HRD Live rewind: Six HR leaders on the vital foundations of valuable people analytics

In 2023, HRD Connect re-launched the HRD Live podcast to provide you with a deeper analysis than ever of the vital topics for HR and people leaders. The new-look HRD Live podcast kicked off with a series dedicated to people analytics as a paramount tool for the progress of HR practices from administrative to strategic. Across six episodes, we heard from experts including Richard Rosenow and Mark Stelzner, alongside leading practitioners from Coca-Cola and Dell.

Throughout the series, there was a shared agreement about the vital foundations of a thriving people analytics practice:

• Focus on developing clean, consistent data streams before scaling up
• Aim to equip leaders in real-time to make better, data-driven decisions about their people
• People analytics can play a crucial role in personalizing the employee experience and driving organizational success

In this rewind, we take a look at the episode highlights for each of our six guests.

Episode 1: Using people analytics to supercharge workforce planning at Coca Cola

Workforce planning is critical to any organization’s success, especially in the face of talent shortages and economic uncertainties. In our first episode, Brandy Parker, Senior Director of People Analytics at Coca-Cola, emphasizes the vital role of people analytics in supporting workforce planning. By leveraging data insights, HR leaders can identify talent availability, pinpoint skill gaps, and make informed decisions about talent development and training initiatives.

Parker draws on her experience at Coca-Cola to position people analytics as a strategic partner, aligning different stakeholders and ensuring clarity in data definitions and metrics.

Episode 2: Ethics, buy-in, and skepticism: Overcoming barriers to people analytics

Implementing data-driven workflows in HR requires overcoming common barriers, such as ethics, financial buy-in, and skepticism. Richard Rosenow, VP of People Analytics Strategy at One Model, shares his experiences in scaling people analytics. He emphasizes that data is a way to listen at scale whilst underscoring the ethical considerations HR teams must keep in mind.

Having helped successfully scale people analytics at Nike, Uber, and Facebook, Rosenow also offers advice for generating buy-in from finance, IT, and other stakeholders involves demonstrating the value of people analytics in understanding and supporting the workforce. By addressing these barriers, HR leaders can successfully implement data-driven workflows and drive impactful change.

Episode 3: How Dell scaled people analytics across the full employee lifecycle

Data insights are the lifeblood of an outstanding employee experience consistent across the full employee lifecycle. Stephanie Murphy, Talent Analytics Director at Dell, shares her expertise in scaling people analytics across the employee lifecycle. By starting with employee listening and collecting clean data, HR teams can gain a comprehensive understanding of individual preferences and organizational networks.

Murphy explores how this holistic approach enables data-informed decision-making at every stage, from recruitment and onboarding to development, retention, and exit. By integrating people analytics into day-to-day business practices, she argues organizations can ensure long-term growth and empower leaders to make impactful decisions based on real-time data.

Episode 4: Deconstructing HR data to drive real-time change

Mark Stelzner, Founder at IA, delves into the crucial distinction between lagging and leading indicators in data insights. Lagging indicators offer hindsight, reflecting past events, while leading indicators provide a glimpse into potential future outcomes. HR leaders must understand the difference and leverage both types of indicators to drive action.

HR teams can transform data into actionable insights by deconstructing data insights, measuring with purpose, and ensuring timeliness. Stelzner emphasizes the need for hyper-transparency, situational awareness, and a focus on meaningful metrics to empower real-time change and support decision-makers in driving positive business outcomes.

Episode 5: Perfecting hybrid productivity with people analytics

The rise of hybrid working poses unique challenges for organizations seeking to optimize productivity and collaboration. Brad Williams, Head of HR Technology & People Analytics at Northwestern Mutual, highlights the importance of data-informed approaches to hybrid workforce collaboration.

Organizations can gain insights into individual preferences and build effective hybrid working policies by measuring who chooses to work on-site versus remotely. Employee listening plays a crucial role in understanding the sentiment behind individual choices and developing strategies to enhance productivity and engagement. Additionally, analyzing organization networks allows HR leaders to identify collaboration patterns and equip managers with the insights needed to make informed decisions.

Episode 6: Moneyball: What HR leaders can learn from sports analytics

HR leaders should not be afraid to turn to lessons from beyond their own four walls. Former VP of People Analytics at Thomson Reuters, Teymy Bahmani, discusses the parallels between sports analytics and HR practices. Inspired by basketball coaches, soccer teams, and “Moneyball,” Bahmani explores how HR leaders can adopt data-driven decision-making, such as managing employee exhaustion and stress levels and redefining performance measurements.

Additionally, he highlights the importance of treating meetings as strategic set plays, leveraging data to optimize them and improve overall business results. This thought-provoking piece delves into the lessons HR leaders can learn from the world of sports to drive organizational success.

What’s next for the HRD Live podcast?

The HRD Live podcast has also recently wrapped up another six-episode series, this time taking an in-depth look at DE&I beyond performative actions and vanity statements. Inclusion thought-leaders Kim Crowder, Donald Knight, Heather McGowan, and others join the podcast to talk allyship, data-driven DE&I, anti-racism, and more.

An upcoming series on the Future of Work begins on July 19^th, 2023, with L’Oréal CHRO Stephane Charbonnier and AI HR Chief Scientist for HR and OD, Dieter Veldsman. We will also be joined by Jacob Morgan and many others in this exclusive HRD Live series.

Remember to tune in to the HRD Live Podcast for more thought-provoking discussions and expert insights on the latest trends and strategies in HR.

Benjamin Broomfield As Senior Editor for HRD, Benjamin is intimately connected with HR’s foremost thought leaders and senior HR leadership from the world’s largest organizations. He produces industry-recognized commentary, Q&As, and case studies that help HR leaders to solve core challenges and increase their value to the business. Benjamin is the host and producer of the HRD Live Podcast.