Leading with Data: People Analytics in Talent and Culture (Part 6 of 9)

Soon after the occurrence of the pandemic, more companies have started to realize the importance of data analytics since using data sources catalyzes more benefits and positive repercussions to their business. It helps in managing the human capital more effectively; producing informed fact-based decisions; regulating organizational productivity; and lastly, enhancing employee engagement even more.

Moving further into the age of technology, the role of people analytics has also come into the limelight to the extent that it has become an integral part of talent management in HR. The paramount premise of the people analytics team is to provide a direct and rational meaningful perspective that enables the company to come up with informed business decisions. By effectively doing so, this results in the development of the business performance and employee experience as well which leads to the success of the company. More so, people analytics is also held responsible for providing peculiar insights and solutions in order to guide the business on the right track. They also focus on deeply understanding the data and its facets such as the impact it brings to the organization; enforce analytics in concurrent operations; and serve as guidance in making data-driven decisions. 

Last November 9, 2021, we were given the opportunity to have a panel that gave precedence on the topic of “People Analytics in Talent and Culture”. In order to further widen our knowledge and perspective about this, we have invited two excellent panelists to share their personal insights and thoughts. We were delighted and thrilled to have Kerry Brown from the Future of Work & Change Expert and Matt Burns, the founder of the BentoHR.

As an introductory question to open the conversation, the speakers were asked about their personal thoughts concerning the most critical questions and issues within the talent and culture that the organizations are currently experiencing. According to them, the majority of organizations face questions like “How can machines run better?” or “How can the supply chain be more efficient?”. It is extremely important that people analytics teams should be able to identify the answer to these questions, especially in today's circumstances that we are in a hybrid workplace. How do we use data and analytics more effectively in a hybrid work environment? 

Furthermore, the basic questions can also be considered as critical ones such as, “What are you trying to solve for?” or “What is the question we are trying to answer?”. That being the case, it is imperative that we gather and leverage useful data because we want to ensure that we know what data is and its sources.

Moving on to another area of the topic, the speakers also shared their personal insights regarding the things needed, in terms of competencies, skills, and executive alignment, for establishing meaningful people analytics function. First of all, it is necessary for the company to have good data hygiene. They must ensure that the gathered data are clean, error-free, and accurate. Following this, it is also important to lay the foundations of the context around your data analytics program. The company must have a clear understanding of how they will deal with the information, determine the purpose and intention behind acquiring the data and find out what they are trying to achieve. As the ones responsible for handling the data, it is an obligation that they foster a deep understanding of the following main points in the organization, thus design thinking will be a huge help. 

Followed by this, the panel also expressed their thoughts on the following key success factors for people analytics functions when looking at it through a talent and culture lens. One of the aspects they have mentioned is the importance of employee participation. It is also important to formulate HR metrics to your business outcomes especially in terms of the performance expectations of customer service. Another area that the people analytics team should also focus on is analyzing the economics of the business within a broader economic context. Moreover, it is also implied that there is a need to have a well-founded knowledge and ability in handling softwares.

On one hand, every data is managed by a human being thus human capital resources are a vital element in the HR function. In order to ensure that their performance is not lagging, it is just important that companies have the ability to upskill a workforce and speed up the working productivity of its people. They must implement regulations that will enhance their working capabilities and skills by considering them as their biggest investments. On the other hand, looking at the culture is also one of the key success factors in the analytics functions. Having the capability to establish a culture and see the things that are working and not helps you analyze what kind of data is powerful. 

In connection with the other question that was asked, this time the panel expressed their thoughts on the following competencies within an organization that should be developed with an intention of leveraging people analytics more meaningfully. To start off, data science should be improved because this is the thing that we are going to need all the time 一 regardless of the sector you belong to. Data science is deemed as “scientific geeky information” thus, the ability to tell a story is a must. Being able to tell a story that you can connect and correlate with business leaders is powerful. Therefore, the team under people analytics must learn how to be influential because this is one of the ways they can achieve business success.

All the more, people analytics is an essential element in the organization because, without its function, the company wouldn’t be able to analyze and understand the workforce data that is needed to achieve the business goals of the company.

You can watch the full video of the panel here!

You may also check out the other articles on our Leading with Data series:

• Leading with Data: People Analytics in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (Part 1 of 9)
• Leading with Data: Beginning From The Beginning: How To Set Up A People Analytics Function (Part 2 of 9)
• Leading With Data: Understanding The Foundations of Data Analytics (Part 3 of 9)
• Leading with Data: Establishing a People Analytics Strategy: Processes, Methods, Indicators, and Deliverables (Part 4 of 9)
• Leading with Data: Engaging Business Leaders (Part 5 of 9)