Where is People Analytics Adding the Most Business Value in 2021?
One of the most infamous phrases from Jonathan Ferrar and David Green’s new book, Excellence in People Analytics, is “People analytics is not about HR. People analytics is about the business.”
Speaking to Dave Ulrich on the Digital HR Leaders podcast recently, David Green expands on the message behind those words, after acknowledging that the phrase “is slightly provocative, but deliberately so,”
“If there is a criticism of HR, it is sometimes we are a little bit too inward focused, and we need to be a bit more outward focused, and think about solving business problems. So, what we are trying to emphasise is, that it is critical for people analytics to directly help the business to be successful and, therefore, work on things that improve topics such as sales, product innovation, supply chain effectiveness, culture, change inclusion, the list goes on.”
Instead of focusing on solving business challenges, all too often the expectation is that many HR leaders think people analytics is just for improving HR processes. But this is not where the function can add the most value. As Dave Ulrich said, “I think this analytics game legacy is about data. Giving me information. And now I think we are moving from data, to information, to decision-making, to decision-making that makes a difference in what a company does.”
Watch this short clip from the Digital HR Leaders podcast, where Dave Ulrich, David Green and Jonathan Ferrar discuss how people analytics can deliver business value. You can catch the full episode here.
Where is people analytics adding the most business value in 2021?
Organisations reacted to two key crises in 2020 – the COVID-19 pandemic and racial inequality, elevated through the Black Lives Matter movement. It became imperative for organisations to renew and reinvigorate their focus on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB).
Recent research from Insight222 confirms that people analytics teams have been delivering business value by focusing on these societal and economic issues. People analytics leaders cite ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ and ‘Employee Engagement & Listening’ as the top two areas where people analytics adds the most value to their company in 2021. Furthermore, these two areas have experienced the largest jump in value-adding status since 2020.
Download the full report now to read case studies from Colgate Palmolive on elevating DE&I and People Analytics during the pandemic and Uber, on their continuous listening strategy.
To achieve excellence, where should people analytics teams start?
In Excellence in People Analytics, Jonathan and David present the Nine Dimensions for Excellence in People Analytics
The reason the model is represented as a circle is to steer clear of the pressure of a sequential, maturity-based model where one thing must be achieved before moving onto the next. Instead, the main message behind this model is one of continuity, a continuous journey where there is always room for growth and where you can start at any point depending on the business need. In Jonathan’s words, “there are nine areas or dimensions that you can focus on and you can achieve excellence in each of those nine and there is always room for growth.”
For people analytics functions at the beginning of their journey, the evergreen advice from Jonathan and David is to focus outwards, not inwards. Going out to the business and speaking to stakeholders to understand their needs will enable the people analytics team to focus on business challenges from the get-go.
What does the future hold for people analytics?
Excitingly, people analytics has the potential to deliver impact further beyond the four walls of the organisation. The function can address broader societal challenges, such as access to opportunities, diversity and inclusion and, of course, health and mental wellbeing as highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking about the future of people analytics, Jonathan says:
“I think this is about moving beyond the organisations people it is the outside-in societal impact on community. I think it is all the topics of, if I if an executive, if a CEO can help their organisation be more inclusive, be more racially accepting, be more sustainable and create a purpose in their organisation that has employees that will fit to that and it gets better.
Then if thousands of organisations around the world are doing that, then the whole of society gets better. So I know that is very big and very grand, but for me people analytics will go. It will truly go to affecting society.”
Put simply, it’s a very exciting time to be a part of this accelerating function.
Build the skills you need to drive real success with your People Analytics projects
The myHRfuture academy is a learning experience platform for HR professionals looking to invest in their careers. All of our online HR certifications reflect the core HR skills you need to develop for the future, giving you a professional edge while providing evidence of the skills you’ve mastered, helping you get ahead and Press PLAY on your Career® for only £25 per month. With over 30+ HR certifications, 600+ pieces of expertly curated content and 200+ hours of learning the opportunities are endless. Start building the skills you need to get ahead today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caroline Styr is the Research Director at Insight222. She is a thought-leader, researcher and writer on people analytics and the future of HR. Prior to joining Insight222, she worked at the Center for the Future of Work where she was an advisor and in-demand speaker on topics related to the future of work. She has also held roles in digital services and transformation consulting at Cognizant.