Category: Analytics Training

I Would Add Good Data & Analytics …

I came across this picture awhile back … For anyone who consistently challenges themselves, they can relate to most of these points.

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  • Persistence
  • Failure
  • Sacrifice
  • Disappointment
  • Dedication
  • Hard Work
  • Good Habits

And to this list I will add two more:

  • Good Data
  • Analytics

One thing I think we do not do enough of in both personal and business decision-making is to find ways to track the effectiveness of being persistent. Knowing when to stay the course, go in reverse or take a quick turn to the left can guided by tracking the success behind being persistent.

Likewise, having a measurement for failure vs. success can be important too. In sports we look at failure rates all the time.. .a .200 hitter or a 25% shooter is a failure. So its much easier to know if you are good at hitting a ball or making a basket when you have measurements.

Sacrifice and disappointment are a bit trickier to quantify, but we can still come up with ways to measure these too through tools like a self-assessment or survey.

Dedication, hard work and good habits can also be challenging to tie a metric too a first. But if you come up with formulas that take production, quality and consistent data and combine them you can come up with something workable.

Infusing some data and analytics into how you judge your success will go a long way in helping you maintain that level of success.

Good data is pieces of information or knowledge that can be used in measuring success. How do you know if you are successful unless you have something to compare your data too.

Analytics allows you to use the data for analysis to understand how you got to be a success and what factors might cause you to lose that success.

Curious about how to put some more data and analytics into your business. so you can have a better idea of what success is supposed to look like? I’m here to help.

 

 

Why Analytics Projects Fail: #4 – Lack of a Champion

A lot of time analytics project fail because there is no designated champion for the project.

I see a lot of money wasted on analytics technology because there is no one in the business who masters the technology. Who knows how to use it better than anyone else and knows what more can be done if other people become experts.

Good analysts are curious above all else. In the right place, they can do amazing things to drive innovation, increase profit, optimize processes and build market share. When you don’t have a a champion the outcome of any analytics project will be in doubt.

The most curious person in the organization should be the analytics champion because they love to go out and find the data to answer any business question that comes up.

If your analytics project doesn’t have a champion, then you most likely see a general lack of focus, an unclear vision and an uninterested leadership. Can you be that champion? If you think you can then do the Moneyball and Enchantment things from my last blog. They will help you gain your champion’s belt.

When you read Enchantment, you will start to understand that an analytics champion does as much influencing with their analysis as they do reporting.

Another way t5.5o be seen as the champion, is to make friends with people. Dropping off a box of donuts with the IT developers or sending thank you notes to project team members who went above and beyond is just as important as mastering the coding language used by your new analytics tools.

I keep a lot of analytics books on my desk. I make it obvious that I am always thinking about data and how to use it to improve what we do. I share a lot of content about analytics on social media. People know me as the data guy. You want to be like that if you want to be crowned Analytics Champion.

Analytics Culture – The key to using analytics in a business is like a secret sauce that fuels Data-Driven Decison-Making. It is a unique combination of analytics talent, technology and technique that are brought together to enrich and empower an organization. A successful analytics culture is not easy to create, but DMAIPH can show you how. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can build a strategic plan to turn your company into analytics driven success story.

Why Analytics Projects Fail: #3 – Lack of Management Support

Nothing sucks more for an analyst than taking on an analytics project without support from above. Great analysts are generally only great if they have bosses who advocate for more analytics.

If no one at the top really understands the benefits of implementing your project, if the leadership will continue to use their gut in decision-making regardless of what your project achieves, then start updating your resume. This outcome happens often when the company does not have a business culture supportive of data-driven decision-making.

In this day and age, good analysts are hard to come by…. You can make more money and be happier somewhere else. Trust me. The chances of you being able to turn analytics naysayers into big data believers is highly unlikely.

That said, if you chose to give it a try… here are a few thoughts on how to get management to become more supportive of your analytics project.

Watch the Brad Pitt movie Moneyball. It will inspire you. Read the book Enchantment by Guy Kawaskai. It will empower you. Im not joking. You cant do this on your own.

After that, then you need to do a few things.

First find the person in upper management most likely to get on board. Ask them to help you. Show them data that will outline the better new world after your project is complete. Tell them about analytics success stories (like Moneyball). Let them see your passion for data-driven decision-making. You need  Brad Pitt.

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Next, using the concept of Enchantment, determine what is it about you and your project that will build trust. Will it create more transparency? Will it mitigate risk? Something that demonstrates how this project will increase the level of trust between everyone.

You also need to be likeable. Your project needs to be likeable too. What is it about the project that will make people happy? Who gets a better report, faster and with more useful data? Who gets to start using a business dashboard to make quicker and better decisions? What will each of the stakeholders like about this project.

