of AI in HR is slowing, but interest isn’t (Source: Aptitude Research) BONUS RESOURCES Some bonus resources to also consume this month: I don't anyone is writing with more quality or consistency on the impact of AI on work and on HR than Jason Averbook read one of his latest pieces, Thriving, Not Just Surviving, in an AI-First World, and then - if you haven't already - subscribe to his Now to Next Substack. Adam Bryant’s Strategic CHRO newsletter is always required reading as his recent interviews with Ellyn Shook (CHROs Must Never Forget That They Are The Voice Of The People On The C-Suite Team) and Peter Fasolo, Ph.D. (You Have To Be Curious About How All The Levers Work In Large-Scale Social Systems) ably demonstrate. Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic asks Can AI Fix Succession Planning? and highlights how passive data can be used to help predict leadership success: “The work of David Stillwell, Sandra Matz and Michal Kosinski demonstrates how AI can infer personality traits and leadership potential from digital footprints, as well as internal company data not historically seen as critical to leadership talent.” In a recent edition of his This Week, In Recruiting newsletter, Hung Lee asks is Elon Musk an existential threat to HR, and presents six compelling arguments to suggest he might be. After reading Hung’s piece, readers may wish that Musk is handed a one-way ticket to mars. Thomas Otter is one of my favourite writers, and in The difficult second album: Advice for HR TECH vendors on launching a second product uses The Stone Roses sophomore album, The Second Coming (actually, a very good album) as a warning for HR Tech vendors intent on launching a second product. Tom Redman and Donna Burbank explain how by mixing together some training, providing an opportunity to speak up, and having better KPIs, leaders can hone a data driven culture: How to Make Everyone Great at Data. In his article, Laurent Reich provides five learnings to make the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and opportunity for HR: CSRD: HR's Burden or Breakthrough? Turning Compliance into Opportunity: 5 learnings. FROM MY DESK February saw the final two episodes of series 44 the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by our friends at TalentNeuron (thanks to John Lynch, David Wilkins, Maureen McGinness, and the TalentNeuron team). It also saw a special bonus episode featuring my colleagues from Insight222, and the first episode of series 45, sponsored by our friends at Amazing Workplace, Inc. (thanks to Shon Holyfield). HENRIK HÅKANSSON - What People Analytics Leaders Need to Know About Scaling Their Function – Henrik Håkansson, who has built people analytics functions at three companies: Sony, Delivery Hero, and now Volvo Cars, joins me to share practical insights from his journey—what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons he’s learned on scaling people analytics along the way. TOBIAS BARTHOLOMÉ – How Lufthansa Group Combines Operational and Strategic Workforce Planning - Dr. Tobias Bartholomé, Project Lead for Strategic Workforce Planning at Lufthansa Group, joins me to explore why—after nearly a decade—Lufthansa has taken a bold step back to reimagine how it plans for the future of work. JONATHAN FERRAR AND NAOMI VERGHESE - How Leading Companies Turn People Analytics Into Business Value – In a special bonus episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, I was joined by my Insight222 colleagues Jonathan Ferrar and Naomi Verghese to uncover what truly differentiates leading companies in people analytics, and what research tells us about the evolution of the field over the last five years. ERIN MEYER - How to Bridge Cultures and Lead Global Teams for Success – Erin Meyer, Professor at INSEAD and author of The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business joins me for a conversation exploring how cultural differences shape the way we work, lead, and collaborate. DAVID GREEN - How do you leverage People Analytics to inform Strategic Workforce Planning initiatives? – A wrap up of series 44 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, which featured conversations with Stacia Sherman Garr, Dave Ulrich, Prasad Setty, David Wilkins, Henrik Håkansson, and Dr. Tobias Bartholomé, and featured the common question: How do you leverage People Analytics to inform Strategic Workforce Planning initiatives? 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 – as Richard’s latest newsletter reveals - now numbers over 500 roles. Look out too for Richard’s People Analytics Talent Book. THANK YOU The team at 365Talents for including me in their Top 50 HR influencers to follow in 2025 Mila Pascual-Nodusso for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast in her list of the Top 6 Spotify Podcasts on Human Resources, Talent Management, and Leadership Development. Neeru Monga for also including the Digital HR Leaders podcast on a list of her seven favourite podcasts. Steve Hunt for concluding after running a ChatGPT summary of the January edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, that my version “is far more informative, interesting, and enjoyable even if it does take more time to read.” I won’t hang up my cap, just yet then ;-) Hirex for including me as one of 10+ influential experts you need to follow in 2025 Thinkers360 for including me in their list of Top 100 B2B Thought Leaders, Analysts & Influencers You Should Work With In 2025 (EMEA). Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the January edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Thomas Kohler, Steve Sands, Christian Vetter ??, Ashish Pant, Stela Lupushor, Jo Thackray, Elin Thomasian, Guusje Brummer, Russell Flint, Kevin Le Vaillant, RJ Milnor, Ben Berry, Sewmini Amanda, Malinda Perera, Terri Horton, EdD, MBA, MA, SHRM-CP, PHR, Nesimi Akgul, Charlotte Copeman, Amardeep Singh, MBA, Diego Miranda, Jeff Wellstead, Dr Philip Gibbs, Amber O'Mahony, David Simmonds FCIPD, Sachin Sangade, Thiago Pimentel Pinto, Robin Haag, Susan Podlogar (she/her), Torin Ellis, Scott Reida, Catriona Lindsay, Kris Saling, Graham Tollit, Aravind Warrier, Jacob Nielsen, Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD), Lewis Garrad, Viktoriia Kriukova (Вікторія Крюкова), Ying Li, Marc Steven Ramos, Danielle Farrell, MA, Greg Pryor, Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez, Michel Ciampi, Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten), Till Alexander Leopold, Richard Bretzger, José Valdivieso, John Golden, Ph.D., Kathleen Kruse, Kyle Forrest, Matthew Hamilton, Asaf Jackoby, David McLean, Dave Millner, Ben Waber, Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, Federico Bechini, Rebecca Ray, Aizhan Tursunbayeva, PhD, GRP, Tobias W. Goers ツ, Andrew Spence, Michelle Lee ?, Alex Franco, MHRM, Destin Cacioppo, Anisha Aulbach, Megan Reif, Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga, Kirsten Edwards, Kimberly Rose, Amanda dos Reis Garcia, Paola Alfaro Alpízar, Anna Kjellberg, Lucie Vottova, Kouros Behzad, Alexis Vergani, Francesca Gabetti, Brandon Roberts, Delia Majarín, Peter Ryan, John Gunawan, Sergio Garcia Mora, Dan George, Gal Mozes, PhD, Chris Long, Ohad Geron, Ryan Wong, Raja Sengupta, Pedro Pereira, Nikita D'Souza, Timo Tischer, Dave Fineman, Monika Manova, Shuang Yueh Pui, PhD, Holly Kortright (she-her), Hanne Hoberg, Andrés García Ayala, Arne-Christian Van Der Tang, Daisy Grewal, Ph.D., Nicolas Quadrelli, Erik Otteson, Bejoy Mathew, Stephen Hickey, Agnes Garaba, Gawain Wang, Emanuele Magrone, Maria Ursu, Marc Caslani, Dan Lapporte, Patrick Coolen, Ian Grant FCIPD, Joonghak Lee, Jaejin Lee, David Balls (FCIPD), Craig Starbuck, PhD, Mariami Lolashvili, Mattijs Mol, David Elkjær, Marie-Hélène Gélinas, MBA (Cand.), Aurélie Crégut, Nick Hudgell, Teodora Staneva, Sonia Mooney, Elizabeth Esarove, Søren Kold, Moïra Taillefer, Monika Mardaus, Tina Peeters, PhD, Ken Clar, Maria Alice Jovinski, Marcela Mury, Toon van der Veer, Madeline Cedeno, Marc Voi Chiuli. (MSc. HRM. Assoc CIPD. MIHRM.), Herbert Burri, Alexander S. Locher, Ava Dossi, Anna Kuzmenko 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: March 13 - HiBob Heartcore HR LIVE, London March 19 - Workhuman Live Forum, London April 10-11 - Wharton People Analytics Conference, Philadelphia April 29-30 - People Analytics World, London May 6-8 - UNLEASH America, Las Vegas June 4-6 - TALREOS (Talent Analytics Leadership Roundtable Economic Mobility Summit), Chicago July 31 - August 1 - People Matters TechHR India 2025, Delhi October 21-22 - UNLEASH World, Paris More events will be added as they are confirmed.
    David Green
    2025年03月02日
  • David Green
    The best HR & People Analytics articles of January 2025 2025年伊始，人工智能（AI）和人力资源（HR）领域发生了一系列重大变革。DeepSeek的崛起是否标志着AI的“斯普特尼克时刻”尚未可知，但可以确定的是，AI正以前所未有的速度重塑产业、企业和工作方式。与此同时，混合办公、DEI（多元、公平与包容）等工作议题的政治化，在特朗普政府的回归下变得尤为突出，使得HR领导者面临更大挑战。 全球HR趋势与预测 世界经济论坛《未来工作报告2025》：未来五年内将新增1.7亿个新岗位，但9200万个工作将被取代，人才技能转型成为关键。 Spotify CPO Katarina Berg 提出HR应从“资源”转向“关系”，建立更具信任感和数据驱动的HR模式。 Gartner：AI第一的企业可能会因过度追求生产力而适得其反。 AI与人才分析 Josh Bersin的“AI超级员工”概念：AI将助力员工提高生产力、创造力，并推动企业文化变革。 Visier报告：欧洲64%企业高管 已获得员工数据分析权限，数据驱动HR决策成为主流。 员工体验与健康 麦肯锡健康研究院研究表明，关注员工健康的企业在业务表现上明显优于同行，健康与生产力紧密相关。 组织架构正在向技能为本的模式转型，人才战略已成为企业核心竞争力之一。 2025年，HR的核心任务将围绕AI技术、数据分析、员工福祉展开。面对变革，HR如何借力AI，实现企业与人才的双赢？欢迎讨论！? To rework Lenin’s infamous observation, replacing weeks with months: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are months where decades happen” – this manifestly could be applied to January 2025. It’s still way too early to judge whether the sudden emergence of DeepSeek is AI's Sputnik moment, but it is safe to say that AI is already rapidly reshaping industries, companies and how we work. We are increasingly seeing the politicisation of work topics such as hybrid work and diversity, equity and inclusion programs – especially with the arrival of the new Trump administration in the United States. Let's just say that there’s a lot on the plate for chief people officers to contend with at the moment. Perhaps this partly explains the slew of insightful resources in January, which has made compiling this month’s collection as challenging as it has been enjoyable. Selections include the unmissable new Future of Jobs report from the World Economic Forum, the big trends and opportunities to look out for in HR, AI and data science in the year ahead, and a powerful new study from the McKinsey Health Institute, which finds that companies that prioritise employee health and wellbeing enjoy better business outcomes than their peers - a ray of light in the darkness. There’s lots to enjoy and learn from. This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at Visier In Visier's latest research report, "The State of People Analytics in European Organisations," we explore how European companies are leveraging data-driven strategies to achieve measurable business outcomes. With 64% of organisations now enabling senior executives to access people insights, the shift toward analytics-driven decision-making is clear. Based on a recent study by The Josh Bersin Company in partnership with Visier Inc., the report highlights key people analytics adoption trends in Europe, the maturity journey of people analytics teams, and the tangible advantages experienced by organisations using advanced people analytics platforms. From adaptive workforce planning to meeting regulatory demands, this report is essential for HR leaders driving growth and innovation in 2025. Download the new report to learn: Key trends driving people analytics adoption and growth in Europe Why strategic investments in people data are critical for the future of work The measurable business benefits of advanced people analytics practices To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 140,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org. JANUARY ROAD REPORT I’m typing this on the Eurostar on my way back from Paris, where Laurent Reich and his team hosted the first Peer Meeting of 2025 for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program® at L'Oréal’s Global HQ. A huge thank you to Laurent, his team and all the speakers over the two days: Isabel Gomez Garcia de Soria, Theo Leccia, Ashish Pant, Tracy Villanueva, David Tregidgo, Luc-O D L, Kai Wehmeyer, and Julien Legret, as well as my Insight222 colleagues: Naomi Verghese, Jordan Pettman, Jane Bloomfield, David Bebb and James Garrett, and all those who attended what was an absorbing, collaborative and fun two days. Attendees at the January 2025 Peer Meeting for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, hosted by L'Oreal in Paris January also saw two webinars, the first with the Italian People Analytics community (thanks to Martha Curioni, Aizhan Tursunbayeva, PhD, GRP and Federico Bechini), and the second, where I moderated a panel with Anette Bohm, Dawn Klinghoffer and Ian Cook on The Strategic Outlook for People Analytics in 2025 (click to get access to the recording) – thanks to Barry Swales, People Analytics World and Visier Inc. for organising. Speaking of webinars… Join me for an Insight222 webinar on February 5 to discover the key themes shaping People Analytics in 2025. If you want to learn how AI, close alignment with people strategy, and data democratisation, are enabling Leading Companies to drive business value with people analytics, register for the Insight222 People Analytics Trends Webinar. The webinar, which will take place on February 5, will be hosted by me and feature Naomi Verghese and Madhura Chakrabarti, PhD unpack the findings from the recently published 5th annual People Analytics Trend study. You can register for the webinar here – or by clicking the image below. Share the love! Enjoy reading the collection of resources for January 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 December’s compendium as well as the five-part 2024 retrospective (Part 1: Creating value through people analytics, Part 2: Orchestrating the future of work, Part 3: Enhancing employee experience and wellbeing, Part 4: Developing leaders, culture and inclusion, and Part 5: Building the strategic HR function. If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is usually published every other Tuesday – subscribe here – and read the latest edition. 2025 HR PREDICTIONS, TRENDS AND PRIORITIES KATARINA BERG - 2025 HR Predictions: Looking Into the Crystal Ball In 2025, it’s time for HR to double down on the Human and rethink the Resources. Katarina Berg, Chief People Officer at Spotify, presents ten predictions organised under her clarion call for HR to focus on the Human and replace Resources with Relationships. Three that stand out are: Make Trust and Purpose Great Again (“Trust is the glue, and purpose is the fuel”), Data-Informed HR: Sherlock, Not Skynet (“Data is your detective, not your dictator.”), and Ethical AI: Keep It Human (“AI is like your overachieving intern – it’s great at automating the boring stuff, but it can’t replace human judgment”). These are, in my view, by far and away the best set of HR trends, predictions for HR in 2025. If you agree, I also recommend buying Katarina’s book, Bold: A New Era of Strategic HR, and subscribing to the Spotify HR Blog. GARTNER – 9 Future of Work Trends for 2025 and HR Toolkit | JEANNE MEISTER - 10 HR Trends As Generative AI Expands In The 2025 Workplace | JOSH BERSIN - The Rise of the Superworker: Delivering On The Promise Of AI There has been the usual flood of commentators offering their take on the trends, priorities, and opportunities for HR in 2025 – including my own 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025: Thriving People, Thriving Organisation. With so many to choose from, it can be a challenge to ‘separate the wheat from the chaff,’ but hopefully I have done this for readers here! As well as those I highlighted in the December edition from the likes of Steve Hunt, Andrew Spence, and Lars Schmidt – and the one above from Katarina Berg, here are three others I recommend diving into. (1) Gartner’s Emily Rose McRae presents nine future of work trends for 2025 (see FIG 1) with perhaps the standout being that “AI-first organizations will destroy productivity in their search for it.” (2) I always enjoy Jeanne C M.’s annual set of HR trends, and the 2025 edition is no exception. Jeanne frames her ten trends around her belief that 2025 will see a more organisations “moving from experimenting with generative AI to making it an essential part of their business planning process”, and that this will transform HR. Two of Jeanne’s predictions that standout are: a) AI Agents Will Proliferate And Become The Killer App In The AI Era, and b) Generative AI Will Transform the Future of HR Jobs, where she highlights 13 HR jobs of the future (see FIG 2). (3) Josh Bersin’s 2025 set of HR and leadership predictions is themed: The Rise of the Superworker: Delivering On The Promise Of AI. Josh describes a Superworker as “an individual who uses AI to dramatically enhance their productivity, performance, and creativity,” and a Superworker company as “an organization that embraces this transformation, building a culture of adaptability where people reinvent themselves.” The study breaks down four types of superworker (see FIG 3) as well as the five imperatives for 2025, including the need to redesign works, jobs, and organisational models. FIG 1: 9 Future of Work trends for 2025 (Source: Gartner) FIG 2: 13 HR jobs of the future (Source: Jeanne Meister) FIG 3: The four dimensions of AI automation – and ‘superworker’ (Source: The Josh Bersin Company) HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM – Future of Jobs Report 2025 Analytical thinking remains the most sought after core skill among employers, with seven out of 10 companies considering it as essential The fifth edition of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report is, like its predecessors, an absolute treasure trove of data, insights, and visualisations. The 2025 report is based on data from more than 1,000 companies and over 14m workers, and will be a much referenced resource by researchers as well as workforce planning and people analytics practitioners. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the interconnected trends shaping the global labour market and explores what this will mean for the evolution of jobs and skills over the next five years. There are far too many highlights in the report to list them all here, but here are some standout ones for me: (1) By 2030, 170 million new jobs will emerge, yet 92 million will be displaced—a net increase of 78 million roles (see FIG 4), which not surprisingly means that (2) Skill gaps are considered the biggest barrier to business transformation, with 63% of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 2025- 2030 period. (3) On average, workers can expect that two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period. (4) Analytical thinking remains the most sought after core skill among employers, with seven out of 10 companies considering it as essential in 2025 (see FIG 5). (5) Two demographic shifts are increasingly transforming global economies and labour markets: aging and declining working age populations, predominantly in higher income economies, and expanding working age populations, predominantly in lower-income economies. Kudos to the authors: Attilio Di Battista, Sam Grayling, Ximena Játiva, Till Alexander Leopold, Ricky LI, Shuvasish Sharma, and Saadia Zahidi. If you only read one of the resources I've selected this month, read this. FIG 4: Total job growth and loss 2025-2030 (Source: World Economic Forum) FIG 5: Top sought after skills by employers in 2025 (Source: World Economic Forum) RAVIN JESUTHASAN, RUPAL KANTARIA, AND SIMON LUONG - Workforce Transformation In The AI Era Leaders need new talent strategies as AI and demographic changes create the need for agile, skills-based organizations. In their article, Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, Rupal Sachdev Kantaria, and Simon Luong explain how with several workforce megatrends converging successful CEOs are being transformed into talent architects, with workforce strategy becoming as important to companies as financial strategy (see FIG 6). This is expanding the role of the chief people officer, whose mandates at some companies have expanded to include strategy, transformation and operations. All this, argue the authors, is leading to a transformation of work and the human experience of work across three critical dimensions: (1) Redesigning work for a truly agile operating model. (2) Skills as the currency (see FIG 7). (3) Adaptive leadership. The report is part of a series, The State of Our World 2025, compiled by the Oliver Wyman Forum, which has been designed to help global leaders navigate what is a turbulent and exhilarating environment. These include: The Revenge of Geopolitics, Solving the Demographic Dilemma, and Unlocking the Value of AI. If you want to know what's on your CEO's mind, read this. FIG 6: Talent strategy is leading board agendas (Source: Oliver Wyman Forum) FIG 7: The need to rethink skills as currency (Source: Oliver Wyman Forum) PEOPLE ANALYTICS TOM DAVENPORT AND RANDY BEAN - Five Trends in AI and Data Science for 2025 Our long-term prediction is that generative AI alone is not enough to make organizations and cultures data-driven. The 2024 edition of this article, by Tom Davenport and Randy Bean was MIT Sloan Management Review’s most-read article of last year, and the 2025 version looks set to similarly popular. The five trends outlined in the article are: (1) Leaders will grapple with both the promise and hype around agentic AI. (2) The time has come to measure results from generative AI experiments. (3) Reality about data-driven culture sets in. (Only 37% of companies surveyed said they work in a data- and AI-driven organisation, and 33% said they have a data- and AI-driven culture. 92% believe that cultural and change management challenges are the primary barrier to becoming data- and AI-driven). (4) Unstructured data is important again. (5) Who should run data and AI? Expect continued struggle. RICHARD ROSENOW – People Analytics Conferences: 2025 By focusing on community building, providing diverse and practical content, and addressing accessibility concerns, conferences can better serve the evolving needs of People Analytics professionals. A terrific resource compiled by Richard Rosenow on the top events scheduled for 2025, which was based on a survey of people analytics professionals. It lists the top events that practitioner are attending (including People Analytics World, TALREOS and Wharton People Analytics), those events that are top of the wishlist, which I’m proud to see includes the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, plus insights on what people enjoy and need from these events. SCOTT REIDA - The Augmented Workforce: Redefining Roles and Hierarchies in the Age of GenAI | MATTHEW HAMILTON - Three mental blocking & tackling drills to recenter your People Analytics efforts | CAITLIN VAN MIL - SHAP Values | AMIT MOHINDRA – Who is the Human in the Loop? 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. Four are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Scott Reida, a workforce strategist at AWS, walks through a workforce scenario from now to 2035 to demonstrate year-on-year how tasks for data scientists will be automated through AI (see FIG 8) allowing human workers to focus on more strategic work with role-levels consolidated and cost savings realised. (2) I’ve always enjoyed Matthew Hamilton’s thoughtful musings, and in this article, he walks through three mindsets for people analytics professionals to adopt including: embracing the power of visual analytics. Thanks too to Matthew for his kind mention of the Data Driven HR Monthly in his article. (3) Caitlin van Mil launches her Everything Data Science microblog series with a piece that breaks down SHAP values. (4) Amit Mohindra outlines how The “human-in-the-loop” imperative presents an opportunity for HR to elevate its role in leading their organisation’s adoption of AI: Organizations do not adopt AI; individuals do. HR facilitates organizational change through its influence on leadership, culture, and learning. The chief people officer is in a better position to spearhead AI adoption initiatives than the chief technology officer. FIG 8: Source – Scott Reida THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE KEVIN COX, SUSAN PODLOGAR, AND KATIE BURKE - Less is More: The Transformative Power of Discarding Outdated HR Concepts If HR sees technology as someone else’s work, HR will have missed a huge opportunity. To drive these discussions, rather than follow others, HR leaders should be students of technology and how it can influence work, strategy, and culture. As this excellent article in People + Strategy begins, the job of the chief people officer is increasingly complex with their C-suite peers often turning to them to solve the new challenges that have made leadership so hard in this turbulent decade. Instead of more, three experienced chief people officers, who have recently stepped down from their roles, provide some thoughts on what HR should be spending less time on moving forward. One example from each: (1) Kevin Cox highlights culture surveys, and advocates how AI can create better assessments by analysing more sources. (2) Susan Podlogar (she/her) calls for the setting aside of low-value HR work to focus instead on high-value transformation work including being at the forefront of how technology is integrated (see quote). (3) Katie Burke writes how HR needs to be better at connecting employee experience and happiness to impact, productivity and business results. DAVE ULRICH, REBECCA RAY, AND ALAN TODD - Next Step in GenAI for Human Resources: Proliferation vs. Prioritization Proliferation offers an abundance of innovative ideas but can lead to being overwhelmed and not having a clear idea about where to invest. Prioritization filters the opportunities into priorities that deliver value. With the proliferation of GenAI in the HR market (estimated at $3.25 billion USD in 2023 and projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.8 percent from 2024 to 2030), how can HR leader prioritise the investments in GenAI apps that will provide the biggest benefit to their stakeholders and organisations? That is the question tackled by Dave Ulrich, Rebecca Ray, and Alan Todd in their article, where they provide four concrete recommendations: (1) Define desired stakeholder and outcome (“focus on impact rather than activity”). (2) Rely on an integrated framework to organise apps (see FIG 9). (3) Determine which GenAI apps best deliver stakeholder value. (4) Build a guidance system on existing HCM platforms. FIG 9: Human Capability Framework (Source: Dave Ulrich) WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS MARC RAMOS - 6 Part Series: Tasks Versus Skills - Squaring the Circle of Work with AI - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 The world of work is changing rapidly, and the skills we need to succeed are evolving faster than ever before. While a strong focus on skills development is crucial, many organizations find that a sole skills-based approach is insufficient. There's a missing piece of the puzzle: tasks. Tasks are the building blocks of work, and understanding how they connect with skills is essential for developing effective workforce strategies, particularly as AI becomes increasingly integrated into our workflows. As I’ve been sharing broadly, HR, Talent and Learning & Development teams have increasingly had a laser focus on skill development, upskilling/reskilling, Skill-Based Organisations, and most recently gaining the right AI skills. Marc Ramos takes a slightly different approach: “A dilemma regards an over-reliance on a skills-first mindset as a somewhat dominant charter. What’s missing is acknowledging the proportional value of tasks, quantifiable tasks with the complementary value of skills, qualified skills.” AI and AI tooling is at the heart of this provocative new series; that is, how to address the combination of Tasks + Skills + AI. Part 1 and Part 2 re-emphasise the critical value of tasks and provide 7 Playbook Takeaways.  The remaining “What-If” sections share forward-looking AI-centric scenarios: Let Learning Breathe, A Task Intelligence Control Room, Employee Experience as an AI Product, and Ramos has also created an Instructional Quality AI Agent using OpenAI’s API Models.  Marc has also generously bundled all of this into a free eBook. FIG 10: Control Room mock up or heatmap of tasks not accomplished and negative impacts to sales quotas and related skills (Source: Marc Ramos) EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING BARBARA JEFFERY, BROOKE WEDDLE, JACQUELINE BRASSEY, AND SHAIL THAKER - Thriving workplaces: How employers can improve productivity and change lives By making work a place that improves health, organizations can build a strong, productive, and engaged workforce and release greater individual and organizational potential. A landmark new report from the McKinsey Health Institute in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, which has the headline finding that enhanced employee health and well-being could generate up to $11.7 trillion in global economic value. The report, authored by Barbara Jeffery, Brooke Weddle, Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten), and Shail Thaker, addresses three key questions: (1) Why prioritise workplace health? (e.g. financial return, improvements in productivity, engagement and retention, lower healthcare costs and absenteeism, enabling a more resilient and adaptive workforce – see FIG 11). (2) What is the current state of workplace health? (with a survey of 30,000 employees worldwide finding only 57% reported good holistic health). (3) How can organisations measure workforce health and develop an action plan? (how to build the investment case and company-specific KPIs – see FIG 12, case studies from the likes of Novo Nordisk, Swiss Re, and Novartis, and the role of people analytics including a case study from Experian. Finally, guidance is provided on six principles organisations can follow to get started: (i) understand the baseline health status of employees and the value at stake, (ii) develop initiatives for a sustainable healthy workforce, (iii) pilot interventions to test and learn, (iv) track three to five metrics to measure success, (v) ensure leadership commitment and sponsorship, and (vi) embed employee health into organisational culture. A tour de force. FIG 11: Workplaces with high well-being outperform other stock market indexes (Source: McKinsey) FIG 12: KPIs to build the investment case for employee wellbeing (Source: McKinsey) CARLIJN POPELIER AND RUUD RIKHOF – The (de)Humanized Workforce: Job Deconstruction - to what extent is the future workforce at risk of being further dehumanized? HR must take the lead in understanding AI’s impact and guide conversations about how these benefits are distributed. By doing so, we can keep the human experience at the center of this transformation. The cornerstone of this thoughtful paper from Carlijn Popelier and Ruud Rikhof is the concept of Humanized Growth, which they describe as “integrating the interests of employees, consumers, local communities, government, the planet, and broader humanity.” The paper takes a deep dive into the (un)intended consequences of new work arrangements and how they impact ‘humans’ and provides some helpful recommendations to chief people officers and senior leaders. Three of these are: (1) Leave HR service delivery to others and set expectations for employee experience. (2) Have a point of view on how AI impacts the workplace and how the benefits of productivity improvements are distributed. (3) Lead the transition to a skill-based approach. The authors also provide a primer on deconstructing jobs, including a helpful visualisation of the hopeful and cynical view of implementing this approach (see FIG 13). A highly recommended read. FIG 13: The ‘hopeful’ and ‘cynical’ view of deconstructing jobs (Source: Popelier and Rikhof) LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING JONATHAN HUGHES, JESSICA WADD, AND ASHLEY HETRICK - Why Influence Is a Two-Way Street Managers achieve better outcomes when they prioritize collaborative decision-making over powers of persuasion The ability to wield influence is important for meeting team and individual goals in highly matrixed organizations, but research, presented by Jonathan Hughes, Jessica Wadd, and Ashley Hetrick finds there is too much of an emphasis on selling one's own point of view (see FIG 14). The authors explain how this can hamstring good decision-making and argue for a collaborative model of influence where the best decision for the organisation is the primary goal. They also share five research-based strategies on how managers can steer culture toward two-way influence. (1) Expand job definitions and responsibilities so that they provide guidelines for cross-functional engagement. (2) Replace traditional influence training with training focused on collaborative influence. (3) Engage in cross-functional goal setting and alignment of incentives. (4) Rethink criteria for promotions to management and executive leadership. (5) Model behaviours of collaborative influence. FIG 14: How Influence Is Wielded in Organizations (Source: Hughes et al) DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING TORIN ELLIS - Reducing Bias in HR using Artificial Intelligence Only 27% of companies are using AI to address bias despite AI’s potential to automate processes and minimize personal and unreasoned judgment. This research study provides a helpful primer on how the thoughtful application of AI can remove bias from HR processes such as hiring, promotion and performance management. The report, which is a collaboration between Torin Ellis as well as Madeline Laurano and Kyle Lagunas of Aptitude Research for plum, covers: (1) How AI impacts HR processes and its role in either perpetuating or eliminating unconscious bias. (2) How to implement AI tools to foster DEIB values. (3) Examples where AI has been successfully employed to neutralise bias and promote fairness in HR practices. FIG 15: Actions companies are taking to reduce bias (Source: Torin Ellis, Aptitude Research) LILY ZHENG – What Comes After DEI? Instead of the performative, individual-centered, isolated, and zero-sum methods of the current mainstream approach, DEI work must evolve to become outcomes-based, systems-focused, coalition-driven, and win-win. A timely and thoughtful article by Lily Zheng, which outlines how their new framework built around fairness, access, inclusion, and representation can succeed where Lily believes that DEI has failed. As Lily explains, (1) Fairness is when all people are set up for success and protected against discrimination. (2) Access is when all people can fully participate in a product, service, experience, or physical environment. )3) Inclusion is when all people feel respected, valued, and safe for who they are. (4) Representation is when all people feel their needs are advocated for by those who represent them. 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 January that I recommend readers delve into: FRESIA JACKSON AND HEATHER WALKER - The biggest lie continues: The impact of leaders vs. managers – Fresia Jackson and Heather Rose Walker, PhD mine Culture Amp’s extensive data to bust the oft-repeated myth that “People don’t quit companies; they quit managers.’ The findings they do uncover include: (1) Career opportunities, leadership, and company confidence drives employee commitment, and; (2) Leader’s impact on engagement has grown since 2020 (see FIG 16). FIG 16: Leadership’s impact on employee engagement has grown since 2020 (Source: Culture Amp) LIGHTCAST – The Speed of Skill Change – A new report from Lightcast, which analyses the extent of skills disruption in US job postings, finds that the average job has seen one-third of its skills change from 2021 to 2024. The report identifies three big themes: (1) Adapting to Artificial Intelligence, (2) The Growth of Green Skills, and (3) Cybersecurity skills Continue Climbing, and provides workforce planning tips for each. FRANCISCO MARIN - Why Now is the Time for Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) to Go Mainstream – Advancing social capital is one my 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025, and in his article, Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions, looks at the historical evolution of the field and writes why the time is now for ONA. FIG 17: The historical evolution of ONA (Source: Cognitive Talent Solutions) JOHN GUY - Skills-Powered – Our maturity framework for getting the right skills – John Guy outlines the skills-powered maturity framework that developed with Simply Get Results’s customers (see FIG 18). FIG 18: Skills-powered maturity framework (Source: Simply) PHILIP ARKCOLL - How to Evaluate and Defend Your Flex Work Strategy – This is a terrific resource from Philip Arkcoll and the team at Worklytics. It highlights 15 common issues they are seeing in their research into flexible working and the metrics they’re using to help organizations identify them. These include: (1) Are people maintaining their networks or becoming isolated? (2) Is your organization becoming more siloed? (3) Do you have enough overlap on distributed teams? (see FIG 19). FIG 19: Team overlap based on working hours (Source: Worklytics) 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): JEREMY SHAPIRO - People Analytics Trends for 2025 & Revisiting Competing on Talent Analytics – Jeremy Shapiro joins Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD on the Directionally Correct podcast for a lively and insightful discussion on the evolution of the field, reflections on Jeremy’s seminal 2010 HBR article, Competing on Talent Analytics, and a review of 2025 predictions for people analytics from Jeremy, Cole and Scott, as well as research from RedThread, Bersin, and Insight222. BRANDON ROBERTS - The future of AI in the workforce: Lessons from ServiceNow’s four-point strategic journey – Brandon Roberts, Head of People Analytics and AI at ServiceNow, joins host Kyle Forrest on the Capital H Podcast to dive into the company's transformative journey with AI. He shares a four-point plan guiding their AI strategy, covering key areas like AI operating models, data and tech infrastructure, the right investments and talent, and workforce