(Updated: July 1st 2022, 9 interviews, 10 reviews) I love many aspects of my work, and consider myself fortunate to have my career path as a People Analytics mentor and educator. But there is one thing I am most grateful for: The people I meet at work – both clients and colleagues. As I always say in my classes and lectures, you must be eternal students in our industry, so you better choose wisely who you learn from. Each person in the following interviews and reviews that I published in my blog recently offered me a valuable lesson. I’m honored to share it all again, with the entire People Analytics community, which hopefully will keep its open-source culture.

Each of my clients enriches my perspective

1.

I find the onboarding of People Analytics Leaders, and especially those who are the first to take that role in their organization, fascinating and worth following. So how do you enter a People Analytics Leader role, when you are the one who establishes it? I was privileged to further explore this process at one of my old clients – Amdocs. Although organizational researches that fall within the category of People Analytics have been conducted in Amdocs long before, this global company, which operates in over 50 locations, has a new People Analytics Leader – Gal Mozes.

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2.

Taking the first steps on the journey to data-driven HR is always difficult. The barriers may include a variety of issues, including data integrity, knowledge gaps, and an excessive amount of HR-Tech solutions. Furthermore, a small or medium business may lack the appropriate volume of data, the resources for shiny Analytics tools, and the right talent to lead initiatives and projects. Nevertheless, with the right guidance and mentoring in People Analytics, and with the right attitude and will power, HR leaders in SMBs can successfully overcome those barriers, and use People Analytics practices to impact their business. I was honored and fortunate to take part in some success stories of HR leaders in SMBs. One of the most inspiring is Michal Shoval, who leads the HR department in GIA

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Each of my colleagues has plenty to offer

3.

Another cycle of the introductory course, The People Analytics Journey, is about to end. This training program is unique because it covers the fundamentals of the domain and demonstrates them with real career stories and experiences of HR and People Analytics leaders. Thus, the course contributes to a new professional community in Isreal. The last session of the course will be a special one. We’ll discuss the future of People Analytics as a profession, and the importance of new skills, e.g., procurement processes and ethical considerations. Our guest will be Yael Epstein, former HR analyst at Microsoft, who will talk about the role of technology in People Analytics, base on her experience. Here is the interview I had with Yael before the learning session.

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4.

How would you define a professional expert in the field of data-driven HR? Certainly, there are many definitions of the People Analytics domain, that may include skills, practices, and responsibilities. However, today for a change, I’d like to suggest a different angle: a professional expert is someone you would always want to learn from and be inspired by. I had the honor to host my colleague from Amsterdam, that definitely fits this definition: Hendrik Feddersen, an expert in HR business processes and analytics.

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5.

My personal endeavor to educate HR leaders by exposing them to data science fundamentals is continuing. Fortunately, a valuable part of my tailwind comes from my global community of experts who dedicate their career to help executives and managers, especially in the domain of HR, to become more data-driven. I was privileged to interview lately one of my data heroes, Tracey Smith, about her experiences and efforts. I was happy to find out that her opinions resonate with my own.

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6.

Among many questions, the issue of career growth stands out. While organizations struggle with the instability of the workforce, research already points to the fact that internal mobility may be the cure to raising rates of employee attrition. But how exactly can HR practitioners address such a huge challenge? What would be their first steps? I was privileged to talk with a prominent professional, both in the field of People Analytics and Learning and Organization Development, Orit Cohen (Schwarz), who is leading the People Analytics function at HP, and learned from her perspective and experience, how organizations could move forward with this important topic.

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Global events validate local steps

7-10.

October 2019, 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!
I covered my key takeaways from sessions and demos, and organized by the aforementioned themes: 1st blog was focused on broader topics of future of work; the 2nd blog covered new technologies for career paths; the 3rd was grounded on People Analytics practices; the 4th summarised 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.

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Read review #2
Read review #3
Read review #4

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11.

April 2019, I crossed the ocean to meet colleagues and clients in the Big Apple. A highlight of my journey to Manhattan was HackingHR, a professional community event where I met and was inspired by influencers and thought leaders in HR and Tech. HackingHRis a global forum for collaboration, networking, and discussion about HR, technology, and the workplace of the future. Founded by Enrique Rubio, the community explores the way HR and tech interact to impact the future of work — when, where, and how we work, who we work with, and what skills the organizational leaders of tomorrow will need.

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12.

