12 Opportunities for HR in 2025: Thriving People, Thriving Organisation
This quote, most commonly attributed to Sun Tzu, aptly captures the essence of the 2020s as we reach the halfway point of what has been a turbulent decade thus far. The chaos element has been to the fore with a global pandemic, geopolitical tension, and economic uncertainty leading to an increasingly complex and volatile business environment. Sprinkle in the rapid advances in technology and artificial intelligence, then it’s not hard to see why 45% of CEOs believe their company will not be viable in ten years if it stays on its current trajectory (1).
Here comes the opportunity element. For the HR profession, there’s a strong case to be made this perfect storm has accelerated the transformation of the field from a support function to a strategic partner to the C-suite and the board. Josh Bersin argues that the chief people officer may now be the most important C-suite role of them all (2). Certainly, the opening words of Deloitte’s latest Global Human Capital Trends report encapsulates that many of the major challenges organisations face have people topics at their heart (3):
We’re operating in a world where work is no longer defined by jobs, the workplace is no longer a specific place, many workers are no longer traditional employees, and human resources is no longer a siloed function
Herein lies the opportunity for chief people officers: to align people strategy, analytics and technology to enable company growth, lead transformation both for the business and the function, act as the steward for ethical AI (4), and upskill HR professionals. Thriving people, thriving organisation.
During the 10+ years I’ve been publishing this annual look at the year ahead, it has evolved from a framing of predictions or trends to opportunities, given that much of what follows will likely take years to play out. As ever, the 2025 opportunities are informed by the research and work we do at Insight222 (5), interviews with guests on the Digital HR Leaders podcast (6), conversations with leaders in the field and market analysis. References are numbered throughout, and a comprehensive list with links is included at the end.
Get involved – what should opportunities #11 and #12 be?
Readers may note that the title and accompanying image indicate 12 opportunities, whereas only ten are outlined. That is because – as was the case in previous years - I’m keen to crowdsource the final two opportunities from readers. What other opportunities should be included? Please let me know in the comments section below, and I’ll add my favourite two to an updated version in January.
THE 2025 OPPORTUNITIES FOR HR
Ten opportunities for HR to realise in 2025…
1. Cultivating the thriving organisation
Ask not what your people can do for you, but ask instead what you can do for your people
A 2024 study by McKinsey estimates that the total global opportunity for optimising employee health and wellbeing could be up to $11.7 trillion (7). Numerous studies, including by Oxford University, find a strong positive relationship between employee wellbeing and firm financial performance (8). Indeed, according to Accenture, companies that take a people-centric approach could create $10.3 trillion in economic value (9). When people thrive, organisations thrive. Yet, employee burnout levels remain at an all-time high (10, 11). This presents an opportunity for HR to flip the script and, to paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, ask not what your people can do for you, but ask instead what you can do for your people. By focusing on creating value for employees and helping them to thrive, companies can create a virtuous cycle whereby employee outcomes enhance organisational outcomes and vice-versa (12, 13). For example, one PwC study found that making investments in 11 key areas of employee experience can yield savings equivalent to 12.6% of revenues (14). While Deloitte reports that the organisations that score highest on treatment of their workforce had a 2.2% higher five-year return on equity (15). Reimagining work as a product (16), becoming a listening organisation focused on turning employee feedback into action (17), as well as using people analytics to measure how wellbeing, purpose, learning, and attrition connect to business outcomes (18, 19), are three ways to create value. If successful in this mission, HR could elevate the function from its traditional role as a cost centre to a true value creation centre, while creating a fairer, healthier, and more humane organisation (20). What could be a bigger and better opportunity than that?
An organization that views its employees as its most important resource can maximize its return on talent (21)
FIG 1: Thriving stars have an outsize influence on organisations (Source: McKinsey)
2. Transforming HR into a strategic partner
The CHRO must transform the HR team, moving from the “service delivery” model to an HR team of consultants, problem-solvers, and analysts. (22)
With CEOs increasingly demanding more from HR and with data and AI enabling the transformation of HR into a more strategic, value-added and insight-driven function (23, 24), chief people officers have the opportunity to elevate HR from its traditional role as a support function into a true strategic partner (25). Six areas to consider are: i) Rethinking the HR operating model. Nearly two-thirds of companies have done so in the past two years (26). There’s certainly no shortage advice (27 – see FIG 2, 28, 29, 30). ii) Putting people analytics at the right-hand of the CHRO.Our research at Insight222 finds that a strong connection with the people analytics leader together with combining people strategy and analytics enhances the credibility and impact of the CHRO with the board (31, 32), as does embedding it as part of the HR service model (33). iii) Reimagining key HR roles and processes through automation toincrease the focus on high-value strategic work (34, 35). iv) Prioritising high-impact use cases for deploying AI across HR programs and the employee lifecycle (36, 37). v) Identifying future skills and capabilities of HR professionals together with a strategy to close any gaps. vi) Leading on the development of ethical and responsible AI policies and enablement programs (38) – and never forgetting the ‘H’ in HR.
FIG 2: Assessment of Ten Dimensions of HR Effectiveness (Source: The RBL Group)
3. Setting the agents to work
We're using AI in three broad categories: recommendations, assistants, and agents. This is transforming our HR function. (39)
The topic du jour is agentic AI – the next frontier of generative AI (40). Gartner predicts that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously through agentic AI, up from 0% in 2024 (41). Josh Bersin believes that agentic AI will change the HR tech stack and make our HR roles easier (42, 43). The likes of SAP (Joule), Workday (Illuminate) and ServiceNow (AI Agents) have already launched tools (44). Early use cases in HR are also emerging such as HiRO, a digital worker, IBM has used to save 50,000 hours in its quarterly promotion process (45, 46). From what I’ve learned in the last few months (and I’m still learning about this too), agentic AI – in essence a shift from Large Language Models to Large Action Models - provides a huge opportunity to rapidly accelerate HR’s progress from support function to strategic partner. Some suggestions for chief people officers to prepare: i) stay informed with the latest developments by keeping in touch with your peers, enterprise and HR tech partners, ii) identify and prioritise potential use cases, iii) upskill and prepare your team, iv) double down on ethics, privacy and responsible AI (47, 48, 49). One additional recommendation is to engage your people analytics team. Our research at Insight222 identified that AI strategy for the HR function is increasingly coming under the auspices of the people analytics leader (50). Moreover, this is also seeing the people analytics leader in some companies taking on a wider portfolio for disciplines such as HR tech and digital transformation, people strategy and operations (51, 52, 53).
FIG 3: A System of Agents (Source: Foundation Capital)
4. Elevating hybrid from where to how
What we need isn’t an office mandate—it’s a ‘collaboration mandate.’ (54)
There’s still too much focus on where people work rather than how work gets done. Despite executives being 3x more likely to say the how is more important (55). Indeed, with more than 90% of companies having hybrid workers (56) and with employees working remotely on average more than 25% of the time (57) it’s time to elevate the conversation from an office to a collaboration mandate (58). HR has an opportunity to lead the redesign of work through conducting experiments and collecting data to learn how work is getting done, and how employees are feeling (59). The shift to hybrid has been one of the key factors driving growth in people analytics (60). The body of published research is growing with several studies finding that in comparison to their fully in-person or remote colleagues, hybrid workers have higher wellbeing (61), engagement (62) and retention but no difference in collaboration and innovation (63). Additional research provides guidance on when in-person matters (64), making the office a magnet not a mandate (65), cultivating culture (66), fostering trust (67), and focusing on outcomes (68 – FIG 4) including broadening how we measure productivity (69). Hybrid is here to stay, so let’s make hybrid work – for companies, and for workers – and let’s follow the science rather than the headlines (70).