And then you roll out the great cause. The monetary value generated from implantation. The level of risk mitigated. The better intelligence on competitors or about your market. What will be that great cause?

So now you are in a better position to be Jonah Hiil and go start changing minds and swinging opinions about your analytics project.

Analytics Culture – The key to using analytics in a business is like a secret sauce. It is a unique combination of analytics talent, technology and technique that are brought together to enrich and empower an organization. A successful analytics culture is not easy to create, but DMAIPH can show you how. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can build a strategic plan to turn your company into analytics driven success story.

Why Analytics Projects Fail: #2 – Lack of Vision

Lack of vision often accompanies lack of focus when good analytics projects come up short or even fail.

The end product produced by the hard work being put into the analytics project has to be championed from top down. If the top dog is not talking about your project and pushing the merits of its implementation, they people will fight getting on board. Their focus will go astray.

Lack of vision is most often caused by a rush to implement a new analytics tool or a need to quickly upgrade reporting. A good analytics solution needs clearly thought out goals and buy in from all stakeholders.

Vision comes from being on the same page. A good project manager can control the vision message and repeat it like a broken record at every project message. An analyst gifted with good communication skills can keep sharing the vision to remind everyone of the benefits at the end of the project. It takes people dedicated to the project to keep it moving.

Vision can be handled like a marketing campaign. A catchy project name, an engaging tagline, a central theme accompanying communications and updates can all keep people focused on the end goal.

If your project is floundering because of lack of vision, then you need to channel your inner cheerleader. It often takes an analytics champion to produce the a positive outcome. And if you are reading this blog, that champion is probably you.

Nothing helps get a vision across better than good visuals… what does the end state look like for everyone involved. Find ways to motivate them with posters, with slogans, with dashboards, with free food. Just keep reminding them where we are going and how awesome it will be when we get there.

 

Lack of vision can also be an issue when an analytics projects are not well planned out. Maybe the scope was too narrow or too broad or perhaps the technology we are using is obsolete.

Vision is a glimpse of what the future may look like. If I can’t conceptualize why we are doing what we are doing for this project, then we can’t very well share the vision we are supposed to be seeing.

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My final thought on dealing with lack of vision, is that no one will be better at fixing this then you. As a data person, you have to be bold in your use of data to push the vision and you have to be brave in taking the lead on sharing the vision as much as possible.

Analytics should be accessible across your organization.  If you are in a situation where your analytics efforts are being stymied by lack of vision, connect with me and I’ll help you get things straightened out.

Analytics Culture – The key to using analytics in a business is like a secret sauce that fuels Data-Driven Decison-Making. It is a unique combination of analytics talent, technology and technique that are brought together to enrich and empower an organization. A successful analytics culture is not easy to create, but DMAIPH can show you how. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can build a strategic plan to turn your company into analytics driven success story.

Why Analytics Projects Fail: #1 – Lack of Focus

Lack of focus is common reason analytics projects fail. Keeping a focus on any project can be a challenge for companies that are not well organized. If you are an analyst or trying to champion analytics in your organization and are up against a lack of focus, I have some ideas for you.

First off, size really isn’t a factor when it comes to the organizational culture towards being organized. In some cases size makes the problem more apparent, but size can also mean more resources, so in most cases its really not a serious issue.

There is generally a strong correlation be the way data is handled in a business and how organized the company is in other ways. Lots of paper, manual processes and clearly define process flows may look organized, but it’s highly unlikely they deliver the type of data leadership really needs.

Lack of focus often happens when leaders seem overwhelmed and say they don’t have time to dedicate to things like analytics. The first thing you need to figure out is are people resources really stretched too thin or is it more a cultural issue where being too busy is more of a badge of honor.

The best way to deal with overworked teams is to start putting data around what they do every day and come up with solutions to improve time management and delegation.  Few people can truly say they have extra time, but everyone can say they need to figure out how to manage time better. A good analytics solution does just that.

Few people can rationally explain why their job would be harder if they had more analytics.  So it’s not too hard to get people to buy into the concept of analytics, but to get them to buy into the actual practice you need to be part salesman and part storyteller.

You need to show them the value putting a greater focus on your analytics project will bring to both the business as a whole and to each individual involved in the project. Besides showing data to champion the use of more data, you need to tell stories about how its helped in other places. You need to get them to envision how much better life will be once your project is complete.

Lack of focus can also come when the project is not well thought out of you get scope creep… when additions are made to a project that start distracting people form the original goal of the project. It is hard to stay focused when you don’t see focus in the project itself.

