CFOs are perceived as trusted advisors because they bring irrefutable data to the table and interpret how businesses will be affected by the numbers. The CHRO has that same ability, right now. People analytics is the answer but only if employee survey data is aligned with business metrics. Employee surveys, when analyzed against other HR and business data, can identify things like barriers that are harming the customer experience, what’s preventing innovation, what’s preventing digital transformation, or what things are causing your people to leave. People analytics expert Dr. Brett Wells explains how the CHRO can become as trusted as the CFO when it comes to data.
Dr. William Edwards Deming could have been speaking to current CHROs when he famously said, “In God we trust, all others bring data.” However, I have yet to meet a CHRO who pursued their career because of their passion for data and analytics; it’s rather because they value people and want to make the largest impact where people spend most of their time – at work. Ironically, it’s the CHRO who is steeped in people analytics who is capitalizing on the value of people for the mutual benefit of the employee and organization.
What are People Analytics?
People Analytics is connecting the dots between people data and business outcomes so leaders can see what matters most to make better decisions. Stated somewhat differently, people analytics is all about measuring, analyzing, communicating, and ultimately maximizing the value of people to your organization.
Where to Begin?
From Google optimizing the number of interviewers in the recruitment process, balancing time-to-hire with quality-of-hire, to Credit Suisse reducing costly turnover with improved internal mobility practices, popularized success stores create the illusion that people analytics has gone mainstream. However, the majority of organizations are still in the infancy stages of development and need help putting people analytics to action. Here are some tips towards gaining traction with people analytics:
Don’t Jump to Solutions; First Focus on the Problem
If you’re at all like me, your first reaction is to move to solutions without first completely understanding the problem. This leads to treating the symptoms instead of the root causes. Einstein said, “If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem, and only five minutes finding the solution.” You really need to “fall in love” with the problem to make sure you’re hitting the business-value bullseye. One way prime this mindset is to be more like a curious kid: ask why and then why again four more times. The 5 Whys is a basic root cause analysis technique in Six Sigma to identify the root cause of an issue. For example, after asking stakeholders repeatedly why turnover is too high, you may come to find turnover isn’t the problem, but rather missteps in a clunky, tedious onboarding process.
Don’t Bet the Farm; Small Bets Pay Off
Many teams embarking on their journey make the mistake of laying all their chips on the table – in terms of both relationship capital and resource capital. And it’s easy to be enamored by going after making something 10X better, as opposed to only 10% better. But take advice from NASA and the inaugural moonshot – there were a great number of Gemini and Apollo missions, and some catastrophic failures along the way, before actually landing on the moon and returning safely back to Earth. When it comes to people analytics, one big failure and it could all be over. Or perhaps even worse, a highly-capable team is relegated to pet projects and ad hoc reporting that really only adds trivial value to the organization. To minimize this risk, first tackle projects that have these qualities, which will result in quick wins that take weeks for a small team to complete, and not months or years:
- It will add value to the business if solved for or improved even slightly;
- It is easy to measure and track so you can demonstrate ROI;
- The quality and quantity of data are strong;
- There is no need to collect additional data to begin answering the business problem
- You are not dependent on other parts of the business to complete your work;
Don’t Compete with the CFO; Partner and Create a Long-Term Ally
If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. The CFO can be an invaluable resource in terms of expertise, and his or her buy-in can help sway hesitant or resistant decision makers. I see many teams begin by tackling turnover, as it checks all the boxes of a quick win. Partnering with the CFO to determine the direct and indirect costs of turnover will lead to a definitive ROI figure that is trusted by others. The last thing you want when sharing your results if for the financial wizard to say, “wait…I don’t believe this number because of X/Y/Z.” Having their input from the beginning as a stakeholder and confirming your approach will go a long way to winning others over. With this increased confidence and quick wins, it is far easier to make a business case for a larger resource investment.
Don’t Wait; There’s No Time Like the Present
I firmly believe people analytics is the one of the most strategic directions HR can take to have the proverbial “seat at the table.” The COVID-19 pandemic has created a great deal of disruption and a new normal for work. Whereas some organizations are going through massive hirings, layoffs, or furloughs, most are going through complete shifts in roles. All of these are creating questions, or opportunities, that can be informed by people analytics:
- How do we effectively transition employees to remote work?
- How do we create engagement working remotely?
- Are we communicating frequently and clearly?
Remember there is no single correct way to build a people analytics capability during this time – a strategy and design that works for one organization could be detrimental to yours. Perhaps the only wrong decision is inaction, not diving into people analytics at all.
Latest posts by Brett Wells, Ph.D. (see all)
- How CHROs Can Lead The C-Suite Now - June 12, 2023