FIG 4: Focus on Productivity, Not Physical Presence (Source: Brian Elliott)
5. Investing in a people analytics “A Team”
In “A” Teams, people analytics is embedded in the people strategy. “A” Teams regularly and dynamically prioritise their work according to the needs of the C-suite and the business agenda (71)
People analytics is now widely acknowledged as an organisational imperative (72), with chief people officers recognising that they need data and insights to gain traction with the board (73). Recent studies by Deloitte (74), Josh Bersin (75) and PwC (76), as well as our own fifth annual Insight222 People Analytics Trends study (77), all show significant growth in people analytics. Yet, together, they also highlight that most organisations are still only scratching the surface of what is possible. Only 10% of the 348 companies that participated in the Insight222 study are defined as “A” Teams (see FIG 4). Our research – and experience of working directly with over 100 organisations through the Insight222 People Analytics Program® – finds virtually all “A” Teams play a key role in defining the people strategy and effectively align their work to the most important business priorities accordingly (78), echoing other studies (79, 80). Additionally, chief people officers can realise more value with people analytics by focusing on: i) Improving the adoption and consumption of people data and insights by employees and managers. ii) Using intelligent automation to personalise analytics solutions. iii) Measuring the value of people analytics, working closely with finance (81). Success istarts with the right people analytics leader (82), who should be executive influencers, consultants, storytellers and marketeers. The role of the people analytics leader continues to evolve, and chief people officers should carefully consider the type of leader they need (83, 84). People analytics - and the ability to drive actions with insights – is the silver thread to unlock and realise all the opportunities outlined in this article, and a critical element of the drive to make HR more evidence-based (85). Remember, as Jonathan Ferrar and I wrote in our book, Excellence in People Analytics:
People Analytics is not about HR. People Analytics is about the business (86, 87).
FIG 5: Insight222 Leading Companies in People Analytics model (Source: Insight222)
6. Making workforce planning strategic
Strategic workforce planning is a perennial challenge. Although the core principles are not new, the urgency to act has increased, and the availability of data-driven insights has changed the competitive landscape (88)
Strategic workforce planning (SWP) is essentially a systematic and data-led approach for an organisation to ensure it has the right workforce to achieve its business objectives (89). With the speed and extent of change arising from the fifth industrial revolution, talent shortages and the shift to skills, SWP has arguably never been so important. It is consistently cited as a top three priority for people leaders (90, 91), a challenge compounded by studies suggesting that only 15% of organisations currently practice SWP (92). Our research at Insight222 finds a growing number of companies – 50% in a 2024 study - combine SWP with people strategy and analytics (93). These companies are more successful in connecting their SWP activities to their business priorities (94), have a better view of their future talent needs, and the strategies to close any gaps (95). Four other steps to increase success with SWP are: i) Aligning SWP efforts with business strategy (96, 97 – see example from Merck Group in FIG 6) including prioritising business critical roles and skills (98); ii) Bringing together people, business and external data to get the full picture (99); iii) Connecting SWP to other talent capabilities such as internal mobility, recruiting and learning (100); and, iv) Measuring the impact of workforce planning activities and linking these to business outcomes (101).
FIG 6: How Merck prioritises SWP needs by relevance and actionability (Source: Gartner)
7. Orchestrating skills for Impact
A cultural shift to skills-first approaches needs both sponsorship from executives and governance from human-resources professionals (102)
While ‘skills’ has been an opportunity for HR for several years, the topic continues to gather momentum. Skills gaps and shortages are one of the most pressing concerns for companies (103). Rapid advances in technology only exacerbate the challenge (104), with 44% of workers’ skills expected to be disrupted by 2028 (105) and reskilling workers a primary objective for many companies (106). Consequently, one study reports that 90% of companies are experimenting with a skills-based approach (107). Why? Because becoming skills-based can lead to greater agility, resilience, and flexibility in the face of rapid change (108). EPAM, which has adopted a skills-based approach for 30 years, believes it catalyses its business agility and enables the company to attract, develop and retain some of the best tech talent in a highly competitive market (109). Meanwhile, Standard Chartered has generated over 1,700 gigs and $6m of productivity from its initial talent marketplace pilot in India (110, 111) and has also calculated that reskilling and redeploying internal talent generates a saving of $49,000 per role versus hiring externally (112). We are continually learning more about what drives success in this space including at companies such as Ericsson (113), J&J (114, 115), IBM (116), Google (117), Mastercard (118) and Lloyds Banking Group (119). Some steps to consider: i) Do your homework – shifting to a skills-based approach is not cheap or easy, make sure there is a business problem to solve (120, 121, 122 – see FIG 7). ii) Experiment – a skills-based approach will likely not be right for every role in your company. Focus on critical roles, start with a pilot and an executive sponsor (123). iii) Focus on data quality – data is the foundation on which your skills initiative will succeed or fail (124). iv) Get your people analytics team involved – our research at Insight222 finds that 50% of people analytics teams are supporting their company in becoming skills-based (125). v) Communicate the value and use skills as the glue to connect recruiting, learning, mobility, compensation and workforce planning together.
FIG 7: Skills-based talent management strategy, business outcomes can guide your actions (Source: Gartner)
8. Turning up the volume on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
The backlash against DEI is out of sync with the opinions held by the most important set of stakeholders: your employees (126)
Some companies – particularly in the US – are backtracking on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) even inexplicably decided to drop the ‘E’ from its IED framework, despite this flying in the face of years of research on DEI in the workplace (127, 128). This is an opportunity for HR to lead the fightback and protect the networks of people engaged in DEI work (129). It was certainly good to hear L’Oreal CHRO Jean Claude Le Grand on the main stage at UNLEASH declare that “DEI is not a trend. DEI is part of our DNA (130).” In 2025, despite fears about what Trump’s second term could mean for DEI (131), let’s hope we hear more chief people officers – especially those based in the US – making similar declarations, and backing it up with action. They will be helping their companies if they do. Firstly, because DEI programs are getting more popular with employees, not less (132) and help organisations attract, retain and engage talent (133). Secondly, research finds DEI, particularly at the leadership level, is connected to financial performance, innovation, and societal impact (134). Thirdly, incorporating DEI practices into core business planning can provide a competitive edge (135). People analytics has an important role to play in measuring DEI efforts and connecting them to outcomes (136) including using advanced analytics to get deeper insights on belonging (137), inclusion (138) and psychological safety (139). Indeed, our own research at Insight222 finds, for the fourth consecutive year, that DEI is one of the top three areas where people analytics is adding the most business value (140). While some companies pause or roll back their DEI programs, those that stay the course and redouble their efforts will drive organisational performance. So, let’s turn up the volume to maximum on DEI in 2025 and beyond.
FIG 8: The business case for diversity on executive teams and financial outperformance
9. Advancing social capital
If ‘human capital’ is about what an individual knows, ‘social capital’ is about how well positioned that individual is to use what they know to get work done.
Social capital represents the next frontier for HR in gaining a deeper understanding of what drives individual, team and organisational effectiveness. As Michael Arena explains, if ‘human capital’ is about what an individual knows, ‘social capital’ is about how well positioned that individual is to use what they know to get work done. (141). The study of social capital is not new. Indeed, the likes of Arena and Rob Cross have been doing this work for decades – and specialist firms such as Worklytics, Cognitive Talent Solutions, Polinode and Innovisor have grown by specialising in this field. But like a lot of the 2025 opportunities presented here, a combination of the pandemic, the rise of distributed and hybrid work, and advances in technology mean that the need for analysing social capital and the ability to do so have increased dramatically. We can see this in the passive element of employee listening programs, which enables organisations to combine active data from surveys with passive data to understand the impact of topics such as hybrid working, meetings, and focus time on outcomes such as wellbeing, collaboration, innovation, productivity and attrition (142,143,144,145,146, 147, 148). Other use cases for network data exist to support work around topics as diverse as: M&A (149), performance (150), DEIB (151, 152), skills mapping (153), team effectiveness (154) and the identification of key influencers (155). For those looking to get started with a pilot, I recommend identifying a specific business problem to solve, getting a business sponsor, keeping the scope manageable, involving your IT and privacy team (and works council if appropriate), and considering partnering with a vendor (156).
