Delivering Value at Scale A New Operating Model for People Analytics
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Contents
Executive Summary
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01 Value Proposition of People Analytics 6 02 Delivering Value at Scale
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03 Growth and Investment
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04 The Insight222 Operating Model for People Analytics
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05 Teams and Roles
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06 Creating Impact
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Methodology & Demographics
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References
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Authors
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About Insight222
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Executive Summary
People analytics is fast becoming one of the most important areas of Human Resources (HR). Yet until now, there has been very little research into how people analytics can deliver the most value. Models have thus far focused on maturity, the idea being that an analytics function develops in stages, with proficiency in ‘younger’ or earlier stages such as HR reporting necessary before a function can reach more complicated, ‘mature’ stages, such as predictive analytics. In our opinion, this approach does not deliver analytics at scale quickly enough for the function to reach its full potential. This report suggests a new operating model for people analytics, focused on delivering value at scale. This model is essential to Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) and business executives who want to use people data to deliver value to their businesses. The focus of this model is on creating business value – not just HR value – and scaling people analytics solutions across the enterprise. In leading organisations, the CHRO is treading a similar path to the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). During the 2010s, the marketing function transformed into a digitally responsive and active team focused on the customer journey and measuring everything possible so that the C-Suite could invest in the most important markets with accuracy provided by data. Managing increased expectations required marketing functions to focus on core areas: 4
defining and delivering ROI, transforming to be more agile, working in partnership with stakeholders and building new and specific skills in the team.i Forward-thinking CHROs can learn from this by working with stakeholders and structuring their people analytics functions to focus on business challenges. The insights discussed in this report are drawn from research undertaken between March and July 2020 to understand how HR was responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty. The quantitative analysis includes data from 60 global organisations, which are collectively responsible for almost five million employees, operating in over 150 countries. Our key findings are: 1 People analytics is growing 2 Analytics technology investment is increasing 3 Advanced people analytics teams are evolving to focus on complex business challenges
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People analytics is growing Of the companies surveyed, 55% indicate that their people analytics team has grown in size in absolute terms over the last 12 months – and 60% of companies surveyed intend to grow their people analytics team with new experts relative to the rest of HR in the coming 18-24 months.
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Analytics technology investment is increasing
54% of companies surveyed expect their people analytics technology investment to increase in the next 18-24 months. Furthermore, more than 80% of companies surveyed are using (37%) or planning to use (44%) advanced people analytics technology to conduct projects, in what we call a ‘Third Wave’ of more specialised analytics technology adoption.
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Advanced people analytics teams are evolving to focus on business challenges
More than half (52%) of companies surveyed expect to increase the number of internal analytics consultants, and almost two-thirds (57%) expect to increase the number of data scientists – but only around a quarter (28%) expect to increase the number of dashboard developers. This shift in role allocations allows HR to focus on business-relevant people analytics projects with a more complex scientific approach. These findings are clear evidence that companies are investing in People Analytics and teams are growing, even in – or possibly in response to – the complex business environment of 2020.
The question remains, how best to utilise the investment? Our research supports a new way of operating for People Analytics, focused on business demand, value and outcomes. We refer to this as the People Analytics Value Chain, which starts with client drivers as inputs and ends with analytics products delivering business outcomes at scale. The value chain can be operationalised through a new model, the Insight222 Operating Model for People Analytics, which delivers value at scale through three engines: • A Demand Engine – of consultants to work directly with business executives to provide a funnel of the most important business (not just HR) challenges and opportunities •A Solution Engine – of expert analysts, data scientists, behavioural scientists and stewards to deliver insights and recommendations •A Product Engine – of designers, product engineers and change managers to build and implement valuable analytics products at scale We believe that people analytics has the power to unleash more value from the workforce and drive tangible business impact for the organisation. The new Operating Model for People Analytics presented in this report will enable that to happen.
