Welcome to the fifth of our series of summer special episodes of The Digital HR Leaders Podcast that collectively provide an outside in perspective on HR.

People Analytics is the fastest growing part of HR and prior to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, was named by HR practitioners themselves as one of four trends in LinkedIn's annual global talent trends report that were most likely to impact on how their organisations hire, develop and retain their workforces in 2020. During the crisis People Analytics has been further elevated as companies strive for insights and data to drive employee safety and wellbeing, understand the impact of remote work and create their return to  the workplace plans. Many practitioners and leaders in the People Analytics space have no previous experience of working in HR.

My guest on this week's episode of The Digital HR Leaders Podcast is Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui. When she took on the challenge of setting up the People Analytics function at the International Committee of the Red Cross in 2017, Sophie had a background in Finance, and Operations, but not HR. Sophie quickly established that in a humanitarian organisation, the key people related requirement is to ensure the right people are on the ground at the right time to support the ICRC’s critical humanitarian work in conflict zones.

You can listen below or by visiting the podcast website here.

In our conversation, Sophie and I discuss:

• How she set up the People Analytics function, identified priorities and delivered the first use cases

• How the team evolved and developed its skills over the three years Sophie was at the helm

• Tips for other People Analytics Leaders who run small teams

• The steps Sophie took to help up-skill the wider HR community at the International Committee of the Red Cross

• How her experience in People Analytics is supporting her in her new role as HR Partner for the Near and Middle East Region at the Red Cross

This episode is a must listen for anyone interested in how to set up and develop a People Analytics team and the unique challenges involved in leading a small team in a humanitarian organisation. So that is CHRO’s, Senior HR Leaders and anyone in a People Analytics or HR Business Partner role.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Insight222. To learn more, visit https://www.insight222.com.

Interview Transcript

David Green: Today I am delighted to welcome Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui, HR Partner for Near and Middle East Region at the International Committee of the Red Cross to The Digital HR Leaders Podcast. Welcome to the show, Sophie, it is great to have you. Can you provide listeners with a brief introduction to your background and your current role at the International Committee of the Red Cross?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Hi everyone. I am delighted to be with you, David. I am Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui, I spent the last nine years within the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is part of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, ICRC as we call it.

We have 20,000 people across 80 countries and we are here to protect the dignity and lives of people affected by conflict and to provide also assistance. I have a Financial Analytical background, so I joined the ICRC with a finance background. I had previously worked in the private sector.

Slowly and surely I evolved in the operation, four years ago I joined HR from the analyst path as a People  Analytics Analyst and a Workforce Planning Advisor. I spent four very interesting years as the Head of the People Analytics unit and recently I decided to move, to still be within the HR family but to have a broader view and to actually be closer to operations but with an analytical mindset.

David Green: Well we are going to explore all the way particularly through the last four years, about how you set up People Analytics at ICRC and how that is going to help you in your current role. Particularly having a business background as well, I think we could cover some interesting topics.

So I am going to take you back a few years, you have just been appointed as Head of People Analytics at ICRC. How did you set up People Analytics in the organisation? I am particularly interested because obviously it is a humanitarian organisation and a lot of people we have on the show are coming from banks or pharmaceutical companies and this is quite unique. So how did you set up the function in your organisation?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: So four years ago what happened was Leadership clearly identified that there was a need for a data driven approach in HR. For us in the humanitarian sector, what matters is to make sure that we have the right people at the right place and you can't do that without proper Workforce Planning in place, proper People Analytics function in place. So there was this need, that led to building up the People Analytics function. We started small, we started like a startup. I was alone slowly and surely it expanded to a group of two people reaching out to other resources, leveraging the gig economy, finding consultants who would be ready to help us. We primarily focused on the staffing because this was a burning question for the operation.

So how we started, we really started looking at what matters for our clients, clients being the operation, in the private sector the business, the sales teams etc. So this was really the starting point.

David Green: Yes and that makes sense, as you said, the primary objective is right people, right place.

