Day 2, did not disappoint either. Michael Echols with Bellevue University began his keynote with a very profound point for me and for all HR professionals.
See my tweet below:
"The opportunity is to create FUTURE value from current human capital investments."
Boy, do I believe that. That one statement gives HR measurement a whole new perspective. It's not so much about what has already happened, it's more about WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. Don't our CEO's want to invest in whatever will give him/her the most return? We are in "predictive" land now.....say goodbye to HR tracking metrics...it's over. (Thank goodness).
The second highlight for me on day 2, came from two very smart women from Wells Fargo. Natalie Tarnopolsky and Kathy Doan delivered a great presentation on "Building a TRUE HR Analytics Team." It was not only a good presentation but entertaining as well. Yes, they made analytics entertaining.
Natalie and Kathy outlined their 9 step process used at Wells Fargo:
1) Assess your analytical capabilities. Where are you today (reporting) and where would you like to be (optimization)?
2) Assess your foundation. Conduct a gap analysis of your foundational building blocks. (foundational data, vision, key questions, truths i.e. cost and value per FTE)
3) Strengthen partnerships. Identify stakeholders, build relationships, determine goals and share, build credibility and communicate loudly!
4) Have a clear plan and ensure sponsorship. Review HR organizational structure, accountability, and create business case.
5) Select the right technology. Decisions on build or buy with right people involved in process.
6) Support self sufficiency. You must control demand or increase manager self sufficiency in the reporting area.
7) Secure the right analytics team based on the following key skills: business acumen, people influence, communication effectiveness, data manipulation, financial acumen, analytic rigor, and critical thinking.
8) Outline the analytical process. Clearly plan and communicate what the key question is, the assumptions and approach that will be used to answer the questions and the potential value that can be derived.
9) Conduct analysis and share the results. Spend time in prepping the data and previewing the findings.
I like their process as I believe it will work for large and small companies alike. It was one of the most popular topics on the twitter feed for #tcbhcm.
I look forward to next year, as I see HR professionals and the C-Suite embracing HR Analytics more and more every day. It's very exciting to see this topic finally get its fair share of attention.
I believe analytics are no longer a nice to have.....they are a must have for competitive advantage, no matter your industry.
What are your thoughts? Are HR Analytics a fad or here to stay?