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While the rise of people analytics has dominated the narrative in and around HR departments, there is a critical audience on the executive floor that needs to understand its impact: the board of directors. Directors have a fiduciary duty to stockholders that includes three legal obligations: 1) the duty of care that directors make decisions with due deliberation; 2) the duty of loyalty that directors act in the interest of the corporation (i.e., in the interest of shareholders); and 3) the duty of candor that directors provide shareholders all information that is important to evaluation of the company.

This is the session description for a fireside chat on “The Moral Imperative of People Analytics” between Amit Mohindra and David Green on the Main Stage at UNLEASH Amsterdam on October 25, 2018. The UNLEASH Group has been in the forefront of raising and discussing the notion of ethics in the practice of people analytics at its conferences. David Green is a leading thinker and writer on this topic (see for instance, Ethics, Trust and People Analytics). We also referenced Ben Waber’s work, including The Happy Tracked Employee. It was a privilege to speak with him about this important topic.

My first people analytics job was unprecedented and completely invented. It yielded adventure, fulfilment and lessons that I thought might be useful for anyone engaged in people analytics.

I had been hired as a data consultant–a brand new occupation–at a leading HR advisory firm from a quasi-academic role at an international organization, conducting global labor market research. I managed to secure the consulting role by writing a business plan to assuage the hiring manager’s fear that I might not relate to clients or deign to communicate via bullet points.

People Analytics leaders are in the business of change management. The sooner they realize this aspect of their role, the more effective they will be. In general, everyone recognizes the need for change; most support change; but few are willing to drive the change. Change agents require inspiration to sustain them through the ups and downs of their journey. They also need to paint a picture of the ideal “future state” they are trying to move their organization toward.

The growth in the number of people analytics teams, the expansion in these teams’ capabilities and the ever-increasing demand for their services has been astonishing. It is hard to believe that even five years ago people analytics professionals were rare and formal people analytics teams were even scarcer.

Here is some guidance on analytics - around specificity and modeling - from the most unlikely of places: Jorge Luis Borges, the famous Argentine writer and early exponent of the magical realism genre of literature. 

Borges wrote a one-paragraph short story (analytics story-telling aficionados, take note!) that I often refer to in situations where it becomes clear to me that people are missing the point of modeling.

We are in the third week of my on-line Intro to Human Capital Analytics course at the UC Berkeley Extension (UCBX) program's Spring semester.

The students hail from many different backgrounds and geographies. Some have HR experience while others are seeking to work in HR at some point. The course is a requirement for HR Certification in the Business program. Kudos to UCBX for requiring a course in analytics for certification in HR.