The final point I’ll make is that you also need visible and consistent buy in from the person(s) in charge. If they are not advocating for analytics, then your project will never get the focus from stakeholders and project team members you need then you will fail.

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Analytics Culture – The key to using analytics in a business is like a secret sauce that fuels Data-Driven Decison-Making. It is a unique combination of analytics talent, technology and technique that are brought together to enrich and empower an organization. A successful analytics culture is not easy to create, but DMAIPH can show you how. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can build a strategic plan to turn your company into analytics driven success story.

The Five Stages of HR & Recruitment Analytics

I’ve seen a couple of articles recently espousing a set number of stages  in HR and/or Recruitment Analytics. Based on my knowledge, the 5 stages of analytics a people-centric department can experience are the following:

Stage 1 – The Data Dark Age – No analytics at all. Pipelines are either in MS Excel, a very old proprietary data based or maybe even on paper. Nothing is really analyzed, data quality is bad, and reports are pretty useless. Not collaboration exists between HR, Recruitment and other business lines.

Stage 2 – Living in Data Castles – Only a few people use analytics and most key management decisions are not made based on data, but on experience. Every department has data stored within its own data base. Its nearly impossible to share data due to poor data architecture. HR data is incomplete and the recruitment process does not have any dynamic reporting.

Stage 3 – The Flat Data Organization – Some people use some analytics to make some decisions, but its generally inconsistent across the organization. Data is generally historical and used tactically to understand simple patterns and effects. Some of the data castles have evolved to data explorers, venturing out to find and use new data sources, but many castles still remain in the organization. Generally HR and Recrutiment are using a people management and/or recruitment management software. Reports are useful and drive some decisions by management, but there is major room for improvement. Some data leads to buried treasure, but some leads you off the map… data quality is inconsistent.

Stage 4 – Civilized Data Flow – Most decision makers have access and generally use analytics. Several key team members have strong analyst backgrounds. Data is easily shared between teams. Most managers look at data before making a decision, and analysts have a say in business strategy based on their analysis. People are empowered to do their own discovery and analysis. The organization has answers  to questions about recruitment efforts and HR trends. Waste is controlled with effective people and recruitment management software.  Business dashboards are being used to convey a lot of information.

Stage 5 – Data Nirvana – Every team member from top down knows analytics, has access to the data they need and are empowered to take action on it. There are minimal hindrances to sharing data. It is hard to find a place like this but, when you do recruitment works like a well-oiled machine,  HR analytics are predictive and driving recruitment efforts. There is never a question management asks, that there is not a data driven explanation to answer with. Business dashboards are interactive and real time. Surprises are minimal and solutions come quick and founded on business data and insight. Open posts are filled quickly and people stick around because there needs are proactively being addressed.

So what phase is your organization in? Where do you want it to be? I can help you assess where you are and we can design steps to get your where you want to go.

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HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes.

Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.

Mixing Technique With Empowered Curiousity

Last year I spent some time helping a couple of schools build more analytics centric training into their psychology curriculums. The goal being to help prepare future HR managers and analysts to be ready to deal with real world analytics challenges.

Over the next few blogs, I will share several of the topics I listed in these curriculums that are equally balanced in both the technical and intellectual aspects of HR analytics.

It is a common misconception that HR analytics is all about using tools and techniques to generate reports and share information to management in a way that makes the business more successful. This concept will not generally work because the analysts are not empowered to question, explore and discover new opportunities or to understand hidden risks. All they are expected to do is report things faster and with more flash.

Some of the topics typically taught in your basic HR and/or Recruitment Analytics class include:

  • Stages of HR Analytics
  • HR Metrics – Calibration and Measurement
  • Statistical Analysis Tools like DCOVA (define, collect, organize, visualize and analyze)
  • Enhancing HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems)
  • Optimizing MS Excel for HR Analytics
  • Business Intelligence Tools for HR Teams
  • Predictive Analytics Methods and Models
  • Big Data Analytics for HR Teams

Each topic can be its own training module if you have the time to sit in a class and approach the use of HR analytics academically. The problem is few of us can spare the time.

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My solution is a mixture of self-education, internal team building dynamics and an empowerment based model of analytics training that will not just make your team better at building reports, but will unlock their minds and free their curiosity allowing them to get outside the box and discover things you can’t even imagine.

No one wants a team of drones who just follow steps in a technique or use a technology to do just exactly what it was designed to do. To really have an HR Analytics team that make a difference, you need a team that thinks differently. If you are serious about building this kind of culture in your business, then I can show you how.

