Trends in workforce analytics
The i4cp Total Rewards Leader Board met virtually Nov 1 to discuss trends in workforce analytics, Board research interests, and responses to shareholder activism. In attendance: 8 Board members: Avery Dennison, Cigna, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Hertz, Kohl’s, Pitney Bowes, Willis Towers Watson. Guests: Amtrak, Flex, Ford. i4cp TRL Board Chair Mark Englizian facilitated the meeting, with support from i4cp’S CEO, Research Program Director, and staff. (Please note that only Board members have access to recordings and linked documents below. For more info contact Mark Englizian, TRL Board Chair).
TRL Board Chair Mark Englizian welcomed Members and guests and explored top of mind issues – especially challenges of retention and TR in times of transition. Issues raised:
· Retaining top performers (with declining stock price or lower than expected earnings),
· Long-term incentives and stock ownership,
· Positioning exec comp structure,
· Engagement/retention during transition,
· Role of TR and shared services,
· Managing change of control,
· Global buy-in and integration,
· Rewards value propositions/communications,
· How TR can support transformation effort.
Chris Broderick, President and Founder, B .near Global, offered insights and next practice examples on people analytics and strategy and the changing metrics of employee engagement and experience. Framed with the “CEO perspective” in mind, Broderick identified two key CEO priorities – the need to unlock data possibilities and transform human capital. Next practices discussed: Leveraging external data (e.g., external social data) to predict workforce trends and target top talent. Broderick, a former IBM executive, showed 4 next practice case examples:
1) Measuring employee engagement based on “real time” and unstructured data.
2) Tracking employee experience also through social media to find out what’s working and what’s not.
3) Using social network analysis to spot culture contagion (negative and positive).
4) Using predictive risk alert analytics.
Sticky wicket: Not many CEO’s are making workforce analytics a priority. Board sees need to build connection between workforce analytics and business outcomes and better leverage their own use of social media. Several members offered leadership on setting up analytics groups with basic projects tied to predictive turnover and attrition (Flex, Gilead). Recording: i4cp Intro, Analytics, Research. Document links. Real Time Analytics
Amy Armitage, i4cp Research Program Director, shared current i4cp research (including a new Talent Risk Report and Talent Risk Management Toolkit ) and led discussion on the Board’s research project interests. Recent i4cp research cited focuses on trends (“What’s around the corner?”), next practices and practical tools. The Board discussed their interest in a Return on Total Rewards (ROTR) tool and a survey and practical tools tied to retention of top performers. Board’s needs discussed:
· How to measure a true return on rewards investment?
· How efficient is your TR spend?
Mark Englizian spoke of the need for standardized definitions and his experience developing ROTR instruments and practical financial ratios. Board members noted challenges to developing a ROTR tool as it may be difficult to compare different business units (“comparing apples to oranges”), but said it could also be useful to have basic templates, definitions, and common TR ratio and efficiency metrics. On surveys, the Board is most interested in trends and next practices in retention - for when things are going well and not so well. Recording: i4cp Intro, Analytics, Research. Document Links: i4cp Research
David S. Banks shared his views on how to respond to rising shareholder activism. Banks showed examples of the rise of new activist managers, especially mainstream institutional investors on a range of topics, including compensation and executive pay. While activists may focus on a broad range of topics such as strategy, operations, balance sheet, Board make-up, and M&A, increasingly, the top issues are Board governance, pay and the composition of Boards (especially around tenure and diversity). Often the activist effort is focused on winning seats and replacing directors. Members need to be attuned to certain target issues and listen for them in advance. Banks suggested recognizing warning signs, preparing Boards and having a proactive response team. Deck includes an overview of new regulations shaping pay, Board governance and activism. Recording: Shareholder Activism and Board Governance. Document Links: Shareholder Activism and Board Governance
Our next meeting is in January (date TBD) to review our TRL Board research project. We’re checking on corporate calendars and will get a date out to you shortly.
Thank you for your support.
Amy Armitage
Research Program Director
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