FIG 9: Organization network analysis can help uncover collaboration within an organization (Source: Deloitte)
10. Enabling the HR professional of the future
41% of chief people officers wish they had had greater depth in people analytics prior to assuming their roles (157)
If HR is to become a true strategic partner to the business, then we must upskill ourselves, focusing on developing competencies that create value (158, 159). Chief people officers need to invest in attracting and developing HR professionals with the vision, agility and business acumen to navigate an everchanging landscape, raising the technology and analytical expertise of the function (160). Let’s take one area where the function needs to upskill that I know well from the work we do at Insight222 around improving the data literacy of HR professionals (161). Our research highlights five key skills to elevate data of literacy for HR: i) consulting, ii) influencing stakeholders, iii) interpreting data, iv) building recommendations from insights, and v) storytelling (162). While there has been steady progress with 58% of companies (163) now saying they have a data driven culture in HR (up from 42% in 2021), there is still some way to go – and the opportunities afforded by AI make it even more important for HR professionals to acquire these skills. Tellingly, this is an area of development for senior HR leaders too with 41% of chief people officers wishing they had had greater depth in people analytics prior to assuming their roles (164). With Insight222 research also finding that role-modelling of people data and analytics by the chief people officer and HR leadership team is paramount for the improvement of data literacy across the HR function overall (165), this is an opportunity that chief people officers can ill afford to squander. The HR function will continue to evolve with new roles emerging (166). We need to take the ethos of continuous learning that we advocate for the rest of the organisation and apply it to ourselves in HR.
FIG 10: Example of a learning journey Insight222 delivers to HR leaders, BPs and professionals (see here)
FIG 11: 13 HR Jobs of the Future (Source: Jeanne Meister)
References
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(107) Susan Cantrell, Michael Griffiths, Robin Jones, and Julie Hiipakka - The skills-based organization: A new operating model for work and the workforce (Deloitte, 2022)
(108) Allan Schweyer, Barbara Lombardo, PhD, Matt Rosenbaum and Peter Sheppard, The Long but Rewarding Journey to Becoming a Skills-Driven Organization (The Conference Board, 2024)
(109) Sandra Loughlin, PhD and David Green ??, Building a Skills-Based Organisation: Lessons from a 30-Year Journey (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(110) World Economic Forum and PwC (see reference 102)
(111) Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA and Tanuj Kapilashrami, The Skills-Powered Organization: The Journey to the Next Generation Enterprise (MIT Press, 2024)
(112) Tanuj Kapilashrami, Michael Fraccaro, Tamla Oates-Forney, and David Green ??, CHRO Panel: Delivering against the transformation imperative (Gloat, 2024) – see extract
(113) Schweyer et al (see reference 108)
(114) Nick van der Meulen, Olgerta Tona, and Dorothy Leidner, Resolving Workforce Skills Gaps with AI-Powered Insights (MIT, 2024)
(115) Christina Norris-Watts, Doug Shagam, and David Green ?? - How Johnson & Johnson are Scaling Their Skills-Based Approach to Talent (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2023)
(116) Lamoreaux and Green (see reference 34)
(117) Bo Cowgill, Jonathan Davis, Pablo Montagnes, Patryk Perkowski and Bettina Hammer - How to Design an Internal Talent Marketplace (Harvard Business Review, 2023)
(118) Michael Fraccaro and David Green ??, How Mastercard is Using AI to Drive Employee Success and Leadership Growth (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(119) Lara Wainwright, Duncan Reynell and David Green ??, How Digital Transformation Fuels Skills and EX at Lloyds Banking Group (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(120) Marc Effron, Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? Questions About Becoming a Skills-based Organization (The Talent Strategy Group , 2024)
(121) Jaejin Lee, Skill-based Transformation: “Don't Start with Skills, Start with Work!” (LinkedIn, 2024)
(122) Gartner, Skills-based talent management strategy, business outcomes can guide your actions – Gareth Flynn, LinkedIn post (Gartner, 2024)
(123) Mikaël Wornoo? and David Green ??, How to Use Skills Data to Solve Business Challenges Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(124) Sandra Loughlin, PhD, Seven Elements of Skills Data Quality (LinkedIn, 2024)
(125) Verghese et al (see reference 31)
(126) Brian Elliott, How to Stand Up When It Comes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2024)
(127) Enrica Ruggs and Oscar Holmes IV, Why Dropping the E in DEI Is a Mistake (Harvard Business Review, 2024)
(128) Josh Bersin, DEI Attacked by SHRM, Civility In The Workplace, And The ROI of AI (Josh Bersin, 2024)
(129) Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Sarah Soule, Shelley J. Correll, and Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt, How DEI Can Survive This Era of Backlash (Harvard Business Review, 2024)
(130) David Green ??, Key Learnings from Unleash World 2024 (LinkedIn, 2024)
(131) Kenji Yoshino, David Glasgow, and Christina Joseph, What Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for DEI (Harvard Business Review, 2024)
(132) Elliott (see reference 126)
(133) BCG, It’s Time to Highlight the Business Opportunity of DEI Initiatives (BCG, 2024)
(134) Dame Vivian Hunt, Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle, Celia Huber, Maria del Mar Martinez, Sara Prince, and Ashley Thomas - Diversity matters even more: The case for holistic impact (McKinsey, 2023)
(135) Quinetta Roberson, How Integrating DEI Into Strategy Lifts Performance (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2024)
(136) Lily Zheng, To Make Lasting Progress on DEI, Measure Outcomes (Harvard Business Review, 2023)
(137) Shujaat Ahmad, Real Measures that Matter for Real Change on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) (Belong & Lead, 2024)
(138) Serena H. Huang, Ph.D., DEI Funding Cuts? You Need Data Analytics and AI More Than Ever (LinkedIn, 2024)
(139) Henrik Bresman and Amy Edmondson, Research: To Excel, Diverse Teams Need Psychological Safety (Harvard Business Review, 2022)
(140) Ferrar et al (see reference 71)
(141) Michael Arena, Leveraging Social Capital (HR Exchange Network, 2018)
(142) Klinghoffer et al (see reference 64)
(143) Rob Cross, Mike Benson, Jack Kostal, PhD, and RJ Milnor, Collaboration Overload is Sinking Productivity (Harvard Business Review, 2021)
(144) Arena et al (see reference 66)
(145) Michael Arena, Adaptive Space (McGraw Hill, 2018)
(146) Rob Cross, Beyond Collaboration Overload (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021)
(147) Rob Cross and Karen Dillon, The Microstress Effect (Harvard Business Review Press, 2023)
(148) Michael Arena and David Green ??, What the Impact of Distributed Work on Organisational Networks Tells Us About the Future of Talent Management, (Digital HR Leaders podcast episode, myHRfuture, 2024)
(149) Francisco Marin, 5 Ways ONA Creates Value in Mergers and Acquisitions, (LinkedIn, 2020)
(150) Maya Bodan, Don Miller, Susan Cantrell, Gary Parilis, and Carissa Kilgour, Harnessing organization network analysis (ONA): Measure workforce performance and optimize strategies (Deloitte, 2024)
(151) Inga Carboni, Andrew Parker, and Nan Langowitz, Mapping Exclusion in the Organization (MIT Sloan Management Review, 2021)
(152) Jonathan Ferrar and David Green ??, How Can Passive ONA Highlight the Impact of Relationships on Diversity and Inclusion? (MyHRfuture, 2021)
(153) Lee (see reference 121)
(154) Michael Arena and Philip Arkcoll, Enabling High-Velocity Teams (HR Exchange Network, 2024)
(155) Jeppe Vilstrup Hansgaard, How to Rethink Change with the Three Percent Rule (Innovisor, 2019)
(156) Manish Goel and David Green ??, The Role of Network Analytics (ONA) in Ensuring Team Collaboration and Well Being (myHRfuture, 2020)
(157) Jonathan Gordin, Shari Chernack, Karen Shellenback, and Yamile Bruzza, Evolving the CHRO role in a rapidly changing world of work (Mercer 2023)
(158) Dave Ulrich, Update on HR Business Partner Model Continuing Evolution and Relevance (LinkedIn, 2024)
(159) Dave Ulrich, Patrick Wright, Mike Ulrich, Erin Wilson Burns, Do you want to be more effective as an HR professional? Here’s how (The RBL Group, 2021)
(160) Chernack and Gordin (see reference 67)
(161) Insight222 Building a Data-Driven Culture in HR, Immersive Learning Experiences, (Insight222, 2024)
(162) Naomi Verghese, Jonathan Ferrar - Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale (Insight222, 2023)
(163) Ferrer et al (see reference 71)
(164) Gordin et al (see reference 157)
(165) Naomi Verghese Why is Role-modelling by the CHRO and HRLT Essential for Building Data Literacy in HR? (myHRfuture, 2023)
(166) Jeanne C M. 13 HR jobs of the future (HR Executive, 2024)
A selection of other 2025 HR predictions, opportunities and trends
There are a plethora of other resources documenting predictions, opportunities and trends for HR and the future of work in 2025 including (in alphabetical order):
Alexandra Nawrat, Five New Year’s resolutions for HR leaders in 2025
Andrew Spence, Beyond Prediction: Shaping Your Work Story in an Uncertain World - Andrew walks through seven dominant narratives on the Future of Work - from 'Dataism' to the 'Singularity' via 'Job Destruction.'
Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor Worklife Trends 2025 - includes data showing that Gen Z will make up 1 in 10 managers in 2025.
Gartner, Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025
The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), 2025 Priorities & Predictions
Jen Colletta, 5 CHROs share what’s topping their 2025 HR strategy agenda - includes Melissa Werneck highlighting the HR's role as the ambassador for the responsible implementation of generative AI at work.
LinkedIn, Global Talent Trends
Dr. Solange Charas and Stela Lupushor, Crystal Balls and Cold Reality: HR Predictions for 2025
Steve Hunt, A guide to HR predictions, trends, and forecasts
Visier Inc., Embracing the AI Driven Workforce: 5 Workforce Trends for 2025
Unlock the potential of your people analytics function through the Insight222 People Analytics Program
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 100 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
MEET ME AT THESE EVENTS
I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in early 2025:
January 21 - People Analytics in Italy: Insights from Research and Practice with Martha Curioni and Aizhan Tursunbayeva, PhD, GRP (VIRTUAL - Register here)
January 23 - The Strategic Outlook for People Analytics in 2025 with Ian Cook and Dawn Klinghoffer (WEBINAR - Register here)
February 26-27 - People Analytics World, Zürich
April 29-30 - People Analytics World, London
More events will be added as they are confirmed.
HR Upskilling
2024年12月19日
HR Upskilling
推荐：The best HR & People Analytics articles of March 2024024年3月，David Green带领我们深入了解了人力资源和人力分析的最新趋势。在欧洲和美国的几场关键活动中，他强调了人力分析在提升员工体验、AI在工作场所的角色、以及四天工作周趋势的增长中的转型作用。此外，Culture Amp对Orgnostic的收购和在Culture First Leaders Forum上的见解，突出了培养适宜的组织文化对于未来工作的战略重要性。Green的观点强调了HR需要采用数据驱动策略，以实现有效的劳动力规划、技能发展和组织增长。
2024 HR TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS
KATE BRAVERY, JOANA SILVA, AND JENS PETERSON - Workforce 2.0: Unlocking human potential in a machine-augmented world – Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024
The world of work is in full metamorphosis, forever changed by the seismic shifts of the past few years and accelerated by the imminent human-machine teaming revolution. Just as organizations were settling into a new normal — with a focus on hybrid working, comprehensive health and well-being, digitalization, and upskilling — Generative AI (Gen AI) burst onto the scene.
Those are the opening words from the Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024 report, which has recently been published. As ever, the study, which is based on a survey of more than 12,000 executives, HR leaders, employees, and investors, and is authored by Kate Bravery Joana Silva and Jens Peterson is an absolute must-read. The study highlights a disconnect between what HR is prioritising for the 2024 people agenda and the initiatives that executives believe will have the most impact on business growth (see FIG 1). The study highlights 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. (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 1: HR priorities for the 2024 people agenda (Source: Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024)
FIG 2: Drivers and drainers of employee productivity(Source: Mercer Global Talent Trends 2024)
HYBRID, GENERATIVE AI AND THE FUTURE OF WORK
BRIAN ELLIOTT - Return-to-Office Mandates: How to Lose Your Best Performers
There is mounting evidence that mandates don’t improve financial performance. Instead, they damage employee engagement and increase attrition, especially among high-performing employees and particularly those with caregiving responsibilities.
That’s according to Brian Elliott in his latest column in MIT Sloan Management Review, which highlights that the workers most likely to be turned off by return-to-office mandates are the company’s highest performers. Elliott highlights the link between factors such as pressure from investors and the CEO echo chamber with RTO pronouncements, as well as how only one in three executives believe that RTO has had even a slight impact on productivity. He recommends instead focusing on productivity rather than physical presence (see FIG 3) and how this can inspire a boom loop in engagement as opposed to a doom loop in trust. Finally, Elliott presents findings from the Future Forum and i4CP, highlighting the negative impact of RTO mandates, before offering guidance on how to build an outcomes-driven organisation: “The bottom line is that when trust is balanced with accountability, people and organizations will thrive.”
FIG 3: Focus on Productivity, Not Physical Presence (Sources: Future Forum, Centre for Transformative Work Design, and Slack)
AARON DE SMET, SANDRA DURTH, BRYAN HANCOCK, MARINO MUGAYAR-BALDOCCHI, AND ANGELIKA REICH - The human side of generative AI: Creating a path to productivity
As teams start using gen AI to help free up their capacity, the middle manager’s job will evolve to managing both people and the use of this technology to enhance their output.
A fascinating new study from McKinsey, which provides analysis on workers who are at the forefront of gen AI usage (which as FIG 4 shows is dominated by those in non-technical roles) and dives into the job factors and skills these workers say they need. The authors emphasise how firms can enhance productivity by crafting jobs that put people before tech – rather than the other way around. They conclude that companies that set a people-centric talent strategy will give themselves a competitive edge as more workers and jobs are affected by the changes gen AI brings. The article is rich with data and powerful visualisations – kudos to the authors: Aaron De Smet Sandra Durth Bryan Hancock Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi and Angelika Reich ).
FIG 4: Workers who use generative AI as part of their jobs comprise a much larger group than those who hold traditionally technical roles (Source: McKinsey)
PETER CAPPELLI, PRASANNA (SONNY) TAMBE, AND VALERY YAKUBOVICH - Will Large Language Models Really Change How Work Is Done?
LLMs are much more complicated to use effectively in an organizational context than is typically acknowledged, and they have yet to demonstrate that they can satisfactorily perform all of the tasks that knowledge workers execute in any given job.
