My Passion for Analytics > Why I Do What I Do

With each morning, I wake up and feel a renewed sense of purpose.

A new day, another chance to use my brain to solve problems.

Some days it a project for a client, some days it’s a new batch of people waiting to be empowered to do more analytics, and some days it’s a more personal use of analytics to solve life challenges.

We are all in our own ways, analytical. We all use data in our decision-making, even if many don’t really see it. There is so much data in our lives that everyone practices analytics.

But what set’s me and people like me apart is that we are passionate about using data in our analysis. We are constantly looking for new data sources, to validate existing data and find ways to integrate it into what we do.

People like me often end up being analysts by profession. It is a good use of our innate curiosity and belief that just about any question can be answered if you have the right data.

A lot of analysts do seem to be more intelligent and probably more nerdy then many people. That goes with being reflective, taking educated guesses and not being overly emotional when it comes to decisions.

Finding people like me is something I constantly do. Talking about our data and sharing are analysis and partnering with each other to solve problems.

When you have a group of friends like this, you do great things in life. When you have a team of workers like this, you have a data-driven business.

So I talk about my story a lot. How I got to be a great analyst. How I have enjoyed a satisfying career and been successful in business. There are a lot of people who have similar dreams and similar abilities.

They just need to be empowered. To have the curiosity unleased. To be surrounded by people in both life and work that push them to use their analytics talent to do bigger and better things.

When you have the right data, being analyzed by great people, you end up with amazing results.

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That is why I love what I do.

That is how I wake up every day with a sense of passion about my ability to make a difference in the world.

If you follow my blog, read my book or are connected with me on social media, then you are probably wondering how to find a conduit for your passion for data and analysis too.

And that means there is a reason to get up tomorrow morning and do it all over again.

Writing About Analytics

Writing about analytics is a great way for me to both share my passion and empower people to use more analytics.

It is amazing to me that it is mostly just the big companies investing in data-driven decision-making. The perceived difficulty and cost scare away a lot of small businesses. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are so many cheap or even free analytics applications and software packages out there.

I love to write about the various technologies available to people new to using analytics. I can take some pretty complicated stuff and make it seem much more palatable.

It is also common for older, more established companies that are run in a rather old school way feel that analytics is just too complicated and is probably just a fad that will pass. But harnessing big data (and small data) in and around the business can make the world a easier place to do business in.

I really enjoy sharing some simple techniques and methodologies that even the most old school business owners and leaders can understand. Sometimes they need to see it in a book to really get their heads around it.

Not having people in positions of influence who get analytics is a big problem for a lot of companies. As is not having the right level to talent needed to assure a successful use of analytics. The talent part of analytics is often the hardest part.

So I focus much of my energy on empowering students and young professionals to embrace the various analytics technologies and techniques out there to learn. The need for analytics talent continues to boom. So that is what I write about most.

Being an author, a blogger, a public speaker and a subject matter expert on analytics is simply what I was born to do.

So I keep writing. Everyday I write and blog and speak and share about taking data, analyzing it and presenting it in a way to can positively impact decision-making.

Let Your Data Tell You When It’s Time To Say Goodbye – Habitual Tardiness

Came across this blog post the other day and it inspired me to write about how use analytics to know when to let go of troublesome employees.

The first type I’ll blog about is ones who are habitually tardy.

“Handling employees who are constantly tardy for work is one of the difficulties of being a manager — no matter the industry. Simply firing them isn’t always the best policy when you consider the effort spent trying to hire their replacement. On the other hand, if your organization thrives on teamwork, having one team member not pulling their weight is bad for office morale.” Wise words form the blog I read.

The best way to deal with tardy employees is to look at the various data points that are generated by their behavior. This allows you to be unbiased in your decision-making when it’s time to say goodbye. The 5 data points I suggest you focus on are:

Total Down Time. What % of their shift did they miss plus what time it takes for them to get ready to work (logging in, opening systems, etc.) plus any time out of production you use to counsel them. Take this number and compare it to someone who comes in early, is ready to go when the clock starts and you never have to pull out of production to give warnings too. You will see a surprising difference of how much less time habitually late employees are contributing for the same pay
Distance To Work. Look at how far they have to travel every day to get to the office. I am betting its further than most. There is generally a strong correlation between schedule adherence and distance to work. Not always, but a high % of the time.
Difficulty of Commute. Look at the commute they have every day. How much time do they spend in traffic? Do they have to switch transportation modes? Is their route full of unpredictable impediments? It’s likely that challenges in their commute also have something to do with their consistent tardiness.
Quality Scores. Again, as a general rule, employees who have trouble getting to work on time also have lower than average quality scores.
Primary Production Metrics. Likewise, you generally see lower production metrics from employees who don’t start their shift ready to go.