So you said that was your first use cases that you looked at. As the team developed over the years, what worked in terms of some of the approaches you did and why do you feel that they worked?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: I think what works is that, our first objective was really to democratise the data because we have 20,000 people, we have a extensive HR team, more than 500. So the first thing was really to democratise the data so data is available for HR teams to make people decisions. We put in a lot of dashboards, we put in place key indicators related to staffing and I think definitely this was the success story. We were able to create the dashboards to be able to have transparency and visibility on what exists in the workforce.

David Green: Just bringing that data and making it real for people to probably start asking questions about it or helping them solve the challenge that they had at the time. What didn't work, that you are prepared to share of course, and what would you do differently if you could do it again?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: I think, we were a small team and the team is expanding, but when you are a small team it is not always easy because you need to prioritise and especially when it comes to People Analytics, every analysis, every project research takes a lot of time.

So prioritisation is really important and I am sure that we may have missed some opportunities like other People Analytics functions across the globe so I would say if I had to do it differently, I would invest much more time in influencing skills, in really doing a lot of advocacy showing the Managers and Leaders how to use data to make informed decisions. Because what I realised over the four years is that it is one thing to get the data, it is one thing to get that data right, we know that it is a long journey, but it is another thing to get dashboards and metrics. The third point which is really important, is really to do storytelling and to teach to people how to use it on a daily basis and how to identify the right data for HR to be responsible.

David Green: Yes and it is quite interesting because obviously you shared that you come from an Analyst background, but not an HR background. So I am interested what you had to learn coming into HR but also what you feel that HR could learn from people that have more of a numbers and analytics background as well?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: So I would say, and I can confirm that after four years, that People Analytics is part of HR. People tend to think that this is all the ‘geek” people of HR who love numbers and love data and somehow they think that people and data can come together, but it is beyond that. I would say I have the privilege to have really great managers who really understood that and I was in a key position from day one and it really enabled me to understand HR. I also did some training to actually bring myself up to speed in terms of HR, to be aware of the next HR novelties so this is really important to actually identify the key problems because you can't identify HR problems or HR trends and bring value and insight if you don't understand HR. So I think what I have been trying to do is really to say we are not the statistics office, we are not the reporting office, we are here to help you to make people decisions. We are here to support your Workforce Planning initiatives and approaches.

I think, what I gain as an Analyst is really to learn HR at all levels, to understand all the key trends related to the employee life cycle.

What I think the HR function really took from my analytical mindset that the structure of analytics, how you collect, capture, compile reports on data, generating insights, do forecasting so it was a win win, if I may say.

David Green: Well I think it is certainly something we have seen, more people coming into HR with analytical backgrounds but as you said, then bringing those two things together is really important.

That leads us quite nicely to my next question, can you provide an example of a successful People Analytics project that you did, why you chose that particular project and also the impact it had in ICRC?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Yes, I think one of the projects that I really liked was the People Analytics Portal.

As a people analytics person, you need to evangelise to show to people how we can use data. My team and I, we created this People Analytics Portal for all Employees, Managers, HR Practitioners that really shows and describes what is People Analytics and why it is really important. Also the evolution and the different steps we have been through. Definitely all the dashboard KPIs, but also external resources and we also shared our project and novelties and the idea is to really keep up the momentum. I think people are really interested and there is an appetite for data, but we keep up the momentum by using this portal that we update regularly with novelties and with things and allow anyone who is in the organisation at any level to check the portal. We have different sections called “what's in it for me?” So if I am an HR Manager, I can see directly what's in it for me. If I am an Employee, I can see what's in it for me. It is a way to promote the People Analytics function, but also to make it relevant for HR and for the organisation.

