The Best HR & People Analytics Articles of September 2021
The field of people analytics, as Jonathan Ferrar writes in his latest article, is buoyant. As Jonathan and I conducted the research for our book, Excellence in People Analytics, it became increasingly evident that the pandemic has demonstrably elevated both the demand for and the impact of people analytics. In the book, we refer to this new era as The Age of Value.
Insight222’s Accelerating People Analytics research, which will be published in October, confirms this surge of growth in the field. Of 114 global companies that participated in the study, 75% told us that their people analytics team will grow in the next 18-24 months. Another finding, which further confirms the fervent demand for talent in the space, is that 35% of the people analytics leaders who participated in the study have changed roles in the last 12 months.
Curating this collection every month provides me with a helpful indicator of the continued growth and excitement around people analytics. So, in line with the research highlighted above, perhaps it is not surprising that this month sees, in my view at least, the strongest set of resources I’ve ever assembled. But I’ll let readers be the judge of that!
Certainly, there are insights from chief human resources officers as well as senior human resources and people analytics leaders from companies including: Microsoft, IBM, PepsiCo, Walmart, Unilever, Uber, General Mills, Zurich Insurance, JPMorgan Chase, PayPal, Johnson & Johnson, Syngenta, eBay, Novo Nordisk, Philip Morris International and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Let’s get on with this month’s selections. As ever, enjoy reading and if you do, please share some data driven HR love liberally with your colleagues and networks.
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THE GREAT RESIGNATION
Personally, I’m not fond of the term: ‘The Great Resignation’ – it’s 2021’s answer to The War for Talent. Not only is it imbued with negative connotations, but it is creating fear and hyperbole in equal measure. There is so much fluff being written on the topic – and many misleading resources – that it is hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. Nevertheless, I do think the resources I’ve included below from Dave Ulrich, McKinsey and Visier provide a balanced view of what appears to be happening as well as more importantly provide guidance on what HR leaders should do to support their companies.
DAVE ULRICH - Seven Talent Responses to the Great Resignation
As usual, Dave Ulrich strikes a sensible chord by reminding us in his article that: “The Great Resignation should not be a surprise.” With over 18 months of virtual work and an absence of physical connection with colleagues, Dave further explains that: “Employees feel less attached to their teams and organizations and more willing to explore job and career options.” Dave then explores seven responses (e.g. reinventing the work setting and personalising work) to The Great Resignation and provides a brief assessment (see FIG 1) for reimagining talent practices.
FIG 1: Reimagining Talent Practices (Source: Dave Ulrich)
AARON DE SMET, BONNIE DOWLING, MARINO MUGAYAR-BALDOCCHI AND BILL SCHANINGER - ‘Great Attrition’ or ‘Great Attraction’? The choice is yours
Is ‘The Great Resignation’ a threat or an opportunity? This thoughtful piece from McKinsey asserts that: “Organizations that take the time to learn why (employees are quitting) —and act thoughtfully—will have an edge in attracting and retaining talent.” The article goes on to present research into the nature and characteristics of what McKinsey is terming ‘The Great Attrition’ (“The bottom line: the Great Attrition is happening, it’s widespread and likely to persist—if not accelerate—and many companies don’t understand what’s really going on, despite their best efforts”) and then examines ways companies can work together with employees to transform the threat of mass attrition into ‘The Great Attraction’: “By seizing this unique moment, companies could gain an edge in the race to attract, develop, and retain the talent they need to create a thriving postpandemic organization.”
By not understanding what their employees are running from, and what they might gravitate to, company leaders are putting their very businesses at risk
FIG 2: Employers do not fully understand why employees are leaving (Source: McKinsey)
IAN COOK - Who Is Driving the Great Resignation? | JAKE SOROFMAN - The Next Revolution Is Happening Inside Your Company | PAUL RUBENSTEIN - Great Resignation Got You Worried? Start by Sorting the Signal From the Noise
Armed with data and their recent round of funding (see their billboards on Broadway!), Visier is all over The Great Resignation. In his article for Harvard Business Review, Ian Cook shares several key insights from Visier’s in-depth analysis of more than 9 million employee records at 4,000 global companies, and offers a three-step plan to help employers take a more data-driven approach to retention (Quantify the problem and its business impact, identify the root causes and implement targeted retention campaigns). Then Visier’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jake Sorofman, describes how The Great Resignation is part of a wider shift towards the employee from the customer: “In the same way that companies rose and fell based on their willingness to invest in the customer, companies will again rise and fall based on their willingness to invest in the employee.” Finally, Paul Rubenstein provides guidance (see FIG 3) to help companies “sort the signal from the noise” to focus on the right retention cases in your company and ways to retain these workers.