October 2018, I packed my vision and questions about the future of work and flew all the way to Unleash Amsterdam, to learn from the world’s influencers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs, and to meet again many of my professional community fellows in the field of People Analytics and HR-Tech, who gathered from all over the world, for two days of intellectual adventure, inspiring experience, and entertainment.

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13.

We witnessed the change in HR leaders’ mindset, here in Tel Aviv, in regards to HR data and business insights. The People Analytics learning session, conducted by the Israeli Association of Human Resources in July 2018, was just a part of this vibe. The growing interest in People Analytics brought 150 HR leaders to gather and learn from the experience we gained in this. I was honored to be the keynote speaker and to partner in curating the event contents.

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14.

People Analytics World was a leading European annual conference on HR Analytics, Workforce Planning, and Employee Insight, in which I was privileged to attend in April 2018. I traveled to London with huge expectations, to learn more about the contribution of People Analysts, which are now becoming an essential part of HR groups across all industries. The growing importance of data-driven HR was well reflected in the conference’s attendees, both speakers, exhibitors, and delegates. My experience in the event exceeded my expectations.

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15.

IBM Cognitive café 2017 in Tel Aviv, was a great opportunity to meet and hear data leaders of some Israeli companies. I listened to them very carefully, knowing that their experience is most valuable for any journey in the field of People Analytics and data-driven HR. This should not be new for any business leader, but Daniel Melka, CEO IBM Israel, nicely reviewed the mega-trends of the digital era, when he talked about “organizations which re-invent themselves to deal with the ever-changing business environment, and tied their success to insights derived from data”.

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Data heroines are everywhere

16.

At the end of 2017, I was selected by HR-Tech-Nation to be among top bloggers to follow. It was a great honor to be mentioned in a list of excellent writers, which are my source of inspiration and learning. One of them, William Tincup, commented that next time he would like to see more women on the list. Well… I decided to take his note as a personal challenge and salute 365 women, one for each day in a year. There is only one IWD (International Women Day), but for me, every day is a woman’s day. My list of women worth watching, however, encompasses not only HR Tech leaders but also Data heroes and People Analytics exceptional practitioners. My selection order is completely associative, i.e., there is no ranking here. Each of the following women is truly inspiring!

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Being A Data Scientist in The HR Department

A successful data science function in the HR department requires balancing the analytics maturity of the business and HR leaders with the data scientist's skills. It is essential and fascinating to explore how data science and HR needs are knitted.

ABCs of People Analyst’s success

The culture of the People Analytics community is remarkably open. While datasets, analytics, and insights are restricted, experiences, resources, and advice are generously shared. It inspired me to list the ABCs of success: autodidact habits, business understanding, and coding skills.

Professional Journey and Daily Work of A People Analysts

Aspired People Analysts often ask about competencies, challenges, tasks, and tools in this profession. I was privileged to discuss these topics with a colleague in one of the most desired roles.

Leveraging workforce data as it was a state security project

An interview about People Analytics with a Lieutenant Colonel in the Israeli Military intelligence - A rare chance to explore practices in the most secure organizations, and to discuss experience with AI, business insights and ethics.

The role of technology in the evolution of People Analytics

An interview with a former HR analyst at Microsoft, discussing the role of technology in People Analytics and data Ethics: challenges, success stories, and advice - one of many perspectives we had in "The People Analytics Journey" course.

Actionable insights for the right people at the right time

Professional experts are people you would always want to learn from and be inspired by them. I have the honor to host a colleague who fits this definition, and I'm happy to refer to his open-source contribution.

HR Challenges in A Data-Driven World

A valuable part of my tailwind comes from my global community of experts who dedicate their careers to helping executives and managers, especially in the domain of HR, to become more data-driven. Here's an interview with one of my data heroes. Her opinions resonate with my own.

People Analytics Leader – Survive Your Onboarding!

Most case studies that we encounter represent mature stages. However, most new players in this rising profession struggle with different challenges. The onboarding of People Analytics Leaders is fascinating and worth following. Here's one example.

People Analytics in SMBs: Small Data, Huge Impact

This interview with an HR manager in a fireside chat during a People Analytics class offers an introspective approach to a joint journey, as a mentee and mentor: the motives, the obstacles, the quick win, the team participation, and more.

Can you reinvent career development by using analytics?

An interview with a professional in the field of People Analytics, Learning, and Organization Development, about career-growth challenges and internal mobility.