In their article, Peter Cappelli Prasanna Tambe and Valery Yakubovich look at the use and challenges of integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) in organisations, and present practical recommendations on how to work with LLMs successfully. The five challenges outlined in the article are: (1) The Knowledge Capture Problem. (2) The Output Verification Problem. (3) The Output Adjudication Problem. (4) The Cost-Benefit Problem. (5) The Job Transformation Problem – How will LLMs work with workers? Guidance includes developing and circulating standards for the use of LLMs in organisations, establishing a central office to produce important LLM output, and providing training to users.
NICK BLOOM – Why WFH is a win-win-win | WFH research update (March 2024)
Nick Bloom’s recent post on LinkedIn highlighting his research on why remote working is a win for firms (due to increased productivity of $20,000 a year for each remote day a week), employees, and society is extremely compelling. I also recommend reading Nick’s latest monthly data for March, which includes numerous insights such as that workers in their 50s and 60s are fully onsite more often than younger workers. For more from Nick, please tune in to his discussion with me on the Digital HR Leaders podcast: Unmasking Common Myths Around Remote Work.
FIG 5: Workers in their 50s and 60s are fully onsite more often than younger workers (Source: WFH Research)
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
PIETRO MAZZOLENI - Transforming HR: How IBM measures the success of its people data platform investments
For those of you who haven’t already subscribed to Pietro Mazzoleni’s People Data Platform newsletter, where he unpacks insights from transforming IBM's internal data platform for people analytics, I highly recommend you do. In this edition, Pietro walks through the three tiers of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) IBM uses to evaluate investments in Workforce 360, its people data platform (see FIG 6). Watch out for an upcoming episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, where I discuss with CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux how IBM is augmenting HR programs with AI. The episode will air from April 9.
FIG 6: Three tiers of KPIs to evaluate investments in a people data platform (Source: Pietro Mazzoleni)
NAOMI VERGHESE - Influencing C-Suite and Board Decisions with People Analytics Insights
Naomi Verghese shares key learnings from the recent Peer Meeting for member companies of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, hosted by HSBC in their global headquarters in London. The Peer Meeting, which was attended by over 60 people analytics leaders and practitioners from more than 40 companies focused on two of the key findings from the Insight222 People Analytics Trends study for 2023: influencing senior stakeholders and measuring value. In her article, Naomi covers four topics: (1) how to implement a people analytics operating model that drives business outcomes (based on insights shared at the Peer Meeting by Rob Etheridge and Bec Aoude). (2) how to use AI to democratise insights from people data, using an example of work Andrew Elston has led at HSBC. (3) how Microsoft’s employee listening ecosystem (see FIG 7) helped the firm identify the moments that matter for in-person collaboration (insights from a session led by Dawn Klinghoffer), and (4) how to influence the board of directors, with insights from Justine Thompson. If you would like to learn more about our People Analytics Program, contact us today.
FIG 7: Microsoft’s employee listening ecosystem (Source: Dawn Klinghoffer, Microsoft)
BRENT DYKES - The Future Of Data Storytelling Is Augmented, Not Automated
Brent Dykes continues his rich vein of writing with an article exploring whether AI tools should be used to automate data storytelling. He provides reasons why data storytelling can’t or shouldn’t be automated including for reasons of oversimplification, transparency and trust, and the fact that storytelling is essentially a human skill. Instead, Brent advocates that the path forward should be augmented data storytelling, and lays out a powerful illustration of how this would work (see FIG 8)
The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.
FIG 8: Data storytelling comparisons: Humans vs. AI (Source: Brent Dykes)
HALLIE BREGMAN – Where should People Analytics sit in an Organisation? Part 1 & Part 2 | WILLIS JENSEN – Can Data Cleaning be Automated? | COLE NAPPER - Universal Models & People Analytics | ALEXANDER LOCHER - How to harness the value of people data and operational HR insights | ANGELA LE MATHON, STACIA GARR, AND DANI JOHNSON - Generating Value from People Data
In recent editions of the Data Driven HR Monthly, I’ve been featuring a collection of articles by current and recent people analytics leaders. These act as a spur and inspiration to the field. Five are highlighted here. (1) If you don’t already follow Hallie Bregman, PhD on LinkedIn, you really should. Hallie regularly publishes thoughtful and insightful posts on topics important to the field. The two I’ve included here look at the pros and cons of situating people analytics in or outside HR. (2) Willis Jensen analyses whether AI will reduce the amount of data cleaning undertaken by people analysts given that much of this work involves judgement without hard, fast or consistent rules. (3) Cole Napper, who I’m looking forward to co-chairing People Analytics World with in London in April – also with Michael M. Moon, PhD – explains how many of the models we use in people analytics are borrowed from other disciplines. (4) Alexander S. Locher highlights some of the current trends in people analytics (see FIG 9) and offers guidance on how to harness value from your people data. (5) Angela LE MATHON, VP People Data and Analytics, shares how GSK generates value with their people data, how they’re using AI to gather information, and how skills verification ties in with Stacia Sherman Garr and Dani Johnson of RedThread Research.
FIG 9: Current trends in people analytics (Source: Alexander Locher, EY)
THE EVOLUTION OF HR, LEARNING, AND DATA DRIVEN CULTURE
JO IWASAKI, KAREN EDELMAN, AND YASMINE CHAHED - Time to rethink talent in the boardroom
Just over a third of board and c-level executives believe their workforce related discussions are adequate to meet their organisation’s needs. That’s the standout finding from a new global survey by Jo Iwasaki Karen Edelman and Dr Yasmine Chahed for Deloitte of 500 board members and C-suite executives in more than 50 countries on corporate governance and talent. The three top insights from the study were: (1) Many boards could be focusing more on talent-related issues. (2) Most organisations are just starting to think about their AI strategies. (3) Amplifying the talent experience will require boards to adopt a broader perspective.
FIG 10: Workplace related topics that are top board priorities (Source: Deloitte)
DAVE ULRICH - Pre-flections on GenAI and HR: Where to Go and How to Get There
GenAI will help shape HR’s future by offering both information symmetry to synthesize and optimize the past and present and information asymmetry to create and guide the future.
Dave Ulrich offers some initial reflections on what the journey could look like for applying GenAI to HR work, as well as some possible actions to drive progress (see example in FIG 11 for ‘Talent’). Dave also highlights four important considerations to manage the risk and realise the opportunity of GenAI in HR. (1) Who should champion, sponsor, participate in, and be accountable for this journey? (2) What individual skills and organisation capabilities will be required to make GenAI in HR happen? (3) What will be the regulatory and legal policies and risks associated with the effort? (4) What metrics of value-added GenAI for HR will be most useful and tracked?
FIG 11: Examples of GenAI/HR initiatives in the Talent domain (Source: Dave Ulrich)
HEIN KNAPPEN - How HR Adds to Enterprise Value
Hein J.M. Knaapen, a former chief people officer himself, shares his perspectives on the crucial role HR plays in driving business value, and offers practical advice to CHROs on how to make this a reality. Hein highlights the four people priorities that connect to value: (1) Performance management, (2) Succession management, (3) Leadership development, and (4) Capability building, providing guidance on each.
Value creation should be the focus. Nothing else. And only four people priorities connect to value: performance management, succession management, leadership development and capability building.
WORKFORCE PLANNING, ORG DESIGN, AND SKILLS-BASED ORGANISATIONS
STEFAN HIERL - Identifying the AI Potential in Your Organization: A Strategic Approach
Leveraging Generative AI to assess the AI Potential in a workforce helps businesses go beyond just talking about how AI might change jobs.
