Welcome to the issue #2 of Data Driven HR, my monthly newsletter on people analytics, the future of work and the 'datification' of the HR function.
Each time I'll highlight some of the articles that captured my attention as well as provide a short précis of what I've been up to.
This month we focus on the 'Future of Work' with articles encompassing the shift from roles to skills, the much-hyped 'AI in HR', the pivotal role of data and analytics, and the consequent reshaping of the HR function itself.
Enjoy and please share with your network and encourage them to subscribe!
1. Ian Bailie & Megan Marie Butler | Cognition X : The impact of AI on HR
Hot on the heels of the mega-successful CogX (6,500 attendees, 370 speakers - check the videos from the show here) comes this extensive report on the impact of AI on HR, which as well as featuring a Foreword by none other than Josh Bersin, includes the one of the best categorisations I've come across yet of the vendors driving innovation in the HR space (see Figure 1 below). Click on the link to download the report. Great work from my Insight222 partner-in-crime Ian Bailie alongside Megan Marie Butler.
Figure 1: CognitionX HR AI Market Scan - 60+ companies gaining traction
2. McKinsey Global Institute: Skill shift: Automation and the future of the workforce
Demand for technological, social, emotional, and higher cognitive skills will rise by 2030. How will workers and organisations adapt? This extensive report from McKinsey is rich in insights and provides context on four core subjects: i) How will demand for workforce skills change with automation? ii) Shifting skills requirements in five sectors, iii) How will organisations adapt? (see Figure 2 below) iv) Building the workforce of the future. One that you will come back to again and again - download the full 60 page report for a wealth of charts, insights and data. I can promise that you won't be disappointed.
Figure 2: Agile organisations focus on teamwork and the ability to adapt quickly, rather than slower-moving hierarchies (Source: McKinsey Global Institute)
3. Soumyasanto Sen: AI and Automation in HR: Impact, Adoption and Future Workforce
Another content-rich piece from one of my fellow speakers at the upcoming HR Tech Summit in Toronto. Soumyasanto Sen's article examines the various impacts of AI and automation on HR and the workforce, and plots a path for those seeking to turn perceived threats into opportunities.
4. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Darko Lovrich: Can HR Become a Prediction Machine? Rethinking AI and Talent
In this excellent article in John Sumser's always thought-provoking HR Examiner, the authors take the key premise of Ajay Agrawal's new book Prediction Machines - that AI is best understood as a tool to lower the cost of prediction - and apply it to HR.
5. Bernard Marr - If 1 In 5 Jobs Is 'Displaced' Due To Automation, What Does That Mean For HR?
In a similar vein, Bernard Marr cuts through the scaremongering headlines to focus on the opportunities (and there are many) innovations such as chatbots and intelligent assistants provide to HR.
6. Dave Ulrich - Agility: The New Response to Dynamic Change
In our age of disruption and rapid change, the skills business leaders and HR require also need to evolve. According to Dave Ulrich, agility is the key organisational capability of our time. He goes on to explain that in our world of unrelenting change, agility matters at four levels: strategic, organisational, individual and last but not least HR. Ulrich’s persuasive argument that “HR practices around people, performance, information, and work can be crafted to foster strategic, organisation, and individual agility” is both convincing and inspiring.
7. Volker Jacobs - You can’t have organisational agility without these 5 building blocks
Continuing the agility theme, Volker Jacobs highlights TI People research that found to enable agility it’s fundamental that HR focuses on skill management. The research also shows how companies are shifting from the traditional way of segmenting the workforce by role and function to one based on skills (see Figure 3). Volker then outlines the five key building blocks of a skills-based organisation and technology to enable an agile workforce.
Figure 3: The shift in how companies segment their workforce towards skills
8. IBM Smarter Workforce Institute | UNLEASH - Making Moves: Internal Career Mobility and the Role of AI
My former colleagues at the IBM Smarter Workforce teamed up with UNLEASH for this illuminating study, which provides insights into HR’s experience of internal talent mobility and explores the role that AI is playing today and could play in the future.