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(Reading Time: 3 minutes)

What new roles do HR leaders have in the 4th industrial revolution? HR departments practice People Analytics to help business leaders to improve performance and growth through insights from people data. But what’s beyond People Analytics? How should HR leaders be prepared for the fourth industrial revolution?

AI changes everything. We have new responsibilities.

We’ve discussed a lot the two trends that contributed to the emergence of People Analytics a few years ago: data democratization – managers demand people’s data to run the business, and data consumerization – employees require to use data for growth, well-being, and positive experience at work, just as they do in other aspects of their lives.

But today, AI can make everybody better in many fields. I use AI to make myself more productive, e.g., I use speech-to-text and text-to-speech to cover content more quickly. Moreover, I collect data about myself in many aspects of my life.

However, I think I’m still among the few who read privacy policies, and I consider them when I choose apps. Data can make us heroes, but it might also destroy us if misused or abused. We leave data traces everywhere: when we drive our cars, watch TV, buy products, consume web content or interact with people on social media. And, of course, we leave data traces with every breath we take at work when we move across offices, write e-mails, manage calendars, learn, conduct our work, or even when we don’t show up to work.

Who owns these traces of data? The regulation now defines it in many parts of the world, but it lags compared to technology. So it is our responsibility, not only as managers or consultants but also as people, parents, and citizens, to understand the rapid changes and make informed decisions. I mean, not only by insights derived from data but mainly informed choices about the usage of data-based apps, which are every app. 

New learning path. New employer rating.

Privacy and ethics are not new in the organizational research field. For instance, we discussed the smallest group we can analyze in surveys more than two decades ago. However, we now have so many new data sources for the workforce, from sensors, smartphones, and desktop apps. As I mentioned, people are not aware of the digital footprints they leave. Therefore, this data might be turned against their interests.

I think it’s time for people to learn how to protect themselves, and this learning path should also be a new responsibility of organizations. We discuss Ethics in People Analytics and HR tech, but we must keep in mind that this is a crucial topic in educating our employees. To do so, learning leaders must already understand this domain thoroughly. Unfortunately, this is not the case in many organizations.

Furthermore, there’s much talk in the HR sector about employee experience. I believe that soon enough, employees will start exercising their rights to data privacy. We’ll see employer ratings based on data transparency and data usage aligned with employee interests – growth and well-being, which is what we mean when we talk about using employee data for good.

New skills. HR people are not there yet.

As AI sweeps HR tech and is introduced to many HR practices in every stage of the employee lifecycle, someone in the organization will have to pick the right solutions for the proper needs. I forecast demand for two new skills in the HR role: Procurement and Ethics. However, if HR people keep procrastinating their up-skilling in analytics, the consequences might be that Procurement and Ethics roles will be filled by someone else in the organization.

You can’t evaluate AI solutions without understanding the basics of practical machine learning and predictive analytics. You don’t have to be a data scientist for that. It’s like driving a car – you don’t need to be a mechanical engineer to buy or drive your vehicle, but you need to know how to hold the wheel and obey traffic rules, so you don’t kill anybody. Therefore, I call HR professionals to start their journey into the data world. And start it today.

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(This article is based on my Hebrew “TED” talk at the conference People Geekup Tel Aviv in June 2019. I dedicated this talk to HR professionals who make their first steps on their data-driven journey. Read also my list of Public Speaking).

How to change the analytic mindset of HR for good? I deal with this question for years. I’m a People Analytics consultant and mentor. I help HR teams to leverage people’s data and HR technology to drive insights that contribute to business success. A nice side effect of my activity as an advisor is making HR professionals heroes in their organizations. I’m an applied researcher for more than two decades now – a multidisciplinary professional with a background in Economics, Business Strategy, Psychology, Statistics, Programming, and more. Connecting all dots into a diverse role is not only a millennials theme. It is the reason I started my own business many years ago.

Connecting the dots

 

Here’s a fun fact about me: I’m a photographer artist. I’m also an eternal student, a curious character who learns about ideas and human experiences, and an autodidact in wide-ranging fields of interest – Positive psychology is one example. A few years ago, I realized that principles of Positive Psychology, which I learned from books and lectures, are nicely reflected in my personal experiences as a photographer artist. I started to document those reflections, and soon enough, I introduced to the world a new therapeutic photography method, that was proved to be effective to my students and audience. I called it Focus on Happiness.

