Figure 15.1 Perspectives of analytics in HR.
“For most HR professionals, this is not how they were trained, it’s not why they went into HR. We need HR people to accept that it’s a good thing to use workforce analytics to make decisions.”
—Tracy Layney
Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Shutterfly Inc.
A common refrain among analytics practitioners is that human resources (HR) professionals like to work with people, not data. One goal of workforce analytics teams therefore should be to enable the wider HR community within their organizations to embrace an analytical mind-set and approach. Broad acceptance of an analytical approach to HR will maximize the reach and level of impact of the analytics teams’ work.
he best approach for helping HR professionals embrace analytics is to understand their starting point and build from there. In other words, determine their comfort and skill levels for an analytical approach to HR, and plan your enablement activities accordingly.
This chapter discusses the following:
Types of analytics perspectives in HR
• How to enable an HR analytics mind-set
• The analytics “translator” role
• The role of leadership in creating a culture of analytics
HR professionals have varying degrees of analytics comfort and expertise. A logical first step in enabling a broad analytics mind-set in HR, therefore, is to identify where HR professionals fall along the spectrum of analytical perspectives. Segmenting the HR community within your organization into categories allows you to customize your approach to analytics enablement.
“There are data-savvy individuals and then those who are less numerically literate. I think that is normal in HR.”
—Andre Obereigner
Senior Manager, Global Workforce Analytics, Groupon
Most HR functions encompass three types of analytics perspectives: analytically savvy, analytically willing, and analytically resistant (see Figure 15.1). After you have identified where people stand regarding analytics, you can take the appropriate actions to encourage, educate, and nurture an analytical approach to HR.
Figure 15.1 Perspectives of analytics in HR.
Examples of quantitatively experienced HR professionals abound. These are often people who joined HR from other functions or were trained in analytical techniques as part of their formal education. HR professionals in the analytically savvy category view HR through a business lens, one that uses analytics to inform decision making and improve performance. They can be helpful in embedding that mind-set into the culture of HR.
Some HR specialties are more likely than others to have analytically oriented practitioners; examples include compensation and benefits, employee engagement, and health and wellness, where numerical literacy is needed for performing the job. This quantitative focus has helped move the HR function toward increased financial literacy and has potentially set the stage for improving analytical literacy.
Finding people in HR who already have analytics capability gives you an opportunity to leverage the hidden analysts in your organization. These people, particularly if they are well-respected and influential members of the HR community, can help their less analytically oriented colleagues understand and appreciate the value an analytics lens brings to HR. Salvador Malo, Head of Global Workforce Analytics at Ericsson, says, “Some people are self-starters and primed for workforce analytics; you should find that latent skill that exists in organizations. Once you have a few people here and there, they serve as examples. There are a lot of internal champions.”
Your enablement approach for this group should begin with determining current baseline knowledge. You want to ensure that your specific philosophy and approach to workforce analytics is well understood, and you can determine where additional education would be helpful. For example, you might want to supplement any gaps in knowledge with education on advanced analytical techniques. Your team can directly offer enablement or you can point to online courses and discussion groups for the latest thinking. Thomas Rasmussen, Vice President of HR Data & Analytics at Shell, says of the analytically savvy workers in HR, “For the university people already trained in analytics, we just need to keep it up for them.”
If you can’t identify analytically savvy people within your organization’s HR function, you need to bring in people with those skills. Mark Berry, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at CGB Enterprises, Inc., asserts, “HR has to begin at the source, hiring people who have the orientation and acumen to drive fact-based decision making in the organizations they serve. Development programs need to be focused on honing these skills.”
Keeping skills current is particularly important for the analytically savvy. In addition to pointing employees to internal and external courses, encourage participation in online user groups and discussion forums. Professional affiliations with analytics societies can be advantageous, and conference attendance should be encouraged and supported. Presenting at professional conferences helps maintain a presence in the larger analytics community, and attendance provides exposure to new thinking and techniques. Providing access to new technologies can also keep skills fresh and stoke interest levels, and early involvement in projects can build skills and provide specific opportunities to champion the cause.
In summary, the following actions are recommended for enabling the analytically savvy:
• Identify current analytics strengths and any gaps related to your team’s methods and approach.
• Identify specific development needs to close any gaps, and offer learning opportunities (internally developed and administered, or externally sourced) to address the needs.
• Recommend online resources (such as discussion groups) and reference books for ongoing skill enhancement.