Jonathan Ferrar, Caroline Styr and Anastasia Ktena Insight222 24 November 2020 5
01 Value Proposition of People Analytics People Analytics delivers more value for the business In the early 2000s, analytics in HR was established primarily as a tool to help HR teams measure their contribution to the business.ii The effort at this early stage of what would eventually become People Analytics was concentrated on internally-focused metrics, such as the ability to attract and retain people. Speaking critically about this internal focus, Dave Ulrich, co-author of The HR Scorecard, a book written to help organisations measure HR in this way, said: “HR analytics should not be about HR.”iii The reason being that only looking internally at HR will not drive business results. Instead, HR analytics must focus on business challenges to deliver tangible value to the organisation. By 2010, the purpose of People Analytics had evolved, as “analytics had just become mainstream in business parlance […] so it felt like a good time to talk about the human capital angle,” according to Jeremy Shapiro.iv The most sophisticated application of talent analytics, as determined by Shapiro
FIGURE 1 THE VALUE OF HR AND PEOPLE ANALYTICS HAS EVOLVED
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2000 MEASURING HR’S VALUE BY ESTABLISHING HR KPIs
2010 PEOPLE ANALYTICS FOR HR
2020 PEOPLE ANALYTICS FOR THE BUSINESS
‘The HR Scorecard’ advised using HR metrics, selected on an organisationby-organisation basis, to measure HR’s contribution to the business.
The application of analytics to provide insights on topics related to people in a Talent Supply Chain.
An outside-in approach to people analytics with focus on business opportunities.
How can I measure the value of HR?
How should my workforce needs adapt to changes in the business environment?
What people factors will improve my business performance?
Employee Listening during COVID-19: A Case Study
and his co-authors of the Harvard Business Review article, ‘Competing on Talent Analytics’v related to the Talent Supply Chain – ‘How should my workforce needs adapt to changes in the business environment?’ The last two decades have seen the progression of measurement and analytics in HR move from an internal-focus on HR metrics to a Talent Supply Chain focus, and now to a more ‘outside-in’ focus on business challenges and opportunities (see Figure 1). The application of people analytics in 2020 is now far more business-centric in many organisations.
People Analytics turns its focus to business and strategy Today, we are seeing organisations align their people analytics departments with organisational focus areas that were once seen as well outside the remit of the operationally minded HR department. ‘Business and Strategy’ – which includes, for example, sales effectiveness, culture, and risk, conduct and compliance – is the area where people analytics is adding the most value to the organisation (see Figure 2). Additional topics have become more business-centric in the last decade such as employee experience, organisational design and diversity & inclusion. In contrast, the HR focus areas that comprised the core effort of HR analytics in the 2000s and 2010s – for example, employee engagement, talent management and retention – are now just contributing elements to a much more business-focused approach. Taking a closer look at Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP), according to recent Gartner research on shifting skillsvi, over 60% of HR leaders report pressure from the CEO to ensure employees have the skills they need in the future and 69% report the same pressure coming from employees themselves. This is now a strategic business topic. And SWP is also now commonly part of the people analytics mission with 67% of companies surveyed reporting that it is part of the same function.
People Analytics delivers value during 2020 crises
When the global pandemic in Europe enforced nationwide lockdowns, the people analytics team at Rabobank had to respond quickly to new requests from business leaders and assist the business in entirely new ways. In just five days, Tertia Wiedenhof, People & Insights Product Owner, Martijn Wiertz, Employee Listening Lead and their colleagues developed and deployed employee listening surveys to understand employee needs during the pandemic. They struck a healthy balance between sending information to and conducting surveys with employees, making sure to listen to what they said and making quick improvements based on the employee feedback. Employees were eager to give feedback – and leaders were ready to listen to the insights that people analytics provided. As Tertia explains: “People were open with us, and as a result, we revealed a number of insights that helped Rabobank respond to the enforced ‘work from home’ shift that gripped the nation and most of the working world.”vii
The importance of people analytics quickly became apparent in the crisis, 7
because key insights and recommendations using an organisation’s data on its people ensured factories remained open, that people could work from home and that productivity was maintained. In the vast majority of companies that participated in this study, People Analytics has taken centre stage in supporting the organisation, especially following the events of 2020 (see ‘Employee Listening during COVID-19: A Case Study’ for an example). Much of the people analytics work in the early part of the COVID-19 crisis was focused on keeping employees safe, managing employee wellbeing and remote working, and supporting urgent management response decisions by integrating public health data into HR dashboards. Executives who had never seen or realised the value of the function became keenly aware of its importance and impact. As if to cement this shifting reputation, the role of the CHRO in the pandemic has been likened to that of the Chief Financial Officer in terms of importance in navigating the 2008-9 global financial crisis.viii
