Category Archives: Talent Analytics

February 21, 2017 · 4:00 am

Got Culture?

data-point-tuesday_500

Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report is out. It’s a lot of information (214 pages!). But it’s important information and you’ll enjoy the most current data from this global collector and analyzer of work related data.

We talk about employee engagement – or some other euphemism for connecting with employees in a human, caring way – all the time. We get at our data through the famous surveys from organizations like Gallup, Great Place to Work™, Quantum Workplace, or Workplace Dynamics – or any of a hundred other providers of culture measurement and strengthening solutions. And we compete in geographical and industry competitions all over the world to claim one of the top spots in great organizational culture lists. All of this to attract and retain world class employees.

I’m a big believer that culture trumps most every other organizational dynamic in the war for talent, innovation, profitability, top line growth, competitiveness and any other thing you might measure. I’ve been quoted frequently as saying that “strong, positive  cultures improve everything we measure that we want to go up, as well as reducing everything we measure that we want to go down.” And it’s true. But intentionally creating and managing the right kind of culture is getting more difficult as the world gets more and more complex: 4 or 5 generations in the workplace; Big Data and Artificial Intelligence; globalization; nationalism; terrorism; population growth; global warming – the list of external dynamics – some might say threats – impact  our organizations’ success as well as how we relate with our employees seems to grow every day.

So, I appreciate organizations that collect data, make sense of it, and then make it available to all of us. I appreciate them a lot. And Gallup does a better job than most. This report, State of the American Workplace, has a ton of interesting data in it. You probably don’t want to read it in one sitting, but you do want to read it all.

In the executive summary, the report lays out the roadmap for leaders to follow in creating organization sustainability:

  • design and deliver a compelling and authentic employer brand
  • take employee engagement from a survey to a cultural pillar that improves performance
  • approach performance management in ways that motivate employees
  • offer benefits and perks that influence attraction and retention
  • enable people to work successfully from locations besides the office
  • construct office environments that honor privacy while encouraging collaboration
  • improve clarity and communication for employees who work on multiple teams

Sounds simple, I know; but any leader who has tried to create a stronger culture knows that this is hard stuff. It’s 3 steps forward, 2 steps back stuff. And Gallup has the data to back it up.

The executive summary ends with this:

“The one thing leaders cannot do is nothing. They cannot wait for trends to pass them by, and they cannot wait for millennials to get older and start behaving like baby boomers.”

The chapters are mini culture theses in themselves:

  1. U.S. workers: increasingly confident and ready to leave
  2. Do employees want what your workplace is selling?
  3. The real truth about benefits and perks
  4. The competitive advantage of engaging your employees
  5. A shift in managing performance
  6. A closer look at the 12 elements of engagement
  7. Making sense of matrixed teams
  8. The changing place and space of work

I encourage you to delve into these chapters and consider the data, the analysis and the conclusions in each. In chapter 2, data are shared that might motivate you to reconsider how you think your employment candidates are evaluating your organization as a potential employer:

gallup-american-workplace-2017-1

Increase in income potential and a well-known brand are not as important as they once were. Did you know that?

There are a number of similar “ah-ha” data points in this report. They are easily accessible, simply constructed and are potential game changers as you think about your organization’s culture and its impact on your ability to retain and acquire the talent you need.

Download it here. I think you’ll gain surprising new insights.

Advertisement

4 Comments

Filed under Big Data and HR, China Gorman, Company Culture, Data Point Tuesday, Employee Engagement, Employee Satisfaction, Gallup, Generations at work, HR Analytics, HR Data, HR Trends, Human Capital, Talent Analytics, Talent Management, Workplace Culture

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 17, 2017 · 4:00 am

That State of American Jobs and Workers

data-point-tuesday_500

While I was browsing the internet looking for some economic data, I came across this 2016 report from the Pew Research Center:  The State of American Jobs. And it is compelling! The Pew Research Center is “a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.”