• Support membership in professional societies and attendance at analytics conferences for visibility in the larger community and opportunities to learn new approaches.
• Provide access to new technologies to explore and expand areas of interest.
• Involve the analytically savvy in projects early on so they can help preach the benefits of analytics to others.
The analytically willing are open-minded about analytics and prepared to learn, but they have not had the formal training or exposure needed to develop analytical skills. Mark Berry says most HR professionals fall within this category, which he describes as those who “don’t necessarily get it, but want to understand and use it.” HR training programs and educational curricula have not traditionally focused on building analytics capability, and many people who have been attracted to the profession in the past would be unlikely to name statistical analysis as a particular interest or strength. That said, members of this group are not opposed to applying analytics to HR; they simply lack the know-how to do so. This willingness and open-mindedness presents an encouraging opportunity to build the desired analytical culture and way of thinking.
The goal in enabling this group is to identify any areas of concern or confusion, and work together to address them. An important starting point is clarifying what analytics is and what it is not. As defined in the Preface, workforce analytics is the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in workforce-related data to inform decision making and improve performance. This is not the same as reporting, nor is it solely about the data itself, the management of data, or data analysis tools. Analytics is the application of analytical approaches to data that allows professionals to discern, share, and act upon meaningful patterns and insights.
With this clarity in place, a good next step is to adopt a hands-on approach. Work with actual datasets to educate this group on fact-based approaches. Thomas Rasmussen describes, “We get them involved in a project that shows the value of analytics—first-hand involvement helping them solve a problem that’s relevant for what they do.” Ian O’Keefe, Managing Director and Head of Global Workforce Analytics at JPMorgan Chase & Co. has taken this approach further by modeling scenarios to demonstrate the likely outcomes associated with inaction versus action: “When someone got hesitant, we showed them data. We showed trends, we told them what would happen next week or next month if we did nothing, and contrasted that with what would happen over those same time periods if we made some changes.”
Analytics workshops or learning modules can help this group build expertise in analytical techniques and basic statistics. Andre Obereigner of Groupon finds value in enhancing HR’s knowledge of data they are already familiar with and tools they are already using. “A big focus for us is to further educate the HR community on the value that workforce data holds and to show them how to read the information and what actions they could take,” says Obereigner. “One of the first things I did was organize Excel workshops. If they are using Excel as a main tool, they should know how to use it. I guided the local HR team on the different features, and this made a big difference.” Through conversations and observations, you can ascertain people’s current skill levels and determine their further learning needs.
“Capability is growing. We’ve had some training efforts to build that, but it’s really about changing behavior, helping people realize that using data will empower them and build credibility.”
—Ian Bailie
Global Head of Talent Acquisition and People Planning Operations, Cisco
In summary, the following actions are recommended for enabling the analytically willing:
• Identify baseline analytics knowledge, concerns, and sources of confusion.
• Provide clarity on what analytics is and what it is not.
• Address concerns and confusion through examples with actual data relevant to their jobs.
• Offer analytics-focused training on tools they already use (such as spreadsheet software).
• Develop and deliver analytics workshops or learning modules to help them build expertise in analytics techniques and basic statistics.
Salvador Malo is the Head of Global Workforce Analytics at Ericsson.1 He has a Ph.D. in mathematics and consulting skills honed from half a dozen years at McKinsey & Company and almost twice that time at Egon Zehnder. Salvador takes a sophisticated view of three fundamental aspects of workforce analytics: analysis, consulting, and people.
For Salvador, analytics is a way of thinking: “You have to have a mind-set for analytics. It is important not to get confused about what it is. It is not the data. It is not the business questions. It is the activity that people do with the data to answer the questions.”
According to Salvador, such clarity about workforce analytics is essential to avoid confusion, particularly when working with leaders and HR business partners all over the world: “For example, it is not just about headcount reports. This is not analytics.”
That’s not to say that technology and systems are unimportant. “It pays to have a good IT plan,” explains Salvador. “But analytics is time consuming, so you don’t want to get distracted by other HR operations and systems integration projects. Yes, it’s important to have good process, systems, and data, but what’s important is what you do with these things to answer the business questions. Make sure people understand this. Always.”
This point of view serves Salvador well as he leads the analytics function in a company that operates across 120 countries in an organization with more than 116,000 people. Mathematics Ph.D. or not, it’s the mind-set that counts.
