The best HR & People Analytics articles of March 20252025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.
The top 5 HR trends today – and HR's guide to what's nextSAP SuccessFactors 每年都会深入研究全球 HR 趋势,以帮助企业制定更有效的人才战略。2025 年,他们分析了来自 40 家全球权威媒体的 254 项预测,归纳出 5 大核心“元趋势”,展现 HR 在企业中的双重角色:既是变革的“指挥者”,也是政策落地的“引航者”。
1️⃣ 重新连接员工: 由于经济压力、决策争议和信任危机,员工体验恶化,57% 的员工认为如果公司不采取措施,他们的倦怠问题不会改善。HR 需关注心理契约,增强员工信任。
2️⃣ AI 从炒作走向实际价值: AI 进入大规模落地阶段,企业需明确 ROI 并平衡员工和领导者对 AI 价值的不同预期。46% 的员工认为 AI 省下的时间属于自己,而非公司。
3️⃣ 技能转型的平衡策略: 由于 AI 发展迅猛,企业技能鸿沟加剧。除了关注技能,薪酬激励成为推动学习的重要因素,54% 的员工表示,如果公司实施基于技能的薪酬体系,他们会更愿意学习新技能。
4️⃣ DEI&B 的分歧: 企业对多元化、公平性和包容性(DEI&B)态度不一,26% 的员工认为公司对 DEI&B 关注过多,而 33% 认为关注太少。HR 需明确 DEI&B 战略,以促进长期文化变革。
5️⃣ 混合办公的未来: 组织已基本确定办公模式,2025 年将验证其成效。54% 的员工愿意牺牲部分薪酬,以换取更大的工作灵活性。
这些趋势展现了 HR 在塑造未来工作模式中的关键作用,企业需借助创新技术和数据驱动的洞察来优化人力资源管理。
Each year, the HR Research Scientists at SAP SuccessFactors conduct research to understand the top HR and workforce trends facing organizations and share our perspective on what HR teams should consider as they look to help their companies address these trends. This year we aggregated and synthesized data from 40 global and regional reputable business press sources that put forward 254 individual trends and predictions grounded in their own research and data. We then conducted a content analysis of the trends sample to derive the five key themes, or “meta-trends.” While our annual report always includes some pointed commentary and critique about each trend based on our expertise in psychology, new this year is calling upon our own body of original applied research to incorporate datapoints and insights, resulting in a more evidence-based point of view.
This year’s trends are in different stages of maturity and on different trajectories; therefore, the role that HR needs to play to help businesses tackle and capitalize on these trends is different. We’ve organized the trends into two sections aligned to the dual role HR will play in addressing them.
First, HR will need to act as a Conductor, leading the orchestration of a strategy and associated change management across the business to realize the opportunities these trends offer:
Trend #1: Reconnecting the disconnected employee: Contentious decisions, macroeconomic and sociopolitical stressors, and breached trust with leadership has led to employee stress and burnout – and consequently, a crisis of disconnect and counterproductivity. In the year ahead:
Leaders must ruthlessly prioritize fulfilling their end of the “psychological contract” by meeting employees’ basic needs.
People managers will be seen as a lifeline for employees drowning in disconnect.
STAT: 57% of employees feel unless their companies make some serious changes, their burnout will not get better.
Trend #2: Moving from AI hype to AI impact:Organizations are shifting from AI pilot projects to enterprise-wide rollouts, demanding proof of clear value and ROI. In the year ahead:
Organizations will home in on their key value drivers for AI, revealing their true priorities.
The body of research on the ROI of AI will be built this year.
Organizations will find friction between leaders’ and employees’ goals for using AI.
STAT: 46% of employees feel that the time that they save by using AI tools at work belongs to them, not their organization.
Trend #3: Striking a balance to steer skills forward: Organizations continue to face pervasive skills gaps, in part due to rapid AI advancements. A more balanced approach is needed to see tangible progress in skills-based transformations this year. In the year ahead:
“Skills-based” will no longer be the only goal.
Pay will prove itself the missing piece of the upskilling puzzle.
The human vs. technical skill debate will move from or to and.
STAT: 54% of employees would be more motivated to learn new skills if their company instituted skills-based pay.
Second, HR will need to act as a Navigator, leading the organization through precarious waters and circumventing obstacles to put policies into practice for the betterment of all stakeholders:
Trend #4: Divesting or doubling down on diversity, equity, inclusions, and belonging (DEI&B): Some organizations remain committed to DEI&B goals, continuing to ask “How are we going to do this?” Others plan to divest, instead now asking “Are we going to do this?” In the year ahead:
Some will shy away from DEI&B goals, but these approaches will vary.
Taking a stand on DEI&B will change company cultures in the long term, but it’s not clear exactly how.
STAT: 26% of employees say companies focus too much on DEI&B, 41% of employees say companies focus an appropriate amount on DEI&B, and 33% of employees say companies focus too little on DEI&B.
Trend #5: Plugging into or pulling the plug on hybrid work: Now that organizations have determined their position on where their employees will work, it’s time to see if they achieve the outcomes they intended. In the year ahead:
Those businesses choosing the return-to-office path will see whether their bets paid off this year.
Those choosing the hybrid or remote path will take it a step further, integrating autonomy as a core value in other aspects of work design.
STAT: 54% of employees would consider being paid less if they could have more flexibility in where and when they work.
Read the report to see what’s now and what’s next for each trend, along with some fast facts that uplevel the nerdiness of this year’s trends report. We also include a section on how SAP SuccessFactors solutions can help organizations address the 2025 HR trends.
Employee Experience
2025年03月07日
Employee Experience
David Green: The best HR & People Analytics articles of February 20252025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.
Employee Experience
2025年03月02日
Employee Experience
首席人力官2030:从后勤专家到企业变革推手越来越多企业发现,首席人力官(CPO)正从纯粹的“后台运营”升级为“核心战略伙伴”。他们不仅要管理薪酬、福利与合规,更要在组织变革、领导力培养和AI应用等方面发挥关键作用。报告特别强调了领导力流动性和多元文化的重要性,在快速变化的商业环境中,这些因素为企业增强韧性和创造力提供有力支持。
想要在人才竞争中领先,就必须以开放思维和前瞻眼光重新审视人力资源战略,让CPO真正成为企业变革与创新的驱动者。
在企业环境瞬息万变的今天,传统的人力资源部门正经历从“后台运营”向“战略伙伴”转型的巨大变革。面对人工智能崛起、新一代员工价值观迭代以及全球经济政治形势的波动,首席人力官(Chief People Officer, CPO)的地位和职能正变得前所未有地关键。
报告指出,CPO需要在以下几个方面进一步进化:
1. 从业务支持到业务引领新时期的CPO不仅要确保员工薪资、劳动合规、人员福利等基础工作能够稳定运转,更要深度参与组织设计、领导力培养和战略性人才布局。在企业长期增长的目标指引下,CPO的“业务敏锐度”成为衡量其价值的关键指标,必须与CEO及其他高管组成紧密的“智囊团队”。
2. 动态用工与领导力梯队快速变化的外部环境需要更灵活的用工模式。报告提出“领导力流动性”概念,一方面培养管理者的多元能力与跨部门学习力,另一方面通过短期专家与项目型人才的配置,实现企业人力资源的动态调度。此外,打造深层次的继任计划与领导力储备库,将吸纳、培养、留用和晋升等人才环节打通,从而持续为企业输送新鲜血液。
3. AI驱动的人力资源升级随着AI、数据和数字化技术的普及,人力资源管理者需要更好地利用这些工具来进行人才评估、绩效管理和招聘筛选。报告强调,CPO应积极发挥带头作用,不仅要在HR内部尝试更多自动化与智能化应用,也要引导其他业务部门正确使用AI技术,将“重复性工作”交给自动化,将“创造性与战略性工作”留给人力团队,不断提升企业整体效率。
4. 包容与韧性的文化塑造在地缘政治和经济不确定性凸显的时代,企业需要一种更具弹性与凝聚力的文化。CPO应协助管理层在全公司范围内推动多元、健康、包容的工作氛围,强化员工心理支持和沟通渠道。通过惠及不同年龄、不同背景员工的个性化政策,帮助组织在“高速变化”与“人才多元化”之间找到平衡点,激发个人与组织的双向潜能。
5. 全新“工具包”助力未来从制定接班人计划到探索混合办公模式,从部署AI到建设全球化团队,CPO需要一套兼具系统思考和实践落地的“工具包”,才能在愈加复杂的商业环境中为企业提供持续的战略价值。
总结而言,CPO正脱离单纯的后勤管理角色,晋升为企业的“变革推手”和“战略护航者”。这一角色转变不仅关乎人力资源部门的精细化运营,更决定着企业能否在新的竞争时代中保持活力与创新力。
**内容来源:**本文基于 Heidrick & Struggles 的《Chief People Officer of 2030: Building a tool kit to get from here to there》报告撰写。
Employee Experience
2025年02月24日
Employee Experience
HR and HRIS Trends for 2025: Key Priorities for HR Leaders to Address Today
随着2025年的临近,人力资源(HR)和人力资源信息系统(HRIS)正经历着加速变革的时期。HR流程的数字化、不断变化的员工期望以及新的职场动态,正深刻地重塑组织在人才管理和运营方面的方式。面对这些挑战,HR领导者必须提前洞察趋势并作出调整,以成功推动HR职能的转型。
HR Path作为该领域的领导者,被列入Gartner®《2024年HR转型咨询市场指南》的代表性供应商名单。这一认可彰显了我们在帮助企业进行HR转型方面的专业知识和承诺,使它们能够采用针对未来需求的最佳实践和技术。到2025年,HR领导者不仅需要应对快速变化的环境,还要利用工具和策略,让组织在竞争中保持优势。
本文概述了2025年的关键HR和HRIS趋势,并提供了实用的见解,帮助决策者制定策略并应对未来的挑战。
1. HR职能的数字化转型:至关重要的变革
HR流程的数字化已经成为战略重点。自动化行政任务并利用先进的HRIS工具,使HR领导者能够专注于更高价值的活动,如人才管理和提升员工体验。
人工智能(AI)和机器人流程自动化(RPA)等技术正在重新定义企业在招聘、培训、绩效管理和福利管理方面的方法。到2025年,HR数字化的步伐将因员工期望和业务效率的需要而进一步加快。
2. 员工体验:HR战略的核心
到2025年,员工体验仍将是HR的核心优先事项。员工期望迅速演变,灵活性、自主性、工作场所幸福感和成长机会成为吸引和留住人才的关键因素。
HR领导者需要实施能够为每位员工提供无缝且个性化体验的解决方案,无论他们的工作模式是现场、混合还是远程。HRIS工具通过集中信息、简化行政流程和改进组织内部的沟通,为员工创造一个他们感到被重视和投入的工作环境。
3. 人力资源数据在人才管理中的战略重要性
HR数据在战略决策中变得愈发重要。大数据和HR分析使HR领导者能够更好地理解员工行为、识别关键人才并预测未来技能需求。到2025年,利用HR数据进行战略决策将成为首要任务。
企业必须投资于收集、分析和利用HR数据的工具,以优化招聘、绩效管理和劳动力规划流程。定制的仪表板和报告将帮助HR领导者监控其战略的有效性,并根据实际业务需求进行调整。
4. 远程办公与灵活性:混合模式的演变
到2025年,混合工作模式将继续占主导地位,但会更加细化。许多公司可能会保留完全或部分远程的工作安排,而另一些公司则逐步恢复到更传统的现场模式,或实施符合其业务和员工需求的混合系统。
后疫情时期表明,没有单一方法适合所有组织。有些公司发现远程办公提高了生产力并提供了更大的灵活性,而另一些公司更重视面对面的协作和公司文化的加强。
企业需要找到平衡点:
对一些公司来说,这可能意味着固定的办公室日以维持团队凝聚力和协同工作。
对另一些公司而言,则可能是灵活的混合模式,让员工选择远程或办公室工作时间。
HRIS工具将在管理这种灵活性方面发挥关键作用,包括跟踪考勤、管理缺勤和优化工作日程。这些工具还将衡量这些实践对绩效和员工幸福感的影响。
5. 持续学习与技能发展:战略重点
到2025年,持续学习和技能发展将成为中心议题。企业必须预测岗位角色和技能需求的变化,以应对未来挑战。提升技能和重新培养将成为支持员工职业成长的首要任务。
HR领导者应投资于在线培训解决方案、学习管理系统(LMS)和学习体验平台(LXP),以提供灵活、可访问和个性化的培训路径。这些工具将帮助员工保持技能的更新,同时促进他们在组织中的成长。
6. 多样性与包容性:2025年的关键目标
多样性与包容性(D&I)将在2025年继续成为优先事项。企业必须实施具体的战略,以促进包容性的工作环境。HR领导者需要确保招聘、职业管理和薪酬实践的公平性和透明性。
HRIS工具应包括跟踪D&I计划和衡量进展的功能。目标是创造一个无论性别、背景或经验如何,每位员工都能茁壮成长的工作场所。
7. 员工幸福感:2025年的重点
员工幸福感,特别是心理健康,将成为2025年HR领导者的关键关注点。企业必须引入心理支持计划,促进工作与生活的平衡,并提供更加适应员工需求的工作空间。
HRIS工具可以整合幸福感项目,衡量员工满意度并提供支持服务。到2025年,创造一个健康的工作环境将成为吸引和留住顶尖人才的重要因素。
总结
2025年,HR和HRIS趋势将与组织的演进密不可分。为在这场转型中取得成功,HR领导者必须预测不断变化的员工期望,拥抱数字技术,并专注于灵活性、学习、多样性和幸福感为中心的战略。通过今天做出正确的决策,企业不仅可以应对当前的挑战,还能在未来职场中占据领导地位。
As we approach 2025, human resources (HR) and human resource information systems (HRIS) are undergoing a period of accelerated transformation. The digitalization of HR processes, evolving employee expectations, and new workplace dynamics are profoundly reshaping how organizations manage talent and operations. In light of these challenges, HR leaders must anticipate trends and adapt to drive the transformation of their HR functions successfully.