You’ll hear lots of hype and advice during this ‘Great Resignation.’ Do your own listening and research to find out what will work best on your team
FIG 3: Sort signal from noise and stop the exit! (Source: Paul Rubenstein, Visier)
FUTURE OF WORK, HYBRID WORK AND RETURN TO WORKPLACE
KATHLEEN HOGAN, DAWN KLINGHOFFER, JOE WHITTINGHILL, DAVID ROCK | MICROSOFT - To Thrive in Hybrid Work, Build a Culture of Trust and Flexibility | KATHLEEN HOGAN - The one thing employees want most from their managers in a hybrid office
Every day since the start of the pandemic, Microsoft conducts an opt-in survey of a random sample of 2,500 employees, which provides insights that helps shape decisions on topics such as return-to-office and hybrid working. Microsoft has generously shared what they are learning “in an effort to help organizations navigate two trends reshaping the workforce: The Hybrid Paradox and the Great Reshuffle.” There is so much to absorb here, including insights on: i) The Hybrid Paradox (“In which people want the flexibility to work from anywhere, but simultaneously crave more in-person connection”), ii) There’s no one size fits all approach – see FIG 4 (“Some employees cite work-life balance, focus time, and meetings as reasons to go into the office. Others see those as reasons to stay home”), and iii) The role of the manager becomes even more important in hybrid work, with Microsoft’s Head of People Analytics, Dawn Klinghoffer, highlighting that: “As we move to hybrid, we have to continue to be intentional about everything. Employees are looking to their managers to see how they’re going to behave and respond.” Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s Chief People Officer, provides further insight on the critical role of the manager with regards to hybrid work in her article for Fast Company.
FIG 4: Source: Microsoft
ROB CROSS, MIKE BENSON, JACK KOSTAL AND RJ MILNOR - Collaboration Overload Is Sinking Productivity
Fresh from publishing his brilliant new book, Beyond Collaboration Overload, (and appearing as a guest on a recent episode of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast) Rob Cross teams up with Mike Benson, Jack Kostal and RJ Milnor to examine ways to mitigate collaboration creep. Given that email, IM, phone and video calls consume a staggering 85% of most people’s work weeks their research is very welcome indeed. They dig into why people take on requests despite “…knowing with every fiber of their being that they should say no” as well as provide examples on how to combat these challenges such as email triage rules or protected times for focused work. The article also offers case studies on how General Mills (where Mike and Jack work) and Uber (Where RJ leads people analytics) have tried to understand and tackle this problem.
The team at Uber discovered a strong relationship between employees’ amount of focus time and their productivity, as measured in employee surveys.
NICKLE LAMOREAUX - In the hybrid world, organisations' focus should go beyond just ‘where’ people work | TOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC - Human resources was elevated to humane resources, and this should not go away | AMY GOLDFINGER - How companies attract and retain talent will determine the broader talent implications
A trio of fascinating interviews by Mastufa Ahmed for People Matters with three of the best leaders in the field. First, Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM’s chief human resources officer, highlights three lessons for organisations from the pandemic: i) be intentionally flexible (“The pandemic has opened many companies to the concept that if employees achieve the outcomes they are expected to achieve, work can get done on a flexible schedule”), ii) Lead and manage with empathy, iii) Focus on skills (“In a talent tsunami, focus on the skills needed, not necessarily degrees”). Next and as he invariably does, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic hits the right note by emphasising how the shift to hybrid working has: “The opportunity to give people more freedom, flexibility, to trust them and learn to evaluate what they actually produce and deliver, that is a golden opportunity not just for HR, but for organisations and society.” Finally, Amy Goldfinger, Head of Global Talent at Walmart, provides guidance on how to streamline talent management strategies to attract and retain the best possible talent in the face of The Great Resignation: “Streamlining talent management strategies starts with gathering and analyzing the data.”
ESTHER TIPPMANN, PAMELA SHARKEY SCOTT AND MARK GANTLY - Which Hybrid Work Model Is Best for Your Business?
Aside from outliers like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, whose CEOs have come out vocally against remote working, the vast majority of global companies are deliberating about the type of hybrid model they want to offer. As such, this HBR article may offer some help. The authors highlight two factors to help understand which hybrid model to offer: the core tasks that need to get done and the importance of having employees in international markets. They then outline four models (see FIG 5): large hubs, hubs and satellites, distributed, and global virtual.
PEOPLE ANALYTICS
JONATHAN FERRAR – How is the Role of the People Analytics Leader Evolving?
According to the soon to be published Insight222 Accelerating People Analytics Research 2021, 35% of people analytics leaders have changed roles in the last 12 months. In his article, Jonathan Ferrar provides guidance on how people analytics leaders in their new roles can adopt a business-first approach to i) connect with stakeholders, ii) define the ambition, and; iii) prioritise ‘Quick Wins’ and ‘Big Bets (see FIG 6). Jonathan weaves in case studies from our book Excellence in People Analytics from Piyush Mathur, Madhura Chakrabarti, Suku Mariappan and Cory Ingram.
To leaders entering new people analytics roles -- and if the findings from our research at Insight222 are accurate, there will be a lot of new people analytics leaders -- we recommend adopting a “Business-First” approach.