enablement. STACEY HARRIS - The Future of HR – Stacey Harris from Sapient Insights Group joins hosts Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson on RedThread Research’s Workplace Stories to discuss the HR landscape as we enter 2025. They have an absorbing conversation on what ‘engagement’ truly means, the limitations of current AI applications, and why a company’s culture—not its tech—might be the biggest obstacle to success in 2025 AMIT MOHINDRA – Strategic Workforce Planning – Amit Mohindra joins Nick Kennedy on SWP – The Strategic Workforce Planning Podcast, to talk all things SWP and people analytics. ELLEN HENDRIKSEN – Dealing with Perfectionism – In a fascinating episode of HBR IdeaCast, psychologist Ellen Hendriksen speaks with Curt Nickisch about her new book, How to Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists, where perfectionism comes from and how it affects teams. VIDEO OF THE MONTH BEN WABER, GEORGE LAROCQUE, AND CLIFF JURKIEWICZ – Helping Employees Gain Valuable AI Skills In this insightful panel discussion on Nasdaq, Ben Waber, George LaRocque and Cliff Jurkiewicz of Phenom join host Jill Malandrino to discuss how to strike a balance that helps employees gain valuable AI skills while simultaneously giving the organization a competitive edge. BOOKS OF THE MONTH AIZHAN TURSUNBAYEVA - Augmenting Human Resource Management with Artificial Intelligence | MARTIN R. EDWARDS, KIRSTEN EDWARDS, AND DAISUNG JANG - Using R in HR Analytics: A Practical Guide to Analysing People Data There are two book recommendations this month. First, Aizhan Tursunbayeva, PhD, GRP’s book explores human resource management technologies across operational, relational, and transformational elements. It includes an analysis of vendor value propositions, and pays significant attention to the ethical implications of AI and how they can be addressed through Responsible AI principles. The second book, by Martin Edwards, Kirsten Edwards, and Daisung Jang is designed to help readers learn how to use R and R Studio to analyse HR data and deliver insights that drive workforce and business performance. The authors also cover data privacy and the ethical considerations of using people data. Two excellent and complementary reads. RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH SCOTT HINES, JUSTIN O’NEAL, CHRIS HUNYH, AND JOHN GOLDEN - An alternative path to unlocking high-potential talent: Universal models beware In this paper for the Consulting Psychology Journal, Scott Hines, PhD, Justin O'Neal, Ph.D. Chris Hunyh, and John Golden, Ph.D., investigate the intricacies of identifying high-potential talent within organisations overcoming the challenges of using a single defined measure of potential. As John Golden highlights here, insights from the paper include: (1) Redefining Potential: The article challenges traditional notions of potential, advocating for a behavioural framework that aligns with strategically critical roles: “It’s not just about climbing the ladder; it’s about finding the right fit for every rung.” (2) Innovative Methodologies: By integrating multiple theoretical constructs and utilising behavioural ratings, this study paves the way for predicting employee readiness for future growth opportunities. For those unable to access the report, have a listen to this podcast on the study. BONUS RESOURCES Some bonus resources to also consume this month: Hung Lee published his annual set of forecasts for recruitment and HR technology, which are always worth checking out and cover much, much more than recruiting: See Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four. In a recent edition of his excellent Workforce Futurist newsletter, Andrew Spence unveils 35 New AI Roles to Watch Out For. Sharna Wiblen’s article in MIT Sloan Management Review, Who’s Making Your Talent Decisions? explores how technology—algorithms, vendors, and systems—shapes talent decisions to a much greater extent than many of us realise. Stacia Sherman Garr provides a helpful primer on Understanding the Impact of Recent DEI Executive Orders. Speaking of DEI, Bruce Daisley does an admirable takedown of Mark Zuckerberg’s cowardly decision to roll back on DEI at Meta: Zuckerberg cancelling DEI is a grim day for work. Finally, Nathan Warren’s column on Exponential View, outlines five contrarian ideas that may just change your perspective—and your strategy—on AI at work. These include: You're likely only scratching the surface – with organisations actually needing to retool entire processes around AI (see FIG 20). FIG 20: The shift from assistants to agents will be dramatic (Source: Exponential View) FROM MY DESK January proved to be a productive month for writing as well as the first three episodes of Series 44 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by our friends at TalentNeuron (thanks to John Lynch, David Wilkins, Maureen McGinness, and the TalentNeuron team). DAVID GREEN – The Best HR and People Analytics Articles of 2024 – My 11th annual retrospective of the best articles of the year came in five instalments: Part 1: Creating value through people analytics, Part 2: Orchestrating the future of work, Part 3: Enhancing employee experience and wellbeing, Part 4: Developing leaders, culture and inclusion, and Part 5: Building the strategic HR function. Enjoy! DAVID GREEN - How can organisations leverage skills intelligence to make more informed decisions? – A wrap-up of Series 43 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, which featured Sandra Loughlin, PhD, Keith Sonderling, Mikaël Wornoo?, Melissa Daimler, and Christophe Cabrera , and featured the common question: How can organisations leverage skills intelligence to make more informed decisions? STACIA GARR AND DAVE ULRICH - How HR Can Create Stakeholder Value and Drive Organisational Growth in 2025 – In our traditional opening to the year at the Digital HR Leaders podcast, I was joined by Stacia Sherman Garr and Dave Ulrich for a conversation on the key priorities and opportunities in 2025. PRASAD SETTY - How Will AI Shape the Future of People Analytics? – Having established and led the fabled people analytics team at Google, Prasad Setty has an abundance of knowledge and wisdom to share about people analytics. We discuss learnings from his time at Google, current challenges in the field, and how AI is shaping the future of people analytics. DAVID WILKINS - How to Turn Strategic Workforce Planning Into Impactful Action – David Wilkins joins me to share TalentNeuron’s findings on the key priorities for organisations when it comes to SWP. This shapes our conversation on what it really takes to master Strategic Workforce Planning. LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH? I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers over 600 roles. You can also read Richard’s latest newsletter related to this here. THANK YOU Nick Lynn for including the Data Driven HR Monthly in his list of recommended newsletters alongside some of my personal favourites by the likes of Bruce Daisley (Make Work Better), Rachel Botsman (Rethink with Rachel), and Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. (From Data to Action). Gianni Giacomelli for also recommending the Data Driven HR Monthly in his 2025 New Years Resolution: Only Read Good Newsletters post, which included another of my favourites from Thomas Otter (Work in Progress). Mike Irvine for including my 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025 article in a recent edition of LinkedIn’s The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week. Rick Leunisse for including me in this ‘General HR Tech Influencers’ category in his list of LinkedIn Influencers to follow. Rick also included categories for Workday Subject Matter Experts, Workday Employees, and HRIS Innovators and Thought Leaders. Offbeat for including me as one of 50 learning professionals to keep an eye on in 2025. I can happily return the favour by highly recommending Offbeat’s weekly newsletter, edited by Lavinia Mehedințu, which is one I read every week: Where L&Ds Always Learn. Thanks to Matt Manners and the Inspiring Workplaces team for including me as one of The Top 101 Global Employee Engagement & Experience Influencers 2025 Kyle Forrest for generously including me in two posts. Firstly, in a list of six 2025 set of predictions and trends for the world of work, and then secondly, in his list of non-Deloitte sources to obtain insights in the HumanCapital and HR ecosystem. MagnusHR for including Excellence in People Analytics as one of its five reading recommendations for 2025. Jeroen Naudts for including me in his list of 10 People Analytics Experts to Follow. Kalpana Joshi for including me in her list of five top HR influencers on LinkedIn to follow in the HR and people management space. Teamflect for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast at number 5 in its list of 15 Podcasts for HR Professionals. Thinkers360 for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast in its article: 125 Podcasts from You Should Listen To in 2025. Aurélie Crégut for citing the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Yves Van Durme, in her excellent post on Structuring Data for Success: A Guide for HR Teams. Phil Kirschner for including me in his group of inspiring thought leaders who introduce and amplify new perspectives on the future of work. Olimpiusz Papiez for posting another wonderful set of learnings from an episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, this time the one with Stacia Garr and Dave Ulrich: How HR Can Create Stakeholder Value and Drive Organisational Growth in 2025. Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the December edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Ollie Henderson, Paola Alfaro Alpízar, Sarah White, Mila Pascual-Nodusso, Robin Haag, Elliott King, Ryan Wong, Mark Woodhouse, Hakan Sahin, Veronika Birkheim, Gareth Flynn, Thomas Kohler, Monika Manova, Alice Reinhold, Javier Calzolari, Nicolas Quadrelli, Bastiaan Starink, Dan George, Jaqueline Oliveira-Cella, Alessandro Cosentino, Kouros Behzad, Diane Gherson, Ihuaku Ugwu, Amardeep Singh, MBA, Ian Grant FCIPD, Kevin Metherell, Francisca Solano Beneitez, Sanja Licina, Ph.D., Laura Oh, PhD, Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD), Irada Sadykhova, Ian OKeefe, Anna A. Tavis, PhD, Bengi Bozdag, Monica Sirbu, Shonna Waters, PhD, Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski), Sachin Sangade, Robin Kane, Jason Saltzman, Johnatan Moreno, Roshaunda Green, MBA, CDSP, Phenom Certified Recruiter, Jaap Veldkamp, Patrick Coolen, José Valdivieso, Danielle Farrell, MA, Nevena B., Menna Shehab ElDin, David Simmonds FCIPD, Debbie Harrison, Meghan M. Biro, Kathleen Kruse, John Healy, Greg Pryor, Daria Manoilenko, Samir Murgude , SPHR®, SHRM-SCP, IHRP-SP, Catriona Lindsay, Mark North, Maria Alice Jovinski, Zohaib Azhar, Michael Arena, Michelle Lee ?, Malgorzata Langlois, Erin Spencer, Timo Tischer, Richard Bretzger, Nick Hudgell, Evan Franz, MBA, Darshana D., Johannes Sundlo, Luis Maria Cravino, Sergio Garcia Mora, Graham Tollit, Ifraan Karim, John Gunawan, Jay Chang, Hanadi El Sayyed, Alexis Baker, Neil Vyner, Giovanna Constant, Marcela Mury, Monika Buzasy, Lewis Garrad, Tina Peeters, PhD, Lewis Garrad, Abhilash Bodanapu, Kouros Behzad, Dan Lapporte, Ying Li, Stephanie Andel, PhD, Kris Saling, Caitie Jacobson Mikulis, Roxanne Bisby Davis, Joonghak Lee, Delia Majarín, Emanuele Magrone, Claire Masson, Lucie Vottova, Gawain Wang, Sophia Huang, Ed.D., Jacob Nielsen, Søren Kold, Samy Ben Said, Ralf Buechsenschuss, Gal Mozes, PhD, Alexis Fink, Dave Fineman, Danielle Bushen, Peter Ryan, Elizabeth Esarove, Ken Clar, Erik Otteson, Mariami Lolashvili, Craig Starbuck, PhD, Maria Ursu, Mattijs Mol, Toon van der Veer, Arne-Christian Van Der Tang, 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: February 26-27 - People Analytics World, Zürich March 13 - HiBob Heartcore HR LIVE, London March 19 - Workhuman Live Forum, London April 10-11 - Wharton People Analytics Conference, Philadelphia April 29-30 - People Analytics World, London May 6-8 - UNLEASH America, Las Vegas June 4-6 - TALREOS (Talent Analytics Leadership Roundtable Economic Mobility Summit), Chicago July 31 - August 1 - People Matters TechHR India 2025, Delhi October 21-22 - UNLEASH World, Paris More events will be added as they are confirmed.
    David Green
    2025年02月02日
  • David Green
    The Top HR Articles of 2024: Creating Value with People Analytics It was in 2014 that I first compiled a year-end compendium of 20 people analytics and data-driven HR articles from the previous 12 months and published it on LinkedIn. Back then it was an achievement to find 20 articles. Now it is an impossible task to prune so many wonderful resources down to a single summary – such has been the explosion of people analytics in the last decade as it has shifted from the periphery to the centre of people strategy. Indeed, as I reminisced by reading the ten collections to date for 2014, 2015, 2016 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 (Part 1 and Part 2) and 2023 (Part 1 and Part 2), it became abundantly clear that the growth in the field has been staggering. The advance of people analytics has been mirrored by the human resources field in general as it elevates itself from a support function to a strategic partner. As I wrote in my article, 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025, the field has a huge opportunity to build a thriving workforce, a thriving culture, and a thriving organisation. People analytics is pivotal to this mission. So, in the second decade of the Data Driven HR Monthly, it’s time to change up this annual reflection on the year that has just passed. As such, in the coming days and weeks, there will be five editions of this newsletter organised into the following five themes: Part 1: Creating value through people analytics Part 2: Orchestrating the future of work Part 3: Enhancing employee experience and wellbeing Part 4: Developing leaders, culture and inclusion Part 5: Building the strategic HR function I hope you enjoy reading the selections for 2024. If you do, please subscribe to my Data Driven HR newsletter, and tune in to the Digital HR Leaders podcast. Join me for a Insight222 webinar on February 5 to discover they key themes shaping People Analytics in 2025. If you want to learn how AI, close alignment with people strategy, and data democratisation, are enabling Leading Companies to drive business value with people analytics, register for the Insight222 People Analytics Trends Webinar. The webinar, which will take place on February 5, will be hosted by me and feature Naomi Verghese and Madhura Chakrabarti, PhD unpack the findings from the recently published 5th annual People Analytics Trend study. You can register for the webinar here – or by clicking the image below. 1. CREATING VALUE WITH PEOPLE ANALYTICS JONATHAN FERRAR, NAOMI VERGHESE, AND MADHURA CHAKRABARTI - Harnessing Data for Growth: The Impact of People Analytics Article | Full Report The fifth annual People Analytics Trends study, which was published in December 2024, was our biggest yet at Insight222, with 348 participating organisations. The four key findings were: (1) Growth: people analytics continues to expand in scope and investment. (2) Intelligent automation: the advent of GenAI has catalysed HR’s use of AI with people analytics at the core and central to AI strategy in HR. (3) Adoption crisis: the adoption of people analytics remains a challenge with a significant gap between the democratisation of people insights and data (71% of organisations) and a high-level of adoption within HR (47%) and outside HR (28%) – see FIG 1. (4) Value: measuring and demonstrating value is now essential for people analytics teams to increase their impact and drive greater ROI. Kudos to the authors: Jonathan Ferrar, Naomi Verghese, and Madhura Chakrabarti, PhD Thanks too to the practitioners featured in the study: Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski), Peter Ryan, and Phil Willburn. FIG 1: Trends in the democratisation and adoption of analytics (Source: Insight222) DELOITTE - 2023 High-Impact People Analytics Research Prioritizing PA customers means understanding their needs—and how those needs align (or don’t) with the function’s capabilities and broader business priorities. The report by Eric Lesser Peter DeBellis and Marc Solow which is based on a 2023 study by Deloitte of more than 400 organisations across 18 countries, presents a People Analytics Maturity Model (see FIG 2) and discusses six key findings. These are: (1) People Analytics has become an organisational imperative. (2) Data culture is the single biggest predictor of people analytics performance. (3) Tech investments mean nothing without human capability (and vice versa). (4) Today’s challenges demand more data from more sources. (5) An expanding customer base means new demands on the people analytics function. (6) People data is business data – treat it as such. FIG 2: High-Impact People Analytics Maturity Model (Source: Deloitte) COLE NAPPER, JIN YAN, AND BEN ZWEIG - What is happening to people analytics? A 15- year trend: Part One | Part Two | Part Three (with KRISTIN SABOE) How has people analytics employment changed in the last 15 years, and specifically how has the environment changed in the last two years? That was the question that Cole Napper along with Jin Yan and Ben Zweig sought to answer after being inspired by Alexis Fink to analyse these topics. The findings were delivered in three articles. Part One presented a number of interesting – and perhaps counterintuitive – findings, including that people analytics positions in the US actually declined in the last two years – the data collated by Revelio Labs suggests more than 1,000 people have left the field during this time (see FIG 3). In Part Two, the team turned their attentions to an analysis of the skills of people analytics professionals and the impact of the field during the last 15 years. Insights included that there is a correlation between companies with ‘prestigious’ people analytics teams and companies being rated more highly for employee sentiment. In Part 3, Kristin Saboe, Ph.D. gets involved to shine the light on how the composition of government people analytics jobs have changed over the last 15 years. Finally, the team provide three recommendations are provided to move the field forward: (1) Add real value and break the cycle. (2) Mature the people analytics function. (3) Let’s get back to growth. FIG 3: People analytics positions have been decreasing in the last two years (Source: Revelio Labs) MARGRIET BENTVELZEN, CORINE BOON, AND DEANNE N. DEN HARTOG - A person centered approach to individual people analytics adoption In their paper, Margriet Bentvelzen Corine Boon and Deanne Den Hartog study people analytics adoption through the lens of the implementation of people analytics technology. They identify four profiles related to differences in user satisfaction and the frequency and versatility of PA technology use. They demonstrate that performance benefits, social influence, required effort, and facilitating conditions jointly affect the use of PA technology, but that the latter two might be the most influential factors. FIG 4 demonstrates the four user profiles identified in the paper: the skeptic diplomats, the optimistic strugglers, the optimists, and the enthusiasts. FIG 4: Source – Bentvelze,  Boon and Den Hartog (2024) PATRICK COOLEN - The 10 golden rules for establishing a people analytics practice A successful people analytics practice starts with the right people analytics leader Patrick Coolen’s first iteration of his ’10 golden rules for people analytics’ (one prescient ‘rule’ was to combine strategic workforce planning and analytics) was published in 2014 when he was in the early stages of building the function at ABN Amro. A decade on, Patrick updates his seminal article, with insights from his own career journey, Ph.D research, and the evolution of the field itself. As ever, Patrick is right on the mark with his ten selections including these three: (1) The people analytics leader can make the difference, (2) Create a clear people analytics operating model, and (3) Upskill HR in data-driven decision making. SHONNA WATERS, ERIN EATOUGH, SHEHZAD BASHIR, AND IAN O'KEEFE - People Analytics Across Company Growth Stages: Evolving Your Approach as You Scale HR Analytics adoption is associated with higher return on investment by an average of 6.2% for return on capital employed In their white paper, four esteemed experts in people analytics - Shonna Waters, PhD Erin Eatough, PhD Shehzad Bashir and Ian OKeefe, break down how to build and refine people analytics capabilities that grow with your organisation. The authors introduce a practical framework for people analytics based on four pillars - each with its own set of capabilities: Governance (with seven capabilities including strategy, ethics and compliance), Infrastructure (also with seven capabilities such as storage, performance and security), Methods (with eight capabilities including primary research, statistical models and machine learning), and Products (with nine capabilities including metrics, dashboards, and nudges), which they state form the basis for organisations to build and subsequently scale their people analytics function. This is a well-researched, practical and helpful paper. 