HR Path, recognized as a leader in this field, was listed as a Representative Vendor in the Gartner® Market Guide for HR Transformation Consulting 2024. This acknowledgment underscores our expertise and commitment to helping businesses navigate HR transformations, enabling them to adopt best practices and technologies tailored to future demands. By 2025, HR leaders will not only have to manage a rapidly changing environment but also leverage the tools and strategies that will keep their organizations competitive.
This article provides an overview of key HR and HRIS trends for 2025, offering practical insights to help decision-makers structure their strategies and address upcoming challenges.
1. The Digitalization of HR Functions: A Vital Transformation
The digitalization of HR processes is now a strategic imperative. Automating administrative tasks and utilizing sophisticated HRIS tools allow HR leaders to focus on higher-value activities, such as talent management and enhancing employee experiences.
Technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) are redefining how organizations approach recruitment, training, performance management, and benefits administration. In 2025, the pace of HR digitalization will continue to accelerate, driven by employee expectations and the need for overall business efficiency.
2. Employee Experience: The Core of HR Strategy
Employee experience will remain at the heart of HR priorities in 2025. Employee expectations are evolving rapidly, with flexibility, autonomy, workplace well-being, and growth opportunities emerging as essential factors for attracting and retaining talent.
HR leaders must implement solutions that provide a seamless and personalized experience for every employee, regardless of their role or work model (on-site, hybrid, or remote).
HRIS tools play a crucial role in delivering this experience by centralizing information, simplifying administrative processes, and improving communication across the organization. The goal is to create a work environment where every employee feels valued and engaged.
3. The Strategic Importance of HR Data in Talent Management
HR data is becoming increasingly central to strategic decision-making. Big data and HR analytics enable HR leaders to better understand employee behaviors, identify key talent, and predict future skill needs. By 2025, leveraging HR data for strategic decision-making will be a top priority.
Organizations must invest in tools that collect, analyze, and utilize HR data to optimize recruitment, performance management, and workforce planning processes. Custom dashboards and reports will help HR leaders monitor the effectiveness of their strategies and make adjustments based on real business needs.
4. Remote Work and Flexibility: Evolving Hybrid Models
By 2025, the hybrid work model will continue to dominate but with greater nuance. While many companies may maintain fully or partially remote work arrangements, others are gradually returning to more traditional on-site models or implementing hybrid systems tailored to their business and workforce needs.
The post-pandemic period has demonstrated that no single approach works for everyone. Some organizations have seen telework boost productivity and offer greater flexibility, while others value physical presence for strengthening company culture and face-to-face collaboration.
Businesses will need to strike a balance:
For some, this might mean fixed in-office days to maintain team cohesion and synergy.
For others, it may involve flexible hybrid models, allowing employees to choose when to work remotely or in-office.
HRIS tools will play a key role in managing this flexibility by tracking attendance, managing absences, and optimizing work schedules. These tools will also measure the impact of these practices on performance and employee well-being.
5. Continuous Learning and Skills Development: A Strategic Priority
In 2025, continuous learning and skill development will take center stage. Companies must anticipate changes in job roles and required skills to address future challenges. Upskilling and reskilling will become priorities for supporting employees in their professional growth.
HR leaders should invest in online training solutions, learning management systems (LMS), and learning experience platforms (LXP) to provide flexible, accessible, and personalized training pathways. These tools will help keep employees’ skills up to date while fostering their growth within the organization.
6. Diversity and Inclusion: Achieving Key Objectives in 2025
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) will remain top priorities in 2025. Companies must implement concrete strategies to foster an inclusive work environment. HR leaders will need to ensure that recruitment, career management, and compensation practices are equitable and transparent.
HRIS tools should include features to track D&I initiatives and measure progress. The goal is to create a workplace where every employee, regardless of gender, background, or experience, can thrive.
7. Employee Well-being: A 2025 Priority
Employee well-being, particularly mental health, will be a key focus for HR leaders in 2025. Businesses must introduce psychological support initiatives, promote work-life balance, and provide more adaptable workspaces.
HRIS tools can integrate well-being programs to measure employee satisfaction and offer support services. By 2025, creating a healthy work environment will be a critical factor in attracting and retaining top talent.
In 2025, HR and HRIS trends will be inseparable from organizational evolution. To succeed in this transformation, HR leaders must anticipate changing employee expectations, embrace digital technologies, and focus on strategies centered around flexibility, learning, diversity, and well-being. By making the right decisions today, companies can not only address current challenges but also position themselves as leaders in the future of work.
Employee Experience
2025年01月16日
Employee Experience
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
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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.
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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/
The best HR & People Analytics articles of October 2024
Never forget what the ‘H’ in HR stands for...
This was the unanimous advice of the CEO panel, skilfully moderated by Charles-Henri Besseyre des Horts, at the recent Unleash World show in Paris, where I had the privilege of being emcee of the Main Stage. One of the main themes that emerged from the show (see my key learnings from Unleash) is that HR continues to make significant progress in its journey from support function to strategic partner. To complete this transition, HR must embrace data (as opening keynote Peter Hinssen put it: “You can’t connect the dots, if you don’t collect the dots”). Moreover, as I said in my opening words:
HR can’t lead the charge on AI, skills and new ways of working, if it doesn’t upskill itself.
This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at Visier
Pay Equity: A Critical Workforce Challenge You Can No Longer Ignore.
According to a recent study by The Josh Bersin Company on pay equity, as it stands today, the gender pay gap won't close until 2048. Even worse: progress in some areas is slowing with less than 5% of companies excelling in pay equity despite it having 13 times the impact on employee experience compared to pay levels. Read the report.
The report, “The Surprising Truth about Gender Pay Equity”., examines:
The current state of gender pay equity
Barriers companies face in addressing pay
The projected timeline for closing the gender pay gap
Examples of companies implementing strategies to achieve pay equity
It’s time to face the challenge head-on, embed pay equity into everyday practices, and have informed conversations about compensation.
Get the report.
Visier gives you a Workforce AI Edge: the set of AI-powered capabilities every leader needs to confidently navigate an exponentially more challenging business environment.
October road report
October was a busy month. It started in New York, where I moderated a panel on Workestration at the NY Strategic HR Analytics Meetup Group before co-chairing the first People Analytics World to take place in the US. The next stop was Paris, for the aforementioned UNLEASH World, which had over 7,000 attendees. Finally, it was back to the US for a Peer Meeting for North American members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®, which was hosted by Phil Wilburn and his team at Workday.
For more on People Analytics World, I recommend reading takeaways from Craig Starbuck, PhD (here), Al Adamsen (here), Christopher Cerasoli (here), Lore Muraina, PMP, PMI-ACP, CPP (here), Lydia Wu (here), and Melissa Arronte (here). Thanks to Barry Swales for entrusting me to co-chair with Michael M. Moon, PhD.
For more on Unleash, read my key learnings, as well as checking out the Unleash site for articles by Alexandra Nawrat, John Brazier and Lucy Buchholz. A huge thank you to Marc Coleman, Paige Richmond, Zoltán Kőváry and the whole Unleash team – it was a joy to work with you all again.
A huge thank you too to Phil Willburn and the Workday team for hosting the Insight222 Peer Meeting at Pleasanton, as well as the speakers at the Peer Meeting: Shannon Vallina, Kanwal Safdar, Dr. Sebastian Projahn, Ashley Goldsmith, Rex Blodgett, Kun Gu, Victoria Holland, Greta Stahl, Kinnari Desai, Sven Linsmaier
Finally, thanks as well to Stela Lupushor for inviting me to chair the panel on Workestration, Anna A. Tavis, PhD for hosting us at NYU, and Annie Dean, Brydie Lear and Chris Butler for making it such a rich conversation.
Attendees at the Insight222 Peer Meeting for members of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, hosted by Workday, October 22-23, 2024
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HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
ERIC ANICICH AND DART LINDSLEY - Reimagining Work as a Product
If companies listen to employees the way they do customers, they can increase retention and engagement.
In their Harvard Business Review article, Eric Anicich and Dart Lindsley challenge the traditional approaches to employee experience by painting a vision where work is viewed as a product employers offer to employees. Drawing on Clayton Christensen’s the jobs to be done theory, they suggest that employees ‘hire’ their jobs to fulfil specific needs, much as customers choose products. This perspective shifts the focus from maximising productivity to something akin to customer satisfaction. The authors share examples from a myriad of companies including Asana, Eli Lilly, Shopify and Dropbox, explain how companies can better balance company needs with employee satisfaction (see FIG 1), and discuss the merits of splitting the manager role in two (see also ‘Managers Can’t Do It All’ by Lynda Gratton and Diane Gherson). Finally, the article examines four challenges of implementing the model: (1) Changing HR (“Work-as-a-product requires a new HR mindset”). (2) Balancing employee preferences and organisational needs. (3) Maintaining flexibility and fairness. (4) Aligning incentives.
FIG 1: Balancing company needs with employee satisfaction (Source: Anicich and Lindsley)
NICHOLAS BLOOM, JAMES LIANG, AND RUOBING HAN - One Company A/B Tested Hybrid Work. Here’s What They Found
With Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently announcing that Amazon is going back to five days in the office: “to further strengthen our culture and teams”, this article by Nick Bloom, James Liang, and Ruobing Han based on A/B testing at Trip.com into different work modes makes for very interesting reading. The experiment involved 1600 employees being split into two groups. The first group worked five days a week in the office, with the second working three days in the office and two days a week at home. Over a two-year period, the experiment found no differences between the two groups in productivity, performance, promotion, learning or innovation. However, the study found that the hybrid group experienced higher satisfaction and lower attrition rates compared with their colleagues who worked exclusively from the office (see FIG 2). This reduction in turnover saved millions of dollars in recruiting and training costs, thereby increasing profits for the company. As the article explains, organisations can learn several valuable lessons from this study to implement a successful hybrid work model: (1) Establishing rigorous performance management systems, (2) Coordinating team or company-level hybrid schedules, (3) Securing support from firm leadership, and (4) A/B test their own management practices to find what works best for them.