As Stefan Hierl astutely observes in his excellent article, in the rush to jump on the AI bandwagon, many companies fall into the trap of overlooking a critical preliminary step: conducting a systematic evaluation of where AI can deliver transformative value. In his article, Stefan outlines a five-step approach to quantify the potential of AI to support organisations identify opportunities for automating and augmenting work activities. The five steps (see FIG 12), which Stefan outlines in detail are: (1) Decomposing roles by breaking down each role into its main activities and respective time shares. (2) AI potential assessment – estimating the potential of AI at the activity level. (3) Expert validation – cross-verifying the generative AI findings with domain experts. (4) Identify high-value areas – creating an overview where AI can significantly enhance workforce productivity (see example in FIG 13). (5) Use case development – exploring specific AI applications to capitalise on identified potential.
FIG 12: Five steps to perform an activity based AI potential assessment (Source: Stefan Hierl)
FIG 13: AI potential by role – example (Source: Stefan Hierl)
MATT SIGELMAN, JOSEPH FULLER, AND ALEX MARTIN - Skills-Based Hiring: The Long Road from Pronouncements to Practice
For all its fanfare, the increased opportunity promised by Skills- Based Hiring was borne out in not even 1 in 700 hires last year (2023).
This is one of the standout findings from a new study by Matt Sigelman and Alex Martin of The Burning Glass Institute and Joseph Fuller from Harvard Business School. Their analysis reveals three categories of firms, who have publicly stated they have removed degree requirements in hiring, based on their actual hiring outcomes: (1) Skills-based hiring leaders (e.g. Cigna) – who have increased their share of non-degree hires in the roles analysed by nearly 20%. (2) In name only (e.g. Bank of America) – 45% of firms studied have made the shift in name only with no meaningful difference in actual skills-based hiring. (3) Backsliders e.g. Uber) – 20% of the firms analysed had made short-term gains by dropping degree requirements, but the change doesn’t stick. The report also highlights the roles best positioned for skills-based hiring (see FIG 14).
FIG 14: The roles best positioned for skills-based hiring (Source: Sigelman et al)
JORDAN PETTMAN - How to Accelerate the Impact of Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) through the Organisation Strategy Ecosystem
Jordan Pettman, one of my colleagues at Insight222, knows a thing or two about workforce planning. In his recent article for myHRfuture, Jordan explores how strategic design can be brought to life through an integrated ecosystem (see FIG 15) encompassing four components: (1) Organisation strategy, (2) Operating model, (3) Organisation design and strategic workforce planning, and (4) Organisation effectiveness.
FIG 15: The Organisation Strategy Ecosystem (Source: Jordan Pettman, Insight222)
EMPLOYEE LISTENING, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
JACQUELINE BRASSEY, LARS HARTENSTEIN, BARBARA JEFFERY, AND PATRICK SIMON – Working nine to thrive
One of the few positives to emerge through and since the pandemic has been a stronger focus on employee health and wellbeing. According to new research by Jacqui Brassey, PhD, MA, MAfN (née Schouten) Lars Hartenstein Barbara Jeffery and Dr. Patrick Simon, on behalf of the McKinsey Health Institute, improving employee health and wellbeing doesn’t just benefit workers and organisations, it could generate between $3.7 to $11.7 trillion in global economic value (see FIG 16). Their article focuses on six drivers of health that employers can influence - social interaction, mindsets and beliefs, productive activity, stress, economic security, and sleep – and provides guidance on how organisations can move the dial on each.
FIG 16: Improving global employee health and wellbeing could create up to $11.7 trillion in economic value (Source: McKinsey Health Institute)
LEADERSHIP, CULTURE AND LEARNING
LINKEDIN LEARNING – Workplace Learning Report 2024: L&D powers the AI future
As AI reshapes how people learn, work, and chart their careers, L&D sits at the center of organizational agility, delivering business innovation and critical skills.
Aligning learning programs to business goals emerges as the top L&D focus area for 2024 in LinkedIn Learning’s annual report on the L&D field, which is based on analysis of LinkedIn behavioural data and focus interviews with L&D professionals around the globe. The report is structured into three chapters: (1) The State of L&D (the study finds that a strong learning culture derives retention, mobility, and promotion. – see FIG 17), (2) Skills agility (the study finds that only 33% of organisations have internal mobility programs), and (3) How L&D succeeds) with priorities #1 and #2 being to lean into analytics and build the right metrics – see FIG 18). The report features contributions from the likes of: Amanda Nolen (who asks: “What if Chief Learning Officers become Chief Skills Officers”), Chris Louie Geraldine Murphy Terri Horton, EdD, MBA, MA, SHRM-CP, PHR Alexandra Halem Ekpedeme "Pamay" M. Bassey Shruti Bharadwaj and Dani Johnson.
FIG 17: Business outcomes and learning culture (Source: LinkedIn Learning)
FIG 18: How L&D tracks business impact (Source: LinkedIn Learning)
AYSE KARAEVLI AND SERDEN ÖZCAN - Make Better Allies of Your Workforce
When the board takes the recommendations of employee advisory groups seriously and incorporates them into decisions, employees become more empowered, and their perspectives become embedded into their company’s long-term objectives.
In their article for MIT Sloan Management Review, Ayse Karaevli and Serden Ozcan present findings from their interviews with board directors, CEOs, CFOs, and employee representatives to understand how to manage conflict and engage workers. From their analysis, Ayse and Serden identified three strategies effective leaders use to include employees (see FIG 19): (1) Identify mutual goals and interests, (2) Foster inclusive decision processes, and (3) Give employees strategic responsibilities. The article then describes each of these in detail with examples from the likes of ThyssenKrupp, Allianz, Siemens, and Bayer before highlighting the importance of employee advisory groups, engagement with board members and the role of committees and task forces to imbue governance and participation.
FIG 19: Three Strategies to Avert Workforce Controversies (Source: Ayse Karaevli and Serden Özcan)
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
SUNDIATU DIXON-FYLE, MASSIMO GIORDANO, TANIA HOLT, TUNDE OLANREWAJU, DARA OLUFON, AND SANDRA SANCIER-SULTAN - Ethnocultural minorities in Europe: A potential triple win
Greater inclusion of ethnocultural minorities could fill talent gaps and spur company growth, increase economic empowerment of these groups, and generate benefits for the economy and broader society.
Despite the anti-immigration policies of many current European governments (that includes you, Rishi Sunak), stagnant economies, tight labour markets, and shrinking working populations mean that immigration is key to unlocking economic growth. In their superb analysis for McKinsey, Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle Massimo Giordano Tania Zulu Holt Tunde Olanrewaju Dara Olufon and Sandra Sancier-Sultan provide data insights on what they classify as ethnocultural minorities in Europe, and their (mostly challenging) experiences. The authors also provide guidance for companies on ethnocultural minority employee inclusion across five dimensions (see FIG 20).
FIG 20: Companies can consider ethnocultural minority employee inclusion across five dimensions (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 March that I recommend readers delve into:
ANDREA DERLER, PETER BAMBERGER, MANDA WINLAW, AND CUTHBERT CHOW - When New Hires Get Paid More, Top Performers Resign First - To attract talent to the organisation, employers often pay new hires more than they pay equivalent workers in the same role. Analysis by the Visier Inc. team of Andrea Derler, Ph.D. Peter Bamberger Manda Winlaw and Cuthbert Chow shows that in these times of increasing pay transparency, this strategy risks your high-performers resigning.
ANDREW PITTS AND CHAD MITCHELL - Exploring a few largely untapped sources of data for passive Organizational Network Analysis – This article by Andrew Pitts and Chad Mitchell of Polinode looks at a number of data sources that are typically overlooked for ONA including: 360 reviews, peer to peer recognition tools, opportunity marketplaces, and talent intelligence data.
FRANCISCO MARIN - Key Considerations for Defining the Scope of an ONA Pilot – Francisco Marin of Cognitive Talent Solutions provides a helpful guide to defining the scope of an ONA pilot including tips on clarifying the objective, data privacy and securing executive sponsorship.
