Feeling Behind in People Analytics?
At a meetup recently, someone came up to me and said they thought I knew everything there was to know about people analytics. I gasped! First, I was flattered. But then, I was honest. I am human, and I don’t know everything.
Let’s be real—it’s easy to think everyone else has it all figured out. Case in point, every conference panel showcases amazing wins by those organizations. Sure, there’s an occasional panel about pitfalls and blunders, but usually, it’s rose colored glasses. The audience eats it up. They aspire to be like the speakers on stage, doing cool things that really drive change. I mean, we do get to do cool things that really drive change. But we also are all on a journey.
It’s OK to feel behind
Recently, I had conversations with a few different people analytics leaders. Each one of them had recently been to a conference—Outsmart, Talreos, Unleash. And each of them walked away inspired AND feeling like they are “behind.” I hear this so often.
So, is it true that their organizations really are lagging? Or is it just a reflection of the fact that people analytics is still a really new function? I’m inclined to think the latter. I mean, the field of people analytics didn’t gain popularity until the 2000s. Sure, some of the principles had been around for a century, but the truth is, these concepts were poorly adopted for a very long time.
When I built the people analytics team at PTC, we constantly flashed a slide up with crawl, walk, run graphics. The goal was not to conquer the world immediately. It was to gently introduce concepts to the organization. It wasn’t always sexy work—sometimes, I wanted to be doing the cutting edge analyses that were deeply embedded in the business. Sometimes I felt behind. But the reality is, I was not alone. Most of my peers were/are in similar situations in their organizations.
There is no right way
As a result, how to do people analytics “well” is still up for debate. Some would insist it requires an army of data scientists and analysts and business partners to get the job done. Others understand that while a team of one is insufficient, a team of four or five people might do the trick. Obviously, this requires the context of company size, data savvy, and more, but you get the point. There is no one size fits all. There is no gold standard. There are really no true best practices. We are all still learning. That’s not to say we don’t know more than we used to. We just don’t know it all.
So what do we know? We know that reporting must be automated. We know that business partnership is critical. We know that people data is messy. Most of all, we know that most people analytics teams have less than three employees. With such a small team, there’s an intense need to optimize productivity, maximize automation, and prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.
You are not alone
And sometimes, we know that you need a partner. Someone to offer strategic guidance, tactical support, or simply a fresh perspective. One biotech organization lost their people analytics champion, and floundered. For six months, they tried to skate by with what they had. Finally, they raised their hand for help.
The Bregman Group worked with them in both tactical and strategic ways. We took over administration of their platforms, building new confidence in the capability. We engaged with the HRIS and IT teams to ensure data feeds were accurate and reliable. We partnered with the CHRO to strategically leverage the capability, and embed it further in the business.
They now run a monthly meeting with their HRBPs to model their thought processes and applications of data to drive decisions. The adoption of insights has skyrocketed, and there are more occasions than ever before where folks are mining data to help them tackle issues with their executive teams. They have visibility into trends that they’ve never had before.
It’s not shameful to need help. That’s where The Bregman Group comes in. We’re here to provide the support you need, right when you need it, so you never have to navigate this journey alone. Together, we’re committed to turning your people data into your strategic advantage. Let’s connect!
