career path Archives - Littal Shemer Haim

Professional Journey and Daily Work of A People Analysts

Littal Shemer Haim — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 09:14:30 +0000

(Reading Time: 4 minutes)

Many aspired People Analysts wonder about the daily work in this profession. Students often ask about the competencies, the challenges, the tasks, and tools. Job hopers in this role want to make sure that there are aligned with answers to such questions.
I was privileged to discuss these questions and many more with Avigdor Citron, People Ops Program Manager, Strategy & Analytics at Google, who generously shed some light on the mystery in one of the most desired roles within the HR sector these days.

First steps as a people analyst

LSH: Tell us about your background, professional journey, and your current role.
AC: I have a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and an MA in organizational consulting. I started my professional journey in the behavioral science department in the Prime Minister’s Office, where I worked on various projects that required quantitative and qualitative analyses. I didn’t know it at the time, but I basically worked as a people analyst. A few years later, I started working as an HRIS analyst for NICE Ltd. During that time, I helped build their HR data infrastructure and helped lead the organization’s people analytics function. Currently, I am a People strategy analyst at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, where I support high-priority initiatives for Google’s global staffings organization on various strategy analytics projects.

LSH: Recall your first days as a people analyst. What competencies and skills did you offer, and what did you learn on the job? What were your early challenges, and what resources and guidance helped you facing them?
AC: As I mentioned, I did not know I was a “People Analyst” at the time, and it was not clear what and how I should do my role. I had a passion for psychology research, which helped me get into the right mindset to ask the right questions and find the answers. Obviously, I needed to use Excel and SPSS, which are great tools for analysis.
The main challenges were collecting data, making sense of it, and understanding the organization’s intricacies. Luckily I had a good manager and colleagues. They were able to guide me through these challenges.

A day in the people analyst role

LSH: Let’s dive deeper into your role these days: What business questions are you involved in, and who initiates them? Describe the tools that you use and your outputs. How is a people analyst evaluated in your organization?
AC: One of the most important business questions I was involved with was how virtual interviewing (due to COVID-19) affected the candidates and the hiring process. As a company, Google wants to make sure that every candidate has a fair chance and experience. This project was initiated by the Staffing leaders a few months after the pandemic started.
I have access to all the relevant data tables that enabled me to query the information using SQL and create data sets to power dashboards and analyses. We use internal tools for querying and dashboard building and Google Sheets instead of Excel.
As to how I am evaluated – Each employee has their OKR’s and expected attributes based on their level of experience and role. One of the essential attributes an analyst is evaluated on in Google is influence – how their work influenced the business, which sometimes is measurable and, in some cases, more subjective.

LSH: How did your work and tasks change during Covid19 times? What change did you witness in business needs and metrics? How do you think this will influence the future of your role?
AC: Not a lot has changed since the pandemic started in my role. At first, there was a lot of reactive analysis due to the change in the recruiting climate, but now I feel that things are back to “new normal,” and we learned to adapt to the new reality. Thankfully, Google is a very flexible company and managed to transfer well to a virtual working environment and to recruit process in a very successful way, in my opinion.

A desired career path

LSH: In your opinion, what may be a desired career path for a people analyst? What future roles may benefit from one’s experience in people analytics? Would you like to share your aspirations for your future career path?
AC: One of the best ways a people analyst can influence is by getting to know the business and various HR knowledge roles about the company (what they do, strengths, weaknesses, and pain points). It will enhance their ability to refine their findings when analyzing data and to present recommendations to support business decisions in the best possible way. In addition, as this role is part of HR, I would also recommend that a people analysts take time getting to know what an HRBP, C&B, Recruiters, and OD do as part of their roles so they can be proactive, rather than only reactive. It will help the People analyst work better with these functions and better understand the HR practice as a whole and open up more opportunities to progress either within HR roles or instead transition to other business area analytical roles, based on their aspirations.
As to my own aspirations, I see myself continuing to grow in consultative strategy and analytical roles within the HR profession.

LSH: What would you recommend to HR practitioners who want to become more data-driven professionals, and in particular to the Israeli professional community?
AC: First of all, I would say to all HR practitioners that they should not be afraid of data, formulas, and numbers. If you get over that hurdle, you can see things a lot clearer. I would recommend getting to know the different metrics that guide their organization and how the data is collected and stored. Once you have that knowledge, it will be a lot easier to understand and work with your data.
The People analytics role is relatively “new” in Israel compared to the USA, and there is sometimes a misconception that this role is mainly for generating reports. In my mind, there is a lot of strategic work in this space, and if HR practitioners combine their strategic abilities with some knowledge of the HR data, they will be able (with some help) to use that data and leverage it when working with the business.

LSH: Thank you, Avigdor! It was a pleasure to talk with you. I look forward to following your work and finding the next opportunity to host you in the Israeli People Analytics professional community.