Our results showed that under a hybrid-work policy, Trip.com was able to generate millions of dollars of profits by reducing expensive attrition without any impact on performance, innovation, or productivity.
FIG 2: Source: Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance
MICHAEL ARENA AND PHILIP ARKCOLL - The collaboration mandate: Does returning to the office improve innovation?
What we need isn’t an office mandate—it’s a “collaboration mandate.” Shifting our focus from where we work to how we work could unlock the innovation we’re seeking.
In all the hullabaloo of return to office mandates, there’s still too much focus on where employees work rather than how they collaborate. As Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll write in their excellent article, dragging employees back into the office won’t magically spark innovation. Instead of an office mandate, they advocate for a “collaboration mandate”. The article explains how innovation is generated through three critical phases of collaboration: (1) Discovery (“the generation of new ideas and insights, often benefiting from the intentional bridging of connections and in-person interactions”), (2) Development (“transforming those ideas into viable solutions, where the focused team interactions of experimentation and rapid iteration are essential. It also requires an environment with minimal distraction for focused concentration.” – see FIG 3) and (3) Scaling (“the process of implementing solutions across the organization, which requires more deliberate interactions with key influencers to ensure widespread adoption and buy-in.”). The article examines the impact of remote and in-person on each stage, and provides guidance on practices to improve collaboration in each. For more, I recommend listening to Michael on a recent episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast with me: What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management.
FIG 3: High levels of focus, such as 4.4 hours daily versus a low focus level of 2.7 hours, significantly drive productivity in development (Source: Worklytics)
https://youtu.be/-giwBOuYwio
BCG - Five Must-Haves for Effective AI Upskilling
Embedding AI in daily tasks at all levels creates a network effect: the more people use and understand it, the more the entire organization gains in knowledge, innovation, and efficiency.
Upskilling its workforce on AI helps a company maximise its investments in the technology and equips it with a competitive edge. In a new study by BCG, Hean-Ho Loh, Vinciane Beauchene, Vladimir Lukic, and Rajiv Shenoy provide guidance on five actions to help achieve this: (1) Assess needs and measure outcomes (the article recommends using the Kirkpatrick method). (2) Prepare workers for change - individually, at the team level, and organisation-wide. (3) Introduce appropriate incentives to unlock employees’ willingness to learn (e.g. nudges). (4) Position the C-suite at the forefront of adoption and training initiatives. (5) Use AI tools and the network effect to upskill people on AI (see FIG 4).
FIG 4: AI learning and support tools fall into four categories (Source: BCG)
KAI HAHN | INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE LEADERS ALLIANCE - AI & The Future of Work
Within People Analytics’ transformation into a strategic business partner the advance of AI is shaping up as an accelerator if used to drive business outcomes
Kai Hahn presents the results of a comprehensive study by the Intelligent Enterprise Leaders Alliance on the state of AI adoption in HR and people analytics. The report features a stellar list of contributors including: Arianna Huffington, Dave Ulrich, Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Amit Mohindra, Nicole Lettich, Kalifa Oliver, Ph.D. and Alim A. Dhanji. Key findings include: (1) Talent Acquisition is at the forefront of embracing AI tools with 70% currently piloting/leveraging AI, followed by People Analytics and L&D with 65%. (2) Priorities for People Analytics in the next 6-12 months with AI are first and foremost automating HR operations. (3) The biggest barrier to adoption is resistance to change, ahead of skills gaps, challenges with data quality and security, privacy and trust, and ethical concerns and bias.
FIG 5: Where organisations are leveraging AI in HR (Source: IELA)
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
JAAP VELDKAMP - Positioning People Analytics into the HR Service Model: A Path to Sustainable Impact
Embedding People Analytics within the HR Service Model is essential for creating a lasting and meaningful impact.
In his thoughtful article, Jaap Veldkamp, Global Head of People Analytics and Organisational Effectiveness at ABN AMRO, provides guidance on how people analytics should be positioned within the broader HR service model. Jaap provides a simplified view of the HR operating model (see FIG 6), which has three components: (1) Identifying needs. (2) Prioritising needs. (3) Executing and evaluating strategies. He then describes how the key capabilities of ABN AMRO’s people analytics function (Dashboarding and reporting, Employee listening, Data science and research, Organisational effectiveness, and Consulting) flow through the HR service model. As Jaap highlights: “the overall aim is to ensure that the capabilities of the People Analytics team are part of every step in the HR Service Model.”
FIG 6: Simplified HR Service Model (Source: Jaap Veldkamp)
RICHARD ROSENOW - From Data to Strategy: The New Role of Workforce Systems Leaders in Transforming HR
Without a Workforce Systems Leader, these decisions fall to the CHRO, pulling them into day-to-day inter-functional debates when they should focus on the strategic vision
In Insight222’s recent study, Building the People Analytics Ecosystem, we identified three types of people analytics leader that are emerging as the people analytics operating model continues to evolve. One of these – the Portfolio Analytics leader – has similarities to a trend identified by Richard Rosenow in his new white paper for One Model. The findings are based on more than 40 HR teams hiring a Workforce Systems Leader combining people strategy, operations, technology, data and analytics (see FIG 7). In the paper, Richard covers: (1) Key challenges in people analytics – how the role of people analytics often extends far beyond their original role description. (2) Mastering the People Data Supply Chain – highlighting the essential steps to building a robust people analytics function. (3) The emergence of Workforce Systems Leaders. Read a preview in Richard’s LinkedIn post and download the full paper here.
FIG 7: The role of a Workforce Systems Leader (Source: One Model)
SCOTT ROGERS - People Analytics & HRBPs - Navigating the art of imperfect collaboration | ALDAR NIKOLAEV - People Analytics Recipes: Advancing Employee Turnover Story P.1 | RALF BUECHSENSCHUSS - Becoming a data-driven (HR) organization - Leveraging generative AI to democratize data and insights | PETER MEYLER – How much time do People Analytics teams spend on reporting vs. analytics? | PATRICK COOLEN – The Four Faces of People Analytics | YUYAN SUN - 5 Ways to Use AI in People Analytics Everyday
In each edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, I feature a collection of articles by current and recent people analytics leaders. These are intended to act as a spur and inspiration to the field. Six are highlighted in this month’s edition. (1) Having worked in both domains, Scott Rogers is well-qualified to explore the dynamics of the HRBP-People Analytics relationship. He presents a framework identifying the key focus areas for people analytics leaders (e.g. championing HR operational excellence) and HRBPs (e.g. engaging with and advocating for people analytics). (2) Aldar Nikolaev provides a practical guide on how to analyse and visualise employee turnover and conduct scenario planning (see FIG 8). (3) Ralf Buechsenschuss offers a practical guide – including videos – to showcase what is already possible when embedding generative AI into the flow of work in the context of people analytics. (4) Peter Meyler presents the findings of his survey, which finds that 48% of people analytics teams spend at least 75% of their time on data and reporting. (5) Patrick Coolen documents the four faces of people analytics practices: the strategist (see FIG 9), the gatekeeper, the specialist, and the designer. (6) Yuyan Sun breaks down five ways to use AI everyday in people analytics:
Don't just use AI as a tool. Use it as a thought partner.
FIG 8: Measuring employee turnover (Source: Aldar Nikolaev)
FIG 9: The Four Faces of People Analytics: The Strategist (Source: Patrick Coolen)
THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
MARC EFFRON - It’s (Still) the Mortar not the Bricks
Some CHROs are not willing to drive significant change in reducing headcount, upgrading the capabilities of their team or holding their HRLT accountable to “wire” the business properly.
Marc Effron and his team at The Talent Strategy Group cut through the hyperbole to analyse the state of the HR operating model, critique what the consulting firms (EY, Deloitte, Gartner, Mercer and McKinsey) propose and where they fit with the Ulrich Model, and offer guidance on how to structure, upskill and wire your HR operating mode for success. Highlights include Effron’s views that: (1) Dave Ulrich’s model is the reference standard for good HR operating models. (2) That despite statements to the contrary by the consulting firms advocating why the HR operations model needs to change, the world of work remains largely the same. (3) HRBP’s should be fewer in number, stronger in capabilities and deployed against major business units and/or geographies. (4) The future HR service centre will perform a far larger percentage of overall HR work and do at least 80% of this through technology. (5) Companies should create an ‘HR Wiring Team’ to assess where the HR wiring is either not fully developed or isn’t being followed. Effron defines wiring as “Wiring means the agreement among HR team members about how vital processes will flow – the steps, the accountabilities, the technology, etc.” A compulsory read for any chief people officer considering whether to revamp their HR operating model.
FIG 10: People Value Chain (Source: EY)
SHARI CHERNACK AND JONATHAN GORDIN | MERCER - 2024 Voice of the CHRO: Maximizing HR effectiveness in a changing landscape Article | Full Report
While much of the focus and headlines of Mercer’s 2024 Voice of the CHRO report, authored by Shari Chernack and Jonathan Gordin, is understandably on the challenges and opportunities associated with AI (see FIG 11), what really stands out for me is the section on maximising HR’s influence with the C-suite and board. The results demonstrate that HR is increasingly a strategic partner: 56% of CHROs meet with the board every week, 51% report higher levels of C-suite engagement than previous years, and 71% report high alignment on HR and people priorities. Data is increasingly key, with 76% of CHROs believing that using data to showcase HR’s impact on business performance will help drive further engagement with the C-suite and board. The report highlights six key actions for CHROs: (1) Accelerate AI for HR readiness. (2) Drive AI adoption across the enterprise. (3) Strengthen C-suite relationships and alignment. (4) Understand and plan to bolster key skills. (5) Don’t sleep on employee experience. (6) Build your HR team for the future.
Build your HR team for the future. Reshape and develop your team to reflect the cross pressures of increasingly complex demands on HR, including an anticipated need for greater technology and analytical expertise on the team, and the lean HR team size in most organizations.
FIG 11: AI’s anticipated impact (Source: Mercer)
MARK WHITTLE, LIANA PASSANTINO AND MAGGIE SCHROEDER-O’NEAL | GARTNER - Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025
Leader and manager development remains the No. 1 priority in 2025 for HR leaders for the third consecutive year, according to Gartner, with organisational culture, strategic workforce planning, change management and HR technology rounding off the top five (see FIG 12). The report (authors: Mark Whittle, Liana Passantino, PhD, and Maggie Schroeder-O’Neal) provides detailed analysis on each of the top five priorities, defining the problem statement and imperative for each along with a case study. My eyes were drawn to the section on Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) and the rather stark finding that only 15% of organisations currently practice SWP. Guidance is provided on expanding the scope and complexity of SWP through small phases and a powerful case study is provided on Merck (kudos Ruben Groen Alexis Saussinan) (see FIG 13):
Instead of striving for perfection and getting stuck gathering every piece of information available, Merck’s SWP team reduces the complexity of SWP by narrowing their team’s focus to solving a problem, enabling them to take action and drive impact.
FIG 12: Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025 (Source: Gartner)
FIG 13: How Merck prioritizes SWP needs by relevance and actionability (Source: Gartner)
ROB BRINER | CORPORATE RESEARCH FORUM - Driving Organisational Performance: HR’s Critical Role
HR functions can and should do more to contribute to organisational performance. But, in order to do this, they need to be able to identify for themselves and in their context what specifically they need to do to help the business meet its strategic objectives.
The purpose of this excellent new report, authored by Rob Briner for the Corporate Research Forum (CRF), is to provide a framework for HR functions to more effectively drive performance – within their own organisational context. There’s lots to unpack in the report, but highlights include: (1) The evaluation of six ways of thinking about how HR impacts organisational performance (see FIG 14). (2) Key questions HR should be able to answer about the business, its strategic objectives, and how HR can help achieve these objectives. (3) Guidance on joining the causal dots between HR practices and strategic objectives. (4) A self-assessment for HR leaders to assess how well their own function contributes to organisational performance. (5) An eight-step process model of how HR can drive organisational performance. For more from Rob Briner, I recommend listening to his conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: What is Evidence Based HR and Why is it Important?