FIGURE 2 THE TOP AREAS WHERE PEOPLE ANALYTICS ADDS VALUE Business & Strategy
36
Employee Experience & Wellbeing
29
Strategic Workforce Planning
22 19
Employee Productivity & Performance
14
Organisational Design & Effectiveness Diversity and Inclusion
13
Retention
13 12
Talent Management Employee Engagement & Listening
9
Talent Acquisition
9 8
Reporting Compensation
8
Business Focus Areas
3
HR Focus Areas
02 Delivering Value at Scale In 2020, we hypothesised that People Analytics as a function was becoming increasingly important to the business. We also hypothesised that this importance required a number of subsequent changes in the people analytics function. Whilst no one would ever have wished for the Future of Work to be put to the test through the rapid global shift to remote work, the process of validating these hypotheses was enabled. Backed up by our research, we are able to validate the shift in people analytics towards a more businesscentric and sophisticated value proposition. As a result of this shift, we propose viewing a people analytics function in terms of a value chain, guided by client drivers and resulting in business outcomes.
Scaling People Analytics: A Case Study At The Viessmann Group, the CEO and CHRO came up with a scalable people analytics solution to tackle talent development. This is a challenge that is both top-down, because the business needs the right talent to execute on its strategy, and bottom-up, because individuals benefit from being in charge of their own careers.
The people analytics team established a scalable, analytically-driven and employee-centric competency model called ‘ViGrow’ that HR would develop, and employees would own. Rather than rolling this out in a pilot phase, the team decided to go ‘big time’ quickly. It got sponsorship from the CEO and productised the solution to implement it enterprise-wide at speed.
Speaking about the scalable approach to People Analytics, Steffen Buch, Group Head of HR at Viessmann, emphasised the importance of stakeholder management, change management and communications in scaling people analytics solutions. In order to roll out ViGrow, they focused equal amounts of time and energy building the solution and managing the implementation.
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FIGURE 3 THE VALUE CHAIN EMPHASISES AN OUTSIDE-IN APPROACH BUSINESS OUTCOMES CLIENT DRIVERS Commercial Value Business Strategy Stakeholder Challenges
THE PEOPLE ANALYTICS FUNCTION
Employee Experience
People & HR Strategy Organisational Change
This model takes an ‘outside-in’ approach. The Client Drivers (on the lefthand side of Figure 3) include the business strategy, stakeholder challenges (i.e. challenges that you discern from having conversations with executive stakeholders) and the People & HR strategy. Instead of pondering questions like, ‘what’s my attrition rate?’ (understanding employee attrition has long been a staple exercise of people analytics teams) the function can change to examine more business-leading questions such as ‘what people factors will improve my business performance?’ and ‘which roles in my organisation deliver the most value?’ This outside-in approach empowers the function to focus on business challenges and driving business value; the experience that the workforce has; as well as broader topics such as how the workforce impacts customers and the community it serves. It will produce outcomes that are more helpful and impactful for the business (Business Outcomes). The People Analytics Value Chain is described in more detail later in Section 4 (page 16).
Operating models that scale are better for business As well as focusing on the value chain to maintain an outside-in perspective, a new way of working for people analytics also depends on 10
productising services and adopting a service-centric delivery model. People analytics functions often experience a tipping point. They shift from trying to find projects, to a tipping point when they don’t know how to get all of the proposed projects completed. The times before and after the tipping point are both critical, and require different areas of focus: before, the team is focused on building credibility, capability and infrastructure and after, the function must scale the most valuable and important analytics solutions quickly. This means that as soon as a people analytics project is proven to deliver value (for example, an analytics algorithm that predicts who is likely to stay and leave an organisation), then it needs to be quickly converted into a product that can be delivered across the organisation. It is through this process that the product must be replicated and scaled across the enterprise. Further, each potential new product is ideally tested from the viewpoint of the user (e.g. employee, manager or business leader). This type of shift has been underway in other areas of many customerfacing organisations since the dawn of the digital age. Consumer experiences are based around similar productisation models, reinforced with intuitive user interfaces and highly personalised experiences. People analytics is now on the same journey. 11
03 Growth and Investment FIGURE 4 COMPANIES CONTINUE TO INVEST IN PEOPLE ANALYTICS TEAMS Deploying business analytics in times of uncertainty and change in itself is not new. Many companies have indicated a need to maintain momentum in their business analytics program in the face of an overwhelming crisis.