FIG 6: The People Analytics Leader – First 100 Days: Adopt a ‘Business First’ approach (Source, Jonathan Ferrar, Insight222)
SERENA HUANG - My First 100 Days as the New Head of People Analytics & HR Tech
The perfect complement to Jonathan’s article comes from a head of people analytics who has recently moved role. Serena Huang writes about her first 100 days as Head of People Analytics and HR Tech at PayPal, emphasising that meeting 1:1 with senior stakeholders outside HR: “…has been tremendously helpful in creating a roadmap where we as a team can add value to the enterprise.” Serena also outlines how she and her team have developed their mission statement, identified some quick wins (e.g. automating reporting) and collaborated with other analytics teams in the business.
For people analytics to truly make an impact and to be able to support the rapid growth the company is experiencing, we must be up to date on technology solutions and analytics methods to add value to the business at scale.
DIRK PETERSEN - Six Reasons People Analytics Functions (and Leaders) Fail
One of the findings of the Insight222 Accelerating People Analytics Research 2021, which will be published in October, is that 75% of companies plan to increase the size of their people analytics team. Indeed, almost every CHRO I have spoken to this year has told me they are investing more to build out their people analytics capabilities. But with more investment comes increased expectation. In his article, Dirk Petersen summarises six common failure points (e.g. prioritisation, trust and insufficient commitment) of people analytics functions. Dirk explains that the purpose is to help CHROs and people analytics leaders avoid a few critical mistakes by providing guidance on how to mitigate these risks, and so make investment decisions more confidently, and consequently achieve the expected business outcomes.
See also: What is the Optimum People Analytics team size?
Underinvestment is not a failure of the people analytics leader, but a failure of the CHRO
THOMAS C. REDMAN - What’s Holding Your Data Program Back?
Tom Redman synthesises findings from his research into why, so many years into the digital revolution, progress in the data space is so slow. His headline result is stark: “Today’s organizations are unfit for data. Until companies address the underlying issues, progress will remain halting and uncertain.” Tom then outlines five areas key to success covering: data quality, putting data to work (“Unless companies put data to work in ways that return value, there is little business benefit”), organisational capability, technology and defence ( encompassing “all of the organizational tasks related to minimizing risk, including security, privacy, and ethics”). He then brings each of these to life using powerful visualisations afforded by force field analysis (FFA) – see examples in FIG 7 and FIG 8.
Unless companies put data to work in ways that return value, there is little business benefit
FIG 7: Forces Impacting Putting Data to Work in Organizations (Source: Tom Redman)
FIG 8: Forces Impacting Organizational Capability of Data Programs (Source: Tom Redman)
WORKFORCE PLANNING
JOHN GUY - Get started with skills-led strategic workforce planning
Our research at Insight222 into the future of workforce planning, found that while nearly all companies want to build a skills-based workforce planning process, only a quarter are actively doing so. As such, John Guy’s piece on getting started with skills-led workforce planning is as timely as it is helpful. John breaks down the key questions that skills-based workforce planning is designed to answer (e.g. What are our business goals and critical skills? What are our most important skills gaps? In which order will we close the gaps?), sets out a six-step Agile Workforce Planning methodology, and provides guidance on critical capabilities such as connecting business outcomes, capabilities and skills (see FIG 9), narrowing down to what matters most, and adopting a ‘Total Workforce’ approach.
FIG 9: Connecting business outcomes, capabilities and skills (Source: John Guy, Simply)
ETHICS
DOROTHY LEIDNER, OLGERTA TONA, BARBARA H. WIXOM AND IDA ASADI SOMEH - Putting Dignity at the Core of Employee Data Use
In our book, Excellence in People Analytics, Jonathan Ferrar and I extol how strong governance (the mechanisms, processes and procedures by which people analytics ‘operates’) sets the function up for success. A crucial component of governance, with regards to people analytics, is the establishment of an ethics charter that governs the collection and use of people data – and provides a ‘fair exchange of value’ where both the business and the workforce gain benefit. The headline finding of a recent study by the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), was: “When companies manage employee data responsibly, they’re better able to grow trust while gaining insights.” This article provides a summary of the study, with guidance relating to: i) Understanding the dimensions of employee data (the ‘5-W data’ regarding who, what, where, when and why), ii) how employee data is used (knowing and showing employees), iii) focusing on dignity when evaluation employee data use (see FIG 10), and iv) making dignity core to employee data use. A brilliant and important read.
When companies manage employee data responsibly, they’re better able to grow trust while gaining insights
FIG 10: Data-related activities in pursuit of employee dignity (Source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
ANSHUL SHEOPURI - Foundations of trustworthy AI: Trusted AI for the workforce
How do you implement putting dignity and trust at the core of using people data in an organisation? A great example of a company that adheres to the guidance offered in the previous piece by Leidner et al is IBM. In his article, Anshul Sheopuri, who has led much of IBM’s work on people analytics and building of AI technology for HR in recent years, outlines how these solutions have been: “Designed to foster trustworthiness and deliver an end-to-end employee experience across the entire employee lifecycle.” Anshul describes how skills act as: “the silver thread across the employee journey, empowering IBMers to make fact-based decisions,” and provides examples covering hiring and compensation. For more on this topic, please listen to my podcast with IBM’s former CHRO, Diane Gherson: How IBM is reinventing HR with AI and people analytics.