Analytics Culture – The key to using analytics in a business is like a secret sauce. It is a unique combination of analytics talent, technology and technique that are brought together to enrich and empower an organization. A successful analytics culture is not easy to create, but DMAIPH can show you how. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can build a strategic plan to turn your company into analytics driven success story.

HR Analytics – Curiosity Trumps Technique

I came across an advertisement for an upcoming HR Analytics training a few days ago.

It’s a three-day class that goes pretty heavy into the technical side of HR Analytics. Like most analytics training classes being offered in the market right now there is a lot of emphasis how to gather data and report it. I am starting to see a little more emphasis in data visualization and building more dynamic reports, which is encouraging.

However, no matter what analytics tool you have, and how well your HR analysts are in using the technology, if your HR analysts aren’t empowered to really ask questions and unleash their curiosity on the people data they have access to, then you really won’t see a significant success when it comes to using data.

In addition, if your business is not ready to have an ongoing discussion about how to use the data to improve decision-making at all levels of the organization then you are not going to be successful either. You need an analytics centric culture to really benefit from all the amazing tools and techniques now available to HR teams.

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When you look over the agenda of an HR Analytics training class and you don’t see anything about culture, empowerment, data-driven decision-making, or dynamic reporting using interactive tools… then it is highly unlikely you will benefit much from sending anyone to these types of trainings.

If you would prefer to send your team to a training where your HR analysts and managers will not just learn a few techniques and demo a few tools, but really get into what it means to be an HR analyst and how HR can be at the forefront of building an analytics centric culture, then I would be happy to include them in my next HR analytics training class.

HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.

Explosive Growth In People Analytics

https://www.jibe.com/ddr/telling-the-story-of-a-data-driven-future-for-talent-acquisition/

Came across this really interesting table about the explosive growth in HR Analytics.

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(Source:  Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2015 and 2016, 3,300 and 7,100 respondents, respectively) 

The blogger who shared this, Mike Roberts, stated “With advancements in technology, as well as more awareness of the power of data, this is starting to change. Since 2014, we’ve seen an incredible transformation in the way talent acquisition professionals view data. And research from leading analyst firms has been backing that up.”

This is exactly why I have been doing HR & Recruitment Analytics training classess. There is a growing number of options out there, so make sure you get the bang for you buck you are hoping for.

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Connect with me if you want to know more about my approach to using data to drive decision-making in HR and Recruitment. I have recently published a book, Putting Your Data to Work, that can be your guidebook to how to get more people analytics in your HR and Recruitment processes.

HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. You really have to Think Through The Box to come up with winning solutions to effectively attract, retain and manage talent in the Philippines today. DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.

 

HR Recruitment Analytic Techniques

Every recruiting organization is looking for a way to better understand what’s working and what’s not working in their recruiting strategy. By using meaningful HR Recruitment Analytics techniques, your recruitment efforts can be greatly enhanced.

With real-time recruitment metrics & reporting, we can finally know what’s happening in our pipelines and what channels provide us with most qualified candidates.

New technologies like social networks, applicant tracking systems and business intelligence applications are fundamentally changing the entire recruitment process from sourcing to placement.

The pressure to deliver results has never been greater. HR and Recruitment managers are now more than ever required to demonstrate the return on investment their efforts are contributing to the bottom line.

Building analytics centric teams and using techniques taught in this training session will empower more data-driven decision making. This will result in both process efficiency and better return in investment in the recruitment process.

A few months ago, I facilitated a training class on HR Recruitment Analytic Techniques.

The Learning Session Objectives from the training were:

1. To learn analytics techniques that will allow quicker, deeper and more impactful analysis of HR Recruitment Big Data.
2. To be exposed to cutting edge technology being used in other companies to build HR Recruitment business dashboards and design more powerful reports.
3. To assess the current state of analytics in your HR Recruitment process and build a strategy to empower the greater use of analytics in your organization.

The Key Benefits from Attending this Learning Session were:

1.Develop analytic techniques that you can use to improve decision-making and improve the bottom line.
2. Explore analytics tools like business dashboards and data visualization to improve reporting.
3. Build a strategy to move your organization from current state to ideal state when it comes to the use of analytics.

Topics covered in the training included:

  • What is Recruitment Analytics?
  • Self-Assessment of your Recruitment Analytics
  • Analytic Techniques for Finding the Right Data at the Right Time
  • Applicant Tracking Systems & Social Media
  • Big Data and Recruiting Analytic Strategies
  • Business Intelligence, Data Visualization & Business Dashboards Technologies
  • Building Meaningful HR Recruitment Techniques

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Overall it was a great training class with lots of great discussion. Given that the recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. more conversations are needed.

DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.