Decreased
12% We are seeing the same pattern emerge for people analytics in 2020. In spite of the pandemic and global economic uncertainty, people analytics functions are growing in team size: 55% of companies surveyed report that their people analytics functions have grown in the last twelve months, and 60% of companies have plans to grow the team relative to the rest of HR over the next 18-24 months (see Figure 4).
Increased
No change
55%
33%
People analytics roles evolve New roles and skills are emerging and are being embedded in people analytics teams (see Figure 5). According to the companies surveyed, the Business Consultant role is the more prevalent role today and 52% of those companies intend to grow the number of people in this role even more over the next 18-24 months. This predicted growth is in line with the shift towards a more strategically driven and business-centric people analytics function. Furthermore, the role with the highest predicted growth is the Data Scientist, with 57% of companies surveyed predicting an increase in headcount. This suggests a shift to undertaking more advanced and sophisticated analytics. The Data Architect/Dashboard Developer role, on the other hand, is stabilising. While 58% of the firms surveyed state that they currently have this role, most companies surveyed (72%) predict either no growth or a decrease in headcount in this role. It is interesting that 42% of companies surveyed don’t have this role, indicating that they have either migrated basic data/dashboard work elsewhere in the organisation or automated it. This cements the idea of people analytics decreasing investment in tactical and operational analytics.
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Change in people analytics team size over the last 12 months
Will decrease
7% No change
33%
Will increase
60%
Predicted change in people analytics team size in the next 18-24 months
FIGURE 5 ROLE DISTRIBUTION IS EVOLVING % of companies surveyed who are increasing specific roles over the coming 18-24 months Data Scientist
57
Business Consultant
52
Behavioural Psychology
32
Data Architect/Dashboard
28 27 27
Change Manager Product Manager
The Third Wave of people analytics technology Technology investment in the people analytics function remains strong, with 54% of organisations surveyed intending to increase their spend on technology. Technology spend is also becoming more specific. 37% of companies surveyed are currently using specialist technology for particular people analytics solutions (see Figure 6), with an additional 44% planning to invest in this technology over the coming two years. Technology adoption in the latter half of the 2010s was largely characterised by the First Wave – which saw a focus on cloud-based core HR systems – and the Second Wave, which focused on the adoption of advanced business intelligence technology for people analytics. In 2020, we see the emergence of the Third Wave: adoption of specialist technology, such as behavioural, relationship, productivity or Organisational Network Analysis (ONA) technologies. The primary goal of technology adoption in the Third Wave is addressing specific people analytics business challenges.
54% OF COMPANIES SURVEYED ARE PLANNING TO INCREASE INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTING PEOPLE ANALYTICS OVER THE NEXT 18-24 MONTHS
FIGURE 6 TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION WAVES Are you using the following technology currently?
First Wave Core HR
83% 65%
Second Wave Analytics/Dashboarding
37% Third Wave Specialist People Analytics Technology
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“How big should my team be?”: A New Way of Thinking One of the most common questions posed by Senior HR Executives on this subject is “How big should my people analytics team be?” The Bloomberg BNA HR Department Benchmarks Report outlines that there are approximately 1.5 HR full-time equivalent employees to every 100 workers served by the HR department, meaning that an organisation of 66,000 people will have about 1,000 HR employees.ix The temptation is then to work out how many people analytics practitioners you need against the size of your HR department. This approach would do a disservice to the shifting value drivers of the people analytics function. If we are focused on adopting an outside-in view, working for the business, not for HR itself, we have to think ‘business first’. Therefore, considering the size of the people analytics function against the total employee headcount is more relevant.