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 developed the 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 5): (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 5: The People Analytics Ecosystem (Source: Insight222 Building the People Analytics Ecosystem: Operating Model v 2.0) JAAP VELDKAMP - Positioning People Analytics into the HR Service Model: A Path to Sustainable Impact Embedding People Analytics within the HR Service Model is essential for creating a lasting and meaningful impact. In his thoughtful article, Jaap Veldkamp, Global Head of People Analytics and Organisational Effectiveness at ABN AMRO, provides guidance on how people analytics should be positioned within the broader HR service model. Jaap provides a simplified view of the HR operating model (see FIG 6), which has three components: (1) Identifying needs. (2) Prioritising needs. (3) Executing and evaluating strategies. He then describes how the key capabilities of ABN AMRO’s people analytics function (Dashboarding and reporting, Employee listening, Data science and research, Organisational effectiveness, and Consulting) flow through the HR service model. As Jaap highlights: “the overall aim is to ensure that the capabilities of the People Analytics team are part of every step in the HR Service Model.” FIG 6: Simplified HR Service Model (Source: Jaap Veldkamp) RICHARD ROSENOW - From Data to Strategy: The New Role of Workforce Systems Leaders in Transforming HR Without a Workforce Systems Leader, these decisions fall to the CHRO, pulling them into day-to-day inter-functional debates when they should focus on the strategic vision In Insight222’s 2024 study, Building the People Analytics Ecosystem, we identified three types of people analytics leader that are emerging as the people analytics operating model continues to evolve. One of these – the Portfolio Analytics leader – has similarities to a trend identified by Richard Rosenow in his white paper for One Model. The findings are based on more than 40 HR teams hiring a Workforce Systems Leader combining people strategy, operations, technology, data and analytics (see FIG 7). In the paper, Richard covers: (1) Key challenges in people analytics – how the role of people analytics often extends far beyond their original role description. (2) Mastering the People Data Supply Chain – highlighting the essential steps to building a robust people analytics function. (3) The emergence of Workforce Systems Leaders. Read a preview in Richard’s LinkedIn post and download the full paper here. FIG 7: The role of a Workforce Systems Leader (Source: One Model) DIRK JONKER - Finance and Human Resources: A Strategic Partnership for Business Growth Empathy has always been HR’s superpower, but it’s time to extend that empathy to seeing the workforce through a financial and business lens. In our research into Leading Companies in people analytics at Insight222, one relationship stands out: the partnership with finance. Of the 25% of companies (86 out of 348 companies) who participated in our 2024 People Analytics Trends study and told us that they had built a partnership with finance, 93% reported that the people analytics team had delivered measurable outcomes over the last 12 months. In his article, Crunchr CEO Dirk Jonker explains why and how HR and Finance should work together, painting a vision where: “Together, HR and finance can unlock a future where employees are seen for what they truly are: a company’s most significant (and measurable) asset.” For more from Dirk on this topic, I recommend tuning into his conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: Driving Business Transformation with Advanced People Analytics. PIETRO MAZZOLENI - Transforming HR: How IBM measures the success of its people data platform investments For those of you who haven’t already subscribed to Pietro Mazzoleni’s People Data Platform newsletter, I highly recommend you do. In this edition, Pietro walks through the three tiers of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) IBM uses to evaluate investments in Workforce 360, its people data platform (see FIG 8). For more on how IBM infuses people analytics and AI into HR, listen to a recent episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, where I discuss with CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux - how IBM is augmenting HR programs with AI. FIG 8: Three tiers of KPIs to evaluate investments in a people data platform (Source: Pietro Mazzoleni) ETHAN BURRIS, BENJAMIN THOMAS, KETAKI SODHI, AND DAWN KLINGHOFFER - Turn Employee Feedback into Action Ultimately, success (in employee listening) lies in empowering leaders to translate insights into concrete actions, effectively communicating progress, and fostering a continual feedback loop that values and respects the diverse voices within the organization. "To manage the employee experience, leaders must deeply understand employees’ perceptions, feelings, and desires and respond thoughtfully. This is particularly crucial when immense resources are invested in gathering employee feedback through pulse surveys, town halls, and data scraping from internal communications. But leaders are often overwhelmed by the data and struggle to translate it into actionable insights." In their Harvard Business Review article, Ethan Burris, Benjamin Thomas, Ph. D, SHRM-CP, Ketaki Sodhi, PhD and Dawn Klinghoffer, share insights from interviews with more than two dozen companies to outline seven challenges and demonstrate how leading places to work have built an integrated process for assembling and understanding employee input and translating it into action. The seven challenges are: (1) Making sense of all that data. (2) Making sure employees feel heard. (3) Identifying the actual underlying problems. (4) Protecting employee privacy. (5) Navigating conflicting views. (6) Not burying bad news. (7) Providing meaningful follow-up. PHIL WILLBURN - People Analytics Demystified: A Practitioner’s Handbook Highly effective HR organizations know that every area of the business makes people decisions. The best people analytics teams excel by scaling people insights to all business leaders, ensuring these insights reach those making critical people decisions Phil Willburn, the Head of People Analytics, and his team recently hosted a Peer Meeting for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program® at Workday’s global headquarters in California. During the two days, Phil and his team presented some of the amazing work they are doing with people analytics in areas such as workforce planning, employee experience and hybrid work. Some of the content they presented is in this insightful e-book, which shines a light on how Workday has scaled people analytics in its own company (see FIG 9), their product-oriented and persona-based approach, and provides details on three case studies including how the team provides insights on flexible work and collaboration. FIG 9: People analytics and insights at Workday (Source: Phil Willburn, Workday) EMILY KILLHAM - From Insight to Action: New Data on the State of Employee Listening (Article) | The State of Employee Listening 2024 (Report) (Leading firms ensure) listening efforts are aimed at the most important business and talent priorities facing their organizations today. Emily Killham highlights the key findings from Perceptyx’s third annual State of Employee Listening report, which is informed by survey of more than 750 senior HR leaders from global firms with at least 1,000 employees. These include: (1) 78% of firms surveyed conduct some kind of listening event at least once a quarter, compared to 70% in 2023 and 60% in 2022. (2) Nearly 40% of organisations can share listening data with managers within two weeks. (3) When compared with their peers, the most mature listening organisations are 6x more likely to exceed financial targets, 9x more likely to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction, 4x more likely to retain talent, even during times of high attrition, 7x more likely to adapt well to change, and 7x more likely to innovate effectively. FIG 10: Employee Listening Maturity (Source: Perceptyx) RESOURCES FROM CURRENT AND PREVIOUS PEOPLE ANALYTICS LEADERS 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. Nine of the best from 2024 are presented here: In Our Real-Life Journey with GenAI in Skills and Talent Management (with code!!), the Wolters Kluwer talent analytics team of Mariëlle Sonnenberg, 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. Andrés García Ayala, Group Head of People Analytics and Strategic Workforce Planning at Legal & General, discusses five reasons why people analytics should be at the heart of AI’s successful workplace adoption. 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. In a two-part post, Hallie Bregman, PhD discusses the pros and cons of situating people analytics in or outside HR: Part 1 and Part 2. In an edition of his excellent Making People Analytics Real Substack, Willis Jensen digs into what makes a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ people analytics metric. The secret? Ask yourself: “Can I make a line chart of the metric?” In The Three Most Common Statistical Tests You Should Deeply Understand, Keith McNulty explains that hypothesis testing is one of the most fundamental elements of inferential statistics. He uses an example to show three common hypothesis tests (Welch’s t-test, Correlation test, and Chi-square test of difference in proportion) and how they work under the hood, as well as showing how to run them in R and Python and to understand the results. Having worked in both domains, Scott Rogers is well-qualified to explore the dynamics of the HRBP-People Analytics relationship. He presents a framework identifying the key focus areas for people analytics leaders (e.g. championing HR operational excellence) and HRBPs (e.g. engaging with and advocating for people analytics). Jackson Roatch outlines how people analytics teams can move from correlation to causation and create more impact by adding econometric methods to its tools and capabilities. Nelson Spencer presents his S.T.A.R.T Framework (see FIG 11), 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 11: The S.T.A.R.T Framework (Source: Nelson Spencer) READ THE OTHER INSTALMENTS OF THE BEST ARTICLES OF 2024 Don’t forget to check out the four other editions of Data Driven HR Monthly, where I reveal my best articles of 2024: Part 2: Orchestrating the future of work (available from Sunday, January 12) Part 3: Enhancing employee experience and wellbeing (available from Thursday, January 16) Part 4: Developing leaders, culture and inclusion (available from Sunday, January 19) Part 5: Building the strategic HR function (available from Thursday, January 23) THANK YOU Thanks to all the authors and contributors featured in the best articles of 2024 as well as across the monthly collections from 2024 – see January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December - your passion, knowledge and expertise continues to inspire. Thanks also to my colleagues at Insight222, the guests and sponsors of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast in 2024 and the great many of you that share and engage with the content I share. It’s much appreciated. I wish you all well for a happy, healthy, and successful 2025. 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 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.
    David Green
    2025年01月09日
  • David Green
    The best HR & People Analytics articles of December 2024 The December edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is an opportunity to reflect on the year that is about to pass into history and look forward to what lies ahead. 2024 has proved to be another tumultuous year of geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty, and upheaval in the world of work. Perhaps for HR and people analytics it is a case of “in chaos, there is opportunity,” as we move into 2025. Enjoy this month’s collection of resources, and to all readers who are taking a break over the festive season, I wish you Happy Holidays, and a prosperous and healthy 2025. Thank you to everyone who has supported Insight222, the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, and the Data Driven HR Monthly in 2024. It means a lot and is much appreciated. This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at TechWolf Task Intelligence: rethink work, redefine skills Work happens at the task level, where skills meet action. But are your skills aligned with the work that drives impact? TechWolf has proven that bridging the gap between tasks and skills is the key to workforce transformation. By applying Task Intelligence within our own teams, we’ve unlocked measurable results: $76,000 saved in productivity gains by automating repetitive tasks. Freed up time for strategic, high-value work. Reshaped hiring strategies by focusing on the skills that truly matter. At TechWolf, we believe that getting close enough to the work being done is the key to doing skills right. As our own 'customer zero'; we’ve put our AI to the test, integrating it with JIRA to analyze and optimize our work processes. The results speak for themselves in our first Task Intelligence Impact Case: $76,000 saved in productivity gains by automating repetitive tasks. Freed up time for strategic, high-value work. Reshaped hiring strategies to focus on the skills that truly matter. What is Task Intelligence? It’s a new way to connect real-time task data with workforce skills to: Identify tasks that drive the most value. Adapt skills as work evolves. Streamline processes and unlock productivity. As Jeroen Van Hautte ?, TechWolf CTO, says: Skills tell us what people can do. Tasks show us why it matters. Task Intelligence brings it all together. ? Discover Task Intelligence ? Insights from the Experts: Explore how Gina Jeneroux, MBA FLPI, Chief Skills & Innovation Officer at Executive Networks, is helping organizations move beyond learning to embed skills strategies into their business. ? Read Gina’s interview The future of work demands more than adapting—it demands leading. Task Intelligence is how you get there. To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 140,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org. What are the biggest opportunities for HR in 2025? HR’s role in creating a thriving workforce and organisation is the underlying theme of my recently published 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025 article (see FIG 1). I’m crowdsourcing the final two opportunities, so if you’d like to contribute suggestions for opportunities 11 and 12, please click here and add your suggestion in the comments. FIG 1: 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025 (Source: David Green) December Road Report The main event for December was the publication of the fifth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study, which was our biggest yet with 348 participating organisations. A summary of the key findings follows in the ‘People Analytics’ section below, but one is that 62% of companies told us that they were in the first year of their AI journey in HR. Click here to download the report, and see how the people analytics function in your company compares to ‘A Teams’ by taking the Leading Companies Diagnostic. I had the privilege of taking the findings from the study out on the road to two events in December. First, I delivered the opening keynote at Visier Inc. Outsmart Local in London, which also featured the likes of Nick Hudgell, Rosemary Byde, Kevin Metherell, and Neera Ridler-Mayor, AIA (see more here). The following week I was in Amsterdam for Workday Rising EMEA, where I was interviewed on stage by Phil Willburn, as well as delivering a keynote on the characteristics of People Analytics ‘A Teams’ (see more on Workday Rising here). 