David Green: Great and what were some of the anecdotal reactions that you had from people to the portal?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: So, to be frankly honest, we have worked a lot on it and we were supposed to do the big show of it just before COVID-19 crisis. So we shared it with early adopters and need to identify when we can promote it, but it is months of work. We combined all the things that we were doing to make a compelling story and when we shared with some of our colleagues, the first reaction was like, Oh, finally we have this. Now I am not lost with the dashboard and I know where to go. Also we are developing more and more in this portal, about how to use data, what do I do with the turnover rate and how I can triangulate the turnover rate with maybe absenteeism and engagement to really bring capability within the HR function.

David Green: So it is almost like trying to put the hands in there, as you said, democratising the data and putting the data in their hands so that they can play around with it a little bit and actually start to make some correlations and inform their discussions with the business. You talked about COVID-19 actually, I know that obviously your role has changed during the crisis, but what was the impact of COVID-19 on the People Analytics team?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: I must say that COVID-19 really we managed to leverage this situation, this uncertainty etc, to leverage this actually as an opportunity. For months we had been working on a new dashboard regarding employees etc and when the lockdown happened all managers wanted to know where are the staff and how did we do we do etc. Because we have been doing all this ground work, it was really easy for us to liberate and to come up with some data, here we go.

So it was good because it could promote the People Analytics function, but also Leaders were really able to walk the talk, using data to make informed decisions. It was really good for the People Analytics function ultimately. Of course this comes with a price, so it requires a lot of work and investment and really being able to be designed to produce real time data because once you open the door people really have an appetite and want to know each time we updated the dashboard. So actually i think it has been a good joint effort for our teams working in HR systems.

David Green: Yes, that is a story we are hearing from a lot of People Analytics teams around the world, particularly those that had already got the stakeholder equity in their respective organisations.

The demand for insights certainly went up because of the crisis, which we are still in let's be honest about it, and it is helping to accelerate and elevate the work of People Analytics within the organisations. Which I guess is the silver lining of the crisis, at least from a People Analytics perspective.

When I talk to your peers around the world, I hear a lot around the skills to do People Analytics. So what I am quite interested in is over the three years you had of running the team, how did the team evolve in terms of skills, structure and scope?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Yeah, so at the beginning I was alone, but also had some colleague. Then three years ago we actually built a permanent team, which really allows some continuity and really to go deep in some of the projects. In term of skills, when you are a small team like that, you really need to learn. One of my colleagues, she really is a star, in all the analysis, dashboarding and storytelling, so I learned a lot from her.

It really is a learning curve for the people in the team and what we try to do is we are trying to learn from each other and I think it is really important because we are so small we need to combine communication skills, stakeholder management, project management, change management with really technical skills as such as statistical analysis etc.

So you need to be very open and ready to have hands on and to do everything from crunching the data on Excel and spending time on Excel and the other day doing a presentation and trying to engage stakeholders on key People Analytics projects. Really cross-cutting work, it was really, really interesting.

David Green: I guess if you have a small team then one of the things you really need to get at doing is prioritisation. You’ve only got so many hands available to do the work. We have quite a lot of people who are listening who either lead a small people analytics team or are part of a small people analytics team or maybe want to set up a people analytics team. If you had to give some tips to someone that was going to do that, what do you think are the most important areas to focus on?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: I think when you have a small team in terms of skills you need to have someone very good from the techie side, someone who can actually do some Tableau dashboarding or any BI dashboard, some statistical analysis or really someone very flexible, adaptable and being able to leverage technologies, AI etc. You also need someone to be the salesperson to be able to promote, to communicate, to influence and manage the stakeholders, to have the vision. I think one does not go without the other. So having someone very techy without the change management HR doesn't work. You need really this unique combination of skills, it is key.

David Green: Someone who can make sure that the right work is coming in and someone to actually then do the work and then someone to take that out and actually make sure that it is actioned. You mentioned that you came from an analytics background within the organisation as well, did you get access to Analytics experts from outside HR as well?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Yes and I think it is one of the strengths when you come from an analytics background, you really have a group of people that you can call upon and there is real solidarity. I would say there were data scientists and expert analysts that come together and there are informal groups, but also some formal groups where you could reach some technical experts and ask any questions. So I think this was good and I must say when you are a small team like that, it is really important to be able to ask for help. Because, we don't know the profile and skills of our colleagues and it is not always easy, but really being able to say, I need help, could you help me on that? I mean, for me it has really triggered things and a lot of time it has really added value.