9. Jeffrey Polzer: Case Study: Should an Algorithm Tell You Who to Promote?
This clever article asks the reader to step into the shoes of Aliyah and make a decision on whether to hire Molly (as per her instinct) or Ed, who the hiring algorithm and network analysis designed by the people analytics team predicts will be the stronger hire. Includes the views of Prasad Setty, who leads Google’s People Analytics team, and Patty McCord, ex-Chief Talent Officer of Netflix. If you were Aliyah, what would you do?
10. Frida Polli: How AI Will Make Our Workplace Fair With Diversity Tech Stack
Frida Polli presents a ‘Diversity Tech Stack’ – technologies including her own company Pymetrics as well as the likes of Textio, Humanyze and HackerRank that have been proven to enhance diversity outcomes in the hiring and promotion processes with global companies.
PODCAST OF THE MONTH
11. Michael Arena and Al Adamsen: The PAFOW Podcast - Adaptive Space
A fascinating discussion between Michael Arena, Chief Talent Officer at GM, and Al Adamsen on how ONA helped drive innovation at GM as well as providing a preview of Michael’s newly released book ‘Adaptive Space’. You can also read a review of Michael's book by Bob Sutton here.
…and written by me
12. The 10 best People Analytics articles of May
Featuring four of the articles above, this is my regular round-up of the best articles and podcasts on people analytics. May's collection includes a special diversity section and contributions from the likes of Luk Smeyers, Leena Nair, Tom Haak, Adam Grant and Dawn Klinghoffer.
13. The role of Organisational Network Analysis in People Analytics
ONA and its role in people analytics was the subject of my speech at May’s UNLEASH show in Las Vegas and also the theme of this article, which is designed to demystify what has rapidly become a topic du jour for HR and business leaders. It includes a definition of ONA, why the technique is increasing in importance, the difference between active and passive ONA, as well as examples and case studies of what companies are using ONA for.
14. The revolution will be televised: key learnings from UNLEASH America
My round-up of the outstanding UNLEASH show in Las Vegas, which pointed the way forward for HR in terms of embracing the future of work whilst putting people front and centre of its evolution.
15. People Analytics in Asia Pacific: Why is it different?
My article with Arun Sundar of TrustSphere, which examines the unique set of differences facing people analytics in the Asia Pacific region.
16. Three reasons why I've joined Insight222 as a board advisor
A reprise of the article outlining why I agreed to be a board advisor for Insight222 to support them in achieving our mission - To put People Analytics, as a discipline, at the centre of Business.
What's coming up in June?
June is proving a busy month (hence this newsletter coming out halfway through the month rather than the first Sunday, which will be the normal cadence). I was in St Petersburg for the Big Business Fun Festival last week, where I saw at first-hand the energy and enthusiasm for analytics, automation and AI within the people space. From St Petersburg I went to Paris where I had the pleasure of performing alongside the likes of Katarina Berg, Emily Firth and Tim Leberecht at LinkedIn's Talent Intelligence Experience event (see image below). I even got to tread the same boards at Le Trianon that David Bowie once performed upon. My final gig in June comes on the 26th when I have the honour of delivering the opening keynote at the HR Tech Summit in Toronto. Thank you to Natalia Tatsiy (BBFF), Carole Zibi (LinkedIn) and Sandra Basiri (HR Tech Summit) for inviting me to speak at their events.
Thank you
So many of you were kind enough to share the inaugural issue of Data Driven HR, which is humbling. A special thank you to: Karen Azulai, Brian Richmond, Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Jaana Saramies, Paul van der Laken, Littal Shemar Haim, Lakshmi Keerti, Maham Khan, Feraz Ishfaq, Bailey Kropman and Alexandru Gotoi. Your support means a lot!