2024 seemed like the year when the 'in-person' event fully returned - and as such it proved to be a busy year on stage. I emceed Unleash World in Paris, People Analytics World events in Zurich, London, and New York, and the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat in Amsterdam. I keynoted at the three People Analytics World events, Workday Rising in Las Vegas and Amsterdam, Gloat Live in New York, the Deloitte Workforce Innovation Forum in Dallas, a Mercer/Corporate Research Forum event on Productivity, Purpose and Profit in London, and Visier Outsmart Local in London. I moderated panels at a number of these events as well as at Strategic HR Analytics MeetUp in New York. Share the love! Enjoy reading the collection of resources for December and, if you do, please share some data driven HR love with your colleagues and networks. Thanks to the many of you who liked, shared and/or commented on November’s compendium. If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is published on Tuesday: subscribe here. 2024 REFLECTIONS HUNG LEE -  What Happened in Recruiting in 2024 - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Don't be fooled by the title, Hung Lee's 2024 reflections covers topics much broader than recruiting, and contains a plethora of data, analysis and visualisations that should act as a guide for the year ahead too. Taking one highlight from each of the four-part series (and 20 reflections in total), I'd go with AI and Automation (Part 1), the re-emergence of Talent Density (Part 2), Atlantic Divergence on DEI - see FIG 2 (Part 3), and War on Middle Managers (Part 4). If you don't already follow Hung's twin newsletters, Recruiting Brainfood, and This Week in Recruiting, I highly recommend you do. FIG 2: Is DEI a 'good thing'? (Source: Pew Research Center) 2025 HR PREDICTIONS, TRENDS AND PRIORITIES STEVE HUNT - A guide to HR predictions, trends, and forecasts | ANDREW SPENCE - 5 Big Questions for Work in 2025 | DANIEL ZHAO - Glassdoor Worklife Trends 2025 | VISIER – Embracing the AI Driven Workforce: 5 Workforce Trends for 2025 | i4CP – 2025 Priorities and Predictions | LARS SCHMIDT - 7 ways HR will look different in 2025 | JOSH BERSIN - A Tumultuous Year Behind: A Challenging, Important 2025 A people analytics team cannot sit on the sidelines while AI is poised to transform the world of HR. If you don't embrace AI to surface insights and support data-driven decisions, you may miss out on the ability to scale decision intelligence Putting my own 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025 to one side, there are a plethora of other HR trends, predictions, and priorities being published. Here are seven resources that I recommend digging deeper into. (1) Firstly, Steve Hunt provides a helpful ‘buyer beware’ guide on eight lessons to consuming HR predictions, trends and forecasts, including a warning that most HR forecasts are designed to influence buying behaviour. (2) Despite being a Man United fan, Andrew Spence’s Workforce Futurist newsletter is one of the best around. In a recent edition, Andrew ponders five big questions for work in 2025 including: Is the office dead or just evolving (see FIG 3)? (3) Daniel Zhao presents five trends based on Glassdoor data including: Employers are investing in holistic wellbeing. (4) Visier Inc.’s five workforce trends for 2025 includes the need for organisations to build the backbone of data infrastructure to fully realise the promise of AI in HR and workforce topics, and features contributions from the likes of Dawn Klinghoffer, Eric Bokelberg (see quote above), Angela LE MATHON, Ryan Wong and Adam McKinnon, PhD. (5) As Kevin Oakes writes in his Foreword to The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp)’s thoughtful annual look at the year ahead: “perhaps the safest prediction we can make is those who embrace agility will have much more success than those who resist change.” (6) Lars Schmidt takes his annual look at how HR is likely to evolve as a function in the year ahead, with my favourite of his seven being that "Learning and development will take center stage." (7) Josh Bersin looks back at a tumultuous 2024 to highlight the priorities for the year ahead in his big idea of 'Citizenship': "Our job in HR is to help our leaders and organizations practice this kind of citizenship. In a year of tumultuous change, Citizenship will serve us well." FIG 2: Office utilisation 2020-now (Sources: Andrew Spence, Nicolas BEHBAHANI) HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK BRIAN ELLIOTT - Five Hybrid Work Trends to Watch in 2025 | JOSE MARIA BARRERO, NICK BLOOM, SHELBY BUCKMAN, AND STEVEN J. DAVIS - SWAA December 2024 Updates | LYNDA GRATTON - Seven Truths About Hybrid Work and Productivity | BETH SCHINOFF, ASHLEY E. HARDIN, KRIS BYRON, AND RACHEL BALVEN - Research: How WFH Can Actually Strengthen Bonds Between Coworkers Forward-looking organizations will shift toward measuring performance based on results, not attendance As I wrote in 12 Opportunities for HR in 2025, HR has the opportunity to help their organisations elevate the conversation on hybrid working from where to how. With outliers like Amazon getting a lot of column inches about their decision to bring employees back to the office five days a week (although this move may not be working out well), HR leaders in other firms may come under pressure from their CEOs to follow suit. Five articles that can help resist this move are included here. (1) First, Brian Elliott outlines five hybrid work trends to look out for in 2025 including: “Organizations that embrace flexible work will steal talent from organizations that impose harsh return-to-office mandates.” (2) The latest data from Nick Bloom and his WFH Research team finds that only 44% of employees would comply if their company imposed a five-day return to office (compared to 53% in 2022), which suggests Elliott’s prediction is likely to be prescient. (3) Lynda Gratton unveils seven key findings from what she is seeing from experiments in hybrid working including: (i) Hybrid work is a continuum. (ii) Productivity is usually challenging — and measurement is always complex. (iii) It’s useful to view hybrid work as fundamentally a job design option. (4) Beth Schinoff, Ashley Hardin, Kris Byron, and Rachel McCullagh Balven present research that finds (contrary to beliefs that employees are able to form richer relationships in person than they can working remotely), remote work can actually make coworkers feel closer by giving them authentic glimpses into each others non-work lives through video calls. FIG 4: Compared to Fall 2022, Persons Who WFH 1+ Days/Week Are Less Willing to Comply With RTO Mandates (Source: WFH Research, December 2024) RASMUS HOUGAARD AND JACQUELINE CARTER - How AI Can Make Us Better Leaders In their article for Harvard Business Review, Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter outline their research, which finds that AI can enhance and empower leaders, and actually help them to be more human. They explain why leaders need to focus on the core leadership qualities of awareness, wisdom, and compassion, as well as take on a both/and mindset. In this way, the “AI-augmented leader” can leverage both the power of AI and develop their most human qualities, bringing the best of both human and machine to their leadership practice. FIG 5: The AI Augmented leader (Source: Potential Project) PEOPLE ANALYTICS JONATHAN FERRAR, NAOMI VERGHESE, AND MADHURA CHAKRABARTI - Harnessing Data for Growth: The Impact of People Analytics Article | Full Report The fifth annual People Analytics Trends study was our biggest yet at Insight222, with 348 participating organisations. The four key findings were: (1) Growth: people analytics continues to expand in scope and investment. (2) Intelligent automation: the advent of GenAI has catalysed HR’s use of AI with people analytics at the core and central to AI strategy in HR. (3) Adoption crisis: the adoption of people analytics remains a challenge with a significant gap between the democratisation of people insights and data (71% of organisations) and a high-level of adoption within HR (47%) and outside HR (28%) – see FIG 6. (4) Value: measuring and demonstrating value is now essential for people analytics teams to increase their impact and drive greater ROI. Kudos to the authors: Jonathan Ferrar, Naomi Verghese, and Madhura Chakrabarti, PhD. Thanks too to the practitioners featured in the study: Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski), Peter Ryan, and Phil Willburn. FIG 6: Trends in the democratisation and adoption of analytics (Source: Insight222) RICHARD ROSENOW – People Analytics is Growing | People Analytics Roles Review Richard Rosenow devotes part of his monthly People Analytics Roles Update newsletter to data highlighting the growth of people analytics. He cites three sources: (1) The 30% increase in people analytics roles that Richard and the One Model team have tracked between 2023 and 2024. (2) The aforementioned Insight222 study, which found that the ratio of people analytics professionals to total employee headcount has improved from 1:4000 in 2020 to 1:2500 in 2024. (3) Data by Jason Saltzman at Live Data Technologies, which finds that both core and specialist people analytics roles are on the rise (see FIG 7). FIG 7: The growth of people analytics jobs (Source: Live Data Technologies) BENJAMIN ROGOJAN – Data Science v Data Engineering | PATRICK COOLEN – What Is Not People Analytics | PIETRO MAZZOLENI - The Power of Integration: Why People Data Thrives Within Enterprise Frameworks | JACKSON ROATCH - From Correlation to Causation: Levelling Up People Analytics with Econometrics | SCOTT REIDA - Transform Performance Evaluations with GenAI: Smarter Grading, Visual Insights, and Next Steps | CHRISTOPHER ROSETT – Storytelling: The Story Arc and The Journalist’s Pyramid In each edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, I feature a collection of articles by current and recent people analytics leaders. These are intended to act as a spur and inspiration to the field. Six are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Thanks to Richard Rosenow for highlighting Benjamin Rogojan’s post, which may be the best explanation (and visualisation – see FIG 8) yet on why you need data scientists and data engineers in an effective analytics team. (2) Patrick Coolen provides a powerful list of what is not people analytics – my favourite is: “People Analytics is ??? about HR (only). It should be strongly focused on high impact business threats and opportunities.” (3) In a recent edition of his (excellent) People Data Platform newsletter, Pietro Mazzoleni explains how HR and people analytics leaders can increase their impact by integrating people data with broader organisational impacts. (4) Jackson Roatch outlines how people analytics teams can create more impact by adding econometric methods to its tools and capabilities. (5) Scott Reida explains how to use GenAI to transform employee performance evaluations from vague feedback into actionable insights. (6) Christopher Rosett breaks down two models – The Story Arc and The Journalist’s Pyramid (see FIG 9) – that can be used to underpin storytelling with data in different contexts. FIG 8: How data engineers and data scientists deliver value (Source: Benjamin Rogojan) FIG 9: The Story Arc and The Journalist’s Pyramid (Source: Christopher Rosett) THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE DAVE ULRICH - The Next Agenda for Human Resources: What’s So? So What? Now What? Evidence shows that organizational capability has 4x more impact on results than individual talent efforts alone - yet most of the HR field remains heavily focused on talent. Dave Ulrich provides some astute observations on the current state of the HR field, and concludes that most of the focus is on the talent domain of his human capability model (see FIG 10) and so on individuals rather than organisational capability. He then provides four ‘next agenda’ recommendations to shift the profession to creating stakeholder value through human capability: (1) Advance that HR is less about HR and more on creating stakeholder value. (2) Offer a complete human capability agenda and assessment. (3) Prioritise using analytics and AI. (4) Upgrading HR professionals. FIG 10: Human Capability Taxonomy (Source: Dave Ulrich) KENNETH KUK, DONALD DELVES, AND JOHN BREMEN - A Board Outlook on Effective Human Capital Governance Human capital governance can be an overwhelming subject for the board. They do not want to get stuck with minute detail about HR policies or programs. Best practice is for the board to focus their oversight on human capital areas most material to the business, either because they pose a significant risk or are a differentiator for competitive advantage. Kenneth Kuk, Don Delves, and John Bremen present the findings of WTW research into board prioritisation of human capital governance. Findings include: (1) Boards do not spend enough time on long-term strategic workforce planning. (2) Leadership succession and development, talent attraction and retention, and workforce planning and skills for the future were identified as the top three priority human capital topics. (3) Only one-third of board members agree that human capital governance is effective on their boards. (4) Boards do not spend enough time, nor do they receive the right level of information, to engage in meaningful and strategic discussions about human capital governance (see FIG 11). FIG 11: Boards do not spend enough time or receive enough information on human capital governance topics (Source: WTW, Directors & Boards) WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM AND PwC - Leveraging Generative AI for Job Augmentation and Workforce Productivity: Scenarios, Case Studies and a Framework for Action The organizations quickest to adopt GenAI in their workforce are those that could be described as “data-driven” In their new report, the World Economic Forum and PwC present the findings of their study into how early adopters are leveraging GenAI across the workplace, the impact it is having, and the lessons they have learned along the way. The big takeaway is that they found that success depends as much on people as it does technology. Workers need to understand, trust and adopt GenAI. The report also presents four different scenarios for how the deployment of GenAI in organisations could play out (see FIG 12). With the recent Insight222 People Analytics Trends study finding that 62% of companies are in the first year of their journey with AI in HR, this report will be required reading. Credit to the authors: Adèle Jacquard, Isabelle Leliaert, Till Alexander Leopold, Shuvasish Sharma, Peter Brown MBE, Marlene De Koning, Kiera Thomas, and Astrid van der Werf. FIG 12: Four scenarios for the near future of GenAI (Source: PwC and World Economic Forum) THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE - Measuring the Impact of Skills-Based Talent Initiatives A helpful and practical guide from The Business Roundtable group of companies to help other organisations effectively implement skills-based hiring and talent management strategies. The report provides a blueprint for how to measure the success of skills-based talent strategies, which is comprised of four components: (1) Aligning on goals and selecting the right metrics to achieve them. (2) Enhancing internal data reporting (see sample balance scorecard in FIG 13). (3) Leveraging data for strategic change management. (4) Collaborating to report success at scale. Thanks to Brian Heger for highlighting in his Talent Edge newsletter. FIG 13: Measuring the impact of skills-based talent initiatives – sample balance scorecard (Source: The Business Roundtable) EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING SHARON K. PARKER AND CAROLINE KNIGHT - Design Work to Prevent Burnout Small, locally led work design changes can have a powerful effect on work quality. Employee burnout and disengagement is bad for business and bad for workers. A much better approach is to create healthier and more sustainable jobs through good work design. In their article, Sharon Parker and Caroline Knight, outline their SMART Work Design model (see FIG 14), which is designed to improve worker wellbeing and performance. The authors describe each of the five characteristics in the model, before emphasising that the first step in improving work design is to start with data: “The first step in improving work design is to assess its current state, using employee surveys, interviews, and observations. The most comprehensive assessment would incorporate all three.” They then provide guidance on five ways to use the model to drive positive collaboration between managers and their teams to: (1) Redesign teams' work, (2) Align people management systems, (3) Build leader capability for SMART work design, (4) Guide and evaluate operational change, and (5) Encourage and support employee job crafting. FIG 14: A model for making work smarter (Source: Sharon K. Parker and Caroline Knight) JACQUELINE BRASSEY, AARON DE SMET, AND DANA MAOR WITH SHEIDA RABIPOUR - Developing a resilient, adaptable workforce for an uncertain future To successfully move their business strategies forward, 21st-century leaders need an engaged and innovative workforce that can change course quickly, effectively, and fluidly. A recent study by the McKinsey Health Institute finds that when employees experience strong levels of organisational support, psychological safety, resiliency and adaptability, these are associated with high levels of engagement and innovation (see FIG 15). In their article, Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten), Aaron De Smet, Dana Maor, and Sheida Rabipour, PhD present a blueprint composed of four actions for leaders to develop their own capacity for change while in parallel fostering resilience and adaptability in the workforce: (1) Setting a North Star for the organisation. (2) Building a psychologically safe community, not just a workforce. (3) Ensuring that leaders themselves are resilient, adaptable, and can serve as role models. (4) Encouraging teams to build resilience and adaptability skills in groups. FIG 15: The relationship between organisational support, psychological safety, resilience and adaptability with engagement and innovation (Source: McKinsey) LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING STEVEN LEVY - Relevance! Relevance! Relevance! Microsoft at 50 Is an AI Giant—and Still Hellbent on Domination | KATHLEEN HOGAN AND DAWN KAWAMOTO - How Microsoft’s chief people officer built a dynamic company culture In 2015, Nadella called for a major transformation of Microsoft’s culture: from a ‘know-it-all,’ fixed mindset culture to a ‘learn-it-all’ growth culture When Satya Nadella took over as CEO in 2014, Microsoft was seen as lumbering and uncool. Together, with Kathleen Hogan, who he appointed as Chief People Office, Nadella cleaned up a toxic culture, crafted the deal of the decade, and put Microsoft back on top. These two resources provide the context from a business perspective and a people one, on who this was achieved. The first article, in Wired, tells the business story: including the acquisitions of LinkedIn and GitHub, the partnership with OpenAI, and how Microsoft closed the AI gap with its competitors. The second article and video, sees Kathleen Hogan sharing how the company changed its company culture and how that evolution continues: “We always joke, the minute you think you’ve arrived and have a growth mindset is the minute you have a fixed mindset.” MICHAEL ARENA AND PHILIP ARKCOLL - When flatter isn’t better: The hidden cost of collaborative demand In an effort to create flatter organizational structures, indiscriminately cutting managers without first assessing collaborative demand can have detrimental consequences. In order to speed up decision making, companies like Meta and Amazon have cut managers as part of a ‘flatter is faster’ approach. The theory is that fewer managers means more speed, more agility, and more innovation. In their article, Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll provide a counterpoint through Worklytics data showing that when managers are stretched thin—leading teams of seven or more— they encounter overwhelming workloads, rising burnout, and reduced ability to effectively support their teams (see FIG 16). To strike the right balance, Arena and Arkcoll advocate the use of data to assess collaborative demand and drive targeted actions. They provide guidance on (1) Optimising span of control , (2) Focusing on managerial overload, (3) Providing delegation strategies, and (4) Monitoring workloads. FIG 16: Manager hours worked compared to team size (Source: Worklytics) ARNE GAST, ERIK MANDERSLOOT, KAI GRUNEWALD, AND NEIL PEARSE WITH CARMEN JAMES AND NATACHA CATALINO - All about teams: A new approach to organizational transformation Team-focused transformations can lead to 30 percent efficiency gains in organizations that implement these strategies effectively. According to McKinsey, when it comes to organisational transformations there is a third way beyond the top-down or bottom-up approaches that are typically employed. That is a team-centric approach. Indeed, in their article, Arne Gast, Erik Mandersloot, Kai Grünewald, Neil Pearse, Carmen James, and Natacha (Simon) Catalino reveal that a team-centric approach can lead to 30 percent efficiency gains in organisations that implement these strategies effectively. The article provides guidance on four practical steps to empowering teams and unleashing their potential: (1) Identifying the highest-value teams, (2) Activating the value-creating teams (see FIG 17), (3) Lifting the leaders to support their teams, and; (4) Scaling this approach to more and more teams. FIG 17: Transformation requires collaboration within and across teams throughout the organisation (Source: McKinsey) HR TECH VOICES Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from December that I recommend readers delve into: FRANCISCO MARIN - Unlocking HR Potential with Organizational Network Analysis: Insights from Gartner’s 2025 HR Priorities – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions takes inspiration from Gartner’s Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025 report to highlight the role ONA can play in areas such as change management and leadership development – highlighting a case study by Allstate that is contained in the Gartner report (see FIG 18). FIG 18: Network model for change planning and execution (Source: Gartner) LISA K. SIMON - AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job—Unless You Ignore It – Lisa K. Simon reveals insightful data from Revelio Labs, on the exposure and adoption of different roles to AI. Findings include: (1) High AI exposure is positively correlated with higher salaries: A ten percentage point increase in AI exposure is associated with 25% higher salaries. (2) The higher the AI exposure, the higher the adoption of AI tools (see FIG 19). FIG 19: Data scientists lead the way in AI adoption (Source: Revelio Labs) BEN WIGERT AND COREY TATEL - The Great Detachment: Why Employees Feel Stuck – Ben Wigert, Ph.D, MBA and Corey Tatel, Ph.D. present data from Gallup that finds that employees across the US are increasingly detached from their jobs – hence The Great Detachment – with satisfaction at record lows, employees seeking new opportunities at the highest rate since 2015, but with a cooling job market organisations face risks with regards to productivity and  future talent loss (see FIG 20). FIG 20: Overall satisfaction and intent to leave, among US employees (Source: Gallup) PODCASTS OF THE MONTH In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected five gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below): NICK HUDGELL - AI And Data Governance – Nick Hudgell, Global Head of People Insights at Sanofi, joins hosts Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson on Workplace Stories, to discuss how his team has built an infrastructure that connects disparate systems, improves data quality, and uses machine learning to unlock insights that genuinely improve employee experiences. LASZLO BOCK - Becoming a Courageous, Data-Driven HR Leader - Laszlo Bock, co-founder of the Berkeley Transformative CHRO Academy joins Lars Schmidt on what looks like the last episode of Redefining Work (for now at least – see here) to share his journey from shaping Google’s data-driven HR practices to mentoring the next generation of CHROs. If it does prove to be the final episode, Lars you certainly went out on top. MARK MA - RTOs: Research-backed Realities and Recommendations - Mark Ma, a research professor at the University of Pittsburgh, joins host Sophie Wade on the Transforming Work podcast to shares his discoveries that stock market declines generated RTO mandates but not improved corporate results. In the episode, he advocates for workplace flexibility – giving choices to employees and teams. ERIN SPENCER AND MACKENZIE WILSON - AI and innovations in HR technology – In this episode of the Capital H podcast, hosts David Mallon and Franz Gilbert sit down with Human Capital analysts Erin Spencer and Mackenzie Wilson to discuss innovative AI solutions emerging in the market from established vendors and agile startups. BRYAN HANCOCK AND BROOKE WEDDLE - What works—and doesn’t—in performance management – In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle join host Lucia Rahilly to share their research on what drives performance: what motivates employees most, what matters less than you think, and the changes organisations need to make to ensure their feedback, ratings, and review processes are on track. VIDEO OF THE MONTH BRIAN ELLIOTT, LAURIANNE MCLAUGHLIN, AND M. SHAWN READ - RTO Mandates: Hard Truths for Leaders In this video, Brian Elliott, who we featured earlier in the special on hybrid working, discusses the impact of RTO mandates with Laurianne McLaughlin and M. Shawn Read. Brian highlights data and examples that shines a light on return-to-office directives, offers predictions for those companies who have implemented these mandates. He also provides alternative, evidence-based strategies that forward-thinking leaders can use to boost productivity without hurting employee trust, engagement, or talent retention. RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH SHONNA WATERS, ERIN EATOUGH, SHEHZAD BASHIR - People Analytics Across Company Growth Stages: Evolving Your Approach as You Scale In an era where people are at the heart of organizational success, making data-driven talent decisions is no longer optional - it's a strategic imperative. In their white paper, four esteemed experts in people analytics - Shonna Waters, PhD, Erin Eatough, PhD, Shehzad Bashir, and Ian OKeefe, break down how to build and refine people analytics capabilities that grow with your organisation. The authors introduce a practical framework for people analytics based on four pillars - each with its own set of capabilities: Governance (with seven capabilities including strategy, ethics and compliance), Infrastructure (also with seven capabilities such as storage, performance and security), Methods (with eight capabilities including primary research, statistical models and machine learning), and Products (with nine capabilities including metrics, dashboards, and nudges), which they state form the basis for organisations to build and subsequently scale their people analytics function. This is a well-researched, practical and helpful paper. HR Analytics adoption is associated with higher return on investment by an average of 6.2% for return on capital employed BOOK OF THE MONTH KATARINA BERG – Bold: A New Era of Strategic HR Behind every innovative company there should be an innovative HR function. That certainly applies to Spotify and Katarina Berg, the company’s Chief People Officer where being bold is etched into the DNA of the HR function she leads. This is evident in the Spotify HR Blog, and now in Bold, which is finally available in English. As I describe in my endorsement of the book: The pandemic has thrust HR into the spotlight and given the function the opportunity to lead in shaping the new model of work. To do this, HR has to embrace data and digital. It must deliver for leaders and employees alike. Above all, HR must be bold. Spotify’s HR function, under the leadership of Katarina Berg, is setting the template for other to follow. With ‘Bold’, Katarina and her team build on the visionary Spotify HR Blog, providing a rich vein of insights on the practice of a leading-edge HR function and how it delivers value for employees and the business. BONUS RESOURCES Some bonus resources to also consume this month: Andrew Kilshaw provides data, insights and guidance to companies looking to streamline their organisations in Middle Management Is Tough Enough As It Is.... If You're Going to Streamline Your Organization, Do It Right And Give Them "Space to Lead". The latest edition of Gareth Flynn’s consistently excellent newsletter summarises the findings of his research into skills-based approaches to talent management: 2024 Skills Research - You Don't Need to Become a SBO or SPO to Drive Value From Skills. Tejas Kumar provides some helpful guidance on how to grow professional relationships (see FIG 21). Madeline Laurano and Kyle Lagunas provide some helpful guidance on how HR Tech vendors can build better partnerships in 2025. Donald Sull highlights here the excellent series of 'Culture Champions' based on a webinar series and research by Donald and the CultureX team, which features interviews with leaders including Sharon MacBeath, Manny Maceda, Jim Whitehurst, Marvin Boakye, and Katie Burke. Rob Briner provides a cautionary tale about telling stories with data. FIG 21: The Journey to Synergy (Source: Tejas Kumar) FROM MY DESK December saw the final three episodes of Series 43 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by TechWolf (thanks Maaike Standaert, Andreas De Neve ?). MIKAËL WORNOO - How to Use Skills Data to Solve Business Challenges – Mikaël Wornoo? joins me to explore how organisations can move beyond surface-level discussions centred on build a skills-based organisation to drive real business impact. MELISSA DAIMLER - Drive Success Through Intentional and Adaptive Company Cultures – Melissa Daimler, Chief Learning Officer at Udemy and author of ReCulturing: Design Your Company Culture to Connect with Strategy and Purpose for Lasting Success, joins me to share how HR leaders can design company cultures that are intentional, adaptive, and aligned with business goals. CHRISTOPHE CABRERA - How to Navigate Challenges in Skills-Based Transformation Journeys - Christophe Cabrera, Director and Head of IT Talent and Company Reputation at UCB, joins me to share how UCB kicked off its skills transformation with an initial proof-of-concept for 500 employees, how it used AI, and its rollout across additional parts of the company. LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH? I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers over 550 roles. THANK YOU Oli Meager for including me in his list of HR Tech Analysts you can Trust along with a number of people I really respects such as Stacia Sherman Garr, David Perring, FLPI, Kyle Lagunas, and Dani Johnson Gareth Flynn for posting about the Digital HR Leaders podcast episodes with Sandra Loughlin, PhD and Mikaël Wornoo? as part of sharing his insightful learnings on skills Josh Tarr for also posting about the Digital HR Leaders podcast episodes with Sandra and Mikael here Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. for including Excellence in People Analytics as one of ten books that inspired her to write her first book, The Inclusion Equation, which is published in January 2025 Laureano Pérez Caballero for including Excellence in People Analytics in his selection of five books to give as gifts Thomas Kohler for including the November edition of Data Driven HR Monthly in his list of HR resources Thinkers360 for including me in their list of Top Voices EMEA 2024 Teamflect for including me on their list of leaders redefining HR Paul's Job for including me in their list of Experts Shaping the Future of HR Voxeon Communicationsfor including me in their list of Visionaries redefining the Future of Work Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the November edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Tanguy Dulac Joseph Nabarro Sven Hultin Alan Susi Sibusiso Mkhize Sebastian Knepper Samir Murgude , SPHR®, SHRM-SCP, IHRP-SP Catriona Lindsay Amardeep Singh, MBA Kouros Behzad Matthew Hamilton Ian Grant FCIPD Dave Millner Vijay Patnaik, MBA Kathleen Kruse Danielle Farrell, MA Aravind Warrier Alexis Fink Errol Kruger Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez Marijana Brasiello, MHRM Andrew Pitts Joachim Decock David Simmonds FCIPD Dr. Jeeta Sarkar Maximilian Lankheit Chris Long Maria Alice Jovinski Felipe Jara David McLean Danielle Bushen Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD) Lukasz Sowinski Geetanjali Gamel Timo Tischer Henrik Håkansson Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. Sander de Bruijn, Kristin Saboe, Ph.D. Giovanna Constant Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA Russ Fatum BS, BS, MSA, MBB, PMP Ekta Lall Mittal Luis Maria Cravino Sameer Raut Chandresh Natu Praful Tickoo Ron Ben Oz Emanuele Magrone Laurent Reich Scott Nemeth Chris Lovato Philippa Penfold FCIPD Gal Mozes, PhD Christina Bui Matt Burns Bhawna Bist Melissa Hopper Fritz Rex Blodgett Delia Majarín Asaf Jackoby Joonghak Lee Jaejin Lee Mark Lawrence Kimberly Rose Mariami Lolashvili Malgorzata Langlois Irene Wong Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. Doug Chartier Sophia Huang, Ed.D. Caitie Jacobson Roxanne Bisby Davis Hanna Salo Toon van der Veer David Littlechild Jeff Wellstead Pedro Pereira Dr. Sebastian Projahn Melissa Arronte Linda Jonas John Healy Greg Pryor Kristina Kersiene, PhD Kris Saling Dr Philip Gibbs John Golden, Ph.D. Irada Sadykhova Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga, Phil Inskip Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM Lina Makneviciute Alexandra Nawrat John Brazier Marcela Mury Jacob Nielsen Søren Kold Lucie Vottova Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. John Gunawan Gawain Wang Dave Fineman Craig Starbuck, PhD Ralf Buechsenschuss Bob Pulver Daniel Ivezaj Nico Orie Greg Newman Brandon Mistry Elizabeth Esarove Julia Brandon, PhD Evan Franz, MBA Erik Otteson Higor Gomes Ken Clar Ruben Santos Dr. Peter Schulz-Rittich Mattijs Mol Tina Peeters, PhD Tim Peffers Ludek Stehlik, Ph.D. Abhilash Bodanapu Mukesh Jain Ohad Geron Jonathon Frampton ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 100 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
    David Green
    2024年12月29日
  • David Green
    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? 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(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.
    David Green
    2024年12月19日
  • David Green
    David Green:The best HR & People Analytics articles of November 2024 The centrepiece of this month’s edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is focused around two topics – Agentic AI and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. One with a technology focus, the other very much a human topic. With Gartner predicting that that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously through agentic AI (up from 0% in 2024), the word on everyone’s lips at UNLEASH World in Paris recently was Agentic AI. But what actually is Agentic AI, and what does it mean for HR technology and HR professionals? Some of the content this month explores these topics. It was also good to hear at Unleash, L’Oreal’s CHRO, Jean Claude Le Grand on the main stage saying in very clear terms that “DEI is not a trend. DEI is part of our DNA”. DEI shouldn’t be used as a political football. But with questions being asked about what Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for DEI, it is important to highlight that DEI is also about business performance. I’ve included two articles this month from Quinetta Roberson (on how to link DEI to business outcomes) and Brian Elliott (on why capitulating to DEI sceptics is counterproductive). When it comes to DEI, now is the time to stand up. This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at TechWolf Transforming talent strategies with skills-based insights Skills are the currency of the modern workforce. For Workday, unlocking the power of skills was key to transforming their talent strategy—and the results speak for themselves. Workday faced common challenges: fragmented job architecture, costly manual processes, and a need for greater agility to adapt to shifting business needs. By partnering with TechWolf, they implemented a skills-based approach that delivered measurable impact: 32% faster hiring: AI-driven skills matching reduced time-to-hire by more than a third. 85% of the workforce had critical skills aligned to their jobs. Saved 12-18 months of manual effort, creating a standardized framework for decision-making. This partnership didn’t just solve today’s challenges—it prepared Workday for the future. TechWolf’s AI continuously updates skills data, ensuring their workforce strategy remains adaptable in a rapidly changing landscape. Want to know more about Workday’s journey? ? Watch the on-demand webinar: How Workday Leads the Skills Revolution with AI and Data? Explore how a skills-first approach can make a measurable impact on your workforce strategy. To learn more about how TechWolf can help your organization, reach out to us at hello@techwolf.ai or visit the contact page. To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 135,000 Data Driven HR Monthly subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org. November road report After a heavy travel schedule in September and October, November was a quieter month with my sole trip being to Germany for the final European Peer Meeting of 2024 for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®, which was hosted by Alexis Saussinan and Ruben Groen at Merck Group’s HQ in Darmstadt. During the two days, we learned about how Alexis and Khadija Ben Hammada, the CHRO, partner to deliver business value at Merck. We also learned from Ruben and Mariana Hebborn PhD on how Merck has established its enterprise data foundations, from Dawn Klinghoffer on how Microsoft has reconfigured its people analytics function in the age of intelligent automation, and Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski) on how Julius Bär democratised data across the company. If you are a people analytics leader interested in joining the People Analytics Program, and attending our 2025 Peer Meetings – including in Paris on January 28 and 29, and New York on March 4 and 5, please get in touch. Attendees at the Insight222 Peer Meeting for members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, hosted by Merck, November 19-20, 2024 Sign-up to receive the 5th annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends research report The 2024 Insight222 People Analytics Trends study will be released publicly on December 9. The report, which is informed by a survey of 340 participating organisations, will uncover how AI, data democratisation, and impactful people analytics strategies drive business value and elevate workforce decision-making. You can pre-register to receive the report one week earlier on December 2 by signing up here or by clicking on the image below. Share the love! Enjoy reading the collection of resources for November and, if you do, please share some data driven HR love with your colleagues and networks. Thanks to the many of you who liked, shared and/or commented on October’s compendium. 