IBM has built AI solutions for HR are designed to deliver personalized experiences, with skills as the silver thread across the employee journey, empowering IBMers to make fact-based decisions
JOHN SUMSER AND HEATHER BUSSING - Pinning Jello® to a Wall: Regulating AI ROY ALTMAN – The Emerging Role of Artificial Intelligence in Human Capital Management
According to an absorbing piece by John Sumser and Heather Bussing: “The biggest actual risks (of AI) come from overestimating the capability of the technology and the idea that technology gives us more accurate and less biased information.” When you boil this down to HR, they opine that: “In HR and HRTech, the biggest risk is not arguing with the recommendations supplied by the machine.” The article then provides a helpful summary of some of the key concerns for AI in HR Technology, the risks of using such systems (including those associated with privacy, bias and security) and some of the current (and future) laws governing AI. Shrewd guidance is offered relating to the use of crowdsourcing to validate algorithms and having at least one external representative on an ethics committee or council. John and Heather’s article is amongst a clutch of excellent resources on the emerging role of AI in human capital management in the current issue of Workforce Solutions Review, expertly edited by Roy Altman.
The real problem in the regulation of AI is that technology moves faster than legal systems.
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
CAROLINE STYR, KERRY GHIZE AND CHRISTOPHE MARTEL - How to Demonstrate the Business Value of Employee Experience (Article) | Demonstrating the Business Value of EX (Report)
A key finding from our new research at Insight222, which was undertaken in partnership with our friends at TI People, is that 41% of the business impact of employee experience is delivered when experiences for customer facing teams are improved. The article provides a neat summary of the report, highlighting some of the differences between EX and engagement (see FIG 11) and three key findings from the research demonstrating that organisations: i) Have shown more interest in EX at the C-Suite level since the start of the global pandemic, ii) Have difficulty proving the business impact of EX, and; iii) Aren’t fully embracing internal “experience centricity” – and presents The Employee Experience Value Chain (see FIG 12) – to support forward-thinking organisations to capitalise on experience centricity.
FIG 11: Source: Demonstrating the Business Value of EX (Insight222 and TI People, 2021)
FIG 12: The Employee Experience Value Chain (Source: Demonstrating the Business Value of EX, Insight222 and TI People, 2021)
SCOTT JUDD AND KARRA BARRON - Employee Experience is Everyone’s Job
An insightful interview with Scott Judd, Senior Director of People Analytics at eBay, where he shares insights on how his team has supported the company during the crisis, why the combination of empathy and people analytics is so important, and the role of people analytics in driving employee experience and making the hybrid workplace successful. Scott provides some great insights not least: “Analytics really underlies all of our employee experience work. For every program that we have, we want to make sure that the programs are being optimized through data, that we’re being as impactful as we can, that we’re learning from our employees, what’s working and what’s not, and making quick course corrections.”
LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
DONALD SULL AND CHARLES SULL - 10 Things Your Corporate Culture Needs to Get Right
Knowing what elements of culture matter most to employees can help leaders foster engagement as they transition to a new reality that will include more remote and hybrid work. As such this illuminating analysis of 1.4m employee reviews on Glassdoor of companies in the Culture500 (a sample of large US based firms), which identifies the ten elements that matter most to employees (see FIG 13) provides a solid benchmark. The number one predictor is that employees are treated with consideration, courtesy, and dignity, and their perspectives are taken seriously. This factor is 17.9x more powerful a predictor of culture score than any other factor (see FIG 14). The article then dives into each of the ten factors grouping them into four categories: respect, leadership, compensation and job security/reorganisations (“Virtually no one has any good things to say about reorganizations”).
FIG 13: The 10 elements of culture that matter most to employees (Source: Culture X)
FIG 14: Corporate culture elements most important to employees (Source: Culture X)
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
JOANNA ISZKOWSKA, KAMILA KAWECKA, PAWEL NAWROCKI, JURICA NOVAK, JÚLIA LÁZÁR, MARTA MATESCA, DÁNIEL RÓNA AND IVA ŠTERKOVÁ - Closing the gender gap in Central and Eastern Europe
A fascinating article highlighting the main findings of a McKinsey study: Win-win: How empowering women can benefit Central and Eastern Europe, which finds that closing the gender-gap in Central and Eastern Europe could unlock and extra €146 billion in annual GDP by 2030. The article then highlights the barriers to progress as well as actions that can be taken to accelerate the empowerment of women in the region.
