Curiosity is a hot topic. And rightly so - it is considered a critical skill for knowledge workers in the age of uncertainty we are all living through. Research has linked curiosity to:

• Better job performance

• Better communication

• An increase in creativity

• An increase in innovative behaviours

• A reduction in group conflict

• A reduction in stereotyping others

• A reduction in confirmation bias

Despite this impressive list of impacts, one study showed that only 24% of workers feel curious in their jobs on a regular basis and 70% face barriers to asking more questions at work. No wonder the conversation about curiosity is persistent – despite clear positive impacts, it is often discouraged in organisations for fear of slowing down decision-making processes, people becoming harder to manage and disrupting the status quo.

In this article, we’re going to beat the drum once again for more curiosity! And amongst people analytics professionals in particular, by looking at three aspects of curiosity that will ensure your people analytics projects deliver clear business value:

1. Be curious about the stakeholder perspective

2. Be curious about the data

3. Be curious about the context 

Be curious about the stakeholder perspective

Any people analytics project should start with a business challenge that desperately needs addressing – a burning question that is keeping your senior stakeholders up at night. This is why we present a New Operating Model for People Analytics along a value chain, starting with ‘client drivers’: business strategy, stakeholder challenges and people & HR strategy

In order to fully understand client drivers, people analytics professionals have to get curious! Do not just take a list of requests or requirements from stakeholders, engage with them to get to the heart of their challenges and really understand the impact that people analytics can have. Have a conversation and don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions.

“If I asked the people what they wanted they would have said faster horses” – Henry Ford

Be curious about the data

When a clear pattern emerges after spending endless hours crunching the data, it’s natural to want to celebrate. But at this stage, the analytics journey is just getting interesting – now it’s time to get really curious about the patterns you’re seeing. Ask WHY is that pattern emerging?

In their book ‘The Curious Advantage,’ authors Paul Ashcroft, Simon Brown and Garrick Jones present a 7 Cs model for curiosity. Different models for curiosity have also been presented by academics as many acknowledge that curiosity is not a monolithic trait – it is multidimensional.  

One of the 7 Cs is criticality, and that’s really what we’re focusing on here when we say be curious about the data. David Green recently sat down with one of the authors, Simon Brown, for an episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast to discuss curiosity, and he defined criticality as follows:

“So, looking at what biases, either conscious or subconscious, do we bring in? So, in asking a question and then experimenting to see whether that question comes true, we may be actually looking for confirmation bias in what we do and actually therefore we look at the results and read one thing into it but actually, maybe that is not what they’re telling us. There is also a piece in there around the unconscious biases that we bring around the benefits of having a diverse team, of really being objective around the results that we are seeing, and a piece around the acceptance of failure as well. Actually, it is okay to say it didn't achieve the results we want, but we can still take something from that and learn from it.”

Let’s look at an example of how to be curious about the data, from our latest course on Storytelling with Data in HR.

Interested in learning more about data storytelling in people analytics? Take a look at our online Digital HR and People Analytics certifications on myHRfuture.

The business asks the people analytics team to look at staff turnover, because the business hypothesises that significant money is being lost through high attrition. After crunching the numbers, the team sees a clear pattern in staff turnover, that it is increasing and that is having a significant impact on costs. Now, it’s time to get curious, switch on that criticality, and investigate further to figure out – what’s causing staff turnover?

•  Is it an increase in the number of employees overall?

• Is turnover happening more in one part of the business than another?

• Is it a certain grade of employee or level of seniority?

• Is it impacting all parts of the business geographically?

With a deeper level of understanding, the team is able to provide more helpful insights and recommendations back to the business that increase the likelihood of delivering business value.

Be curious about the context

It’s important to bring in contextual data in your people analytics projects. Otherwise, you run the risk of stakeholders misinterpreting the results of your analysis or not deriving any value at all.

“A little data in the wrong context is often worse than no data at all” Peter Howes

Strengthen the story with contextual guidance to bring a new depth and level of meaning to your analysis. First of all, be sure to present findings in a way that is steeped in business context and connected to business value. Showing that 75% of the organisation’s employees have completed 100 hours of learning each is of very little interest to the business leader unless you connect the dots between learning hours completed and clear impact on the business. For example, the learning hours completed have led to an increase in critical skills in application programming, identified by the business as necessary to meet the objective of mobile-first customer service. 

Adding external context to the analysis can further increase the impact of the project. If there is a dearth of application programming skills in the market, then hiring talent in to fill the gap might not have been an option. This context clearly demonstrates why an investment in learning was critical and why the results of the learning initiative are great news for the company.

You might be hearing a lot about curiosity at the moment, and really that’s no surprise. Make sure you listen up! Staying curious about stakeholders needs, analytical findings and the business & external context will help ensure that your people analytics projects deliver business value every time.

Storytelling is a critical skill for all HR professionals. It gives you the power to take your audience on a journey, using the principles of the "narrative arc" to create and resolve tension that will truly resonate with your stakeholders and inspire change. myHRfuture helps you build the skills you need to take your analysis and insights and turn them into compelling stories that will ensure that your stakeholders act on your recommendations.

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.