As the HR function continues to evolve into a strategic business partner, it's increasingly important for HR leaders and professionals to continuously upskill and expand their knowledge. With technological advancements, changing workforce dynamics, and an ever-evolving business landscape, traditional HR practices may no longer suffice to support an organisation’s goals and objectives effectively.

The Need for a Strategic, Data-Driven Approach

HR leaders are expected to adopt a more strategic, consultative approach, deeply understanding business needs. They must be more evidence-based and data-driven in their decision-making and effectively use technology to streamline HR processes. To meet these expectations, HR professionals must invest in a strategic approach to upskilling.

In the past three years, we have observed significant growth in companies investing in upskilling their HR teams. However, simply sending HR professionals to training or conferences isn't enough. To transform the HR function effectively, organisations must adopt a comprehensive upskilling approach.

Identifying Essential HR Skills

At Insight222, we aimed to identify the key skills HR professionals need to support an organisation's goals effectively. Our research, Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale, surveyed 73 global organisations and found the top five essential skills for HR professionals:

1. Consulting

2. Influencing Stakeholders

3. Data Interpretation

4. Building Recommendations from Insights

5. Storytelling

1. Consulting

Consulting skills are crucial as they help frame business questions and hypotheses. According to Dave Ulrich in ‘What Makes an Effective HR Function’, HR is about the value it creates for stakeholders. Effective HR business consulting involves understanding the business context, identifying key issues, and providing data-driven solutions that align with organisational goals.

2. Influencing Stakeholders

Influencing stakeholders involves building trust, persuading decision-makers, and ensuring data-driven insights are acted upon. In today's business environment, HR leaders must communicate the value of HR initiatives and gain buy-in from key stakeholders. Building this capability is critical.

3. Data Interpretation

As HR becomes more data-driven, the ability to interpret and make sense of data is increasingly important. This includes collecting and analysing data, identifying trends, patterns, and insights that inform decision-making, and understanding data limitations and effectively communicating them to stakeholders.

4. Building Recommendations from Insights

Building actionable recommendations from insights requires strong analytical skills, consulting abilities, and storytelling. It involves translating data-driven insights into recommendations that align with an organisation’s objectives.

5. Storytelling

Crafting compelling narratives makes data more accessible and understandable, ensuring stakeholders grasp the significance of insights and are motivated to take action. Good storytelling bridges the gap between data and decision-making.

Developing a Multi-Year Upskilling Approach

An effective upskilling program isn't a one-time event. It requires a multi-year focus with various training interventions. The first step is establishing the HR function's long-term objectives and goals and how these align with the business strategy. A comprehensive skills assessment should identify gaps in current skill sets.

Our online skills assessment tool helps assess your and your team’s skills against essential HR skills. This tool can identify skill gaps and support you build a customised upskilling program to address these gaps.

A blended learning approach, combining digital, in-person, and virtual training, ensures participants have a variety of learning experiences catering to different learning styles and preferences. Digital training modules provide self-paced learning, while in-person workshops allow for interactive discussions and real-time feedback.

Interestingly, our research suggests investing $600-$800 per HR full-time equivalent (FTE) over two to three years. This budget covers training, coaching, change management, and project management, ensuring a comprehensive skill development approach.

Execution and Management of Upskilling Programs

Our Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale research found that successful upskilling programs are led by people analytics leaders, supported by teams with consulting, storytelling, change management, and program management skills. This team ensures the program is effectively designed, implemented, and sustained, driving lasting change within the organisation.

Collaborating with external providers and leveraging internal resources are crucial for success. Partnering with experts brings fresh perspectives and specialized knowledge, while internal collaboration ensures the program integrates with existing HR functions and processes, fostering a sense of collective effort and shared success.

At Insight222, our Immersive Learning Experiences (ILX) offer practical upskilling for HR professionals. These experiences combine hands-on learning with expert insights and peer collaboration, ensuring participants can immediately apply their new skills in their roles. Our ILX programs are interactive and engaging, featuring workshops, simulations, and real-world case studies.

Measuring Success and ROI

Measuring the impact and return on investment (ROI) of an upskilling program is essential. It’s important to define clear success metrics aligned with organisational goals, such as increased data-driven decision-making, improved employee engagement and retention, or higher productivity.

We recommend using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to measure success. Pre-and post-training assessments gauge knowledge gain, while surveys and interviews capture participants' perspectives on the program's effectiveness.

Upskill for the Future of HR

Upskilling HR professionals in data literacy is crucial for organisational success in the digital age. By identifying essential skills, developing a comprehensive multi-year approach, building the right team, and measuring success, organisations can build a future-ready HR function that drives business success.

Building a Data-Driven Culture in HR

Our Learning services support HR professionals and People Analytics teams in building the skills needed to create and sustain a data-driven culture. We work with all teams from HR Leadership teams, HR Directors, HR business partners, and people analytics functions through to up skilling the entire global HR organisation.  ​​

Our Immersive Learning Experiences (ILXs) offer innovative, hybrid learning programs designed to accelerate building a data-driven culture, suitable for all HR professionals and People Analytics teams.  These interactive journeys equip participants with the necessary skills to accelerate data-driven decision-making within their organisations. Blending self-paced learning with expert-led instruction and real-world simulations, our programs ensure participants not only learn data-driven consulting skills, but also master their application in a business context. ​