“When simply walking by their desk to acknowledge a late arrival doesn’t stop the issue, it is probably time for a one-on-one meeting with a frank discussion.” Use this one-on-one time to review these metrics. Share with the employee some insights into why they might be late so often as well as how it effects the business.

It’s my experience that when you show them the data, it generally has a much more profound impact then just talking about things in a general sense. The power of your total down time is the highest on the team. You have the longest and most challenging commute. Your QA scores and production metrics are in the bottom 25% of the entire team. All of these can either be more motivating to the employee or they can provide a good reality check.

“Being proactive as a manager while showing you understand and even relate to their personal situation might enhance that employee’s performance over the long haul. It is vital you take the steps to get to the bottom of the issue before contemplating further discipline.” Using these data points in your verbal, written and final warnings add much more weight to your counseling. And when/if they finally hit the 3^rd strike, you have a lot more data-based rationale behind your final decision. See the original article here:

How long until You Give Up on an Employee Who Keeps Showing Up Late?

If you need help in coming up with a way to build more analytics in your schedule adherence and discipline process, just let me know. I am happy to help.

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.

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.

Are You a Person of Chance? Or Are You a Person of Change?

Ask yourself what rules your life?

Are you a victim of chance or a maker of change?

People who can’t adapt to change generally do not do well.

People who don’t want to change set themselves up for failure.

If you don’t like change, long for the old ways, wish things would go back to how they used to be…

I have news for you, change is coming anyway.

Accept it or get out of the way, because…

YOU

CAN

NOT

STOP

CHANGE!!!!

How High Is Too High? I Don’t Ever Want To Find Out

Somedays I ask myself, why am I never satisfied?

What caused me to be one always looking for ways to improve?

It can be a lonely place sometimes when you have your bar set higher then most people would even dare to reach for.

It can be a sad place when you realize you have gone as far as you can go with some people.

My life is full of instances where people just gave up on trying to follow me.

They choose a path more traveled and less difficult.

I can never do that.

Until my dying breath I will aim high.

I will not always reach that goal, but I will never have to look myself in the mirror and lie to myself about giving my best.

For giving my best is what I have always done and will always do.

I am stubborn in the belief that I can do anything and refuse to give up hope.

For those who choose to get left behind, I am sad you stopped reaching for the stars.

You settled for half way.

But not me. Never me. Its not possible for me too do what you do.

Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

I Need Team Member Engagement Metrics, But Which Ones?

I love this topic because it brings to of my favorite things together; analytics and learning development theory. Knowing something about why people behave the way they do and knowing the metrics to measure this is a central core of me.

However, getting a handle on employee engagement is a challenge.

A recent Harvard Business Review article pointed out, “Much has been studied about the impact of employee engagement on company performance, and there is general agreement that increased engagement drives results: Gallup, for example, suggests a 20% or better boost to productivity and profitability for companies with high engagement. Such companies, however, may be few and far between: Gallup also reports that only 30% of American workers, and 13% of global workers, are engaged in their jobs.”

That means that even on the best team, engagement is hard to keep at a high level.

I have seen many employee engagement surveys and assessments… Gallup has their 12 questions about employee engagement, I’ve used Strengthfinders and the Pace Color Pallet just to name a few.

They all help.

In fact, in most cases anything you do to measure employee engagement can’t hurt.

But coming up with standard you can use in your organization takes time.

To help, here are some additional engagement metrics I am asking my leadership team to track to help us determine where we can put more effort to improve employee engagement.