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Key takeaways from Unleash, Paris 2019 – Part 2: Career paths

Littal Shemer Haim — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 18:57:29 +0000

(Reading Time: 4 minutes)

This blog is a part of four blog series that covers my key takeaways from sessions and demos at Unleash, Paris 2019. The 1^st blog was focused on the future of work and learning. Future blogs will be grounded on People Analytics practices and insights about the digital transformation of HR. This blog covers new technologies for career paths and inner mobility, of which I participated in a demo session. It is worth to mention that in 2020, I’ll cover the entire category of career path and inner mobility in a special report that will include many more vendors – only some were present on the expo floor at the event.

People’s ownership over career management

In the new world that is driven by data, placing people at the forefront means using new tools for Talent Management, which are based on new data sources. However, as I see it, Talent Management is only one side of the equation, the organization’s side. What about the other side – the talents’ side? In a world where employees are already considered as stakeholders, and when the consumerization of HR data is almost old news, we can’t ignore people’s ownership over their career management and their data. Personally, this is my favorite domain in the industry, which is aligned with my background in Positive Psychology. I can only be thrilled to find more and more solutions that enable people to thrive by combining their abilities with opportunities. Therefore I explored some innovative solutions in this domain.

Career ladder becomes career climbing wall

It’s no secret: engaged employees stay longer and perform better. Matthieu Durif, Solution Consulting Director at Cornerstone OnDemand presented the way this HCM suite facilitates career mobility and helps to keep people happy, productive, and at their full potential. Engaging and intelligent HCM platforms can be used to identify high-performers and close talent gaps. At times when the career ladder becomes a career climbing wall, they can reduce time to productivity with targeted, predictive learning and retain employees by giving them more visibility on career development and job opportunities.

In his demo, Durif emphasized the importance of integrating data sources. Performance rating is important, but so does team collaboration. Dedicated learning paths are important, but so does personalized experience. Therefore, a platform that ties all ends is essential. Durif demonstrated this by a use case of an employee career path, from onboarding to promotion, and pointed to the manager’s involvement in this process.

My concern, however, and it is related to all platforms in this category, is the extra power offered to organizations. For the sake of personalized experience, do employees lose control over their learning data? What is the right balance between employee personal learning decisions and the control of her manager? Though this and other platforms are GDPR verified, I would prefer, as an employee, to take my learning data with me – as I decide to move on to another organization.

Intelligent platforms encompass the entire talent experience

Another Talent Experience Management platform that I saw is Phenom. In a nice live and interactive demonstration, Mahe Bayireddi CEO & Co-Founder presented how a single intelligent platform can encompass the entire talent experience by breaking silos. The integration of data from different sources, i.e., applicant tracking system (ATS), human capital management (HCM), Learning management system (LMS), and vendor management system, all under an Artificial intelligence layer that enables personalization, smart search, and user intent, enable to tie all experiences – candidates, recruiters, employees, and managers.

Talentsoft invited the audience in its demo to be the driving factor behind the change. Elodie Champagnat, Global Head of Product Marketing, talked about innovative opportunities to grow the organization: reinvent the way employees work by helping them to express their potential and by adopting the right technology to prepare the organization internally for what’s happening externally.

In her presentation, Champagnat pointed to future challenges, based on the latest research. First, 85% of future jobs haven’t invented yet. Secondly, 65% of children entering now to primary school will end up working in jobs that do not exist yet. Third, 45% of managers don’t feel comfortable in their ability to develop their teams. Therefore, we need technologies that accelerate the transformation, enable future skills management and continuous upskilling and reskilling plan, and empowerment for managers to become in-context coachers, with continuous conversation and dynamic goal setting. Talentsoft impressive new features can help to anticipate skills gap, encourage collaboration, accelerate productivity, and match the right people to new opportunities.

Invest in human capital today to thrive in the future of knowledge economy

Organizations across the globe are seeking to tip the talent balance in their favor. Betsy Kolkea, an HR Consultant at Meta4, shared some client stories with one thing in common: They are all focused on releasing talent’s full potential by leveraging digital transformation. This means that employees own their data and development and have visibility to opportunities, while managers optimize team delivery by talent tools and gain insights into talent strengths and vulnerabilities. Kolka presented the building block of such value proposition: First, functional integration – of core HR, Talent management, compensation, and workforce management. Secondly, efficient people processes, by guided actions, workflows, and HR ticketing. Lastly, equipping managers by automation and visibility to team data.

Another tool to act upon the future is offered by PeopleFluent. Stephen Bruce, Managing Director, presented the Talent Management imperative for the future knowledge economy. Since in 10 years from now, according to expert predictions, more than 80% of the jobs will be roles that don’t exist today, new skill sets and competencies will be needed. The companies that will thrive in this future knowledge economy are those that invest in intellectual and human capital today, i.e., rethink, retool, and reskill their workforces. Bruce discussed trends in Talent Management technology. He emphasized the importance of linking an agile talent assessment approach with robust talent acquisition, ongoing performance management, microlearning programs, and analytics that enable c-suite executives to track-back to organizational success.

