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People Analytics in 2020: Growth, Leading Practices, Case Studies and Ethics

David Green

Like a fine vintage of Château Lafite or indeed Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team, sometimes it takes time for the finest things to mature. This is certainly proving to be the case with the practice of People Analytics, which enjoyed a steady rise in the last decade and is now the fastest growing area of HR.

Growth in people analytics accelerates

Indeed, in the Global Talent Trends 2020 Report unveiled by LinkedIn last week, People Analytics was named as the second of four leading trends (see FIG 1) shaping the way companies attract and retain talent.

FIG 1: Source: LinkedIn Global Talent Trends 2020

The report contains a number of interesting findings (as well as a couple of quotes from yours truly!):

  • In the past five years, there has been a 242% increase in the LinkedIn profiles of HR professionals with data analysis skills

  • 55% of talent professionals say they still need help putting basic people analytics into practice

  • Only 29% of talent professionals believe that their companies are good at capitalising on insights from people analytics.

At Insight222, we’re working with 75 global companies to help them have more impact with people analytics. The findings from the LinkedIn study, which show a rapid growth in people analytics coupled with challenges centred around skills and implementation tally with our own experience.

Upskilling HR in digital and analytics

There’s no doubt that upskilling HR is one of the key priorities for People Analytics if it is to continue to thrive and grow. Indeed, in our HR Skills of the Future research last year, people analytics ranked as the #1 skill HR professionals most wanted to learn (see FIG 2). This is contrary to the many lazy suggestions I often hear that HR professionals (especially HR Business Partners) are not interested in learning about people analytics. Both our research and the Global Talent Trends report indicate this simply isn’t true.

FIG 2: The top six skills HR professional want to learn (Source: myHRfuture, HR Skills of the Future, 2019)

Further research we have undertaken at Insight222 over the last 18 months suggests that the problem lies not with HR professionals, but with the companies they work for. Our research found only 34% of HR professionals state that their company offered training to increase data-literacy and analytical-savviness.

Leading practices in people analytics

If you and your company want to get started or check that you’re on the right road to success, as part of the Nine Dimensions for Excellence In People Analytics model I developed with Jonathan Ferrar, we’ve identified seven questions that can help lead to the development of a successful roadmap for people analytics. These are illustrated below in FIG 3 and described thereafter.

FIG 3: Are you creating value from people analytics? - click on the image to take the survey (Source: Jonathan Ferrar, David Green, Insight222)

Our experience shows world-class analytics functions demonstrate the following criteria over the seven areas highlighted in FIG 3 above:

  1. Ethics - They have a well-defined and communicated Ethics Code of Conduct for data and analytics, with an integrated data model for people analytics

  2. Prioritisation - They have well organised and defined criteria for the selection of advanced people analytics projects

  3. Sponsorship - They secure the sponsorship of Senior Business Executives (GM, EVP level) for significant people analytics projects

  4. CHRO Investment - They have a Chief Human Resources Officer actively involved in people analytics projects and who invests in the function, even if the total cost of HR is declining

  5. People Analytics Leader - They have outstanding People Analytics Leaders who “get things done”

  6. ROI/Value - They focus the function on delivering financial and employee value

  7. Upskilling HR - They create the appropriate level of data and analytics skills across HR, especially HRBPs

You can also take our Seven Question Survey to see what your current level of excellence is in People Analytics. If you take the survey you will also receive an immediate high-level assessment of your People Analytics capability.

Examples of how companies are driving value with people analytics

I’m fortunate to hear on a regular basis much of the terrific work being achieved with people analytics whether it’s at conferences, from the global organisations we work with at Insight222 or from my guests on the Digital HR Leaders Podcast. If you or your company wants to learn what leading organisations are doing with people analytics, I recommend listening to the following six episodes of the Podcast:

  1. Eden Britt talks about how HSBC has used people analytics to gain insights on organisational effectiveness.

  2. Jordan Pettman describes how Nestlé employed people analytics for gender pay gap analysis.

  3. Ian O’Keefe explains how JP Morgan built a machine learning based tool to automate part of the recruitment process at the bank.

  4. Dawn Klinghoffer outlines how people analytics helped Microsoft gain insights on the impact of reorganisations on employees.

  5. RJ Milnor describes how McKesson used passive ONA to provide insights on the networking behaviours of high-performance in sales.

  6. Leena Nair revealed that people analytics had proved that every $1 invested in employee wellness at Unilever generates a $2.50 return.

Ethics is the foundation of value and sustainability in people analytics

To conclude this article, I want to go back to Ethics – the first area highlighted in the leading practices of world-class analytics functions. I cannot understate the importance of Ethics. As my quote in the LinkedIn report states:

If we build trust and use people data ethically, then we can unlock significant value both for the organisation and for the people who work for it

If you can demonstrate openly that you handle people data ethically as well as according to laws and regulations, then you are likely to get more traction. That’s why we recommend to the organisations we work with at Insight222 that they establish an “Ethics Council” to devise and implement a Code of Conduct for the ethical and wise analysis of workforce data. This Ethics Council should also be accountable for ensuring there is a “fair exchange of value” to employees themselves when undertaking People Analytics. With Accenture finding that 92% of employees are open to the collection of workforce data about them, but only if it provides them with personal benefit, it is clear that ethics is the foundation of good people analytics. Most organisations still have far to travel with regards to ethics and people data with research we conducted at Insight222 finding only 23% of HR professionals telling us that there is an Ethics Code of Conduct for People Analytics at their company.

People Analytics is here to stay

Finally, the other three key trends highlighted in the Global Talent Trends Report: Employee Experience, Internal Recruiting and a Multi-Generational Workforce all need to be underpinned by People Analytics if companies are going to succeed. People Analytics really has truly arrived.

References

  1. LinkedIn Global Talent Trends 2020

  2. HR Skills of the Future - myHRfuture

  3. How can I be more successful at People Analytics by Jonathan Ferrar

  4. Digital HR Leaders Podcast – episodes featuring Eden Britt, Jordan Pettman, Ian O’Keefe, Dawn Klinghoffer, RJ Milnor and Leena Nair

  5. Accenture Decoding Organisational DNA: Trust, Data and Unlocking Value in the Digital Workplace

Build the HR skills you need for the future

The myHRfuture academy is a learning experience platform for HR professionals looking to invest in their careers. Our online training helps HR professionals to become more digital and data-driven and build the skills you need for the future of HR. The myHRfuture Academy provides you with an on-demand platform where you can get access to over 500+ pieces of short, bitesized learning content all expertly curated to help you build knowledge in People Analytics, Digital HR & HR Technology, Design Thinking, Workforce Planning, Consulting & Influencing and Stakeholder Management. Sign-up today for unlimited to access to myHRfuture for only £25 per month.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David is a globally respected writer, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As an Executive Director at Insight222, he helps global organisations create more cultural and economic value through the wise and ethical use of people data and analytics. Prior to joining Insight222 and taking up a board advisor role at TrustSphere, David was the Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM Watson Talent. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations embark upon and accelerate their people analytics journeys. 

SEE DAVID SPEAK AT THESE EVENTS IN 2020

Now that my speaking gigs are over for 2019, it’s time to look forward to 2020. I’ll be chairing and/or speaking about people analytics, data-driven HR and the Nine Dimensions for Excellence in People Analytics model at the following events until the end of April 2020.