Putting In More than Required. By looking at time spent logged in and overtime hours we can get a sense of how much the team member like to maximize their ability to be part of the business.
Showing Up. By reviewing use of vacation leave and sick days and matching that with schedule adherence, you can get a sense of if they really want to be at work.
Who are your High Achievers? If you have team members who score high in both quality and quantity then they have found a way to balance the workload. Doing one well but sacrificing the other shows lack of engagement.
Getting Time with the Boss. Looking at % of time spent 1 on 1 with senior leaders can also be a key indicator of engagement. Even if a lot of time is spent on coaching, the interaction with more senior people will impact engagement.
Taking Time for Training. Looking at the % of time spent on training can also help you spot engaged employees. Internal, external, or refresher training all help in engagement.
Team Member Referrals. Its unlikely people will refer friends to work for your company if they are not engaged. Some incentive programs can blur this line, but it is still useful to look at this data.
Are They Getting Recognition? Generally those recognized by customers, superiors and/or peers tend to be more engaged then those who don’t.

There is no perfect employee engagement model and no perfect way to measure the success of your model.

The best any of us can do is try. Try new things and measure them. Look at historical data. Compare employee scores.

If you need help coming up with you own model of employee engagement and how to measure your success, DMAI can help you.

Sustaining Excellence

Still super happy over the Golden State Warriors going the NBA Finals the past two years. Winning a title, setting the records for wins… The way they did it, was a marvel to watch.

They lead their division from the beginning and never looked back. That take a special group to be consistent day in and day out.

They won with a first year head coach. That’s saying something that things were set up so well, that a new leader was able to step in and excel.

They beat the team with the best player in the world. Role players stepped up and made a difference. They wore LeBron out in a way that he never saw coming.

Now can they be a dynasty? Can they repeat this success or was it just a one-time thing? We will find out this year with the much hoped for Warriors-Cavs Round 3.

When you look across the San Francisco Bay, you see a team that is a true dynasty. The San Francisco Giants have one 3 World Series titles in 5 years. They made the playoffs again last year and are always in the hunt.

Besides having many of the same characteristics of the Warriors, the Giants have been able to take things to the next level.

Like the Warriors, they have a lot of home grown talent. That’s a proven way to go in any medium.

The Giants also have true starts who are not as well-known as the stars on the team they have beaten. They are hard workers who give it their all time and again.

There are a lot of lesson business leaders can learn from watching the way these team succeed… perhaps a future blog post on that.

But for now, as a huge fan of both teams… as I celebrate once again… I can only hope that the Warriors can sustain excellence like the Giants have.

It’s a great time to be a sports fan in the Bay Area. Truly a home of excellence!

How do you measure excellence in your business?

Do you have a way to know what your “win-loss” record is?

Do you know where you stack up against the competition?

If you don’t, then you need analytics. The Warriors and the Giants have two of the biggest analytics teams in professional sports. They invest and it pays off.

How about you?

We can show you how to set up your analytics which will translate to a level of excellence you have never know before.

DMAIPH specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

em·pa·thy > the ability to understand and share the feelings of another

From Our Recent Customer Care Empathy Training for the DMAIPH team

em·pa·thy > the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Per Webster’s… Empathy is

…the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.

Per Wikpedia…

Empathy is the capacity to understand what another person is experiencing from within the other person’s frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another’s shoes.

So any way you slice it, empathy is about feeling the pain of another in a way that helps ease some of that pain.

Empathy training is sorely lacking across the call center industry as this kind of soft skills training is taught like a technical skill. You can’t just lecture of empathy. You have to role play and write open ended scripts and practice it until its second nature.

If DMAI is to succeed, we need to have better the average empathy training. If we want to be a great company then we need to have best in class empathy training to make sure we are there for our customers.

The Tension of Now > Do More Now, Do More Later

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2015/06/the-tension-of-now.html

Sharing Seth’s latest blog…

The tension of now

Later is the easiest way to relieve the tension that accompanies now.

But later rarely leads to the action we seek and the change we need.

When you encounter the tension of now, caused by the urgency of action, veer toward more tension, not less now.

This is one of those things we know logically, but people are generally illogical so they go against it.

Most people will delay dealing with problems, hoping the problems will iust go away… which rarely happens.

They then end up spending extra time on energy on the bigger problem and have no time for dealing with new problems.

The wise man deals with problems now and frees himself up to handle new problems tomorrow.

Common sense can he in such short supply because of the general fear of tension.