FIG 15: Source - McKinsey
HR TECH
JOSH BERSIN - Ten New Truths About The HR Technology Market
Josh continues to be the most prominent analyst when it comes to HR Technology, and in one of his most recent pieces he distils his research of the past 12 months to ‘Ten New Truths’. These truths include: i) Employee Experience takes over (every HR Tech vendor “wants to build an ‘experience layer’ that sits in front of employees”), ii) Skills taxonomies and intelligence platforms are the ‘next big thing’ (“The problem for buyers is that one ‘integrated skills platform’ does not yet exist”), which means that the ‘new skills engine’ is a highly prized goal (see FIG 16), iii) Learning in the flow of work has arrived (“Employees are consuming vast amounts of learning right now, all for good reason. They want to stay healthy, learn their new jobs, and understand how to manage their complicated lives”), iv) Talent Marketplace has become a category (“Of all the new offerings I’ve studied over the years, this is the only HR Tech space that seems to be universally successful”), and; v) Employee listening explodes with growth (“These are mission-critical systems, and if you don’t have something like this you can’t really “shorten the distance between signal and action”). A mandatory read for everyone in our field.
FIG 16: Source: Josh Bersin
JASON NARLOCK AND ALLAN H. CHURCH – Where does Artificial Intelligence play in the HR game? | KEITH E. SONDERLING - Is artificial intelligence ready for the great rehiring?
Two absorbing and important resources that examine the readiness (or not) for using artificial intelligence in HR. In the first article, Jason Narlock (formerly at PepsiCo and now leading people insights and analytics at Mondelēz) and Allan H. Church of PepsiCo highlight: “There’s AI that should work in HR, but it suffers from underinvestment and a limited understanding of what it takes to be successful. And then there’s AI that may never work in HR that’s simply overhyped” (see FIG 17). They then provide examples of where AI works today but is under-utilised (e.g. reporting and dashboarding), where AI should work but is underinvested (e.g. machine learning and natural language processing), and where AI may never work and is over-hyped (e.g. personalised integrated coaching and feedback). In the second article for the World Economic Forum, Keith Sonderling, Commissioner for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), warns that “Employers who use AI to make hiring decisions must understand exactly what they are buying and how it might impact their hiring decisions.”
FIG 17: Source: Jason Narlock and Allan H. Church
SONIA MOONEY AND SOUMYASANTO SEN – The Digital HR Metrics
It’s widely recognised that digitalising HR can drive efficiency, improve employee experience and drive business outcomes, but how do we measure success? In their article, Sonia and Soumyasanto outline the data and metrics, as well as providing a formula for companies to calculate the return of their digital HR investments (see FIG 18).
FIG 18: The Digital HR Metrics (Source: Sonia Mooney and Soumyasanto Sen)
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:
LIZ FOSSLIEN - What You’re Getting Wrong About Burnout – One of the underlying causes of The Great Resignation is burnout. Liz Fosslien (Humu) highlights that a staggering 71% of employees experienced burnout at least once in 2020, offers seven steps leaders and managers can take to create a healthier work environment for employees and illustrates some of her key points with some poignant images (see example in FIG 19).
KRIS KITTO, AMY LAVOIE AND ERIC KNUDSEN - Employee Well-Being Report: Most People Don’t See a Path Forward for Internal Mobility – The highlights of Glint’s latest Employee Wellbeing Report include: employees not feeling supported to look for their next role internally, a surge in employee burnout and insights on what employees actually want from work (see FIG 20).
JEFF HIGGINS - Using Analytics to Solve the DEI Challenge – Another great read from IHRIM’s recent issue on The Emerging Role of AI in Human Capital Management, where Jeff Higgins (Human Capital Management Institute) provides guidance on using people analytics to tackle diversity, equity and inclusion topics including: i) presenting diversity data in a way that is simple, salient and comparable, and; ii) leveraging diversity data to empower the right people to act.
JASON McPHERSON - A data-driven approach to understanding employee turnover – A timely and practical guide from Culture Amp’s Founding Scientist, Jason McPherson, which provides a four-step, data-driven approach for understanding and addressing turnover and churn: i) Clean your data and focus on the right people, ii) Include a broad range of connected data, iii) Use the right statistical techniques to identify patterns, and; iv) Address solutions at the group level, not the individual. Jason also provides a helpful reminder that invariably the best predictors of churn are simple e.g. people who say they can’t see themselves at the company in two years’ time are 2.6x more likely to leave within the next year (see FIG 21).
JARED SPATARO - Beyond the Binary: Solving the Hybrid Work Paradox – “This binary way of seeing work as either “in-person” or “remote” is understandable. But it’s also limiting. Getting beyond the binary to develop a new operating model of work for the hybrid era requires us to reimagine what “workplace” really means—one where new categories of technology empower people to move beyond the binary themselves, integrating work into their lives in fresh and dynamic ways.” A thoughtful piece by Jared Spataro, who leads Microsoft’s 365 and Teams businesses.
TOM SCHULTZ - What the Hell Is Skill Data? 3 Ways To Use Skill Data for Agile Talent Development – Helpful piece from Degreed featuring three companies outlining how they use skills data including Derek Mitchell outlining how Novo Nordisk uses skills data to align strengths to the business.