PEOPLE ANALYTICS TEAM: TOTAL EMPLOYEE HEADCOUNT
There are two reasons to consider this ratio as being more applicable:
1:4000
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When we deliver value to the organisation, it is the business who will invest further if it considers the value worthy of investment. Therefore, we need to measure our impact (and performance) against the organisation as a whole.
2
Resources will come from two places: the HR team itself and through investment from the business. Therefore, we need to take a broader view.
We believe the ratio of people analytics function to the total employee headcount is the more meaningful statistic for people analytics. That ratio (right), based on all the companies surveyed in our research and using the median, is 1:4000. That means on average, across all global companies and in all industries, there is one people analytics professional to every 4000 employees in the organisation.
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04 The Insight222 Operating Model for People Analytics In the 2010s one of the major challenges for companies in deploying business analytics was having the right organisation structure and operating model to deliver value.x We find that people analytics faces a similar challenge in 2020. With a shifting value proposition to business challenges, emerging and eroding roles and an increase in sophisticated technology adoption, there is now a need for a new way of working in people analytics. Equipped with the technology to productise solutions and scale them across the enterprise, the HR profession is now able to go beyond offering ‘whiteglove’ treatment and reach more stakeholders across the business, instead of a select group of (often very senior) business executives. Our qualitative research over the past few years supports this and concludes that some companies already have advanced people analytics teams scaling people analytics solutions extensively. As discussed in Section 02, the value chain is at the core of the new operating model, enabling HR to adopt an outside-in perspective. The process by which the people analytics function can take the Client Drivers and convert them to tangible Business Outcomes that drive business value along a value chain is split into three key areas, which we call ‘Engines’.
Demand Engine In the Demand Engine, the Consulting team engages with business stakeholders to understand, make sense of and translate business strategy and challenges (the drivers) into hypotheses that can be tackled by the Solution Engine.
Solution Engine In the Solution Engine, The Advanced Analytics, Reporting & Enablement and Governance teams manage and produce analytics solutions. They work in collaboration with the organisation’s Data Engine. In this Solution Engine, 15
FIGURE 7 INSIGHT222 OPERATING MODEL FOR PEOPLE ANALYTICS
DEMAND ENGINE
SOLUTION ENGINE
PRODUCT ENGINE
BUSINESS OUTCOMES
CLIENT DRIVERS Commercial Value TEAM 2A Advanced Analytics
Business Strategy Stakeholder Challenges People & HR Strategy
TEAM 1 Consulting
TEAM 2B Reporting & Enablement
TEAM 3 Implementation
Employee Experience
TEAM 2C Governance Organisational Change
DATA ENGINE Technology Partners
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the Governance team takes responsibility for prioritising projects, upholding the highest ethical standards and managing data stewardship. The Data Engine may sit within the people analytics function but is more likely to be part of an HR or enterprise technology team which manages the detailed data architecture and infrastructure. However, the People Analytics team is responsible for data stewardship as part of the activities within the Solution Engine.
Product Engine In the Product Engine, the Implementation team works to ensure the effective design and product management of analytics solutions. It includes the associated project management and change management to provide effective adoption of each solution. Implementation will require a different set of skills for the people analytics function. Taking solutions from data scientists and psychologists and productising them for employee and manager usability will require the introduction of product managers, change managers, engineers and UX designers to scale solutions to the enterprise. The key message about this model is that for the value chain to be effective, all three engines are required for success. It is not a pick-and-mix model. The engines work in harmony and must all be present to deliver value at scale.
Without the Demand Engine…
Without the Solution Engine…
Without the Product Engine…
…you’re ultimately reactive and not delivering value where you need it most
…you don’t have the right skills or governance to conduct analyses, nor have the credibility to tackle the most complex challenges
…you’re not able to scale the impact of analytics solutions and will probably continue conducting experiments to lower-value priorities
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05 Teams and Roles
This section shows the key roles, activities and skills in each of the teams within the engines of the operating model. The art of successful people analytics leadership is knowing when to bring in each kind of capability and skill, when to make a future-oriented investment into new skills that are not yet – but soon will be – needed, and how to integrate the different teams.