FIG 14: Perspectives of how HR contributes to organisational performance and likely value (Source: CRF, Rob Briner)
PwC - Saratoga Annual Benchmarking Report 2024
As the introduction to this report highlights, PwC Saratoga has over 30,000 benchmarks for 1000+ metrics covering a wide variety of HR and workforce topics. This annual report includes benchmarks for 400 organisations across 20 industries including those related to employee attrition, talent attraction, and diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as benchmarks relating to HR and people analytics FTE ratios (see FIG 15 for FTE ratios for business partners and people analytics). Similar to the annual People Analytics Trends study we publish at Insight222, Saratoga finds that people analytics is showing rapid growth in many industries including technology, financial services and manufacturing/engineering.
There is an increasing focus on people analytics as organizations invest deeper into digital capabilities and as the importance of data is elevated across industries.
FIG 15: HR Business Partners and People Analytics FTE ratios 2022 and 2023 (Source: PwC Saratoga)
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
JAEJIN LEE - Skill-based Transformation: “Don't Start with Skills, Start with Work!”
Jaejin Lee takes an incredibly thoughtful deep-dive on the shift towards a skills-based organisation. He analyses a number of factors driving this shift including why the consensus is shifting towards skills, the technology changes driving the movement, and the need to start with the work while viewing the transformation through an employee-centric lens. Jaejin also shares two examples from his consulting work of skills-based network analysis (see FIG 16 for example that clusters the company’s employees' skills based on their similar attributes). Finally, Jaejin shares resources from experts including John Boudreau, Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, and Tanuj Kapilashrami, and rounds proceedings off by providing a checklist for companies to conduct a self-diagnosis with regards to skills (see FIG 17). A tour de force.
FIG 16: Using network analysis to group skills with similar attributes into categories (Source: Jaejin Lee.
FIG 17: Skills-based organisational diagnostic self-checklist (Source; Jaejin Lee)
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
ETHAN BURRIS, BENJAMIN THOMAS, KETAKI SODHI, AND DAWN KLINGHOFFER - Turn Employee Feedback into Action
Ultimately, success (in employee listening) lies in empowering leaders to translate insights into concrete actions, effectively communicating progress, and fostering a continual feedback loop that values and respects the diverse voices within the organization.
"To manage the employee experience, leaders must deeply understand employees’ perceptions, feelings, and desires and respond thoughtfully. This is particularly crucial when immense resources are invested in gathering employee feedback through pulse surveys, town halls, and data scraping from internal communications. But leaders are often overwhelmed by the data and struggle to translate it into actionable insights." In their Harvard Business Review article, Ethan Burris, Benjamin Thomas, Ph. D, SHRM-CP, Ketaki Sodhi, PhD, and Dawn Klinghoffer, share insights from interviews with more than two dozen companies to outline seven challenges and demonstrate how leading places to work have built an integrated process for assembling and understanding employee input and translating it into action. The seven challenges are: (1) Making sense of all that data. (2) Making sure employees feel heard. (3) Identifying the actual underlying problems. (4) Protecting employee privacy. (5) Navigating conflicting views. (6) Not burying bad news. (7) Providing meaningful follow-up.
STEPHANIE DENINO - Moving Beyond Work as a Black Box: Uncovering & Addressing the Hidden Friction
Work is more than just a black box of outputs—it’s a complex system with hidden friction that we often overlook. In her thoughtful article, Stephanie Denino, Managing Director at TI PEOPLE, examines the consequences of treating work like a black box. She breaks down the core components that make up work: “(1) a worker that is (2) trying to do something (key activities or moments of their work experience), in which (3) they interact with things like technology, people, and processes” (see FIG 18). Stephanie identifies that by capturing data on how work unfolds from the worker’s perspective, leaders can better identify and reduce work friction, ensuring productivity gains and enhancing employee satisfaction. The article presents strategies to move beyond surface-level metrics and focus on the intricate moments of work that truly drive business outcomes.
FIG 18: Work can be broken down into three components (Source: Stephanie Denino)
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING
MCKINSEY - Going all in: Why employee ‘will’ can make or break transformations
For a company undergoing transformation, cultivating employee “will” to change the way it operates is critical for success.
Writing for McKinsey, Dominic Skerritt, John Parsons, Mary Lass Stewart, Matthew Schrimper, and Nicolette Rainone, Ph.D. highlight the people element of successful transformations. They set out a three step-process (see FIG 19): Elevate, empower, energize to cultivate employees’ will to drive transformation. (1) Elevate a strong core of employees across all levels to lead the transformation. (2) Empower a broad coalition of change leaders to embody new ways of thinking and working. (3) Energize all employees to transform.
FIG 19: Organisations can galvanise a workforce’s will to transform with three actions (Source: McKinsey)
CONSTANCE NOONAN HADLEY AND SARAH L. WRIGHT – We’re Still Lonely at Work
In recent years, the huge impact that work loneliness is having on healthcare costs, absenteeism, and turnover has received widespread attention. Despite growing awareness, the problem remains, with one in five employees worldwide feeling lonely at work. In their article for Harvard Business Review, Connie Noonan Hadley and Sarah Wright debunk myths about work loneliness, such as the belief that in-person work or team assignments can solve the issue. They provide guidance on seven actions companies can take to put loneliness on the agenda: (1) Measure loneliness (see FIG 20); (2) Design slack into the workflow; (3) Create a culture of connections; (4) Build socialising into the rhythm of work; (5) Keep social activities simple; (6) Maximise each work mode for connection; (7) Actively recruit participants.
FIG 20: A tool for measuring work loneliness (Source: Constance Noonan Hadley and Sarah L. Wright)
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
McKINSEY AND LEANIN.ORG – Women in the Workplace: The 10th Anniversary Report
Organizational change is a marathon, not a sprint, and making meaningful strides for women requires both hope and resilience. When leaders create a compelling vision of what’s possible, workplaces are better equipped to drive and sustain progress.
Despite progress over the past decade, parity for all women in the workspace is almost 50 years away according to the 10th Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey and Leanin.Org. At the current trajectory, it will take 22 years for white women to achieve leadership parity—and more than twice as long for women of colour (see FIG 21). As ever, the report is an absorbing read with part 4, A Data-Driven Approach to Solutions, being required reading for people analytics professionals. In terms of implementing consistent processes, the report recommends four key building blocks: (1) making sure employees understand why a new practice is important; (2) teaching employees the skills they need to do their part; (3) putting mechanisms in place to support the practice; and (4) ensuring leaders role model the right behaviours. Finally, the report also provides guidance on tackling three areas that are especially important for advancing women and fostering inclusion: (1) De-biasing hiring and promotion (see FIG 22); (2) Inspiring and equipping employees to curb bias and practice allyship; and (3) Unlocking the power of managers to influence careers and team culture. Kudos to the authors: Alexis Krivkovich, Emily Field, Lareina Yee, and Megan McConnell, with Hannah Smith.
FIG 21: It will take nearly 50 years to achieve gender parity for all women (Source: McKinsey)
FIG 22: Research based tips for making hiring and performance reviews fairer (Source: McKinsey)
HR TECH VOICES
Much of the innovation in the field continues to be driven by the vendor community, and I’ve picked out a few resources from October that I recommend readers delve into:
LOUJAINA ABDELWAHED, LISA K. SIMON, TOBY CULSHAW, AND REMY GLAISNER - Stuck in Neutral: Why Employees are Staying Put – Loujaina Abdelwahed, PhD, Lisa K. Simon, Toby Culshaw, and Remy Glaisner highlight Revelio Labs data finding that employee attrition rates are at their lowest in a decade. They explore the reasons for this and outline the conditions that would return attrition rates to their long-term average e.g. an increase in demand (15% increase in job postings), combined with 10% higher salaries and a tighter labour market (job postings taking 10% longer to fill).
FIG 23: The decline in attrition in 2024 is unexplained by common factors (Source: Revelio Labs)
DIDIER ELZINGA AND AMY LAVOIE - Research: The Long-Term Costs of Layoffs – Didier Elzinga and Amy Lavoie share the findings of a study by Culture Amp to understand the impact of company layoffs on employee engagement. These include: (1) After layoffs, companies see a significant drop in employee experience in many key areas. (2) High employee engagement prior to layoffs won’t protect you from the negative impact of doing layoffs. (3) Recovery takes time (see FIG 24).
FIG 24: Change in favourability from pre-layoff (Source: Culture Amp)
FRANCISCO MARIN - The Power of Collaborative Freedom: Aligning Interests, Collaborators, and Schedules – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions explains how collaborative freedom, which he sees as the underlying principle of a network-first future of work, discusses how the key facets of collaborative freedom – from increased autonomy and cross-functional cooperation to enhanced transparency - contribute to creating a more effective, agile, and rewarding work environment, “where employees are motivated not just by individual success but by the shared goals and achievements of the organization.”
VISIER - Visier's Top 50 HR Leaders To Watch in 2025 – It’s a nice move (and a clever marketing one!) by Visier Inc. to highlight a group of their data-driven innovator clients. It’s certainly good to see the likes of Adam McKinnon, PhD., Angela LE MATHON, Jeremy Shapiro, Katherine Ward, Doug Shagam, Poonam Sirigidi, Julien Legret, Annalyn Jacob, Ph.D., Erik Otteson, Shannon Rutledge, Kai Wehmeyer, Jill Larsen, Ian Bailie, Alan Susi, and Scott Judd get some well-deserved recognition.
PODCASTS OF THE MONTH
In another month of high-quality podcasts, I’ve selected six gems for your aural pleasure: (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below):
MARK PRICE AND BRUCE DAISLEY - Can happy workers improve your company results? – Mark Price, former CEO at Waitrose, joins Bruce Daisley on the consistently excellent Eat Sleep Work Repeat to discuss the business benefits of investing in happy employees. The episode features a powerful example of how after acquiring Somerfield, and focusing on motivating the inherited workforce, Mark was able to reduce employee turnover from 75% to 17% within months.
ETHAN BERNSTEIN AND MICHAEL HORN - The Real Reasons Employees Quit — and How to Retain Them – Ethan Bernstein and Michael Horn join Alison Beard on HBR IdeaCast to share their research on employee turnover, which points to a host of push and pull forces that cause workers to jump ship, and also outlines better retention strategies.
NICK LYNN - “Small Changes Can Add Up To Something Big” – Culture, Change Management and the Employee Experience – Nick Lynn joins Mike Petrusky on the Workplace Innovator podcast to discuss the current world of the workplace and how leaders can build a culture of trust and higher engagement
BRYAN HANCOCK AND EMILY FIELD - Will generative AI hurt middle managers—or help them? – In an episode of The McKinsey Podcast, together with host Lucia Rahilly, Emily Field and Bryan Hancock revisit their book, Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work, one year on to share how middle managers can use gen AI to support their teams more effectively—and update their image while they’re at it.
KELLY MONAHAN - What trends will have the most impact on the future of work? – Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. joins host JP Elliott, PhD on The Future of Work Podcast to discuss the key trends that are impacting the future of work including why she believes that the skills-based organisation movement is stuck in the theory phase and the challenges it faces in implementation.