If there a single sentence that sums up my entire therapeutic photography method, this would be it: “The view is an interaction of ability and opportunity”. Every picture or frame of our lives is a combination of the things we can do and the circumstances that enable us to do so. As simple as that. This insight is most relevant for me today, as I mentor HR managers on their data-driven journey. The impact of HR professionals in their organization is a combination of what they can do with data, and the business needs, i.e., the circumstances in which they express this ability. Today I’ll share the three key practices (and a bonus one too) that enable such a combination, between ability and opportunity. If HR professionals follow them, their success in impacting the business by People Analytics is guaranteed.

Computers are useless

 

Why not start with the bonus, for a change? The first quote I added to my diverse inspiration list has been attributed to Pablo Picasso, the most vital artist of the 20^th century: “Computers Are Useless. They Can Only Give You Answers”. Obviously, Picasso had no clue about People Analytics, but his idea is applicable to all of us in this domain. There is no point in running the most sophisticated analytics or building a shiny dashboard, without the attempt to answer a business question. Start your analytical journey with a business question that involves actionable insights. Picasso was right! Computers can only give us answers. We are the ones who must come up with the right business questions in the first place. Only then, we can proceed with the data, our people data.

Experiment with data – our own data

 

In my recent article, People Analytics – Build the Value Chain, I mentioned that there are plenty of online courses for People Analytics. Some are pretty good; others are nothing but excellent because they enable students to be exposed to the invaluable experience of experts, respected colleagues in this field. However, all online courses lack the opportunity to exercise actual business questions of your company and real people data from your own HR-tech solutions. This can be done only in Intra-organizational training and mentoring. Such training enables up-skilling HR to be more data-driven, and moreover, it may also be the actual foundation of People Analytics projects.

So, whatever you do to educate yourselves, make sure that your learning opportunities include experiments with your own data. Master business questions in your organization and your own data, so you’ll be able to build your company HR data strategy in the near future – move from business question to actionable insights by owning your data sources, storages, analytics and visualized outputs.

Hack #1 – when you afraid to fail

 

I was recently a panelist in HackingHR Tel Aviv. For me, the most exciting moment in the event was when half of the audience raised hands after I asked, “Who works today or is going to start working soon in People Analytics?” I knew most of those faces in the audience, and I realize my contribution to establishing this profession in my country. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t fail. And personally, I know a lot about the fear of failure.

When you start your journey to data-driven HR, be prepared to fail. However, if you create psychological safety in your learning environment, you won’t be afraid to start again. Your failure will only mean that you are not there, yet, but you are getting there. Take Adam Grant’s advice – always question your default solutions and try other options. Or, in the word of a mentee testimonial, in a case study of people Analytics is SMBs – “We could afford to experiment with data, and making mistakes, knowing that we had the support of a professional framework… In our mentoring sessions, but also between sessions, each of us could comfortably ask any question, raise ideas, and make a mistake. Thanks to the openness that was created within the team, everybody felt that we were able to cope with the challenge.”

Hack #2 – when change is difficult

 

Change is inevitable, and that is also true in the HR domain. But the experience of leading a change is hard. Why? Scientific evidence connect the challenge of change to the way the human brain is wired and explains why most change initiatives fail. As I previously mentioned, “A core driver of the brain function is maintaining safety and stability. Therefore, even a beneficial change can be perceived as a threat. When you lead a change in your organization, you directly conflict with your brains’ core needs.”

To overcome this barrier, and help against the reflexive resistance, you need to create new rituals within learning sessions, that would generate a sense of security. While mentoring HR teams, I discovered that rituals are effective: “When meeting agenda and pace of learning are predictable, and when new social norms such as asking questions and thinking out loud are created, people practice openness and curiosity. Familiarity with the setting gives them a sense of certainty and stability.”

 

Build the Value Chain

 

I followed all these key practices – Practice your own data, psychological safety, and rituals – As I built my training program for data-driven HR, which I offer now to organizations worldwide. I help HR professionals to build the People Analytics value chain through sixteen lessons and four milestones. Each HR team can create, with my guidance, its unique rituals. The team members learn by using their own data to solve their business questions, in an experimental environment, where mistakes and failure are welcome as an opportunity to learn. I’m very excited to mold my experience, both my failure and successful case studies, into a structured course that suits each organization, no matter how large or small.