FIGURE 8 PEOPLE ANALYTICS TEAMS AND ROLES DEMAND ENGINE Consulting
SOLUTION ENGINE Advanced Analytics
Consultant
PRODUCT ENGINE Data Scientist
Text Analyst
Workforce Modeller
Behavioural Scientist
Reporting & Enablement
Data & Reporting Analyst
KPI & Metrics Analyst
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Design Engineer Change Manager
Consultant
Consultant
Project Manager Product Manager
Consultant Consultant
Implementation
Governance
Governance & Ethics Steward
Data Steward
Analytics Evaluator
Demand Engine Consulting The core role of this group of people is to understand, prioritise and generate the demand for people analytics work, acting as internal consultants to stakeholders. According to the results of our research, this team is already the most common role in the people analytics function, making up 40% of the roles on average. And still, the need for additional consultants has been expressed by 52% of surveyed companies. The tasks and activities undertaken by these people are to generate demand through understanding business challenges, scoping problem statements, managing stakeholder relationships, forming hypotheses and translating business challenges into people analytics projects. Consultants have a high degree of business acumen and can speak and understand the language of the business, as well as HR. They have active listening skills, strong communication skills especially storytelling, business problem analysis skills, the ability to manage multiple relationships and a strong understanding of the company business and product lines, human resources and people analytics.
Solution Engine Advanced Analytics This is a team of scientists and analysts that use the most advanced techniques to test hypotheses using a range of data sources. The team could include data scientists and behavioural scientists, as well as analysts with deep expertise in research methodology. The core tasks of this team are to understand the analytics project in collaboration with the consultant (in Team 1, as shown in Figure 8) and then convert that to a detailed analytics project including all typical aspects of analysis (data gathering, cleansing, analysis and highlighting insights and recommendations). There may well be expertise in detailed people analytics techniques such as text analysis and Organisational Network Analysis (ONA). There also should be a high degree of expertise in all types of data science.
Reporting and Enablement This team consists of data analysts with full familiarity with people data 19
in the company, can build reports and dashboards and generally answer any data request. Our research suggests that while data architects and dashboard developers are the second most prevalent role in the people analytics function currently, it is a role that is likely to grow the least. Over the coming 18-24 months, 58% of our surveyed companies intend to keep this team the same size or decrease its size. That said, we anticipate the roles themselves will become more sophisticated, as dashboards become more intuitive, interactive, and actionable.
Governance This is usually a small team of experts that handle project prioritisation, ensure proper data stewardship and upholding the highest ethical standards of using people data. Our research suggests that of the companies surveyed, only 28% of teams currently systematically address governance and stewardship with people dedicated to these roles. Without an explicit focus on governance and stewardship, the function is at risk of conducting analyses without full management of the ethical standards or data governance. We anticipate that this team will grow more as the business challenges become more complicated. With higher levels of business sponsorship and the need to scale solutions, the governance of data and management of ethical standards and privacy guidelines will increase.
Product Engine Implementation The core role of this team in People Analytics is to scale analytical solutions into products and to implement those solutions across the organisation. Our research suggests this collection of roles is the least represented in the people analytics function. Change managers currently exist in just 30% of the people analytics teams we surveyed, while project managers exist in half of the teams surveyed. 27% of organisations expect these roles to increase over the next 18-24 months. The tasks and activities include a broad spectrum of roles including human-centred design thinking, user interface design and programming, project management, product management, change management and organisational communication. Finally, we anticipate this team will also include evaluation experts that will be able to manage and measure the impact of the productised solutions once implemented.
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06 Creating Impact
A new Operating Model for People Analytics enables the business to derive more value from the function. An increased focus on business priorities, stakeholder challenges and strategy – ensured through demand generation – safeguards that the work carried out is focused on business priorities. Secondly, the Product Engine provides scalable solutions for the business, which means that analytics products deliver against stakeholder demand, more effectively. This drives more business value by virtue of greater access to the solutions developed by people analytics. This means that the HR function – supplied by sophisticated solutions from people analytics – will extend to its most important stakeholders, the employees themselves. In a nutshell, this means that a new Operating Model for People Analytics has the potential to drive greater organisational collaboration, deliver better employee experience and boost the employer brand while also improving business performance and commercial outcomes.