GREG PRYOR - Why Social Network Perspective Matters – Greg Pryor joins Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson on Workplace Stories to share how social capital—our connections and relationships—drives business outcomes, sparks innovation, and boosts career growth. Listen to Greg, and then tune in to his sparring partner, Michael Arena, on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
NICKLE LAMOREAUX - How IBM Uses AI to Transform HR
In celebration of IBM's CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux recently being recognised as HR Executive of the Year, this month's Video of the Month features Nickle in discussion with me earlier this year on the Digital HR Leaders podcast where she shares how IBM is pioneering the use of AI in HR, and how this is revolutionising its approach to talent management, employee engagement, and predictive analytics.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
YUVAL NOAH HARARI - Nexus
While I was on my travels at People Analytics World in New York and then Unleash World in Paris, at least ten people I respect told me that I simply had to read Nexus, the new book by Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari. So, I ordered it in time to take with me to the US the week after Unleash – and they were right. It’s brilliant. It’s basically the story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world. With the opportunity – and threat of AI – this is a book everyone in our field should read. Rory Stewart describes Nexus as: “Bold, original, erudite, provocative and entrancing,” and I couldn’t agree more.
RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH
ALEXIS FINK AND COLE NAPPER - The World of HR Is Changing Rapidly: I-O Psychology Can Help – In their new paper for Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), Alexis Fink and Cole Napper, people analytics leaders at Meta and FedEx respectively, break down the role of the industrial-organisational (IO) psychologist, and how they are helping organisations to manage the transformation being driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and evolving cultural landscapes. Insight222 ’s research on Leading Companies in People Analytics, identified I/O psychology as one of three key skills these companies are focused on hiring, developing and retaining to drive success (along with data scientists, and consultants), so this paper is an important read for chief people officers looking to advance their people analytics function.
FROM MY DESK
October saw the final episode of Series 41 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by Visier Inc. (thanks Adedamola Adeleke), and the first three episodes of Series 42, sponsored by Workday (thanks Sophie Barnes and Jennifer Neumann) as well as a number of articles penned by yours truly.
Key Learnings from Unleash World 2024 – My key learnings from the main stage at the recent Unleash World show in Paris - together with the slides I used to kick off the event.
Key Learnings from Insight222 Global Executive Retreat 2024 Insights: Shaping the Future of People Analytics – My key learnings from the recent 7th Annual Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, which features learnings from speakers including: Janine Vos , Prasad Setty, and Erin Meyer.
How can workforce analytics enhance HR decision-making and drive business success? – A round-up of Series 41 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, with insights from episodes featuring: Diane Gherson, Lynda Gratton, Angela LE MATHON, Keith Bigelow, Tanuj Kapilashrami and Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA.
Three ways to Upskill HR in Data Literacy – The team at Workday shared a summary of insights from my recent speech at Rising on how to improve the data literacy of HR professionals.
SHARON TAYLOR AND JACO VAN VUUREN - Digitising HR for 55,000 Employees: Lessons from Standard Bank – Sharon Taylor, Chief People and Culture Officer, and Jaco Van Vuuren, Chief Operating Officer for Human Capital, join me to share the HR transformation journey at Standard Bank.
MICHAEL FRACCARO - How Mastercard is Using AI to Drive Employee Success and Leadership Growth – Michael Fraccaro , Chief People Officer at Mastercard, shares how the company is using AI across HR, building a skills-based organisation, and how their Culture Health Index helps shape discussion and decisions with the Board.
MICHAEL ARENA - What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management – Michael Arena joins me to discuss what the latest research on network analysis teaches us about hybrid working, team sizes, and the importance of social capital.
JASON SCHECKNER - How Talent Orchestration Connects AI Investments to Real Business Results – Jason Scheckner of HiredScore by Workday joins me to discuss how talent orchestration is the key to unlocking AI’s full potential and transforming HR operations into a strategic powerhouse.
LOOKING FOR A NEW ROLE IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS OR HR TECH?
I’d like to highlight once again the wonderful resource created by Richard Rosenow and the One Model team of open roles in people analytics and HR technology, which now numbers close to 500 roles – and has now been developed into a LinkedIn newsletter too.
THANK YOU
Nick Broughton for including me in his list of remote work leaders to follow.
Thomas Kohler for including the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Michael Fraccaro in his HR Resources of the Week.
Thinkers360 for including me in their Top Voices EMEA 2024.
Elaine Parr for sharing the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Nickle LaMoreaux on how IBM is pioneering the use of AI in HR.
Olimpiusz Papiez for his thoughtful learnings about the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Jason Scheckner.
Sven Hultin for publishing his analysis of Insight222's recent research on the People Analytics Operating Model: Democratizing workforce insight in a relevant context fuels adaption towards future relevance.
Stela Lupushor for inviting me to moderate a panel at the recent New York Strategic HR Analytics MeetUp on Workestration and Neeru Monga (here), Tony Ashton (here), Ekta Lall Mittal (here), Anna A. Tavis, PhD (here) and Olivia Li (here) for their LinkedIn posts sharing some of the key learnings and pictures from the event.
Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who either shared the September edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and/or posted about my sessions at Unleash, People Analytics World, and Workday Rising. It's much appreciated: Craig Forman, Zornitza Iankova, SPHR, Brandon Merritt Johnson, Hrvoje Bulat, Rebecca Hone, Emma Mercer (Assoc CIPD, MLPI), Dr. Max Muge Bakkaloglu, Kerron Ramganesh, Kristina Schoemmel, Perri Ma, Justin Shemeley, Kelly Satterfield, Luis Maria Cravino, Zina Al Taie, MBA, Joachim Rotzinger, Tobias W. Goers ツ, Anna Gullstrand, Ian Bailie, John Guy, Ouarda Guergour, Markus Graf, Sydney Dolanch, Noam Mordechay, Dorothy Dalton, Victoria Holdsworth, Nima Sherpa Green, ✅ Sarah E. Danzl Nirit Cohen ?, Andrew Pitts, Pierre Dejonghe, Jane Bech, MA-OP, CODP, Shannon Peterson, Nicole Davis, Davina Erasmus, Blaine Ames, David Balls (FCIPD), Dan George, Amardeep Singh, MBA, Yotam Ainom, Roshaunda Green, MBA, CDSP, Phenom Certified Recruiter, Henrik Håkansson, Kouros Behzad, Marijana Brasiello, MHRM, Catriona Lindsay, Adam Tombor (Wojciechowski), María Esther Sánchez, Silvia Schleiffer-Gouveia, Rajarshee Mukherjee, Volker Jacobs, Laszlo Bock, Daniel Farrell, Kevin Legel, Aravind Warrier, Lewis Garrad, Francisca Solano Beneitez, Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez, Dr. Jeeta Sarkar, Jorge Arevalo, Andreea Lungulescu, Maria Alice Jovinski, Philip Arkcoll, Corine Boon, Pietro Mazzoleni, Dave Millner, Bob Pulver, Wayne Tarken, David McLean, Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD), Aurélie Crégut, David van Lochem, Vivek Ojha, Hanadi El Sayyed, Phil Kirschner, David Hodges, Jean-Francois Riand, Malgorzata Langlois, Shujaat Ahmad, Graham Tollit, Sebastian Kolberg, Phil Inskip, Sebastian Knepper, Caitie Jacobson, Asaf Jackoby, Melissa Hopper Fritz, Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. Paul Daley, Stephen Hickey, Sarajit Poddar, Søren Kold, Jacob Nielsen, Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga, Manisha Singh, Monalisa Routray, Courtney McMahon, Irada Sadykhova, Geetanjali Gamel, Dave Fineman, Megan Buttita, MLIS, Mariana Hebborn PhD, Rob Kok, Keran Dhillon, Alex Browne, Chris Long, Pedro Pereira, Gal Mozes, PhD, Aritra Majumdar, Mia Norgren, Matthew Fleisher, PhD, Matt Elk, Christina Bui, Agnes Garaba, Laurent Reich, Jeff Wellstead, Danielle Bushen, Nick Hudgell, Jordan Hartley, John Gunawan, Casey G. Brower, PMP, Serena H. Huang, Ph.D., Bo Vialle-Derksen, Trish Uhl, PMP ??, Ken Clar, Isabel Naidoo, Mariami Lolashvili, Sophia Huang, Ed.D., Philippa Penfold, Sonia Mooney, Ian Grant FCIPD, Dr. Peter Schulz-Rittich, Irene Wong, Tim Peffers, Marcela Mury, Andrés García Ayala, Giovanna Constant, John Golden, Ph.D. Tanguy Dulac
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 100 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
MEET ME AT THESE EVENTS
I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2024 and early 2025:
November 19-20 - Insight222 European Peer Meeting (hosted by Merck in Darmstadt, Germany) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
December 5 - Visier Outsmart Local - Building Your People Data Strategy, London
December 10-12 - Workday Rising EMEA, Amsterdam
February 26-27 - People Analytics World, Zürich
April 29-30 - People Analytics World, London
More events will be added as they are confirmed.
主要作者和贡献者:
David Green - Insight222的管理合伙人,专注于HR数据分析和未来工作趋势。
Eric Anicich 和 Dart Lindsley - 探讨“将工作视为产品”的方法。
Nicholas Bloom, James Liang, Ruobing Han - 基于Trip.com的混合办公A/B测试研究。
Michael Arena 和 Philip Arkcoll - 关于协作的重要性,倡导“协作要求”而非“办公要求”。
Hean-Ho Loh, Vinciane Beauchene, Vladimir Lukic, Rajiv Shenoy - 来自波士顿咨询公司(BCG),探讨AI技能提升的关键因素。
Kai Hahn - 智能企业领袖联盟的报告撰写者,探讨AI在HR中的应用。
Jaap Veldkamp - ABN AMRO的全球HR数据分析负责人。
Richard Rosenow - Insight222的一份研究报告撰写者,讨论HR系统的演变。
Scott Rogers, Aldar Nikolaev, Ralf Buechsenschuss, Peter Meyler, Patrick Coolen, Yuyan Sun - 各自讨论了HR数据分析在不同领域的应用。
Marc Effron - The Talent Strategy Group创始人,专注于HR运营模式。
Shari Chernack 和 Jonathan Gordin - Mercer的CHRO报告作者,探讨HR的战略角色。
Mark Whittle, Liana Passantino, Maggie Schroeder-O’Neal - 来自Gartner,讨论2025年HR的五大优先事项。
Rob Briner - Corporate Research Forum的作者,提供了HR推动组织绩效的框架。
Jaejin Lee - 探讨技能导向的组织转型。
Ethan Burris, Benjamin Thomas, Ketaki Sodhi, Dawn Klinghoffer - 在Harvard Business Review中讨论如何将员工反馈转化为行动。
Stephanie Denino - TI People的总监,讨论工作中隐藏摩擦的影响。
Dominic Skerritt, John Parsons, Mary Lass Stewart, Matthew Schrimper, Nicolette Rainone - McKinsey作者,探讨组织变革中的员工意愿。
Constance Noonan Hadley 和 Sarah L. Wright - 研究工作中的孤独感。
Alexis Krivkovich, Emily Field, Lareina Yee, Megan McConnell, Hannah Smith - 来自McKinsey和LeanIn.Org的性别平等报告的作者。
Loujaina Abdelwahed, Lisa K. Simon, Toby Culshaw, Remy Glaisner - Revelio Labs的数据分析师,研究员工流动率。
Didier Elzinga 和 Amy Lavoie - Culture Amp的研究人员,探讨裁员的长期影响。
Francisco Marin - Cognitive Talent Solutions的代表,关于协作自由的重要性。
Adam McKinnon, Angela LE MATHON, Jeremy Shapiro, Katherine Ward, Doug Shagam, Poonam Sirigidi, Julien Legret, Annalyn Jacob, Erik Otteson, Shannon Rutledge, Kai Wehmeyer, Jill Larsen, Ian Bailie, Alan Susi, Scott Judd - Visier公司列出的2025年HR领导者。
Mark Price 和 Bruce Daisley - 在Eat Sleep Work Repeat上探讨员工幸福感的影响。
Ethan Bernstein 和 Michael Horn - HBR IdeaCast上的嘉宾,讨论员工流失的原因。
Nick Lynn - Workplace Innovator的嘉宾,讨论文化和员工体验。
Bryan Hancock 和 Emily Field - 在McKinsey Podcast上讨论生成式AI对中层管理的影响。
Kelly Monahan - The Future of Work Podcast的嘉宾,讨论未来工作的关键趋势。
Greg Pryor - Workplace Stories的嘉宾,讨论社交资本的影响。
Nickle LaMoreaux - IBM的CHRO,讨论AI在HR中的应用(视频)。
Yuval Noah Harari - 其新书《Nexus》被推荐阅读,探讨信息网络对世界的影响。
Alexis Fink 和 Cole Napper - I-O心理学家,探讨心理学在HR转型中的作用。
Employee Experience
2024年11月03日
Employee Experience
The best HR & People Analytics articles of September 2024
September has been a phenomenal month. Indeed, in the ten years I’ve been writing the Data Driven HR Monthly, I can’t recall a month when there has been so much insightful content to choose from. I believe this is indicative of the journey HR is on from its traditional role as a support function to becoming a true strategic partner to the CEO and the board. As Janine Vos, Managing Board Member and CHRO at Rabobank, highlighted this past week at the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, people analytics has an important role to play in elevating the HR function and enabling it to successfully navigate this transition:
People Analytics helps give the chief human resources officer credibility (with the executive team and board).
This edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly is sponsored by our friends at Worklytics
A New Way to Approach Manager Effectiveness
If you’re using eSat scores to evaluate Manager Effectiveness, you’re moving too slowly.
eSat scores are a lagging indicator of how it’s going. And in today’s distributed work environment, you can’t afford to wait.
Instead, use ONA-powered outcome driver analysisto identify what your best managers are doing differently.
You might measure behaviours like:
Manager Cross-Department Connectivity
Co-Attendance in Directs’ Meetings
Manager-Driven Disruptions (Slack DMs)
Curious to see what that looks like in practice? Find out how your managers stack up.
To sponsor an edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, and share your brand with more than 135,000 subscribers, send an email to dgreen@zandel.org.
The Changing Role of the People Analytics Executive
My personal highlight of September was the 7th annual Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, which took place from September 24 to 26 at the Duin en Kruidberg for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®. I’ll share more about the Retreat in a separate blog in a few days time, but for now I'll highlight this year’s theme: The Changing Role of the People Analytics Executive, and the stellar cast of inspirational speakers:
Janine Vos discussed the strategic influence of the CHRO and the close partnership she has at Rabobank with the people data and innovation team led by Marc Jansen.
Prasad Setty shared insights from his 14 years leading people analytics at Google as well as painting a vision of the future of people analytics in the age of generative AI.
Kevin Friesen, Neora Myrow PhD, and Nancy Duarte delivered an interactive workshop on influencing through data storytelling.
Erin Meyer ended proceedings with a tour de force masterclass on leading across cultures I global organisations.
The Retreat is one of the services included as part of the Insight222 People Analytics Program. If you are a people analytics leader and would like to find out more, you can contact the team here.
Attendees at the Insight222 Global Executive Retreat 2024, Duin en Kruidberg, Amsterdam
September and October World Tour
As well as the Retreat, I’m speaking at and attending a number of events in October. This week, I’m in New York, moderating a panel on Workestration at the New York Strategic HR Analytics Meetup (Sept 30), and chairing People Analytics World (Oct 2 and 3). The next stop after that will be Paris, where I’ll once again have the privilege of hosting the main stage at UNLEASH World (Oct 16 and 17) - thanks to Marc Coleman and the team. Then it’s back to the US for the North America Peer Meeting for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®, which will be hosted by Phil Willburn and his team at Workday in Pleasanton (Oct 22 and 23). I hope to see some of you at one of these events. Thanks too to Marcus Downing for hosting me at the recent Mercer event in London where I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA (see here), and Jennifer Neumann for inviting me to speak at Workday Rising in Las Vegas (see here), where it was great to meet up with the likes of Priyanka Mehrotra, Richard Rosenow, and Cory Edmonds.
Speaking onstage at Workday Rising, Las Vegas, 2024
Register for an Insight222 webinar on October 10: Building the People Analytics Operating Model
Join me and the Insight222 team on October 10 when we’ll be hosting a webinar on the recently published research on. You can register for the webinar here.
Share the love!
Enjoy reading the collection of resources for September 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 August’s compendium.
If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders podcast), the Insight222 newsletter: Digital HR Leaders newsletter is published every Tuesday – subscribe here.
HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
ANDY JASSY - Message from CEO Andy Jassy: Strengthening our culture and teams | JOSE MARIA BARRERO, NICHOLAS BLOOM, SHELBY BUCKMAN, AND STEVEN J. DAVIS - The Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes – September 2024 | ANNIE DEAN – Lessons Learned: 1,000 Days of Distributed at Atlassian
This special on hybrid work was inspired by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s announcement that Amazon is going back to five days in the office: “to further strengthen our culture and teams.” This comes hot on the heels of KPMG’s CEO Outlook Survey, which finds that CEOs are hardening their stance on returning to pre-pandemic ways of working, with 83 percent expecting a full return to the office within the next three years. Forensic analysis by Bruce Daisley (here), Phil Kirschner(here) and Nick Bloom (here) examines Amazon’s move and the validity of KPMG’s claim. This confirms that (1) Amazon is an outlier. (2) The findings by KPMG contradict the WFH Research that Nick is publishing every month, which shows working from home has remained flat since early 2023 and has stabilised at around 25% (see FIG 1). As Bloom suggest “shock sells,” which explains the extent of the media coverage about Amazon and the KPMG survey. To balance things out, I recommend reading about Dropbox’s Virtual First model (which chief people officer, Melanie Rosenwasser explains has “led to clear benefits, including higher employee engagement and retention.”). I also recommend reading a new report authored by Annie Dean summarising the findings from the first 1,000 days of Atlassian’s Team Anywhere approach to distributed work. As Rabobank’s CHRO Janine Vos urged in her session at Insight222’s Global Executive Retreat this week, the role of HR and People Analytics teams is to provide data that steers executive decision making around hybrid and return to office. It would be interesting to learn what data (if any) was used to inform Amazon’s decision to return to the office five days a week.
FIG 1: WFH is stable at c35% of days (Source: WFH Research)
BCG HENDERSON INSTITUTE - GenAI Doesn’t Just Increase Productivity. It Expands Capabilities
The ability to rapidly take on new types of work with GenAI - particularly tasks that traditionally require niche skills that are harder to find, such as data science - can be a game-changer for individuals and companies alike.
The BCG Henderson Institute follow-up their first landmark study on GAI in the workplace (see: How People Can Create - and Destroy - Value with Generative AI). The sophomore experiment tests how workers can use GenAI to complete tasks that are beyond their current capabilities. The findings from the study are illuminating: (1) Participants were able to instantly expand their aptitude for new data-science tasks, even when they had no prior experience in coding or statistics. (2) Those with moderate coding experience performed better on all three tasks, even when coding was not involved. This suggests that an engineering mindset - which coding helps develop - could be a key success factor for workers adapting to GenAI tools. The article also provides guidance on: When and how to pair humans with GenAI (see FIG 2), as well as visualising and detailing the workforce change-management implications (see FIG 3). (Authors: Daniel Sack, Lisa Krayer, PhD, Emma Wiles, Mohamed Abbadi, Urvi A., Ryan Kennedy, Cristián Arnolds, and François Candelon).
FIG 2: When and How to Pair Humans and GenAI (Source: BCG Henderson Institute)
FIG 3: Workforce and Change-Management Implications (Source: BCG Henderson Institute)
GARTNER - Hype Cycle for the Future of Work, 2024
Only 14% of organizations have reached the level of maturity where they are able to empower workers to embrace new ways of working.
Gartner’s inaugural Hype Cycle for the Future of Work (see FIG 4) highlights the core technologies set to transform how work is done by augmenting and enhancing human capabilities with intelligent technology. Five standouts from the analysis are: (1) Workers want a more personalised experience, and are building it for themselves. (2) CEOs are captivated by AI and are investing in new strategies. (3) Low digital workplace maturity is a barrier to improving worker productivity and time to competency. (4) Data Storytelling and Generative AI (already!) have entered the Trough of Disillusionment. (5) Hybrid Work and Self-Service Analytics are on the Slope of Enlightenment. The article also contains some illuminating analysis on a number of the ‘on the rise’ innovations including Exoskeletons (Tori Paulman), Cyberpsychology (Cynthia P.), Digital Twin of the Employee (Helen Poitevin) and Workforce Nudgetech (Rania Stewart). Thanks to Phil Kirschner for alerting me to this work in his excellent LinkedIn post on the study, which linked to an insightful article Phil co-authored with Natasha Ouslis, PhD and Dr. Julia Sperling-Magro on applying behavioural science and nudging to the workplace.
FIG 4: Hype Cycle for the Future of Work, 2024 (Source: Gartner)
NICKY DRIES, JOOST LUYCKX, AND PHILIP ROGIERS - What 570 Experts Predict the Future of Work Will Look Like
While it’s impossible to know exactly what the future of work will look like, it doesn’t stop (lots of!) people from having opinions. In their study, Nicky Dries, Joost Luyckx, and Philip Rogiers from KU Leuven, asked 570 experts to rank the likelihood of predictions made by technologists, economists and journalists. They landed on the sequence of events laid out in FIG 5, which get increasingly concerning and dystopian by the decade. Not one for the faint hearted!
FIG 5: A timeline of future of work predictions (Source: Dries et al)
MCKINSEY - Charting a path to the data- and AI-driven enterprise of 2030
Generative AI has increased the focus on data, putting pressure on companies to make substantive shifts to build a truly data-based organization.
These are the opening words to a recent article by McKinsey’s Dr. Asin Tavakoli, Holger Harreis, Kayvaun Rowshankish, and Michael Bogobowicz, which provides guidance on seven essential priorities for leaders to focus on to realise the data-driven enterprise of 2030. They argue that the key enabler to realising the potential of GenAI is data: “Without access to good and relevant data, this new world of possibilities and value will remain out of reach.” Three of the seven priorities outlined are (1) Data Leadership (“Companies need to find leaders skilled in governance and compliance, engineering and architecture, and business value"). (2) Talent (see FIG 6), and (3) Digital Trust.
FIG 6: New skills to manage GenAI will likely lead to both expanded and new data roles (Source: McKinsey)
PwC - 2024 Workforce Radar Report Executive Summary | Full Paper
The workforce of today won’t become the workforce of tomorrow unless businesses act right now.
But how? That’s the exam question that PwC’s inaugural Workforce Radar study attempts to answer across an insightful and thought-provoking report of 48 pages. The research identifies five workforce signals (see FIG 7) that business leaders and chief people officers can use to deliver enterprise-wide transformation. (1) Taking both a talent magnet and talent factory approach (e.g. levers such as meaningful work, skill-building, and culture). (2) Devising a location strategy that appreciates over time. (3) The intelligent enterprise – through HR harnessing and taking the lead on GenAI (see FIG 8). (4) Empowering transformation with a workforce balance sheet. (5) Investing in building transformative leadership. Kudos to the authors: Anthony Abbatiello, Julia Lamm, Reid Carpenter, Craig O'Donnell, and Christopher Hannegan.
FIG 7: Five Workforce Radar Signals (Source: PwC)
FIG 8: Emerging areas for Leading Digital HR Leaders to lean-in (Source: PwC)
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
NAOMI VERGHESE, JONATHAN FERRAR, AND JORDAN PETTMAN - Building the People Analytics Ecosystem: Operating Model v2.0 ARTICLE | FULL REPORT
In the August edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, I highlighted the new Insight222 study on the evolution of the people analytics operating model. This month I’d like to highlight one specific aspect of the report about the role of the people analytics leader. The research, which was conducted by my colleagues, Naomi Verghese, Jonathan Ferrar and Jordan Pettman, found that three profiles of people analytics leader are emerging (see FIG 9): (1) Data and Analytics Specialist Leader (focused on a scope for data and analytics research, insights and analytical product development and deployment). (2) Analytics-led Strategy Leader (encompassing a broad set of analytics responsibilities: consulting, research, employee listening, product development, reporting, data governance, workforce planning and AI). (3) Portfolio Analytics Leader (responsibility for people analytics and one or more other closely associated topic, such as people strategy, HR technology, HR operations, skills management, or employee experience). Read the report for more detail on each of the profiles together with examples of each leader persona Featuring Anthony Ferreras, Aashish Sharma, and Alexis Saussinan.