FIG 19: Source: Liz Fosslien
FIG 20: The Great Reshuffle: What Employees Want from Work (Source: Glint)
PODCASTS OF THE MONTH
According to a recent article, companies are increasingly using podcasts as an alternate way of communicating with and educating employees. Consequently, this month I’ve selected seven varied but all brilliant podcasts to support your learning (you can also check out the latest episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast – see ‘From My Desk’ below):
JOHN BOUDREAU AND BILL BANHAM – What makes for an awesome CHRO – The brilliant John Boudreau joins the HRchat podcast to outline the characteristics that make for a great chief human resources officer in today’s digital world.
LEENA NAIR AND MICHAEL HAYMAN - Head and heart: igniting the human spark – Speaking of awesome CHROs, Unilever CHRO Leena Nair guests on Seven Hills’ Change Makers podcast to speak about her personal purpose to “ignite the human spark for a better business and better world”.
JERI DORIS AND RACHEL FARLEY - Building and maintaining culture while scaling an organization - Jeri Doris, chief people officer at European multinational Delivery Hero, joins Heidrick & Struggles’ Rachel Farley to discuss how to maintain a healthy and ambitious organisational culture while scaling and adapting to hybrid work.
JESSE JACKSON, STACIA GARR, DANI JOHNSON AND CHRIS PIRIE – Integrating Inclusion: Creating Light, Not Heat – Jesse Jackson, chief learning officer at JP Morgan Chase, joins the RedThread team for a fascinating discussion about: “when it comes to getting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging right, it’s not heat you want: it’s light.”
MAX BLUMBERG, KEVYN RUSTICI AND CHRISTOPHER DARONE – The competitive advantage of People Analytics – Max guests on the HRevolution podcast and takes us on an insightful and occasionally humorous ride centred on how people data can be used to improve business outcomes.
PAMELA HINDS AND MATT ABRAHAMS - The New Normal: How Hybrid Work Actually Works - Pamela Hinds, Fortinet Founders Chair and professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University, joins the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast to discuss the effectiveness of communicating in a hybrid work environment
DAMIEN WOODS AND MICHELLE OCKERS - Learning in an Agile Organisation – Damien Woods, who leads learning and growth at Australian retailer 7-Eleven, discusses why the company has shifted to an Agile structure, how this fosters growth and learning, and what it means for learning in the organisation.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
TIM PEFFERS – 5 top tips to drive impact in Strategic Workforce Planning
As I’ve mentioned previously, I really enjoy Tim Peffers’ Random Walks in HR video blog – it’s practical, insightful and laced with self-deprecatory humour. In this episode, Tim breaks down his five top tips to drive impact with workforce planning. These include i) find what the business really cares about, and ii) prioritise around critical roles.
RESEARCH REPORTS OF THE MONTH
GAURAV GUPTA, MARIA NEICU AND RUUD RIKHOF - The Future of HR seen through two different lenses
An excellent study, led by Kennedy Fitch, which scrutinises the future of human resources and its role (and relevancy) in the future of work. The report blends insights from CHROs (such as Anette Bohm, Laure Roberts, Rosa Lee and Krish Shankar) and industry experts (such as Dave Ulrich, Josh Bersin, Ravin Jesuthasan, Tom Haak and Volker Jacobs), with both groups agreeing that providing that HR seizes the opportunity and gets it right, strategic value will be derived for both the organisation and its workforce: “The hyper-acceleration of digitalisation has significant ramifications on the who, what and how of work. With pre-defined career paths no longer matching the needs and aspirations of employees, greater personalisation will allow individuals to customise their professional journey. The concept of flexibility has become much broader and more deeply embedded within organisational and individual decision-making.”
Both practitioners and thinkers agreed that the HR function (if it seizes the opportunity and gets it right) will have higher strategic value for the company.
CHRISTIAN VETTER, CAROLINE STYR AND JULIUS BÄHR - What are the Top 10 Trends Impacting the Future of HR? Article | Report
A collaboration between HRForecast and Insight222 that studies insights from a wealth of macroeconomic data and talent market analytics to understand how skills, job roles and trends are impacting the future of HR. The article highlights: i) the top ten trends impacting HR roles and skills (see FIG 22), ii) how these trends have evolved over the last 18 months, iii) how different industries are hiring against emerging roles and skills, and; iv) how HR can prepare for a digital, data-driven future. The report provides a deeper dive and a series of fascinating visualisations that brings the insights to life.
INFOGRAPHIC OF THE MONTH
PRIYANKA MEHROTRA – DEIB & Analytics: The 8 steps to get started
With diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) increasingly becoming a strategic priority for organisations, many of the people analytics teams we work with at Insight222 are conducting analyses in this field. As such, the work RedThread Research is doing to help practitioners understand the role of people analytics in DEIB is highly valuable. In the infographic below, RedThread’s Priyanka Mehrotra cleverly captures eight steps to help practitioners get started.
FIG 23: 8 steps for DEIB Analytics: Getting started (Source: RedThread Research)
HELPFUL RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
BRIAN HEGER – 140+ Companies Return to Office Plans
Brian Heger’s Talent Edge Weekly is always worth a read, and he has also compiled an invaluable database of over 140 companies and their return to office plans. Brian also updates this list weekly, which makes it even more useful.