Final Thoughts People Analytics has the potential to deliver verifiable business value even with great uncertainty and global crises. As the field steps into the spotlight and adopts a more business-centric approach to its work, roles and responsibilities – supported by the adoption of increasingly advanced technology – it is high time to support this transformation with a new way of working. The business opportunities that need prioritising for the
foreseeable future will undoubtedly centre around the pandemic, global economic uncertainty and diversity and inclusion. This report covers this period and beyond, with lessons to serve people analytics functions for a long time. Whilst many teams won’t have all of the capabilities described at their disposal, the models in this report can be adopted by teams both large and small. Successful functions do not need to focus on team structure; instead, they focus on creating impact and delivering value. 21
Immediate actions
Actions you can take today
When implementing a new Operating Model for People Analytics, keep one key message top of mind: Focus on the business outcomes, not on the team structure.
1
We also encourage people analytics leaders to not think about maturity, but to think about creating impact and delivering value by having a clear focus on the key business priorities. How can I improve my impact? Organisations that build solid, businessoriented foundations – and don’t focus solely into solving technology and data issues – create more impact for their organisation on a long-term basis. How can I create more value? Leaders and practitioners who regularly focus on the activity of analytics will create value both for the business and the employees themselves. What should I focus on? Practitioners who focus on business challenges linked to the people strategy of the company are more successful in their endeavours.
Do • Talk to business stakeholders • Understand business challenges •F ocus on projects that have commercial value and employee value •W ork with the finance team to analyse the impact of people analytics •P rioritise the most important topics • Focus on solutions that scale
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Don’t •C onduct analysis before you’ve understood the key challenges and hypotheses •A ssume you have to focus on reporting before advanced analytics •O nly talk to HR professionals •A ssume that dashboarding is the solution to everything •F orget to evaluate the impact of your solutions
S elect between 10-20 important business stakeholders. Consultants should spend time listening and understanding each of the stakeholders’ business and people challenges.
2
Prioritise the complete list of challenges by business impact and complexity. Start with low complexity, high impact challenges. These are Quick Wins.xi
3
Organise your people analytics function into the three engines along the value chain outlined in this research and tackle the prioritised challenges.
4
To embed scalable products across the organisation, be sure to invest in product management and change management skills.
5
Measure the impact of products delivered. And use this to secure more investment.
Methodology & Demographics The report is based on a survey of 60 global companies conducted by Insight222 between March and July of 2020. The extensive survey was sent directly to and completed by the people analytics leader in that company with accountability for the function. The 60 organisations surveyed are responsible for almost 5 million employees and operate in more than 150 countries.xii
INDUSTRY
COMPANY SIZE Number of employees
Companies surveyed in each industry group (%)
32
Financial Services
Retail & FMCG
Technology
Media & TelCo
28%
50,000 – 100.000
6 5
Other
24%
25,000-50,000
12 10
Engineering
Professional Services
<25,000
17 15
Pharmaceutical & Healthcare
28%
+100,000
3
20%
COUNTRY LOCATION OF PEOPLE ANALYTICS LEADER Canada
Denmark
Netherlands
2%
3%
8%
Sweden
2%
Germany
11%
UK
Slovakia
13%
2% 39% USA
2%
2%
Belgium
Austria
Hong Kong
2% Spain
2%
2%
Israel
3%
5%
France Switzerland
2% Singapore