Bruce offered some tips to handle the pace of change: Blend communication into your talent and learning strategies. Teach new skills just ahead of need. Balance “just in case” learning with “Just in time” performance support systems. Augment “learning on the job” through immersive techniques that accelerate experience.

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Key takeaways from Unleash, Paris 2019 – Part 1: Future work and learning

Littal Shemer Haim — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 10:46:02 +0000

(Reading Time: 4 minutes)

It has been only a year since my last visit to Unleash, but in terms of the workforce revolution that we’re witnessing and experiencing, this time span is an eternity. So much has been changed, as clearly stated by thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and many of my colleagues in the field of People Analytics and HR-Tech, who gathered again for two days of networking and learning, and this time – in Paris!

When I planned my visit (and I really did! Spontaneously is not the best policy in an event with 250+ speakers, 200+ industry vendors, and 100+ start-ups!), I decided to focus on themes that will enrich my conversations with local HR practitioners, in the learning sessions that I run in Tel Aviv. Naturally, the chosen themes include new case studies and experiences in the field of People Analytics. But since the entire landscape of HR-tech, and the reconfiguration of careers and work, both pave the journey of People Analytics, I decided to further explore those broader domains too.

And so, this blog, and the following three blogs, cover my key takeaways from sessions and demos, and organized by the aforementioned themes: This 1^st blog is focused on broader topics of future of work; the 2^nd blog covers new technologies for career paths; the 3^rd is grounded on People Analytics practices; and the 4^th summaries insights about the digital transformation of HR. In all four themes, I tried to listen mostly to new speakers, or a least new to me. Therefore my key takeaways include many new and interesting players in our professional community.

Earn to continuously learn

My intellectual journey into the future of work started with the keynote speaking of Heather E. McGowan, Future-of-Work Strategist. McGowan discussed the preparation for jobs that do not exist. We are fortunate (or unfortunate, depends on your point of view) to face the greatest velocity of change in human history, driven by an exponential technology change and rapidly expanding globalization. Humans are also expected to live much longer. Therefore, we’ll experience more cycles of change. The bottom line is that the future of work is learning and adaptation. Our career identity won’t be centered around a single occupational function or industry anymore. We’ll define ourselves less by jobs and more by purposes.

Practically, what does it mean? The measures of success are about to change, from “codified and transferred predetermined skills and existing knowledge” to “learn and adapt to create NEW value”. In the past, we used to learn to earn, but in the future, we’ll work to continuously learn. The validation of our success will move from the external to the internal, or in McGowan’s words: we will move from bestowed identity to self-actualized identity. It is challenging for people who are currently working, as we stand at the border of these two realities, one leg is still in the old world, and the other leg already touch the ground of the new world.

The hidden layer of your learning iceberg

People define themselves by three questions: Who? (gender, age, religion, etc.) What? (education, occupation, expertise, etc.) and Where? (human relations and populations). The answers to these questions are tremendously changing, research reveals. Add to that the change in jobs due to automation and augmentation, and you’ll have a completely new career map, in which you have to learn and adapt. However, learning and adaptation are like an iceberg, according to McGowan. You see only the upper layer, which is the skills for which you were hired and part of what makes you better at your job. Underneath, and out of sight, are your agile learning mindset, your resilience, and your purpose. All of these have to do with your identity.

It is crucial to ask ourselves not only about applying gifts and current purposes to present job opportunities but rather about personal drivers, interests, and unique abilities. We should start to explore the hidden layers of the iceberg. Can we do that? And how X gen workers reach their agile mindset for learning and adaptation?

A life journey to crystallized intelligence

While fluid intelligence reaches its peak at about the age of twenty, according to intelligence research, crystallized intelligence is at the top when you reach your sixties! I remember that I was very encouraged to learn that in my Psychology studies more than twenty years ago. Obviously, it encourages me even more now. People get better in many abilities as they get older, e.g., concentration, reading emotions, learning new information. Critical thinking, complex problem solving, and creativity may also rise as you get older. These compatibilities are so relevant to collaboration, which guarantees the learning in modern teamwork. As long as you offer, as a manager, both psychologically safe environment, and cognitive diversity. But that’s how future value will be created.

I considered McGowan’s vision a positive one. I’m an eternal student and already transformed my career about five times. So personally, I look forward to such a future of work. However, the exponential technologies that are transforming industries, organizations, and every aspect of our lives, may have negative implications too. So naturally, a part of my interest in the following demos and sessions was technologies that are enablers of McGowan’s vision. And so, I explored many tech solutions and case studies, that validated my opinion that career path and mobility are important trends in HR-tech. I cover it in Part 2 of my key takeaways from Unleash Paris 2019.

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