The analytically resistant group represents the biggest challenge. For a variety of reasons, some people simply reject the notion that applying an analytical approach to HR is a valuable and worthwhile endeavor. And if the analytically resistant are particularly influential members of the organization, their mind-set, as conveyed through words and actions, can create obstacles and limit the potential impact of workforce analytics.
The goal in changing this mind-set is not to transform the resistant into analytics experts, but rather to have them accept and even embrace the concept that an analytical approach can enhance the value of their business. Peter Allen, Managing Director, Agoda Outside, stresses the importance of analytics to HR’s credibility: “HR should be an advisory service that helps managers to do their jobs well, and to be a credible adviser, you need to be seen to know what you’re talking about. One of the best ways to do this, of course, is with good data and meaningful analytics.”
After you have identified the analytically resistant, understanding the reasons for their resistance is helpful. Is it a lack of confidence in their own analytical and numerical abilities? Is it a true disbelief that a data-based approach is superior to gut feel, instinct, and intuition? Or is it something else? Understanding the sources of resistance best positions you to address it. Consulting skills are helpful in uncovering the sources, and change management skills are invaluable in overcoming the resistance.
Given the power of resistance to limit the impact of workforce analytics and the breadth of potential reasons underlying resistance, we dedicate the next chapter to this topic. In it, we discuss the various types of resistance, including everything from “It’s too difficult,” to “We’ve tried it before and it didn’t work,” to “The data challenges are insurmountable.” And for each of these objections, the chapter offers guidance for moving past them.
The key to winning over the skeptics is demonstrating how analytics can enhance their own personal effectiveness and success. As Ian Bailie notes, “You will always find the least resistance in helping someone solve a problem that they have. And if you succeed in winning them over, they may become your biggest advocates.”
In summary, the following actions are recommended for enabling the analytically resistant:
• Determine the reasons for their resistance.
• Use analytics to help them solve a problem they are facing.
• Help make them successful through analytics.
It should be noted that some practitioners avoid the problem of analytical resistance by screening for an analytical mindset when hiring HR professionals. Over time, and depending on the size of your HR function, this can be a feasible strategy for establishing an analytical mindset in your HR function. Mark Berry endorses this approach: “What we need to be doing is minimizing this issue by ensuring that our selection and promotion processes, including querying candidates about analytics experience. We need to drive the culture within our HR organizations that elevate evidence-based HR leadership as foundational to what we do.” Ultimately, as analytical skills are incorporated into professional HR qualification programs, we should see fewer analytically resistant practitioners entering the profession.
Figure 15.2 summarizes the key actions for enabling each type of analytical perspective in the HR function.
Figure 15.2 Key actions for enablement.
With the right training and focus, HR professionals with an analytical mind-set are candidates for an essential role: the analytics translator. This is a role that McKinsey & Company described in 2014 as “crucial for unlocking the full value of advanced analytics.”Luk Smeyers, cofounder of iNostix by Deloitte, says the analytics translator serves as the “coordinator in an analytics project.” In a 2015 article, Tom Davenport, Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College, described translators as “extremely skilled at communicating the results of quantitative analyses.”He argues, “Almost every organization would be more successful with analytics and Big Data if it employed some of these folks.”
Translators perform the important work of bridging different functions in an organization and enabling effective communications between them. McKinsey & Company says, “Translators form the links that bind the chain of an effective advanced-analytics capability.” Put simply, translators turn the technical outcomes from analytics projects into insights that business leaders can understand and act upon.
To perform this role effectively, translators must know the business, understand analytics, and have strong communication and relationship management skills. Good candidates for this role are HR business partners, with their understanding of the HR domain and the business they are supporting, combined with a working knowledge and appreciation of analytics. The best candidates are likely to be both analytically savvy and analytically willing.
Bart Voorn has led the HR Analytics team at Ahold Delhaize2 since 2014. During that time, he has built a culture of analytics across the company’s HR function through a deep and extensive training program.
“The field of analytics is so new to HR that people have difficulty in formulating their questions and demands,” Bart says. “It’s like the iPad question: Do you need something between a computer and smart phone? No, but Apple introduced it and now it’s everywhere.”
Bart goes on to explain what this meant in Ahold Delhaize with respect to analytics and the HR function.“HR analytics does not end with an HR analytics team—it only starts there. We have created a capability-building program for HR. We trained in total a few hundred people worldwide—vice presidents, directors, but mostly HR business partners.”