FROM MY DESK
It’s been another rewarding and busy month culminating in the our annual Insight222 Global Executive Retreat, and featuring several episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, and a virtual launch of Excellence in People Analytics.
Excellence in People Analytics at NYU – I had the pleasure of speaking as part of the Fall 2021 Virtual Book Launch Series organised by the NYU SPS Human Capital Management Program, where I presented research, leading practices and case studies from Excellence in People Analytics. Thank you to Anna Tavis, Nicole Howe and NYU team as well as Stela Lupushor for inviting me to speak. You can watch the recording below.
How to Build Excellence in People Analytics – Dave Ulrich takes my usual role of host to interview Jonathan Ferrar and me about the role people analytics plays in elevating HR to drive improved outcomes for firms and their workforces.
How can you reduce collaborative overload? – Rob Cross shares insights from his new book Beyond Collaboration Overload. We discuss how to reclaim one full day a week by reducing collaborative overload and how this time can be invested in ways that promote performance and wellbeing.
How Do You Understand the Skills of Your Workforce? – Mikaël Wornoo, COO and founder at TechWolf, joins me on the Digital HR Leaders Podcast to discuss how AI can be used to better understand the skills of your workforce, and drive efforts on learning, mobility and workforce planning.
How to take a skills-based approach to workforce planning – Ralf Buechsenschuss, Global Head of Org Design, Analytics & Digitalization at Zurich Insurance, joins me on the Digital HR Leaders Podcast to discuss why org design and workforce planning are ‘two sides of the same coin’. Ralf also shares how Zurich Insurance is using organisational network analysis to support skills-based workforce planning through the identification of expertise and collaboration networks in the company.
Until next month. Stay safe and stay well.
David
CATCH UP ON THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST
If you haven't listened to all of the episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, you can catch up now by clicking on the links below.
EP 79: Ralf Buechsenschuss - How to take a skills-based approach to workforce planning
EP 78: Mikaël Wornoo - How Do You Understand the Skills of Your Workforce?
EP 77: Rob Cross - How Can You Reduce Collaborative Overload?
EP 76: Dave Ulrich, Jonathan Ferrar and David Green - How to Build Excellence in People Analytics
Bonus Episode: Kathleen Hogan - Microsoft's Chief People Officer on Creating a Data Driven Culture in HR
EP 75: Toon van der Veer - How AB InBev uses Data, Analytics and AI in Talent Management
EP 74: Joanne Kuipers - How Tata Steel uses skills data for learning and workforce planning
EP 73: Rick van Echtelt - What are the benefits of measuring employee skills data?
EP 72: Tertia Wiedenhof - How Rabobank Has Created an Agile HR Function
EP 71: Ron Friedman - How Can You Reverse Engineer Success?
EP 70: Steven Baert - How is Novartis reimagining Performance Management?
EP 69: Melissa Corwin - How Does AT&T Link Business Transformation, Culture and Performance Management?
EP 68: Greg Harris - Why Employee Experience And Performance Management Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin
EP 67: Jolen Anderson - How BNY Mellon Supports Employee Wellbeing and Resilience
EP 66: David Rock - How neuroscience can help organisations drive meaningful change
EP 65: Jimmy Zhang - How Vertex has build a world-class people analytics function
EP 64: Jignasha Grooms - How to build a culture of trust and measure its impact
EP 63: Ian White - How to manage and visualise people data to create actionable insights
EP 62: Isabel Naidoo - How to design HR programs for impact and personalised experiences
EP 61: Claude Silver - Building a culture that drives business success and wellbeing
Bonus Episode: Arianna Huffington & Donna Morris - How Walmart is helping its associates achieve healthier habits
EP 60: Alexis Saussinan - Creating business impact with people data and technology
EP 59: Karen Powell - Getting started with a skills-based talent strategy
EP 58: Ruslan Tobulatov - What are the business benefits of a Talent Marketplace?
EP 57: Jeroen Wels - How Unilever has created a culture of internal talent mobility
EP 56: Ina Gantcheva - Why Are So Many Companies Building Talent Marketplaces?
EP 55: Guru Sethupathy - How Capital One delivers value at scale with People Analytics
EP 54: Ethan Bernstein - How Can HR Help Organisations Prepare for Hybrid Working?
EP 53: Wagner Denuzzo - How HR enables business transformation at Prudential Financial
EP 52: Wenshan Xu - How Singapore uses skills data to support lifelong learning
EP 51: Dave Ulrich, Brigette McInnis-Day and Rupert Morrison - The Future of HR: How can HR can be more value and business focused?