This report is hefty at 95 pages, but it is totally readable. And full of great information about the state of the U.S. workforce. I couldn’t put it down. (Well, I couldn’t stop scrolling forward.)

There are five sections – and they’re all fascinating. If you have anything to do with people in your organization – hiring, managing, training, deploying – there will be nuggets here that will absolutely help you be more effective. The five sections are:

  1. Changes in the American workplace
  2. How Americas assess the jobs situation today and prospects for the future
  3. How Americans view their jobs
  4. Skills and training needed to compete in today’s economy
  5. The value of a college education

Each of these alone are fascinating topics and the data/analysis provided generate great food for thought and action. An opening overview section sets the stage for a fascinating discussion of how American workers are assessing their skills, their ability to be competitive in the economy and the role of the U.S. education infrastructure to ensure employability.

Here are two graphs from the overview section that ought to catch your eye. First:

pew-2And second:

pew-1

Each of these graphs tells a profound story about workers, responsibility for employability, and the role of our education system in preparing workers for careers. And these are just in the overview. Wait until you see the nuggets in each of the following 5 chapters.

95 pages seem long – but it really isn’t. There are insights galore here that can help you in your talent attraction, development, retention and deployment policies and programs. And you don’t have to dig to get to the nuggets. They’re right there on the surface. Download it here, and browse through it first. Then go back and delve in to the chapters that really appeal to you. If you’re in any kind of people business – and who isn’t? – those nuggets will be valuable. Totally worth your time.

 

 

 

1 Comment

Filed under China Gorman, Data Point Tuesday, Employee Productivity, HR Data, HR Trends, Human Capital, Pew Research Center, Post-secondary education, Talent Analytics, Workforce Demographics, Workforce Planning

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

January 10, 2017 · 4:00 am

Is “HR Analytics” an Oxymoron?

data-point-tuesday_500

As we head full-on into 2017, a friend sent me the link to a survey analysis that is extremely eye-opening. Still Under Construction:  The State of HR Analytics 2016, conducted and published by the New Talent Management Network, has some compelling data about how HR functions are deploying higher level analytics and how successful they are in deriving actionable insights. I was somewhat surprised at the findings. Maybe you will be, too.

According to the report, the perceived revolution in human resources inspired by the promise of relevance through data-driven insights is largely unrealized. No surprise, right? It’s a quick read, with reader-friendly graphs and charts that should make you feel more normal if your HR analytics investment and programs aren’t moving ahead as quickly as you’d like – or as quickly as you perceive your competitors’ are!

There are three primary findings:

  1. Big Promise; Small Reality

Essentially, there’s lots of talk and very little action. “…most organizations are using the same tools that existed years ago to produce the same analyses companies have always produced.”

  1. Backstabbing Data

“It turns out that the data is dirty – inconsistent, scattered, unreliable and sometimes just plain inaccurate.”

  1. Lean, Green and Unloved

Surprisingly, the HR data analytics push doesn’t seem to be helping: “more companies said their people analytics team hinders their analytics work than helps it.”

All three points above are discussed with interesting data points to support the conclusions. Point three is explained with the following:

still-under-construction-1

The takeaway here is that when there are dedicated people analytics teams in place, they are relatively small, relatively inexperienced, and not being very successful in changing the people practices of the organization. And therefore, confidence in these teams’ output remains low.

Perhaps experience and longevity will help. Or perhaps we’ve gotten the cart before the horse. This paragraph from the report really struck home for me:

“Only basic people analytics are being performed by most organizations, undercutting the popular narrative that companies are rapidly advancing in this space. The only rapid advancement seems to be in adding an HR analytics function, not getting deeper, more meaningful insights from it.”

This report generates real food for thought. I think you’ll find it interesting.

 

3 Comments

Filed under Analytics, Big Data and HR, China Gorman, Data Point Tuesday, HR Analytics, New Talent Management Network, Talent Analytics

Tagged as , , , , , ,