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References London, S., Cvetanovski, B. and Heller, J., 2019. Unlocking Growth With Data-Driven Marketing And Creativity. McKinsey Podcast. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/ourinsights/data-driven-marketing ii Becker, B.E., Huselid, M.A. and Ulrich, D., 2001. The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance. 1st ed. Boston: Harvard Business Press iii Green, D. and Ulrich, D., 2019. The Role Of The HR Business Partner In A Digital Age (Interview With Dave Ulrich, Co-Founder And Principal At The RBL Group). Digital HR Leaders. Available at: https://www.myhrfuture.com/ digital-hr-leaders-podcast/2019/8/27/role-of-the-hr-business-partner-in-adigital-age iv Green, D. and Shapiro, J., 2020. How People Analytics Has Progressed in the Last 10 Years (Interview with Jeremy Shapiro). Digital HR Leaders. Available at: https://www.myhrfuture.com/digital-hr-leaderspodcast/2020/6/2/how-people-analytics-has-progressed-in-the-last-10years v Davenport, T.H., Harris, J. and Shapiro, J., 2010. Competing on Talent Analytics. Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2010/10/ competing-on-talent-analytics vi Baker, M., 2020. Stop Training Employees in Skills Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Never Use. Gartner. Available at: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/stoptraining-employees-in-skills-theyll-never-use vii Keunen, A., Wiedenhof, T. and Wiertz, M., 2020. How Rabobank uses continuous listening to understand employee sentiment during Covid-19. myHRfuture. Available at: https://www.myhrfuture.com/blog/2020/5/12/ how-rabobank-uses-continuous-listening-to-understand-employeesentiment-during-covid-19 viii 2020. The coronavirus crisis thrusts corporate HR chiefs into the spotlight. The Economist. Available at: https://www.economist.com/ business/2020/03/24/the-coronavirus-crisis-thrusts-corporate-hr-chiefsinto-the-spotlight ix 2018. Bloomberg Lawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual HR Benchmarks Report Highlights Industry Trends. 2018. Available at: https://www.prnewswire.com/newsreleases/hr-workforce-continues-to-grow--staffing-ratios-reach-all-timehigh-300666751.html x 2016. The need to lead in data and analytics. McKinsey. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/ourinsights/the-need-to-lead-in-data-and-analytics xi Guenole, N., Ferrar, J. and Feinzig, S., 2017. The Power of People: Learn How Successful Organizations Use Workforce Analytics to Improve Business Performance. 1st ed. London: Pearson, pp.123-133 xii Figures correct at time of publication i
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Authors Jonathan Ferrar Jonathan is the Chief Executive Officer of Insight222. He is a globally recognised speaker, author and business adviser in HR strategy and people analytics. Jonathan has worked in corporate business for over 25 years for companies like Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and IBM. Contact Jonathan at jonathan.ferrar@insight222.com
Caroline Styr Caroline is Research Director at Insight222. She is an accomplished researcher, author and speaker on people analytics and the future of HR. Before joining Insight222 in July 2020, Caroline worked at Cognizantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center for the Future of Work. Contact Caroline at caroline.styr@insight222.com
Anastasia Ktena Anastasia is Consulting Program Manager at Insight222 with experience in people analytics transformation, customer experience and communications. Before joining Insight222, she worked as a Senior Advisor for Gartner TalentNeuron. Contact Anastasia at anastasia.ktena@insight222.com
About Insight222 Insight222 Research provides business executives and HR leaders with insights and recommendations to advance the HR profession to become more digital and evidence-based. We investigate the most pressing challenges and latest developments in People Analytics and Digital HR. Through partnerships with leading practitioners, academics and thought leaders, we bring new ideas, pragmatic frameworks and structured guidance. Insight222 is a global services and solutions company that enables organisations to deliver business value through People Analytics and Digital HR. The team at Insight222 provide consulting, learning and networking services to Chief Human Resources Officers and their key staff in Analytics, Strategy, Planning, Employee Experience and Digital HR. Insight222 clients and partners include some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading brands - typically large, multinational organisations. Find out more at www.insight222.com and www.myHRfuture.com
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Further Reading For more on the Insight222 Nine Dimensions for Excellence in People Analytics® model, see our blog: Nine Dimensions for Excellence in People Analytics
Clients of the Insight222 People Analytics Program® should access additional survey findings in the Program Resource Hub here.
Copyright Insight222’s research assets and models are protected by copyright as noted on www. insight222.com and www.myHRfuture.com and associated documents. “Insight222®”, “Insight222 Nine Dimensions for Excellence in People Analytics®”, “Insight222 People Analytics Program®”, “Insight222 People Analytics Accelerators®”, “Press PLAY on Your Career®” are registered trademarks of Insight222 Limited. All rights reserved.
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