HAKKI OZDENOREN AND JOHN BOUDREAU – Is the Future of Work Lost in Translation – John Boudreau joins forces with Hakki Ozdenoren of Revelio Labs to conduct analysis on resumes and jobs mentioning the ‘future of work’, with HR featuring prominently (see FIG 21).
FIG 21: A diverse set of roles contribute to the Future of Work (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):
JAMIL ZAKI, BRYAN HANCOCK, BROOKE WEDDLE, AND LUCIA RAHILLY - It’s cool to be kind: The value of empathy at work – In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Jamil Zaki (author of The War for Kindness) joins Bryan Hancock Brooke Weddle and Lucia Rahilly to make the case for investing in empathic behaviour—for reasons including higher productivity, a stronger workplace culture, and better organisational health—as well as to discuss how to go about cultivating kindness at work.
CAL NEWPORT AND ADAM GRANT – How to be productive without burning out – Cal Newport discusses insights from his new book, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout, with Adam Grant on WorkLife. They dig into the data on productivity, debate the benefits and drawbacks of doing fewer things (and spending less time on email and social media), and discuss individual habits and organisational practices for preventing burnout and promoting worthwhile work.
JOSH BERSIN - Why “Talent Density” Is So Critical In Business Today – Fresh from discussing his Dynamic Organizations research at Gloat Live, Josh Bersin discusses why ‘Talent Density’ is becoming one of the key strategies for growth.
DONNA MORRIS AND LARS SCHMIDT - Inside Walmart’s Bold Strategy to Transform Retail Work – Walmart’s chief people officer, Donna Morris, joins Lars Schmidt on his Redefining Work podcast to discuss how Walmart is not just navigating but leading the revolution in workplace technology—with people firmly at its core. This was an especially insightful listen as only two days before I had seen Marty Autrey speaking at the Wharton People Analytics conference on how Walmart provides data-based nudges to its store managers to help them drive business outcomes and enhance employee experience.
RYAN HAMMOND, COLE NAPPER AND SCOTT HINES - Turnover Prediction, ML Ethics, & The HiQ Story – Ryan Hammond shares the epic story of HiQ Labs with Directionally Correct hosts Cole Napper and Scott Hines, PhD, as well as insights from his practitioner and academic backgrounds including how to ethically use internal and external data to do turnover prediction.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
TANUJ KAPILASHRAMI, MICHAEL FRACCARO, TAMLA OATES-FARNEY, AND DAVID GREEN – CHRO Panel: Delivering against the transformation imperative
March’s Video of the Month proved to be a highlight for me as it features me moderating the CHRO Panel at the recent Gloat Live event in New York. The panel was comprised of Tanuj Kapilashrami Michael Fraccaro and Tamla Oates-Forney, and featured discussion on the increasingly pivotal role of the CHRO in business transformation, lessons learnt and successes from transitioning to a skills-based organisation, and how technology can enable a culture of inclusivity and opportunity.
BOOKS OF THE MONTH
With a lot of travelling back and forth from the US in March, I found time to dig into two new books, which I recommend to readers of this newsletter:
MARC SOKOL AND BEVERLY TARULLI – Strategic Workforce Planning: Best Practices and Emerging Directions
Strategic workforce planning – the process of looking forward, assessing how to compete and win in your chosen market or business arena, and linking those insights to your existing and potential future workforce – is core to any institution that aspires to sustain itself over time.
Those are the opening words of Marc Sokol and Beverly Tarulli, Ph.D., the editors of an indispensable new volume of SIOP’s Professional Practice Series. It provides an overview of SWP, covering best practices, methodologies and new directions in the field as well as featuring contributions and case studies from a stellar list of contributors. These include: Sheri Feinzig Alexis Fink Adam Gibson Brian Heger Adam McKinnon, PhD. Kanella Salapatas and Dave Ulrich. Grab yourself a copy!
SALVATORE V. FALLETTA – Creepy Analytics: Avoid Crossing the Line and Establish Ethical HR Analytics for Smarter Workforce Decisions
In Creepy Analytics, Dr. Salvatore Falletta provides a thoughtful approach to HR Analytics that is both evidence-based and ethical – ensuring that organisations get the insights they need while respecting employee privacy. The book is built around the author’s seven-step HR Analytics Cycle (see FIG 22) and is well-researched. Thanks to Salvatore too for referencing Excellence in People Analytics several times, particularly in relation to the guidance Jonathan Ferrar and I offer around governance and the development of an ethics charter. As Alec Levenson opines in his endorsement of the book: “Falletta has done a masterful job addressing some of the most important ethical issues for workforce analytics.”
FIG 22: The HR Analytics Cycle (Salvatore V. Falletta)
RESEARCH REPORT OF THE MONTH
MAX BLUMBERG, ALEC LEVENSON, AND DAVE MILLNER - A Strategically Aligned HR Operating Model
In their recently published paper, three eminent and progressive thinkers in our field – Max Blumberg (JA) ?? Alec Levenson and Dave Millner – set out a pivot in how HR is structured and works in order to more closely align the function to the capabilities required for successful strategy execution. They present a new HR structure (see FIG 23) designed around four key pillars, before describing each pillar in detail and providing some diagnostic steps to implement this new operating model.
FIG 23: A new HR structure (Source: Blumberg, Levenson, and Millner)
FROM MY DESK
March saw four episodes from Series 37 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, sponsored by our friends at Culture Amp - thank you to Ellisa Packer and Jodie Evans, a round-up of series 36 and a guest appearance by yours truly on the Future Work/Life podcast:
DAVID GREEN AND OLLIE HENDERSON - Driving growth in people and businesses using data – In a role reversal, it was my turn in the hotseat as I joined Ollie Henderson on his Future Work/Life podcast to talk people analytics, talent marketplaces, AI, hybrid work models and the future skills required by HR professionals.
DORIE CLARK - How to Embrace Long-Term Thinking in HR Leadership – Dorie Clark and I discuss how to pivot to long-term thinking, how to prioritise effectively, and why embracing failure can drive innovation and creativity.
DIDIER ELZINGA - How to Prove the ROI of a Positive Company Culture – Didier Elzinga joins me to discuss ways of engaging the board on culture topics, the relationship between a healthy culture and business performance, and how to demonstrate the ROI of culture and engagement initiatives.
ROB BRINER - What is Evidence Based HR and Why is it Important? – Rob Briner shares the principles of evidence-based HR, how it differs from people analytics, and offers recommendations to chief people officers on how they can incorporate EBHR into their work.
LOUISE MILLAR AND OLIVIA EDWARDS - Actionable People Analytics Strategies to Influence Senior Leadership – In a powerful example of people analytics in practice at a SME, Louise Millar and Olivia Edwards share insights from the people analytics journey at Chetwood.
DAVID GREEN – How will AI transform the role of HR? – A round-up of series 36 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, with insights from episodes featuring Dawn Klinghoffer Jeremy Shapiro Thomas Hedegaard Rasmussen Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. Luke Farrugia Kaz Hassan Eric Siegel and Bernard Marr.
THANK YOU
Thomas Kohler for including the February edition of Data Driven HR in his round-up of HR resources.
Reb Rebele for referencing me in his post about the Wharton People Analytics Conference – you were missed, Reb.
Olimpiusz Papiez for providing a great set of takeaways on the Digital HR Leaders podcast episode with Dawn Klinghoffer, Jeremy Shapiro, and Thomas Rasmussen on People Analytics, AI and ML.
Peter Johnson for including me in his list of HR thought leaders.
Mokkup.ai for including my article on How Will AI Impact People Analytics in 2024 and Beyond? in their collection of Top 14 reads for Data Professionals.