FIG 9: Responsibilities of the three people analytics leader personas, aligned to the People Analytics Ecosystem (Source: Insight222)
COLE NAPPER, JIN YAN, AND BEN ZWEIG - What is happening to people analytics? A 15- year trend (Part 1)
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 study identified a number of interesting – and perhaps counterintuitive – findings. These include: (1) People analytics positions in the US have actually declined in the last two years – the data suggests more than 1,000 people have left the field during this time (see FIG 10). (2) 83% of people leaving the field move to roles outside people analytics but mostly in HR. (3) People analytics positions are sensitive to changes in interest rates and money supply.
FIG 10: People analytics positions have been decreasing in the last two years (Source: Revelio Labs)
PIETRO MAZZOLENI - People Data Excellence: Driving Quality through Empowerment, Standardization, and Automation
Ensuring high-quality (people) data is crucial for building leaders' trust in data-driven talent decisions and reducing the need for manual reconciliation. Moreover, maintaining top-tier data quality is essential for the successful implementation of AI and GenAI technologies.
In the latest edition of his excellent People Data Platform newsletter, Pietro Mazzoleni breaks down the three ingredients IBM brought together to build Workforce 360, IBM’s internal people data platform, and deliver people data excellence: (1) Empowerment (“Putting Data & Knowledge in the Hands of Users”). (2) Standardisation (“Establishing a Unified Approach for data and processes”). (3) Automation (“Enhancing Efficiency Through Technology”).
FIG 11: Source – Pietro Mazzoleni
HENRIK HÅKANSSON - People Analytics: Generative AI | AMIT MOHINDRA – Definitions of People Analytics | KEITH MCNULTY - The Three Most Common Statistical Tests You Should Deeply Understand | LAURA HILGERS - How to Measure Quality of Hire, According to 4 Experts | JILL BARTH - How people analytics transformed this org’s HR from old-school to inspirational
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) Henrik Håkansson highlights a common predicament for people analytics leaders – stakeholder requests to implement GenAI. He offers sage advice on the ideal response: “GenAI is a solution. So naturally I ask: What is the problem? What is the value? Why would GenAI be better than what we are doing today? Are we trying to save money and cut costs, or actually do things better or faster?” (2) Amit Mohindra assembles a handy list of definitions of people analytics. (3) As Keith McNulty explains, hypothesis testing is one of the most fundamental elements of inferential statistics. In his article, Keith 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. (4) Laura Hilgers’ article on the elusive quality of hire metric is a must-read for people analytics and talent acquisition professionals. It features guidance from four experts in the field: Hung Lee, Tim Sackett, SPHR, SCP (see FIG 12 for Tim’s equation to measure quality of hire), Stacey A. Gordon, MBA, and Jennifer McClure. (5) Finally, Sonia Boyle, CHRL - chief people officer at Gore Mutual, explains to Jill Barth HR Tech Editor how people analytics has been at the centre of the company’s HR transformation.
FIG 12: How to measure Quality of Hire (Source: Tim Sackett)
THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
DAVE ULRICH - Realizing Talent Advantage: Evidence and Implications from the Organization Guidance System
In 2020, Dave Ulrich and his colleagues at The RBL Group, developed the Organization Guidance System (OGS), which was designed to align desired stakeholder outcomes across four human capital pathways: talent, organisation, leadership and human resources. Five years on, in a new series of articles, Dave provides an update on the key findings to date. In this article, Dave focuses on the talent pathway, highlighting ten talent investments that deliver stakeholder value, and then presents analysis from 187 companies on the relative impact of these investments across five stakeholder outcomes (see FIG 13). The article then describes how individual companies can use the OGS to guide investment in the areas that will provide them with the greatest return.
FIG 13: Heatmap of impact of ten talent initiatives on five stakeholder outcomes (Source: Dave Ulrich)
JILL GOLDSTEIN, CHRIS HAVRILLA, CHACKO THOMAS, AND CATHY FILLARE - Reimagine human potential in the gen AI era: Revolutionizing work to boost business value
With their unique perspective and understanding of organizational culture, workforce needs, skills development, and change management, HR leaders are well-positioned to take a leadership role in their organization’s future of work strategy.
A new study by the IBM Institute for Business Value and Oracle, highlights the top concerns facing executives around the future of work, including the need for a skills-focused foundation and a well-defined strategy. The big takeaway for HR leaders is that while executives acknowledge that HR contributes to their organisation’s future of work strategy, not enough of them are in the driver’s seat. Only one in five executives say HR owns the future of work strategy in their organisation today. The report provides guidance to HR leaders on possible actions: (1) Build a future-ready culture that encourages experimentation. (2) Give your workforce a voice in the future of work strategy. (3) Drive technology transformation and champion AI use case adoption. The report also highlights critical workforce skills that will increase in demand by 2026 (see FIG 14). (Authors: Jill Goldstein, Chris Havrilla, Chacko Thomas, and Cathy Fillare).
FIG 14: Critical workforce capabilities—increases from today to 2026 (Source: IBM Institute of Business Value)
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
MCKINSEY - The gen AI skills revolution: Rethinking your talent strategy
Developing the software talent companies need to grow means thinking in terms of skills rather than roles to navigate this period of uncertainty around talent.
According to McKinsey research, nearly 70 percent of top economic performers, versus just half of their peers, use their own software to differentiate themselves from their competitors. GenAI offers an opportunity to multiply this value. In the article, Alharith Hussin, Anna Wiesinger, Charlotte Relyea, Martin Harrysson, Suman Thareja, Prakhar Dixit and Thao Dürschlag, provide guidance on: (1) The new skills software teams will require. (2) How their evolution will alter roles and risks. (3) How companies can orient their talent management practices toward developing skills for greater flexibility and responsiveness. This includes grounding strategic workforce planning in business needs and skills.
The talent transformation starts with HR leaders developing a strategic workforce plan that’s built around skills.
FIG 15: Generative AI affects every phase of the software development life cycle (Source: McKinsey)
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
VOLKER JACOBS – Squaring the Circle: Why the old promise of P&O transformation –more for less – can finally be fulfilled
With effective, generative AI, P&O transformations can deliver a better, friction-free work experience for managers and employees. With a friction-free experience for managers and employees, we enable higher productivity and engagement levels. And it goes without saying that with AI taking on P&O tasks we can reduce cost of the function: More for less. Squaring the circle. Three ingredients: Data, AI, and EX.
In his thoughtful paper, Volker Jacobs, CEO at employee experience experts TI PEOPLE, highlights how HR transformations have historically undelivered their promise of more business value at lower cost. Instead, Volker argues, with the capabilities offered through AI and digitisation allied to rising expectations for better work experiences, the scene is now set to realise the dream of ‘more for less’. The catalyst? A shift from transformation focus on process to data as one of three ingredients to square the circle: Data, AI and Employee Experience leading to the business outcomes including improved productivity, better customer experience, and lower cost (see FIG 16).
FIG 16: Shifting HR transformation focus from process to data (Source: Volker Jacobs, TI People)
MALISSA CLARK - A Workaholic’s Guide to Reclaiming Your Life
In the latest edition of the Harvard Business Review, the Big Idea Series focuses on an increasingly important topic: Overcoming Overwork and Workaholism. Workaholism is defined in the lead article, by Malissa Clark, as: “Workaholism is when work dominates your thoughts and your activities, to the detriment of other aspects of your life, including but not limited to your relationships and your health.” Does that sound uncomfortably familiar? If so, like me you’ll probably welcome the six coping strategies Malissa outlines in her article: (1) Redefining “urgent”. (2) Reinventing the to-do list (see FIG 17). (3) Learning to say “no” and delegate. (4) Fixing the workaholic clock. (5) Controlling rumination. (6) Embracing rest and recovery.
Through mechanisms such as redefining what is and is not urgent, fixing the workaholic clock, and embracing rest and recovery, workaholics can unlearn toxic behaviors and reclaim their time and lives.
FIG 17: The Eisenhower Matrix (Source: Marissa Clark, Harvard Business Review)
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE, AND LEARNING
PER HUGANDER AND AMY EDMONDSON - Skills Training Links Psychological Safety to Revenue Growth
Organizational performance can be improved by viewing psychological safety as a trainable skill that individuals develop with practice.
Hugander Per and Amy Edmondson present a case study from Nordic bank SEB where training for executives on psychological safety and perspective taking was identified as the catalyst that enabled the investment bank to achieve revenues 25% above yearly targets in a strategically important market segment. The article provides four recommendations for leaders who want to make progress on strategic challenges and improve financial results by leveraging psychological safety and perspective-taking: (1) Focus on two levels in parallel: individuals and teams. (2) Expand leadership responsibility. (3) Keep strategy and performance front and centre. (4) Link skills to short-term gains to counteract perceived costs. For more on psychological safety, tune in to Amy’s conversation with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: How Learning to Fail Can Help People and Organisations to Thrive.
ANDREW WHITE, ADAM CANWELL, AND MICHAEL SMETS - Is Your Organizational Transformation Veering Off Course?
Leaders who achieve successful transformations create and maintain an environment where people can experiment, learn, and take ownership of their work — and ultimately feel good about their effort
According to a study by Andrew White, Adam Canwell and Michael Smets, 96% of all organisational transformations face significant challenges that can derail the whole program. Their research identified that changes in a team’s emotional energy (“the collective mood, vibe, and intensity of emotions within a group”) can signal when a transformation is in danger (see FIG 18). They then reveal the three-step process successful leaders use to navigate a turning point – increasing transformation performance by 12 times from 6 to 72 per cent: (1) They look for shifts in the team’s emotional energy (e.g. lack of clarity on how to proceed, ineffective collaboration, decreased engagement). (2) They dig into the underlying issue at play – by involving the whole team to decide the course of action. (3) They get to action — quickly (e.g. by creating team alignment, adjusting organisational priorities, and investing in the skills and mindset required for the transformed company).
FIG 18: How emotional energy can signal a transformational turning point (Source: White et al)
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
LORI NISHIURA MACKENZIE, SARAH A. SOULE, SHELLEY J CORRELL, AND MELISSA C. THOMAS HUNT - How DEI Can Survive This Era of Backlash
When they’re given adequate support — like protected time, advancement opportunities, leadership development, and compensation for their DEI work — ERG leaders can act as a strategic conduit between employees and organizational leaders.
Despite recent backlash against and cuts to organisational DEI initiatives, researchers from the Stanford VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab - Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Sarah Soule, Shelley J. Correll, and Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt - argue in their Harvard Business Review article that DEI isn’t dead in the U.S. Instead, they say it’s experiencing a period of what social movement scholars call “closed doors,” where the obvious route for change is no longer easily accessible. They recently convened a gathering of 14 chief diversity officers (CDOs) to unpack what’s happening in their world. In the article, they highlight the striking similarities between current DEI strategies and the tactics used by feminist movement builders during times of closed doors — and present four strategies for continuing the important work of DEI while it’s under attack: (1) Sustain networks of people engaged in DEI work. (2) Preserve the collective memory. (3) Reframe and rename the work for survival. (4) Nurture the collective identity within the DEI community.
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 September that I recommend readers delve into:
JASON CORSELLO AND THOMAS OTTER | ACADIAN VENTURES - 2024 Future of Work 100 - An excellent resource compiled by Jason Corsello and Thomas Otter of Acadian Ventures counting down the top 100 venture-backed companies building businesses that make work better, fairer, more meaningful, and ultimately more productive. Together, the Future of Work 100 has raised a cumulative $29.5 billion with a total market valuation over $140.3 billion.
