Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale (Executive Article)
People analytics is growing. This is evident from the continued investment that global organisations are making in their people analytics functions, the increase in influence of people analytics leaders within companies, and the growth of the human resources (HR) technology market.
Coupled with this growth, in today’s fast-changing business landscape and with such rapidly evolving technological advances, the importance of being proficient in data literacy – in general, and for HR in particular – has become more critical than ever.
Figure 1. Key findings of the Insight222 Upskilling the HR Profession research (Source: Insight222 Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale report)
At Insight222, we find that many global organisations are approaching this topic with vigour. Our conversations with chief HR officers (CHRO) pivots around the dual desire to improve the value from people analytics, and the need to upskill the HR function itself in data literacy.
The focus of Insight222’s latest research – Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale – focuses on the latter. The insights are taken primarily from a survey of 73, mainly global, organisations during April 2023. These organisations collectively employ more than 96,000 HR professionals and 5.6 million employees.
The key findings of this research are:
Role-modelling by the CHRO and HRLT is essential
Responsibility for upskilling should be with the People Analytics leader
Five skills form the core of data literacy for HR
Invest appropriately for a multi-year upskilling programme
Role-modelling by the CHRO and HRLT is Essential
Our research shows that when both the CHRO and their direct reports role-model the use of people data and analytics, HR practitioners use people data and analytics insights in their day-to-day jobs in 79% of companies. However, when neither the CHRO nor the HR leadership team (HRLT) are perceived to role-model people data and analytics, HR practitioner usage drops to 22% of companies. This clearly shows a strong relationship between leadership role-modelling and HR practitioner usage of people data and analytics.
Figure 2. There is a notable difference between companies where the CHRO and the HRLT role-model the use of people data and analytics to HR and those where they do not (Source: Insight222 Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale report)
With many competing demands on their time, HR practitioners need to consistently witness – from the top of the organisation – that understanding and working with data is a priority for them to have business impact in their everyday roles.
Responsibility for Upskilling Should Be With the People Analytics Leader
Figure 3. HR practitioners are more likely to actively develop skills when the people analytics leader has the upskilling programme as a primary responsibility (Source: Insight222 Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale report)
When the people analytics leader takes responsibility for a data literacy upskilling programme, 60% of companies in our survey indicated that HR practitioners actively develop their data literacy skills to become more data-driven. Whereas, if anyone else assumes the responsibility, whether this person is an HRLT executive, or any other leader, this number is only 31% of companies. It is clear that the people analytics leader creates more momentum with upskilling HR when they take that responsibility.
To deliver on this responsibility, the people analytics leader will need particular skills, in order to make such a programme successful. Our survey asked which skills people analytics leaders need, to have the desired credibility in leading the upskilling of HR. The evidence is clear. The expectation on a people analytics leader is to have executive impact and deliver change through a sustained cultural programme of upskilling in data literacy.
Upskilling HR to Be Data-literate
To be successful, the people analytics leader will also need to be supported by a team possessing consulting, storytelling, change management and programme management skills. Learning design, training delivery and training administration capabilities will need to be sourced through an insourcing arrangement with the in-house learning team or outsourced to an expert data literacy training provider – or a combination of both.
Figure 4. The top skills that the people analytics leader requires to have credibility and build and deliver a programme of
Five Skills Form the Core of Data Literacy for HR
Data literacy for HR professionals is defined as the ability to interpret insights from data
and use them to inform decisions that create value in their everyday roles. This surpasses the technical abilities needed to extract data from dashboards or generate worksheets for reporting purposes.
While many skills are needed to be trained, what HR practitioners really need are the skills in data-led consulting, such as managing stakeholders, interpreting data, storytelling and making recommendations. These skills are considered complex as they relate to people’s behaviour and are not merely functional expertise. Progressing skills in all five areas simultaneously and at scale is critical for people analytics to have real business impact in the organisation.
Figure 5. The top skills that the people analytics leader requires to have credibility and build and deliver a programme of upskilling HR to be data-literate (Source: Insight222 Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale report)
Invest Appropriately for a Multi-Year Upskilling Programme
Our research indicates that when companies are serious about building data literacy skills in HR practitioners, they invest on average $600–$800 per person for their upskilling programme. This investment should be budgeted across a multi-year period and should include appropriate change and project management to ensure that a language of data literacy is adopted throughout the HR function.
HR data literacy upskilling is not a “one-time event”. It requires ongoing training and change management. In organisations highly committed to building data literacy at scale, the HR function typically considers distinct cohorts. Each of these has differing training needs and therefore the investment required per person within each cohort for a data literacy upskilling programme also differs.
Figure 6. (Source: Insight222 Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale report)
It is important to allocate the correct investment in the first instance, for a multi-year programme of activities, and ensure there is the expertise and priority given to the delivery of the programme.
Building Data Literacy for Strategic Impact
The HR profession must improve its data literacy over the coming years in order to deliver impact as a strategic partner to the business.
To be successful in this, our research concludes that the people analytics leader plays a key role in upskilling HR practitioners in data literacy. If they focus on developing five core skills, the leader is supported with the right investment, and the senior HR leadership team (and the CHRO especially) role-models the use of data and analytics, they will be able to deliver an effective and long-lasting upskilling programme. As a result, the HR profession, will deliver more value at scale.
For more details about this research, download the Insight222 Upskilling the HR Profession: Building Data Literacy at Scale report.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jonathan is a globally recognised business advisor, speaker and author in HR strategy and people analytics. Jonathan has worked in corporate business with extensive executive leadership and board advisory experience for almost 15 years with companies like Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and IBM. He is co-author of Excellence in People Analytics (Kogan Page, July 2021) and The Power of People (Pearson, May 2017). He is a vice chair of the board of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Jonathan has worked with clients all over the world and lived in both London and New York for substantial periods of his career. Jonathan established Insight222 in 2017. Jonathan is a keen tennis fan and landscape photographer.
Naomi is an experienced business professional with over 15 years’ experience, mainly in the financial services industry. She has undertaken roles as a HR business partner, HR chief of staff and as a commercial banker during her time at Barclays Bank. In the last six years Naomi has dedicated her career to people analytics, with particular expertise in consulting with business executives, HR leaders and other stakeholders. Naomi took a career break in the mid 2010s to travel around South America to learn Spanish and immerse herself in the Latin American culture. In her spare time, she loves to watch professional athletics, having once been a junior national athlete herself. She currently lives in the UK.
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