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. AGENTIC AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK JOANNE CHEN AND JAYA GUPTA - A System of Agents brings Service-as-Software to life | McKINSEY - Why agents are the next frontier of generative AI With Gartner predicting that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously through agentic AI, up from 0% in 2024, this is a topic we all need to learn about. Here are two resources that provide some helpful context. (1) A VC view from Joanne Chen and Jaya Gupta, writing for Foundation Capital, which they present as a “$4.6 trillion opportunity as AI transforms software from tool to worker”, with all the inherent implications that has for the workforce (see FIG 1). Thanks to Paul Daley, Gareth Flynn, Nico Orie, and Hung Lee (I recommend following all of these four people) for all highlighting this excellent article. (2) Writing for McKinsey, Lareina Yee, Michael Chui, Roger Roberts, and Stephen Xu, explore the opportunities that the use of gen AI agents presents including how they could work with potential use cases, the value they can bring, and how business leaders should prepare. FIG 1: A System of Agents (Source: Foundation Capital) JASON AVERBOOK - How AI Agents are Revolutionizing HR—and How to Get Ready | LARS SCHMIDT - Agents of (Massive) Change: How AI Agents Are Poised to Alter Work | JOSH BERSIN - AI Agents, The New Workforce We’re Not Quite Ready For (Agentic AI) | FELIPE JARA - HR - Let's Prepare for a Big Wave of Multi-Agents AI Systems For HR, Agentic AI means shifting away from repetitive administrative tasks to focusing on what truly matters: people. So, what does Agentic AI mean for HR in terms of the HR technology stack, how we deliver services to employees, and HR professionals themselves? Not surprisingly, with all the hype, there is a growing body of resources on these topics. Here are four I recommend to* Data Driven HR Monthly readers: (1) Definitely subscribe to Jason Averbook’s Now of Work Substack. In this blog, he provides five tips for HR to get ready for AI agents including: (i) Upskilling HR teams, (ii) Assessing current processes to identify and prioritise use cases, and (iii) Working on improving data quality. (2) Lars Schmidt’s primer is also highly recommended. It includes a guide to three categories of AI and how they are impacting work: bots, AI agents, and digital workers: “As we weave agentic AI capabilities into our businesses, we will likely deconstruct jobs into individual tasks and then identify the tasks that can be fully automated by these new AI technologies and agents.” (3) Josh Bersin has been all over agentic AI, and has recorded several podcasts on the topic as well as this article, which explains how the “’Large Language Models’ we’ve been learning about for the last two years are now turning into ‘Large Action Models’”, as well as outlining two potential uses cases in L&D and recruiting. As Josh mused in his keynote at Unleash World in Paris, AI is set to dominate the HR Tech stack (see FIG 2). (4) Last but not least, Felipe Jara provides a helpful synopsis of the emerging macro trends in enterprise AI for HR including a summary of the tools that major players like Workday, SAP, ServiceNow and One Model (see FIG 3) are introducing. He also lays out four focus areas of opportunity for HR including guidance on how to prepare your data foundation. FIG 2: AI dominates the HR Tech stack (Source: Josh Bersin at Unleash World, Paris, October 2024) FIG 3: The Evolution of Agents and Enterprise AI (Source: One Model – see here) ANDY SPENCE - The Next Wave of AI: Building Your Own Digital Workforce This is going to be fundamental change in how we interact with AI. It's moving us from being passive consumers of AI tools to active creators of personalized AI assistants. The great thing is we won’t need to be a machine learning expert or a seasoned programmer to get started. Finally on the Agentic AI theme this month, a twist as in an edition of his brilliant Workforce Futurist, Andy Spence writes about Agent Engineering, and how individuals (not just companies): “can create and deploy their own army of AI agents for a wide array of personal and professional tasks.” In his article, Andy breaks down what agent engineering is, the rise of personal AI agents, how to get started with agent engineering (including tools and platforms), and how it might reshape work, learning and our daily lives. FIG 4: Agent engineering framework process (Source: Andy Spence) MIT AND BCG - Learning to Manage Uncertainty, With AI Companies that boost their learning capabilities with AI are significantly better equipped to handle uncertainty from technological, regulatory, and talent-related disruptions compared with companies that have limited learning capabilities. A new study by Sam Ransbotham, David Kiron, Shervin Khodabandeh, Michael Chu, and Leonid Zhukov, Ph.D for MIT Sloan Management Review and BCG finds that companies that combine organisational learning with AI-specific learning, which they define as Augmented Learners, outperform those that apply either approach in isolation or neither (see FIG 5). For example, these Augmented Learner companies are twice as likely to weather talent-related disruptions, demonstrating that they are more resilient to workforce volatility. Thanks to Allison Ryder for highlighting the study. FIG 5: Learning Capabilities Vary (Source: MIT Sloan Management Review and BCG) DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING QUINETTA ROBERSON - How Integrating DEI Into Strategy Lifts Performance By explicitly linking DEI goals to business outcomes, companies create a clear vision of how diversity adds value. In her timely article Quinetta Roberson presents the findings of a study on diversity, equity and inclusion and company financial performance, and highlights the practices for achieving competitive advantage through DEI. These findings include that a bundled practice approach to DEI amplifies the performance effects of individual practices – see example in FIG 6. Quinetta also presents a three-point blueprint for meaningful action to DEI: (1) Strategically align DEI with business goals. (2) Systemically integrate DEI practices. (3) Make evidence-based improvements. FIG 6: DEI practice bundles (Source: Quinetta Roberson) BRIAN ELLIOTT - How to Stand Up When It Comes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion The backlash against DEI is out of sync with the opinions held by the most important set of stakeholders: your employees. In this powerful column for MIT Sloan Management Review, Brian Elliott tackles the growing backlash by some companies in the US on diversity, equity and inclusion. He highlights two dangers of backing away. First, the fact that DEI programs are actually getting more popular with employees, not less, and increasingly view it as a business topic rather than a political one. Second, capitulating on DEI commitments doesn’t settle the issue with employees or customers especially as research by Edelman finds that 76% of employees want companies to recommit not retreat. Elliott also provides guidance on three approaches to having real conversations on this topic, highlighting examples from his experience in leading teams at Google and Slack: (1) Let people voice their concerns about DEI programs. Don’t stifle the conversation or run away. (2) Use the words diversity, equity, and inclusion — not DEI. Explain what the words mean, correct misinformation, and tie them back to business results. (3) Keep in mind that memos don’t create trust; employee engagement does. PEOPLE ANALYTICS PHIL WILLBURN - People Analytics Demystified: A Practitioner’s Handbook Highly effective HR organizations know that every area of the business makes people decisions. The best people analytics teams excel by scaling people insights to all business leaders, ensuring these insights reach those making critical people decisions Phil Willburn, the Head of People Analytics, and his team recently hosted a Peer Meeting for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program® at Workday’s global headquarters in California. During the two days, Phil and his team presented some of the amazing work they are doing with people analytics in areas such as workforce planning, employee experience and hybrid work. Some of the content they presented is in this insightful e-book, which shines a light on how Workday has scaled people analytics in its own company (see FIG 7), their product-oriented and persona-based approach, and provides details on three case studies including how the team provides insights on flexible work and collaboration. FIG 7: People analytics and insights at Workday (Source: Phil Willburn, Workday) COLE NAPPER, JIN YAN, AND BEN ZWEIG - What is happening to people analytics? A 15 Year Trend Part Two | Part Three Following on from Part One of their study on employment trends in the people analytics field over the last 15 years, which I featured in the September edition of Data Driven HR Monthly, Cole Napper, Jin Yan and Ben Zweig return for a second helping – and a third helping with Kristin Saboe, Ph.D. In Part Two, Cole, Jin and Ben turn their attentions to an analysis of the skills of people analytics professionals and the impact of the field during the last 15 years. The insights they uncover include: (1) While people analytics specialists are more likely to hold a doctoral degree (8.2%) than other HR specialists (1.4%), advanced skills (e.g. SQL, GenAI, Python) haven’t been adopted in the numbers expected. (2) There is a correlation between companies with ‘prestigious’ people analytics teams and companies being rated more highly for employee sentiment (see FIG 8). They also provide three recommendations for the field moving forward: (1) Add real value and break the cycle. (2) Mature the people analytics function. (3) Let’s get back to growth. In Part Three, Kristin takes the lead to shine the lens on how the composition of government people analytics jobs have changed over the last 15 years. FIG 8: Companies with a prestigious people analytics team are rated higher by employees (Source: Revelio Labs) ERIC LESSER, ERIC BOKELBERG, AND DEVON JOHNSON - Powering people analytics through HR data: How to strategically integrate data as a product Data products help analysts better grasp what data is available, where it comes from, how it can be used and how to put it together to gain insights effectively. When a new business question arises, the needed data is often already available in a data product, making it easy to gather the correct information. Eric Lesser, Eric Bokelberg, and Devon Johnson from Deloitte provide a helpful breakdown on how to implement data products through applying key principles of product management across the data lifecycle, namely: ownership, reuse, quality, cataloguing and security. They outline three steps to get started with data products: (1) Educate HR and IT teams about data products; (2) Focus on impactful use cases (“Instead of creating numerous data products, concentrate on those that effectively address pressing business needs”); (3) Establish a strong governance model. CHRISTOPHER ROSETT – Reporting, Analytics, Research, Statistics (RARS) | SERENA HUANG - The Future of Work: Human Skills in the Age of AI | GIOVANNA CONSTANT – The 10 Commandments for every People Analytics professional | MITCH MIHANOVIC – People Analytics Lessons | WILLIS JENSEN - An Unusual Application Using Organizational Network Data | A.J. TUFTE – Making Workforce Planning Strategic: Three Vs | BEN TEUSCH – A reflection on six years at Facebook The true value of people analytics lies in translating insights into actionable strategies and programs that enhance employee engagement and drive business performance. 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. Seven are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Christopher Rosett outlines the RARS (Reporting, Analytics, Research, Statistics) model he uses with his analytics teams and customers at Amazon (see FIG 9). (2) Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. presents seven human skills required in the age of AI (see FIG 10). (3) Giovanna Constant presents her ten commandments for people analytics professionals including i) You shall worship data quality, ii) You shall train HR teams in data literacy, iii) You shall not create confusing dashboards. (4) Mitch Mihanovic shares three things he has learned from working in the people analytics field, including: “The true value of people analytics lies in translating insights into actionable strategies and programs that enhance employee engagement and drive business performance.” (5) Willis Jensen walks through a case study of using ONA to support compensation decisions for employees. (6) A.J. Tufte breaks down his Three Vs of Strategic Workforce Planning: i) Value (“what value does the work provide”) ii) eVolution (“how does the work need to change”), and iii) Volume (“how much of the work is needed”). (7) Finally, Meta has made a number of layoffs including from its people analytics team in the last few weeks. One of those impacted is Ben Teusch, who penned a reflection on his six years with the company. Wherever Ben decides to go next will be very fortunate to land such a talented practitioner. FIG 9: The RARS model (Source: Christopher Rosett) FIG 10: Seven human skills required in the age of AI (Source: Serena Huang) THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE RAVIN JESUTHASAN, MIRIAM DAUCHER, AND ALEX ZEA - The future of human resources: Who will care for the human at work? As the trusted link between organizations and their employees, HR can lead the charge in creating fulfilling workplaces and helping people thrive in an era of transformative technological change, ensuring that AI serves humanity, not the other way around. Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, Miriam Daucher, and Alexandra Zea present a new paper from Mercer on the future of human resources in the fifth industrial revolution. They paint a compelling evolution for the function to move beyond being stewards of employment to being stewards of work, and ultimate being stewards of humanity through (1) Ethical use of AI. (2) Safeguarding ESG. (3) Preserving human well-being. FIG 11: HR’s changing role through the history of industrial revolutions (Source: Mercer) ASAF JACKOBY - Work, Workforce, and Workplace: The Role of CHROs in Leading Change As Asaf Jackoby, VP HR for Amdocs, writes, chief human resources officers have a pivotal role to play in transforming the landscape of work, workforce and workplace. His article presents a framework (see FIG 12), and provides detail about each of the three categories and the individual components within it: (1) The Work – AI will transform the way we define work, (2) The Workplace – Creating an inclusive and adaptable environment, and (3) The Workforce – who does the work. FIG 12: Source – Asaf Jackoby WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS BRIAN FISHER, KATE BRAVERY, KATIE JENKINS, AND LAUREN ROBERTSON - Measuring skills in the age of agile work A helpful primer from the Mercer team of Brian Fisher, Kate Bravery, Katie Jenkins, and Lauren Robertson on three ways to ascertain employee skills (see FIG 13): (1) Inferred skills (“The starting point for skills measurement”), (2) Rated skills (“The employee and manager view of skills proficiency”), and (3) Validated skills (“Approaches for validating behavioural and technical skills”). As the authors highlight: Although each method of collecting skills data has its respective merits, methods can also be combined to paint a more complete skills picture that strengthens talent decision-making and can better inform business strategy. FIG 13: Three components of a skills measurement strategy (Source: Mercer) EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING MICHAEL ARENA AND AARON CHASAN - Fostering Friendships: The Game Changer in Employee Retention One study found that an employee’s position in the network can predict turnover with 85% accuracy. This is especially true for friendship networks. Research consistently finds that those with friends at work are far more likely to stay. Indeed, in their article for HR Exchange Network, Michael Arena and Aaron Chasan share the results of a study with a technology company, which found that there was a 44% drop in turnover rate for those who went from 0 friends to just 1. They also provide guidance on how organisations can create a climate for friendships to blossom: (1) Create opportunities for employees to connect; (2) Actively encourage friendships among colleagues; (3) Evaluate the level of connections in the workplace; (4) Create an environment of belonging. KENNEDYFITCH – Employee Experience Report 2024: Humanized Growth In A Digital Era You need data to prove your cause, prove your arguments and prove your impact. This is a highly impressive report on the current state and long-term vision for employee experience by the team at KennedyFitch including Joan Beets, Frank van den Brink, Sander de Bruijn and Patrick Coolen. Highlights include: (1) Analysis on the current state of EX as it relates to maturity (see FIG 14), tools, skills, team responsibilities, leadership buy-in and main obstacles. (2) Insights into the goals, planned skills/tools development and anticipated challenges for the next 12 months. (3) Exploration of how AI and other factors will transform EX and HR. (4) Case studies from EX trailblazers including Sebastian Knepper (Deutsche Telekom), Vasuki Ranganath (Volvo), Lea Mikus (Celonis), Andreas Mayer (ING), Volker Schrank and Joachim Decock (Mondelez), and Ruth Bielderman (Royal BAM Group). An absolute must-read report for anyone working or interested in employee experience. FIG 14: EX Maturity Model (Source: KennedyFitch) DAVE ULRICH AND WENDY ULRICH - What Is the Next Step for Employee Experience? The Why, What, and How of Hope Hope is an emerging fifth wave of managing mental health challenges that shape employee experience which in turn impacts stakeholder value. The cost of mental illness and the related consequences is projected to be $6 trillion globally by 2030. As Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich write, in the workplace, mental health often connects to the employee experience, which in turn impacts stakeholder and business outcomes (see FIG 15). The article then identifies hope as a new dimension of the employee experience (see FIG 16), and details six principles of what hope means in an organisational setting, so that organisations with hope: (1) Transform the future, (2) Are based in healthy relationships and conversation, (3) Ensure efficacy, (4) Rely on realistic optimism, (5) Empower people, and; (6) Address personal needs. Finally, Dave and Wendy offer seven skills for leaders to master to turn principles into actions that increase hope. An important and timely article. FIG 15: Logic of Mental Health, Employee Experience and Stakeholder Value (Source: Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich) FIG 16: Evolution of Ideas Related to Employee Experience (Source: Dave and Wendy Ulrich) LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING McKINSEY - Go, teams: When