Thinkers360 for including me in their list of the Top 50 B2B Thought Leaders, Analysts & Influencers You Should Work With In 2024 (EMEA)
Joveo for including me in their list of Top 9 Twitter Influencers Every Talent Acquisition Specialist Should Follow
To the following people who sharing the February edition of Data Driven HR Monthly. It's much appreciated: Allison Ardianto Eakkasit Toratana Jillian Meade David Balls (FCIPD) Kingsley Taylor Military Veterans of LinkedIn Robin Carlin Amy C. Lewis, PhD Russ Fatum Kouros Behzad Emily Klein Madison Clary Robert Rogowski Phillip M. Randall, PhD, CPG Gord Johnston MA, BHJ, BA, CHRP ANDRES CAMPOVERDE Aravind Warrier Francisca Solano Beneitez Satya Prakash Pandey Malgorzata (GOSIA) LANGLOIS Dr. Zohaib Azhar (PhD-HR) Jane Datta David McLean John Lawson Alice Damonte Martha Curioni Vipul M. Mali ↗️ Jens Keuter Phil Inskip Andrew Smith MBA Ekta Vyas Ph.D Oswaldo Machado Bill Brown Barry Marshall Paola Carranco Murthy Nibhanipudi VS Jaana Saramies ? Robert Houghton Aysegul Tigli Indre Radzeviciute Radha Jeevan Melissa Hopper Fritz Tina Peeters, PhD Morten Hartvig Berg Pedro Pereira Gavin Wiseman
UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR PEOPLE ANALYTICS FUNCTION THROUGH THE INSIGHT222 PEOPLE ANALYTICS PROGRAM
At Insight222, our mission is to make organisations better by putting people analytics at the centre of business and upskilling the HR profession The Insight222 People Analytics Program® is your gateway to a world of knowledge, networking, and growth. Developed exclusively for people analytics leaders and their teams, the program equips you with the frameworks, guidance, learnings, and connections you need to create greater impact.
As the landscape of people analytics becomes increasingly complex, with data, technology, and ethical considerations at the forefront, our program brings together over one hundred organisations to collectively address these shared challenges.
Insight222 Peer Meetings, like this event in London, are a core component of the Insight222 People Analytics Program®. They allow participants to learn, network and co-create solutions together with the purpose of ultimately growing the business value that people analytics can deliver to their organisations. If you would like to learn more, contact us today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Green ?? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.
HR Upskilling
2024年03月31日
HR Upskilling
Top 10 HR and People Analytics Themes of 2023
As we near the end of another successful year here at Insight222, we want to reflect on the top themes that have emerged in our content.
From data-driven insights to real-world examples, our team has worked meticulously to deliver informative and persuasive articles that aim to enhance the HR and people analytics function. And we have seen some exciting changes and advancements in the field this year.
So, without further ado, here are the top themes that have taken front stage in our content during 2023.
Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Psychological safety in the workplace has been proven time and time again that without it, a team cannot thrive. In fact, we like to think of it as the epitome of successful teams.
Therefore, it's no surprise that this theme carries over from last year. Some of our most popular blogs discuss measuring psychological safety in the workplace, understanding how organisational culture impacts it and exploring how companies like Microsoft are transforming their organisational culture to prioritise psychological safety and promote a positive work environment.
Behavioural Science in HR
(Source: People Analytics Trends 2021)
The integration of behavioural science into HR and people analytics practices has been gaining traction for the past few years, and this year was no exception. With the changing nature of skills and roles in HR, the need for understanding human behaviour and decision-making has become increasingly important in driving impactful business outcomes.
With this, our article on exploring the role of behavioural science in HR and how it can be leveraged to improve employee engagement, performance, and productivity was one of our most popular reads of 2023.
How AI is Changing the HR Landscape
No discussion about the future of work is complete without considering the role of artificial intelligence (AI).
(Source: The Impact of GPT and Generative AI Models on People Analytics (Interview with Andrew Marritt))
AI has been incorporated into HR for some time now. We have been using it to automate routine tasks, streamline recruitment processes and improve HR analytics. However, with the birth of generative AI models like Chat-GPT, it is an understatement to say that AI has revolutionised every aspect of HR. Better yet, it's safe to say that it has and will continue to revolutionise every business function within an organisation.
From utilising AI in people analytics to how it is transforming the HR landscape, our articles on the impact of Chat-GPT and generative AI models and how AI is changing HR analytics have been among the most popular reads of this year. And for good reason - with the potential to improve decision-making, streamline processes, and enhance employee experience, AI is a topic every HR and people analytics professional should pay attention to.
The Impact of Analytics on HR
Our Insight222 research has shown time and time again that organisations that invest in people analytics drive better business outcomes, which is why, this year, we continued to dig deeper into this topic by exploring the New Model for People Analytics.
With the rise of digital transformation and the increasing importance of data in driving strategic business decisions, our articles on using statistics to drive actionable outcomes, why people analytics is so important for HR, and how social capital can be measured have been highly sought-after reads.
Upskilling the HR Function and Building Data Literacy at Scale
Considering the previous points, it's understandable that upskilling the HR function and building data literacy at scale have emerged as key themes this year. To fully leverage the benefits of AI and data analytics, HR professionals must develop a strong understanding of data and how it can be used to drive strategic decision-making.
As such, in July, we released our research, Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale, which outlines the skills and competencies that HR professionals need to succeed in the digital age. It also highlights how HR leaders need to build an effective skill-based workforce planning capability.
(Source: Measuring the ROI of Employee Training and Development)
Interestingly, this research has also sparked discussions on who holds the responsibility for scaling data literacy across HR, which we explore in our article Who Holds the Responsibility for Scaling Data Literacy Across HR?
Measuring the ROI of Employee Development
Building upon the theme of upskilling and data literacy, it's important to also focus on measuring the ROI of employee development. As professionals in the HR sector, we know all too well that investing in employee training and development is crucial for an organisation's long-term success.
But with senior executives increasingly asking (and expecting) HR to demonstrate the value of these investments, our article on measuring the ROI of employee training and development has been one of the most popular reads this year.
Delivering Greater Value for the Business Through People Analytics
At its core, people analytics is about delivering greater value for the business. Our 2022 research, Impacting Business Value: Leading Companies in People Analytics, is a testament to this. Leading Companies (organisations that drive the most business impact through people analytics) have consistently shown better financial performance, higher employee engagement and retention rates, and overall greater success compared to their less data-driven counterparts.
This is why, in 2023, we have seen a surge of interest in articles on delivering greater value for the organisation with people analytics and the growing influence of people analytics in strategic business decisions.
And this trend will only continue as more and more organisations recognise the importance of incorporating data-driven insights into their decision-making processes.
Challenges to Building Data Literacy
If there is one thing we have identified as a common theme this year, it's the challenges of building data literacy within HR. From understanding the technical aspects of data analysis to gaining buy-in from senior leadership, organisations face various hurdles when trying to build a culture of data literacy.
(Source: Insight222 Research: Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale)
However, as we continue to uncover the value that analytics brings to HR and the business as a whole, these challenges will become easier to overcome. And with more resources and tools available to support data literacy efforts within organisations, we are confident that this theme will evolve in 2024.
Evolving the HR Practice
In all, as we wrap up another year, it's clear that people analytics and data-driven HR practices have become even more ingrained in our work. From the importance of psychological safety and behavioural science to the impact of AI, measuring ROI, and delivering greater value to the business - these are just a few key themes that have shaped our content this year.
However, as we move forward, HR professionals must continue developing their data literacy and upskilling themselves to drive the success of their organisations further.
To that end, we look forward to seeing how these themes will evolve and shape the future of HR in the coming years.
Manpreet RandhawaDecember 18, 2023
HR Upskilling
HR Upskilling
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