 

 

Data Makes you fly

 

When I started this blog, I chose one of my crane’s photographs for the main page slider. As I previously wrote, cranes are a great metaphor – always on a worldwide journey, with their large flocks, dynamic roles, and inter-dependencies. They are just like us, people in organizations, who are on their journey to data-driven HR. When I wrote on that slider that “data makes you fly”, I couldn’t imagine that in three years I would be recognized as one of the global influencers in the HR-Tech industry, and have such a fascinating career opportunity. In my mind, I only had my career path up to that point. But I also thought about HR leaders who embrace analytics and become heroes in their organizations.

I hope that the HR journey in the data world will last, as the cranes’ endless journey. However, we face such dramatic change now, that may turn everything to other directions. The demand for new skills in the HR role, i.e., the Procurement and Ethics of HR-Tech breathe down our neck. HR people can’t procrastinate their own change. They must up-skill and be more data-driven. I call you to join this journey today.

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"You will find in this book sixteen lessons, organized in four milestones that, from my experience, build the People Analytics value chain."

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Mega-trends of the digital era

This should not be new for any business leader, but Daniel Melka, CEO IBM Israel, nicely reviewed the mega-trends of the digital era, when he talked about “organizations which re-invent themselves to deal with the ever-changing business environment, and tied their success to insights derived from data”. Malka described the endless amount of data, the new communication channels between people, organizations, and machines, and the new business models born in the cloud by APIs. He mainly referred to company clients, but I believe that every trend he mentioned applies to employees too.

The recipe for data product

Dana Arditi, Strategy Service Line Leader in IBM, talked about the success in any analytics project. The secret sauce in her recipe is the people involved. “You need both domain experts and data scientists”, she explained. This talent combination enables us to transform data into insights in a short time, and rapidly create a unique customer experience. The practice of combining various data sets from different sources, using machine learning and predictive models, to the final wrap-up in a customer interface, is parallel to many People Analytics case studies I know. The main difference is the target audience: employees who want to “consume” HR products, and managers who want more “democratized” HR insights.

Corporates find innovation outside

Shira Baum, Director of Innovation & Business Development in Leumi Card, learns the disruption arena, and contacts start-ups that are focused on particular solutions. To do so, Baum starts with mapping the goals of business units. Within the solutions that she sources and senses, she picks those which are valid for the company, in terms of technological maturity and business compatibility. Baum shared her experience regarding the conceptual gap between start-up and corporate guys. She recommended open communication, setting expectations, and being able to say “NO”. “There is no doubt, a start-up is a long-term partner, but you need a dedicated team for this partnership”, she concluded. Her brilliant presentation led me to think about dozens of startups in HR-tech and the complexity in implementing their solutions in organizations.

It’s a marathon, but you can run

Ronit Hayman-Strifler, CDO in Israel Discount Bank shared her personal story. She started to run from zero to marathon. Reaching the marathon finish line inspired her, and so, she founded a startup – an experience that was important to the corporate world too, because, as she said “Being a CDO, leading a change, is as hard as running a startup. But like a marathon, she made it, with the right support around: She established a multi-disciplinary forum for the digital domain, which discussed the client experience derived by data and insights. “To lead a change, you need both clear goals and passion”, she admits. “You must understand that it is possible, and you can deal with the opponents. Have a clear plan, maintain a support group, be a people person, and tie all the edges”, she recommends. I take her story as is: pure inspiration. My journey is truly a marathon, but I can make it, and I am, and I will.

It’s all about the money, and good spirit

Ido Biger is the CDO of Yes Satellite TV. In his role, he is measured “by the money” as he put it. His goal is to create revenues and decrease costs and risks. He does it with data, although sometimes this means to tell other business units what they should do to make more money or cut costs. Interestingly, he reports both to CMO and CTO. Therefore, he is simultaneously engaged with entirely two different sectors within the organization. In his own words – my most important client in the company is myself. Biger has some recommendation for success as a CDO: “Leave your ego at home and learn to credit others for your success. Combine technological background with business acumen. Maintain mental strength as a leader but understand that the support of your CEO is crucial. I believe that Biger’s good spirit and sense of humor were also a huge advantage, and this insight is important as well.

To conclude an inspiring event, I chose again Daniel Melka’s words: “Change All but your basic values”. Indeed, practicing People Analytics requires a constant change of practices and technologies. But inside, let’s remain the same: curious, collaborative, and with a good purpose to bring wellness to the future of work.

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