teams get healthier, the whole organization benefits Team effectiveness is less art, more science A new McKinsey study identifies the elements of team effectiveness that have the most significant impact on team performance: trust, communication, innovative thinking and decision-making. The authors debunk several other myths about how teams operate, and highlight the importance of context and how it determines the behaviours that matter most for a team to function effectively. A framework is presented that categorises teams into three archetypes: cycling, relay and rowing teams, which also highlights the top performance drivers for each (see FIG 17). Finally, the article details four actions for leaders to help their teams succeed: (1) Take a hard look in the mirror. (2) Make sure the changes stick. (3) If you are a team leader, don’t stand in the way of progress. (4) Embed team effectiveness in the organization’s DNA. (Authors: Aaron De Smet, Gemma D'Auria, Liesje Meijknecht, Maitham Albaharna, Anaïs Fifer, and Kimberly Rubenstein, PhD) FIG 17: Three archetypes of teams (Source: McKinsey) ALLAN H. CHURCH AND JANINE WACLAWSKI - Humpty Dumpty and the 9-Box: Five Steps to Putting it Back Together Again Using the Science of Leadership Potential (The 9-box) should be about understanding the consistency between what the organization thinks of its talent (designated potential) and what the data indicates against a validated predictive model (assessed potential). As Allan Church, Ph.D. and Janine Waclawski outline in their revealing article, while the 9-box model is commonly used talent management tools many companies struggle to use it effectively. Church and Waclawski believe this is because most organisations are doing it wrong, explaining the tendency to fall into “the performance-potential paradox”. They ten outline five steps towards having a best-in-class 9-box: (1) Throw Out Performance Ratings – They Should Be a Gatekeeper, not a Predictor. (2) Keep Your Current Talent Framework and Embrace it – But Re-label it as Designated Potential. (3) Introduce the Science of Leadership Potential – By Using Formal Assessments & Data (see the New 9-box in FIG 18). (4) Don’t Box Yourself In – Determine the Right Size Grid for Your Organization. (5) Use Data to Diagnose the Gaps – Between Designated Potential and Assessed Potential. FIG 18: Leadership potential for the new 9-box (Source: Allan H. Church and Janine Waclawski) HR TECH VOICES Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from November that I recommend readers delve into. In a slight change-up this month, I’ll start with a couple of pieces that analyse the people analytics and wider HR technology market: DAVE ZIELINSKI - How GenAI is Transforming People Analytics Software – Analysis by David Zielinski for SHRM on how GenAI is democratising the use of people analytics and lowering the barrier to entry, which features insights from Stacia Sherman Garr, Jeremy Shapiro, Lydia Wu, and Sameer Raut. EKTA LALL MITTAL - The Realities of HR Tech Part 1 | Part 2 - In her column for Transform, Ekta Lall Mittal provides insights and guidance on the HR technology market. In Part 1, she looks at how to get started and ways to connect business and people strategy with technology. In Part 2, Ekta provides guidance on how to conduct a current state analysis of your tech stack. LISA SIMON - The Ripple Effect of Female Leadership in Data – Lisa K. Simon, Chief Economist at Revelio Labs, highlights some of the main findings from a report on the Career outlook for women in D&A and AI, she co-authored with Asha Saxena and Robert Parr. One of these was that companies with more women in senior executive data roles have higher female representation in data roles across the organisation. The difference is greatest for junior roles (see FIG 18). FIG 18: The more woman in leadership, the more women overall (Source: Revelio Labs) VISIER – Embracing the AI Driven Workforce: 5 Workforce Trends for 2025 – It’s that time of year when we start hearing the word ‘trends’ a lot, and Visier Inc. is one of the first out of the traps with their five workforce trends for 2025. It’s an insightful read featuring contributions from the likes of Angela LE MATHON, Jill Larsen, Keith Bigelow, and Dawn Klinghoffer. FIG 19: The ABCDs of Creating a Future-Proof Agile Workforce (Source: Visier) DIRK JONKER - Finance and Human Resources: A Strategic Partnership for Business Growth – Crunchr CEO Dirk Jonker explains why and how HR and Finance should work together, and paints a vision where: “Together, HR and finance can unlock a future where employees are seen for what they truly are: a company’s most significant (and measurable) asset.” FRANCISCO MARIN - The Shift from Authority to Influence: Power Distribution in a Network-First Future of Work – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions continues his excellent series of articles on moving to a network-first approach by analysing the shift of power from authority to influence. 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): BROOKE WEDDLE, BRYAN HANCOCK, AND WENDY MILLER - Why being in HR is getting tougher—and how to break through – In a fascinating episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Brooke Weddle, Bryan Hancock, and Wendy Stratman Miller join host Lucia Rahilly to discuss the dynamics that are making HR tougher than ever—as well as what leaders can do differently to begin turning morale around. CONNIE NOONAN HADLEY - Make it Safe for Employees to Speak Up – Connie Noonan Hadley guests on Steelcase’s Work Better podcast with host Chris Congdon to discuss why and how managers should encourage employees to speak up about mistakes, ideas, and questions – essentially by creating a psychologically safe work environment. DANIELLE BUSHEN – Navigating Pay Transparency with People Analytics - Danielle Bushen, Global Head of People Analytics Data Governance and Stewardship at Sanofi, joins David Turetsky on HR Data Labs to explore how people analytics intersects with compensation, how to modernise compensation through data-driven practices, and the importance of pay transparency. MATTHEW HAMILTON - How To Master People Analytics and Deliver Insights That Actually Work - Matthew Hamilton, VP of People Analytics & HRIS at Protective Life, joins host Christopher Rainey on HR Leaders to discuss the challenge of delivering actionable insights to leaders -  the last mile problem - and the importance of storytelling with data. PAUL RUBENSTEIN AND JOSH BERSIN - What’s Holding Back People Analytics? – Josh Bersin and Paul Rubenstein, Chief Customer Officer at Visier, discuss how the people analytics market has evolved, and why only around 10% of People Analytics teams deliver strategic business value. VIDEO OF THE MONTH LEENA NAIR – View From the Top Leena Nair is that rarity of a chief people officer that rises to the role of CEO having transitioned from CHRO at Unilever to CEO at Chanel in January 2022. In this interview with Ayesha Kamik as part of Stanford’s View From the Top series, Leena shares her inspiring journey with insights from her life and career, including her time in human resources, how to build company culture, her leadership principles, how to break barriers and her thoughts on AI and the future of work. BOOK OF THE MONTH RUSSELL KLOSK – Talent Prophecy: Creating Strategic Impact Through Workforce Planning and Talent Strategy In Talent Prophecy, Russell Klosk (智能虎) provides a comprehensive guide to workforce planning, which should have particular resonance for HR professionals involved in workforce planning activities. The book provides readers with practical and accessible tools to: (1) Analyse your current workforce capabilities. (2) Predict future talent needs across various business scenarios. (3) Create adaptive strategies for talent acquisition and development. (4) Leverage AI and emerging technologies. (5) Build stakeholder support for talent initiatives. RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH ZHEYUAN (KEVIN) CUI, MERT DEMIRER, SONIA JAFFE, LEON MUSOLFF, SIDA PENG, AND TOBIAS SALZ - The Effects of Generative AI on High Skilled Work: Evidence from Three Field Experiments with Software Developers This paper explains the findings from a study to evaluate the impact of generative AI on software developer productivity through analysing data from three trials conducted at Microsoft, Accenture, and an anonymous Fortune 100 electronics manufacturing company. The researchers ( Kevin Zheyuan Cui, Mert Demirer, Sonia Jaffe, Leon Musolff, Sida Peng, and Tobias Salz) found that introducing a generative AI tool to software developers did increase productivity, with less-experienced developers showing higher adoption rates and greater productivity gains. You can also read this summary of the paper by Dylan Walsh: How generative AI affects highly skilled workers. FROM MY DESK November saw the final two episodes of Series 42 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by Workday (thanks to Sophie Barnes and Jennifer Neumann), an article rounding up the key learnings from series 42, and the first two episodes of Series 43, sponsored by TechWolf (thanks Maaike Standaert, Mikaël Wornoo?, Andreas De Neve ?). ANISH LALCHANDANI - The Four Reskilling Principles Every HR Leader Should Know - Anish Lalchandani, Global Head of Talent Management at Maersk, joins me to discuss insights from his book, The Skills Advantage, including why reskilling should be a key component of talent management strategy, the four cornerstones of reskilling, and key metrics to tie reskilling efforts to business value. LARA WAINWRIGHT AND DUNCAN REYNELL - How Digital Transformation Fuels Skills and EX at Lloyds Banking Group - Lara Wainwright, Product Owner and Lab Lead, and Duncan Reynell, Group Talent & Development Director, join me to share how digital transformation is driving Lloyds Banking Group’s shift to a skills-based organisation. SANDRA LOUGHLIN - Building a Skills-Based Organisation: Lessons from a 30-Year Journey – Sandra Loughlin, PhD, Chief Learning Scientist, discusses the lessons EPAM Systems has learned over its 30-year skills journey and how organisations can apply these insights to their own skills transformations. KEITH SONDERLING – Responsible AI in HR: The Ethical Roadmap for Success – For four years, Keith Sonderling was the Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). During this time, Keith openly engaged with the HR tech and people analytics community on AI in HR. In this episode, recorded just before Keith’s term ended, we reflect on what AI in HR means for organisations and technology firms, as well as have a broader discussion on discrimination in the workplace. DAVID GREEN - How can organisations use workforce data to drive culture, inclusion and engagement? - A round-up of the key discussions and learning from series 42 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast featuring: Michael Fraccaro, Michael Arena, Jason Scheckner, Anish Lalchandani, Lara Wainwright and Duncan Reynell. SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PEOPLE ANALYTICS NETWORK CENSUS This is a great initiative by Andrew Pitts, Richard Rosenow, Matthew Diabes, PhD, and Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. Together they have launched the People Analytics Network Census (PANC), which aims to map and understand the global people analytics network, tracking connections across professionals in our field through a single active organisational network analysis. You can find out more about the initiative and sign up to PANC here. LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH? I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers over 475 roles, and has now been developed into a LinkedIn newsletter too – you can read the latest edition here. THANK YOU Richard Rosenow for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast episodes with Craig Starbuck, PhD and Rob Briner on his Election Day Playlist Veronika Birkheim for including me on her list of experts on LinkedIn to read, listen and follow Thomas Kohler for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Anish Lalchandani in his excellent list of HR resources Nick Broughton for including me on his list of top 40 voices in the remote work industry. Wolfgang Brickwedde for including me in his article on the Recruiting Tech Highlights of Unleash 2024 OpenHR UK for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast as one of four must-listen to podcasts, along with podcasts by Matt Alder Ben Geoghegan and Lucinda Carney ? Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the October edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about the Digital HR Leaders podcast, conferences or other content. It's much appreciated: Scott Rogers Tobias W. Goers ツ Jordan Hartley David McLean Jaqueline Oliveira-Cella Tim Sharp Delia Majarín Andreea Lungulescu Dart Lindsley Sharna Wiblen Amardeep Singh, MBA Selina Yankson Olivier Vidal Lukasz Sowinski Lenka Máchová Nick Lynn Russ Fatum BS, BS, MSA, MBB, PMP Tanguy Dulac Aurélie Crégut Roshaunda Green, MBA, CDSP, Phenom Certified Recruiter Stephanie Denino Ian Grant FCIPD Purvi Vasani Lewis Garrad Rafael Senise David Simmonds FCIPD William Thai, Ph.D. Olivia Li Md Shahid Ullah Bhuyan Facundo Tomás García Bob Pulver Corine Boon Alessandro Cosentino Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez Kalifa Oliver, Ph.D. Samir Murgude , SPHR®, SHRM-SCP, IHRP-SP Jayashree Shivkumar Dr. Jeeta Sarkar Abbie Gnewuch Zachary Schurmann ?️? Aurangzeb Soharwardi CDIS. CHRP. SAP HCM Aravind Warrier Catriona Lindsay Luis Maria Cravino Kerron Ramganesh Ralf Buechsenschuss David Hodges Ouarda Guergour Marijana Brasiello, MHRM Malgorzata Langlois Amit Mohindra Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD) Lore Muraina, PMP, PMI-ACP, CPP Alan Susi Yuyan Sun Sven Hultin Greg Pryor Kathleen Kruse Jaap Veldkamp Aleksandra Borisova, RODP Hrvoje Bulat Jaejin Lee Wayne Tarken Caitie Jacobson Nathalie Kumbrink, PHR®, SAFe® APM Melissa Arronte Nicole Lettich Nils Bunde Mia Norgren Shane Walsh Irina Villacreces, M.S., SPHR, PMP Jaana Saramies ? Stacy Davies Ruben Santos Justin Shemeley Richie Citta Erin Gerbec, Ph.D. Mircea-Stefan Glavici Bri Klein Indre Radzeviciute Alex Paton Ramesh Karpagavinayagam Megan Cox (née Phelps) Natasha Ouslis, PhD Tina Peeters, PhD Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM Lucie Vottova John Fisher Whitney Giga, PHR, SWP Graham Tollit Dave Millner Nicole Davis Barry Swales Dr. Sebastian Projahn David Littlechild Tatu Westling Philipp Heller Blaine Ames Shujaat Ahmad Irene Wong Greg Newman Adam McKinnon, PhD. Kanwal Safdar Irada Sadykhova Hanadi El Sayyed Tanya Arrowsmith Nabil Dewsi Henrik Håkansson Lina Makneviciute Alejandro Giordanelli Andras Szabo Radka Krempova David van Lochem Andreas Maroulis Ohad Geron Placid Jover Sydney Dolanch Isabel Naidoo Rob Kok Kimberly Rose Nick Hayter Annia Balcazar Cabana Anna A. Tavis, PhD Claire Masson Agnes Garaba Sebastian Kolberg Sabine Bothe Sophia Huang, Ed.D. Mariami Lolashvili Philip Arkcoll Erik Otteson Alexandra Nawrat Kristina Schoemmel Craig Starbuck, PhD Maria Alice Jovinski Toon van der Veer Petra Noble Julia Brandon, PhD Aritra Majumdar Scott Nemeth Shannon Rutledge Gal Mozes, PhD Ken Clar Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. Jacob Nielsen Olimpiusz Papiez Nick Hudgell Sonia Mooney Marcela Mury Christopher Cerasoli Dr. Peter Schulz-Rittich Ludek Stehlik, Ph.D. Craig Forman Kelly Satterfield Perri Ma Anna Gullstrand Victoria Holdsworth Joanna Bloor Pietro Mazzoleni Andrés García Ayala Kristhy Bartels Tim Peffers John Golden, Ph.D. Nicole Hazard Søren Kold Kirsten Edwards Doug Shagam Geetanjali Gamel John Gunawan Jack Liu 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 100 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021. MEET ME AT THESE EVENTS I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2024 and early 2025: December 5 - Visier Outsmart Local - Building Your People Data Strategy, London December 10-12 - Workday Rising EMEA, Amsterdam 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.   原文来自：https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-hr-people-analytics-articles-november-2024-david-green--aofje/
    David Green
    2024年12月01日
  • David Green
    HiBob：HCM 市场中快速成长的新领导者 HCM 市场规模达 110 亿美元，为各种规模的公司提供人力资源和薪资平台。知名领导者（Workday、SAP SuccessFactors、ADP、UKG、dayforce）都是对该领域了解多年的高管。由于这些公司在市场上拥有多年的经验，他们拥有成千上万的客户，因此他们了解全球人力资源部门、经理和薪资团队的复杂需求。 然而，尽管市场具有传统性质，但颠覆正在发生。公司对这些系统的可用性、缺乏灵活性以及其架构限制的脆弱性感到沮丧。在大多数情况下，当你建立人力资源系统时，你会对职位层次、职位级别、薪资等级和组织结构做出许多决定。一旦你做出了这些决定，它们就很难改变。这意味着随着时间的推移，系统变得越来越难用，因此公司在上面叠加了几十种人才管理工具。 这些系统对于员工来说也很难使用。这些系统最初是为人力资源部门开发的，现在大多数系统都有移动界面和门户供管理人员和员工使用。由于 Agentic AI 的出现，大多数系统都在构建聊天前端。尽管如此，其复杂程度很难掩饰，因此许多公司对员工“隐藏”了 HCM，并在其上构建了复杂的门户。ServiceNow 的迅猛发展就是明证，它推广了员工体验层的概念，可以保护员工免受 HCM 的困扰。 大约十年前（2017 年），我遇到了 Ronni Zehavi，他是一位经验丰富的科技企业家，也是当时 HiBob 的新任首席执行官。他的愿景是建立一个“人员管理”系统，该系统不是为后台办公室设计的，而是为经理和员工设计的。我们广泛讨论了最初的想法，即打造“人力资源的 Instagram”——一个如此优雅和美丽的东西，任何人都能立即看到它的价值。 我警告 Ronni，这个问题比想象的要复杂得多。他听了我的劝告，但还是继续前进，为 Bob 构建了一个具有现代、优雅、引人入胜界面的 HCM 平台，使 Bob 的“人人享有 HCM”愿景成为现实。 与我看到的许多 HCM 产品不同，Bob 的使用案例始于员工和经理。因此从一开始，该系统就旨在帮助领导者管理他们的团队，提供易于使用的工具，用于创建个人资料、日历、团队员工识别、组织结构图、通信和警报。用户体验至今仍然令人兴奋，它有趣、易于理解，并且以通用的商业语言编写。 （顺便说一下，HiBob在 G2 中的评分为 4.5 ，这对于企业软件来说是一个很高的评分。） 虽然前端看起来“简单”，但该系统从一开始就具备企业功能。虽然 HiBob 最初将其出售给规模较小的科技公司，但他们很快意识到其最初的核心市场更大，几乎涵盖了以人为本的行业中所有快速增长的公司。 VaynerMedia 和 Fiverr 等公司招聘人数众多，非常注重文化和参与度，人力资源团队人手不足。Bob 非常擅长薪酬管理、分析、DEI 和绩效管理，这些都是所有公司都需要的东西，但很少有公司愿意购买每个领域的专业产品。 （几年前，我们 Josh Bersin 公司实施了 Bob HCM 平台，基本上在一个周末就完成了配置。） 随着公司业务的增长，对功能的需求也随之增长。因此，在 2023 年和 2024 年，HiBob 推出了 Bob Hiring、其 ATS（申请人跟踪系统）、Bob Learning、其 LMS 和 UK Payroll，为传统的薪资运营提供了一种现代化的方法。通过今年早些时候对Pento 的战略收购（Ronni 的团队是一家技术巨头），HiBob 获得了提供灵活薪资方法的技术，并计划在 2026 年提供美国薪资服务。 在此过程中，HiBob 始终专注于“企业软件消费化”，成为少数成功破解用户体验密码的 SaaS 公司之一。作为一名用户，我不得不说它不仅功能丰富，而且使用起来真的很愉快。 让我来谈谈使命。大多数 HCM 供应商一开始都关注员工，但很快就被拖入人力资源的神秘需求中。即使是世界上最大的 HCM 供应商 ADP（以客户数量衡量），也不得不强迫自己随着时间的推移构建越来越易于​​使用的前端。正如您所见，HiBob 仍然认为 Bob 是一个“业务增长平台”，而不是一个“管理人力资源”或“向领导者提供可操作的人力资源数据”的系统。（Rippling 也是这么认为的。） 这让 HiBob 实现了快速增长，我称之为“颠覆者”地位。其他颠覆者包括美国的 Rippling 和 Lattice、亚洲的 Darwinbox 以及薪资供应商（Paychex、Paycor、Paylocity、Gusto 等），它们各自都在构建 HCM 平台。 当然，我们不得不提 ADP，它仍然以自己的方式具有颠覆性和创新性。ADP的 Lyric HCM建立在高度自适应的架构之上，拥有市场上最先进的灵活性，但它针对的是大型分布式企业。 这个领域的每个供应商都很聪明、创新且充满热情。UKG 推出了整个代理 AI 平台，任命了一位新 CEO，并致力于让小时工雇主成为最佳工作场所。Workday继续创新，将 AI 注入其平台并与专注于行业的顾问合作。而 SAP SuccessFactors推出了我目前见过的最先进的 AI 系统(Joule)，集成了所有 SAP 应用程序。 尽管进行了所有这些创新，HiBob 仍在继续发展。去年，该公司增长了 40%，目前拥有 4,200 多名客户和 1,100 名员工。随着公司扩大产品和销售团队，它现在看到了成为“您一直想要的 HCM 平台”的机会。换句话说，他们正在瞄准快速增长的中型公司，在这些公司中，Workday 和其他传统企业解决方案过于复杂，无法证明其成本合理性。 HiBob 将其称为“现代企业”，这一定位很有道理。Workday 是 2000 年代中期“第一个采用云计算”的公司，并确立了其作为该代技术的“现代系统”的地位。HiBob 认为，其高度灵活的平台、快速的价值实现时间和类似 Instagram 的用户界面使其有可能赢得基于当今架构的“下一代快速增长公司”。 （即将推出的 AI 功能令人印象深刻：招聘电子邮件生成器、智能课程生成器、能力库生成器、工作目录构建器、调查构建器以及经理和员工自助服务工具。） 虽然所有这些都是有道理的，而且很少有 HCM 供应商以每年 40% 的速度增长，所以我认为故事归根结底还是执行力。Rippling是一个了不起的创新者，拥有我见过的最积极的销售团队之一（我经常接到他们的电话）。ADP 是各方面的创新者：工资服务、数据和基准测试、AI 界面以及最终将基于Lyric HCM 的一系列底层平台。Workday 正在与集成商合作，并为较小的公司重新包装其系统。而像 UKG 和 dayforce 这样的供应商正在加倍投入先进功能来吸引这个市场。 就 HiBob 而言，我认为其活力、激情和快节奏的工程文化发挥了一定作用。Ronni 继续领导该组织，他拥有精明的商业领导力、丰富的技术经验和不断学习的谦逊态度等独特优势。我认为这是一家值得关注的公司，在任何像 HiBob 这样充满活力的市场中，HiBob 的成功都将推动其他公司更快地发展。
    David Green
    2024年11月24日
    • 123
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