David Green: I suppose a tip that we give to people listening is if you are working in a small People Analytics team, don't just think within the confines of HR, think across the organisation and as you said, there are other technical experts, usually in most companies that you can maybe borrow resources from or combine efforts. If you are solving a problem for the organisation, it is likely that you will need data from outside HR as well.

Some of the big challenges you have talked about, challenges around data quality and stakeholder management budget. I guess. What were the big challenges that you had to solve as you grew the team?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Like a lot of HR functions I think that quality is really always a burning point especially working in People Analytics and I think a lot of effort actually within the organisation to really work on that as it is important and relevant.

I am going to say that when it comes to technology, I think we were lucky we have a strong HR system, but what is not easy when you work with People Analytics is there are so many new People Analytics tools that come on to the market everyday and sometimes I could do this with that tool too.

So I think from technology is really to be able to play and to do some patchwork and to say I can use R for that,  I can use Python for that, I can use Tableau for that and to navigate the new landscape of technologies existing. For me, as a People Analytics function, of course you will have challenges like everywhere but what is really important is really to have the support and the buy in from your key stakeholders. We were lucky really to have it but it actually enabled us to bring forward the People Analytics agenda.

David Green: Yes I think you mentioned that stakeholder buy in is absolutely key. You can have the best data in the world, the best technology tools in the world but if you haven't got the stakeholder relationships you are at risk of not having much impact. Certainly when we look at organisations around the world, I think that stakeholder management is sometimes underplayed as to how important it is. So again I think that is a good learning for people listening to this, to really work on that Stakeholder Management and the ability to influence and influence your stakeholders.

So we have talked about upskilling a little bit around the HR community and I know from speaking to you previously, you did some pretty good work here to do that. So what steps did you take to try and upskill HR with People Analytics skills, such as data literacy, storytelling and hypothesis building for example?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: So, I think what we did as a team was actually first to focus on the early adopters, focus on the champions and people were eager to use data to take informed decisions. So we started with them and actually they became very good promoters. We presented for them some tailored session and then slowly as we evolved and the demand increased, we really developed training modules, with key training sessions for the HR Practitioners and a really customised one for recruitment, for recruiters, one for HR. So really being able to have tailored sessions regarding People Analytics for the HR community. So instead of saying, Oh this is People Analytics and I am going to give you a tool station training. We were like, Oh this is People Analytics and let's look at what you need. What you need as a Recruiter, what you need as a HR BP etc. So we really focused on the client needs to, raise appetite.

David Green: So you kind of tailored and personalised the training for different personas within HR

And it is kind of what you said about the portal as well, the what is in it for me type of thing. By doing that training, I guess it helped the individuals, but did it actually then prompt more questions coming in on potential projects that you could work on as well?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Yes, definitely. What we have seen across this training is some of the colleagues actually started their own project because they were into it, they were interested in it and started to do their own research and asked People Analytics to guide and to advise them. So we became cosultants and advisors, which was really good.

I think in the long run as the HR function evolves, it is also some of the products we need to really explore, not only focus on the product and researchers insight, but really being advisors to the HR community and being a stronger centre of expertise. This was really one of the good aspects.

David Green: And I guess by doing that, like you said focusing on the champions, which is definitely something that I would recommend to those early adopters, you almost create an extension of the team. Which when you have got a small team is a way of growing the team in a slightly subliminal way.

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Exactly. Yes. Yeah, definitely.

David Green: Your legacy in the People Analytics team you shared with me last week when we spoke is that, I know we are going to talk about your new role in a minute, but you have got sign off now to grow the People Analytics team.

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Yes, the People Analytics team is expanding and when I left, they were recruiting an extra person to help them.

David Green:  Which is a nice legacy and demonstrates that you are not going to get extra headcount unless you are demonstrating value.