FIG 19: Source – Acadian Ventures
PHIL WILLBURN - Global Workforce Report: Top Talent Is Hard to Find, Harder to Keep – Phil Willburn, head of people analytics at Workday summarises the key findings of the recently released Workday Global Workforce Report: Restoring Trust Before Your Top People Leave covering hiring, turnover of top performers, meaningful work, and internal mobility. Phil also highlights the key actions for business leaders: (1) Rebuild trust through transparency. (2) Make work meaningful. (3) Personalise your employee experience efforts based on tenure. (4) Embrace AI strategically. An absolute must-read.
FIG 20: Current use of AI and ML for recruiting (Source: Workday)
CATHERINE COPPINGER - Manager Facetime: Why It's Useful and How to Measure It – The latest in a series of insightful articles by Catherine Coppinger of Worklytics analyses the importance of manager facetime and provides guidance on how to use the insights identified to improve team effectiveness.
FIG 21 – Source: Worklytics
BEN COWAN - You Don’t Need to Abandon Jobs to Become a Skills-Based Organization – Ben Cowan of Degreed explains that while jobs aren’t likely to disappear this shouldn’t hinder efforts by companies to adopt skills-based talent practices: “The reality is that moving away from jobs is not something most organizations are likely to do in the near term and it does not need to hold you back from adopting other skills-based practices.”
FRANCISCO MARIN - Towards a Network-First Future of Work – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions provides an insightful breakdown of the differences between Hierarchy-First and Network-First approaches across then organisational concepts (see FIG 22): “While hierarchies have long been the norm, favoring clear lines of authority and collaborative control, the network-first model prioritizes collaborative freedom, decentralization, and the strength of informal relationships.”
FIG 22: Hierarchy-First vs. Network-First Approach (Source: Francisco Marin)
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 AND CHRIS SHULTZ - HR, Workforce Automation, and GenAI at Merck – Jeremy Shapiro and Chris Shultz join Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson on RedThread Research’s Workplace Stories podcast to share how (and why) Merck is embracing AI to streamline HR processes, support innovation, and maintain ethical considerations.
COURTNEY MCMAHON – People Analytics at Colgate-Palmolive – Courtney McMahon joins Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD on the Directionally Correct podcast to discuss how to get a smaller people analytics function to punch above its weight, and how Colgate-Palmolive is using One Model to scale people analytics to HRBPs and the business.
KEITH MCNULTY – Applying Mathematical Principles to People Analytics Part 1 | Part 2 – In a two-part episode, Keith McNulty joins hosts Matthew Lampe, PsyD, Natasha Ouslis, PhD, and Bilal Alperen Ergun on the ScienceForWork podcast to discuss how mathematical principles can be applied to organizational data and people analytics.
JEFFREY PFEFFER - How Modern Work is Creating a Health Crisis - Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behaviour at Stanford University and author of Dying for a Paycheck, joins Lars Schmidt on Redefining Work to discuss employee well-being and explore the harmful effects of workplace stress and poor working conditions on employee health.
SUE CANTRELL AND TRAVIS DION - Beyond productivity: Rethinking performance metrics – In an episode of Deloitte’s Capital H podcast, host David Mallon, talks to Susan Cantrell, and Travis Dion about moving beyond traditional employee productivity metrics —followed by a roundtable discussion featuring David, Sue, Julie Duda, and Diane Sinti.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
LASZLO BOCK - Former Google exec talks about what makes a strong CHRO candidate
In an interview with Human Resource Executive, Laszlo Bock, former Head of HR at Google and a arch proponent of people analytics, provides guidance on what makes a strong chief people officer. He emphasises the need for HR executives to develop their understanding of business beyond a simple familiarity with their company’s products and services: “It’s not that (CHRO candidates) don’t understand that we make widgets. It’s that they don’t understand why we’re willing to pay $1.3 billion to buy a company but not $1.4 billion.” For aspiring chief people officers, I’d also recommend investigating the Berkeley Transformative CHRO Leadership Program, where Bock is co-faculty director.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
RAVIN JESUTHASAN AND TANUJ KAPILASHRAMI – The Skills-Powered Organization: The Journey to the Next-Generation Enterprise
Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA and Tanuj Kapilashrami provide a step-by-step guide to designing, implementing and activating the skills-powered organisation. They outline why and how jobs are giving way to skills as the currency of work and why this pivot requires us to rethink everything we know about work. The inspiring cases presented in the book discuss how leading companies are reinventing themselves to be skills-based organisations and how this is helping them to transform value for customers, communities, and stakeholders.
RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH
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, 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 23 demonstrates the four user profiles identified in the paper: the skeptic diplomats, the optimistic strugglers, the optimists, and the enthusiasts. Thanks to Dirk Jonker for highlighting this insightful contribution to the field.
FIG 23: Source – Bentvelze, Boon and Den Hartog (2024)
FROM MY DESK
September saw the return of the Digital HR Leaders podcast after its summer sojourn with the first four episodes of Series 41, kindly sponsored by our friends at Visier Inc.. Thanks to Adedamola Adeleke and the team.
LYNDA GRATTON AND DIANE GHERSON - The Key Role of HR In Successfully Integrating a Blended Workforce – Lynda Gratton and Diane Gherson join me to discuss the impact of a blended workforce on organisational structures, the evolving role of managers, and the opportunities and challenges for HR.
ANGELA LE MATHON - How GSK is Using Data, Analytics and AI to Drive its HR Transformation - Angela LE MATHON, Vice President of People Data and Analytics at GSK, joins me to explore how GSK is utilising data-driven strategies and AI integration to future-proof their HR initiatives.
KEITH BIGELOW - HR’s Strategic Role in Managing the AI-driven Talent Restructure – Keith Bigelow, Chief Product Officer at Visier, joins me to explore the critical role HR plays in leading digital transformation—and how AI is changing the game.
TANUJ KAPILASHRAMI AND RAVIN JESUTHASAN - How to Build the Skills-Powered Organisation – Tanuj Kapilashrami and Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA join me to share insights from their book, The Skills-Powered Organisation: The Journey to the Next-Generation Enterprise (see Book of the Month). Tanuj also shares insights from the skills journey at Standard Chartered, including how the bank quantified a saving of $60,000 per person by upskilling and reskilling employees to redeploy talent from sunset jobs to sunrise jobs.
Skills [are] becoming the currency of work and work flowing not to jobs, but to skills... If done well, it has the massive power to unlock untapped productivity potential within 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 close to 500 roles – and has now been developed into a LinkedIn newsletter too.
THANK YOU
Srikant Chellappa and the team at Engagedly Inc for including me in their 8th annual list of the 2024 Top 100 HR Influencers
Hallie Bregman, PhD for her wonderfully generous post following our meeting at the Boston People Analytics MeetUp organised by Ramesh Karpagavinayagam – Hallie, it was wonderful to meet you too.
Paul Daley for referencing the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Diane Gherson and Lynda Gratton in his post on how HR strategy needs to support the independent / blended / contingent workforce of the future
Similarly thanks to Olimpiusz Papiez for his post sharing his takeaways from the podcast episode with Diane and Lynda
Thanks also to Jaqueline Oliveira-Cella for her post, are you ready for the shift, which was also inspired by the podcast episode with Diane and Lynda
Piyush Mathur for providing his takeaways on insight without outcome is overhead in relation to his speaking sessions at the Peer Meetings in New York and Vevey for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
Esther Abraas for including my article, The role of Organisational Network Analysis in People Analytics, in her excellent list of ONA resources.
Wayne Tarken for his post on How AI can Help HR, which was informed by the digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Nickle Lamoreaux on how AI is transforming HR at IBM.
Thomas Kohler for including the podcast episode with Keith Bigelow in his weekly round-up of future of work resources.
The Talent Games for including me in their list of HR Leaders redefining the Future of Workin recognition of HR Professionals Day.
Finally, a huge thank you to the following people who shared the August edition of Data Driven HR Monthly and other content in the last few weeks. It's much appreciated: Craig Forman Zornitza Iankova, SPHR Brandon Merritt Johnson Hrvoje Bulat Rebecca Hone Michael Arena Emma Mercer (Assoc CIPD, MLPI) Dr. Max Muge Bakkaloglu Priyanka Mehrotra Kerry Ghize Deviprasad Panda Richard Stein Stela Lupushor David Balls (FCIPD) Emily Ricci Danielle Farrell Dan George Patrick Coolen Catriona Lindsay Katrina A. Stevens, CHRE Kouros Behzad Kathleen Kruse Martha Curioni Adam McKinnon, PhD. Greg Newman Dr Philip Gibbs Sally Smith Hanadi El Sayyed David van Lochem Amardeep Singh, MBA Rick Rome Ken Oehler Vaibhav Deshmukh María Victoria Sáinz Roshaunda Green, MBA, CDSP, Phenom Certified Recruiter Aysun Öz Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. Nelson Spencer Tristan Hack Penny Newman Vivek Ojha Aravind Warrier Francisca Solano Beneitez Kalifa Oliver, Ph.D. Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. John Healy Greg Pryor Lewis Garrad Jose Luis Chavez Vasquez Audrey Burke-McCarthy, MBA, Adv Dip Coaching, MII Grad Aurélie Crégut Max Blumberg (JA) ?? Vanessa Monsequeira Shujaat Ahmad Jeff Wellstead Jackson Roatch Maria Alice Jovinski Rafael Uribe Truong Hong Ha (Mr Niem Tin) Dan Weiss David Hodges Toby Culshaw David McLean Dr. Peter Schulz-Rittich Timo Tischer Stephanie Denino Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN ?️ (née Schouten) Gianni Giacomelli Terri Horton, EdD, MBA, MA, SHRM-CP, PHR Placid Jover Andrews Cobbinah, MLPI, ACIHRM Emily Killham Al Adamsen Tim Frazier Tim Peffers Julie Asselin Chandresh Natu Anabel Fall Ralf Buechsenschuss Anna A. Tavis, PhD Marcela Niemeyer Meta McKinney, MLIS Aritra Majumdar Gustavo Araujo Vijaya Das Kirsten Edwards Graham Tollit Joy Kolb Remco van Es Ahmed Salah ?? Sebastian Knepper Melissa Beasley Bo Vialle-Derksen Malgorzata Langlois Abhilash Bodanapu Isabel Naidoo Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi Nirit Peled-Muntz Ron Ben Oz Littal Shemer Haim (ליטל שמר חיים) Joseph Frank, PhD CCP GWCCM Bob Pulver Jaejin Lee Kristhy Bartels Geetanjali Gamel Chris Hare Alicia Roach Caitie Jacobson John Gunawan Doug Shagam Davey Nickels Paul Davies Tatu Westling Mia Norgren Nick Lynn Alexandra Nawrat Gal Mozes, PhD Dave Millner Prachi Agasti Jacob Nielsen Matt Elk Chris Long Kimberly Rose Ilse Venter Søren Kold Irada Sadykhova Dave Fineman Agnes Garaba Sebastián Mestre Victoria Holdsworth Elpida Ormanidou Megan Buttita, MLIS Danielle Bushen Robert Bolton Stephen Hickey Dolapo (Dolly) Oyenuga Higor Gomes Irene Wong Ludek Stehlik, Ph.D. Sonia Mooney Mariami Lolashvili Joonghak Lee Raja Sengupta Swechha Mohapatra (IHRP-SP, SHRM-SCP, CIPD) Alfonso Bustos, Ph.D. Marcela Mury Olivier Bougarel Martijn Wiertz Veronika Birkheim
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
MEET ME AT THESE EVENTS
I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2024:
September 30 - New York Strategic HR Analytics MeetUp - Workestration: Working across human, digital and physical workplace dimensi (New York)
October 2-3 - People Analytics World (New York)
October 16-17 - UNLEASH World (Paris)
October 22-23 - Insight222 North American Peer Meeting (hosted by Workday in Pleasanton, CA) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
November 12-14 - Workday Rising EMEA (London)
November 19-20 - Insight222 European Peer Meeting (hosted by Merck in Darmstadt, Germany) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
More events will be added as they are confirmed.