BONUS EPISODE: David Green & Ian Bailie - 'All Eyes on HR' - HR Predictions for 2021
EP 50: Renil Kumar - How Wipro uses People Analytics to enable hyper-personalisation
EP 49: Michael Arena - How ONA can help understand the impact of virtual and hybrid working on innovation and wellbeing
EP 48: Daniel West - How to Democratise People Analytics to Drive Agile Decision Making
EP 47: Melissa Harper - How Bayer is redefining the workplace around Purpose, Innovation & Culture
EP 46: Chin Yin Ong - How people data can drive better business and employee outcomes
EP 45: Vidya Krishnan - Making learning a habit that matters at Ericsson
EP 44: Simon Brown - How Novartis promotes learning curiosity to drive business value
EP 43: Kat Kennedy - Improving Employee Experience through Learning, Skill Development & Mobility
EP 42: Gianpiero Petriglieri - How Do You Create a Learning Culture in the Workplace?
EP 41: Lynda Gratton - How can HR help shape the re-skilling and learning agenda?
Bonus Episode: Diane Gherson - How IBM is Reinventing HR with AI and People Analytics
Summer Special #5: Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui - Building a People Analytics Function in a Humanitarian Organisation
Summer Special #4: Dan Cable - How to help people love what they do at work
Summer Special #3: Torin Ellis - What is HR's Role in Creating Diverse and Inclusive Organisations?
Summer Special #2: Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic - What is the role of leadership in times of crisis?
Summer Special #1: Amy Edmondson - How to create Psychological Safety at work
EP 40: David Green - How can People Analytics drive business value?
EP 39: Jeremy Shapiro - How People Analytics has progressed in the last ten years
EP 38: Heather McGowan - How Covid-19 is accelerating the Future of Work
EP 37: Thomas Rasmussen - How National Australia Bank has scaled People Analytics
EP 36: Ravin Jesuthasan - Six imperatives for HR in the Future of Work
BONUS EPISODE: Amit Mohindra & Dawn Klinghoffer - What is the future of People Analytics?
EP 35: Peter Hinssen - What is the role of HR in driving and enabling innovation?
EP 34: Bruce Daisley - What do business leaders want from HR?
EP 33: Dirk Jonker - Why People Analytics needs to behave like a start-up
EP 32: Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic - The role of storytelling in People Analytics and Data Visualisation
EP 31: Piyush Mathur - How Johnson & Johnson uses People Analytics to drive business outcomes
BONUS EPISODE - Heather Whiteman, RJ Milnor & Ian Bailie (Live at PAFOW) - How to develop the HR skills of the future
EP 30: Katy Gray - How Arup uses reward data to drive behavioural change
EP 29: Uri Ort - What is the future of talent assessment?
EP 28: Zara Nanu - The role of People Analytics in Gender Pay Analysis
EP 27: Julia Shaw - How can technology reduce bias in the workplace
EP 26: Stela Lupushor - How HR can be a Catalyst for Change
BONUS EPISODE: Volker Jacobs - How to scale Employee Experience
EP 25: Julie Digby - How HR Drives Transformation and Org Design at Mars
EP 24: RJ Milnor - How McKesson uses ONA to identify what drives high performance in sales
EP 23: Rupert Morrison - Rethinking Workforce Planning & Organisation Design
EP 22: Dawn Klinghoffer - The Evolution of People Analytics at Microsoft
EP 21: John Boudreau - Reinventing Jobs: The Future of Work and it's impact on HR
EP 20: Tanuj Kapilashrami - How Standard Chartered designed an exceptional Employee Experience
EP 19: Anna Tavis: What is Agile HR and how are companies adopting it?
EP 18: Sarah Johnson: How to use employee surveys to create strategic value
EP 17: Leena Nair - How HR drives business value at Unilever
EP 16: Keith McNulty - HR 3.0: more data driven, more agile and more business focused
EP 15: Jason Corsello - The Shift From HR Tech to Work Tech
EP 14: Jill Larsen - How does the CHRO successfully partner with the CEO
EP 13: Frida Polli - How AI and Behavioural Science can reduce bias in recruiting
EP 12: Ian O'Keefe - The Workforce Analytics journey at JP Morgan Chase
EP 11: Dave Ulrich - The role of HR in the Digital Age
EP 10: Jordan Pettman - How Nestlé uses People Analytics to measure Gender Pay Gap and Equity
EP 9: Catalina Schveninger - The Evolution of Corporate Learning at Vodafone
EP 8: Richard Collins - How is Automation, AI and Analytics changing recruiting?
EP 7: Katarina Berg - Spotify's CHRO on Leading HR in a digital world
EP 6: Nick Holley - How HR can become more business relevant
EP 5: Eden Britt - How to build a People Analytics team in a global organisation | The People Analytics journey at HSBC
EP 4: Yvette Cameron - How Blockchain will disrupt the Future of Work and HR Technology
EP 3: Didier Elzinga - How to Create a Culture First Company
EP 2: Edward Houghton - The Head of Research at the CIPD on Driving Business Performance with People Data
EP 1: Sharon Doherty - How to transform HR to be more digital and building a culture of diversity
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David 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 70 global organisations. Prior to co-founding Insight222 and taking up a board advisor role at TrustSphere, 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 will be published in the summer of 2021.
SEE ME SPEAK AT THESE EVENTS
I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work at a number of upcoming events:
28-29th September - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat (Virtual - invite only)
6th October - People Analytics for the Future of Work (Virtual - webinar)