Bart says that some of the very senior HR leaders had more trouble grasping these ideas than newer people to the function. In the program, he first conducted a capability scan to explore the maturity level of data-driven decision making both for HR and individually. Next, he delivered e-learning courses and master classes on statistics, and the leaders practiced analytics cases.
“We essentially trained HR business partners how to see and formulate research questions. The population now acts as ‘spotters of opportunities’ for us. If they come to us with the questions, then they should also actually act upon the insights. Without them, we, in workforce analytics, are useless. They are key in driving action. We continue to run regular training for the HR community.”
The training program at Ahold Delhaize helped to improve the overall level of analytical competency in HR. As Bart delivered the training, he found that the demand for analytics projects increased, project selection became more effective, and the resulting recommendations became easier to implement. The HR business partners became both the spotters and the translators of the business analytics topics.
“When you do this, it gives the feeling that HR is right on track at the decision-making table and is business relevant.”
Leadership values, beliefs, and actions are highly influential in establishing and maintaining an analytics mind-set. When the top leaders in an organization are analytically oriented, it creates a data-centric culture that permeates throughout. This was the experience of Mariëlle Sonnenberg, Global Director of HR Strategy & Analytics at Wolters Kluwer: “Although other companies report difficulties in getting the sponsorship needed, our CEO and CHRO are very data-driven people, so that was easy.”
The same is true for HR leadership: When the leader is a “true believer,” not just someone with a more traditional HR mind-set, that person will want to understand and manage the workforce analytically. This leadership messaging—that an analytical approach is important and it is the way things get done in HR—is a catalyst for gaining traction in an organization. Empathy and relationships have traditionally been important in HR and will likely remain so, but data-driven, fact-based insights are needed as well. Andre Obereigner has experienced this leadership impact: “You need to have senior management support. In one organization I worked in, I noticed that when we had a new global head of HR who was very focused on data, suddenly people were talking about analytics.”
For some organizations, the impetus for establishing a workforce analytics function comes from the organization’s leadership. When this is the case, the leadership support should be ample. In other organizations, a savvy practitioner successfully makes the case for bringing an analytical approach to HR. Under those circumstances, senior leaders might or might not be fully committed to workforce analytics.
When the leadership support for analytics exists, take full advantage of it. Incorporate the leaders’ words into your communications and stories, align your projects with the leadership priorities, and secure direct sponsorship for projects and the analytics function overall. Without that leadership, you must build a coalition of supporters among the most influential analytically oriented members of the organization: leaders of other functions, lines of business leaders, and even the board of directors. You will likely encounter more resistance to workforce analytics if your organization lacks key leadership support. To encourage an analytics mind-set in leaders, offer one-on-one coaching on analytics fundamentals, involve them directly in analytics projects, and perhaps conduct a project that will likely be personally and directly beneficial to them.
To reap the most benefit from workforce analytics and achieve the widest impact, the broader HR function within an organization must embrace and demonstrate an analytics mind-set through their words and actions. The following recommendations will help you enable an analytics mind-set in your HR function:
• Understand the variations of analytics literacy among your organization’s HR professionals and categorize them accordingly: analytically savvy, analytically willing, or analytically resistant.
• Customize communications and enablement based on the analytics literacy categorizations:
• For the analytically savvy, provide training on the latest analytical techniques, tools, and methods; encourage them to connect with community forums.
• For the analytically willing, demonstrate and coach them on familiar data and tools, and have them attend basic statistics courses.
• For the analytically resistant, win them over by using analytics to provide insights that will make them more successful.
• Identify HR business partners with the right analytical mind-set and skills to perform the important translator role in workforce analytics.
• Understand your leaders’ views of analytics, leverage their support fully, and form a coalition of additional supporters as needed.
• Encourage an analytical mind-set in leaders through one-on-one coaching and involvement in projects that are directly beneficial to them.
1 Ericsson is a world leader in communications technology that is publicly listed on both NASDAQ OMX Stockholm and NASDAQ New York. It is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden (www.ericsson.com).
2 Ahold Delhaize is an international retailing group based in the Netherlands that serves customers in the United States, Indonesia, and Europe. It operates 21 local brands and serves more than 50 million shoppers each week in 11 countries. It has been retailing for more than 125 years and has more than 370,000 associates. Its brands include Stop & Shop (United States), Foodlion (United States), Albert Heijn (Western Europe), Delhaize (Western Europe), Alfa-Beta (Greece), and Albert (Czech Republic) (www.aholddelhaize.com).