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Yes, exactly.

David Green: So you have now moved to a new role outside of People Analytics. Firstly please tell us what that role is and then also how you feel that the experience in People Analytics has helped you already and will likely help you in the future of this role?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: So now I am the HR Partner for Near and Middle East. So really I am leading the HR function in this region, supporting the HR responsible in each country, being an enabler. So for me, I really wanted to go back closer to the field and to the operation. I must say my People Analytics background has really helped me to have a clear vision of where I want to go, to push forward some of the agenda initiatives, but having a real evidence based approach. I think a People Analytics background really helps to demystify some of the pure emotional discussion and really being, I know we say data driven but I think it has always been human driven, but with evidence. I think what I am trying to do is being a people person that is looking at evidence to move forward. I think I really have this analytical mindset that I am trying to pull together with a pure HR function, HR practitioner.

David Green: Obviously you have a business background as well. So, I guess what is going to happen now is you are going from being the person that helped set up and establish the People analytics function you are now going to be a big customer of it.

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: Yes. It is not easy to realise actually when you switch position or change to go from and Analytical position to a HR position it really changes from one day to another, so it is not always easy as human being to do the switch.

I am a big fan, I am always asking, what are the indicators? What has the data told us? What can we do? And it is really interesting because each time I have a discussion with someone and they are saying something, I always just check on the dashboard. Sometimes it isn’t the same as what the data is saying or yes the data confirms that. So I would say that it is helpful and I have learnt how to better use it as a practitioner.

David Green: Brilliant. Two more questions. So firstly. So let's say you have got an analyst that comes up to you, they have worked outside of HR. They have maybe worked in Marketing or in Finance. They are thinking about a role in a People Analytics team. What would you say to them? What would make them want to work in People Analytics as opposed to another analytics function in the business?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: I think, personally working as a People Analytics expert or Manager, really has a strong impact because we are talking about the people behind the numbers and data. There are people, there are lives, they are situations and I think for me, it is my driver. My impact is really to improve the employee experience through the data and I think it really makes a difference as People Analytics because you are having an impact on people's lives in the workplace.

So again, when you look at the different analytics function, you could improve the return on investment for example but I think especially in these days, there is nothing more important than people. Especially if you want to use your skills for better impact I think this is a perfect team and unit.

David Green: That sounds like a good recruiting call to me. This leads onto the question that we are asking all our guests on the show in this summer special series.

What do you believe that HR can do to drive more value?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: I have been reflecting on this question, which is definitely not easy. As I said I think especially in the humanitarian sector, it is really to have the right people at the right place. But to really drive value, I think HR really needs to reinvent itself and to be up front, to be ahead of the game in terms of Business challenges and to think forward and say, okay, this is going to happen and this is what you can do. You can label it People Analytics and also other analysts from other teams to see what is going to happen and how you can reinvent yourself and adjust your HR response for the future and I think the COVID-19 situation was a very good example, I think during this COVID-19 situation, the HR leaders were actually thinking not about today, but actually about what next. Where the Leaders have thought ahead of the game they have really brought value to the team and to the organisation.

David Green:  Yes, there certainly seems to be more of a focus around employee wellness and safety which I think is good and a great sign as well for the future. I guess in your organisation, you have got people doing very difficult work in very tough challenging conditions. So if HR is helping A] making sure there is the right number of people in the right place and B] supporting those people in their difficult roles, that is what HR should be doing.

Sophie, it has been great to talk to you again. Thank you for being a guest on the show. How can listeners stay in touch with you on social media, if you are on social media?

Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui: I am on LinkedIn, my name is Sophie Rwegera Khadhraoui. I am not really active on Twitter, I just follow but I am not active on Twitter, so you can reach me out on LinkedIn and I will be in touch.

David Green:  Great. Sophie, it has been an absolute pleasure to speak to you, as I said. Take care and hopefully we will see each other in person soon when we get back to normal, whatever normal might be.