Driving the Business
At our December 2nd meeting we held an open discussion of two main topics: members' biggest successes of 2021 and what their biggest challenges are now and as we enter 2022.
Regarding successes in 2021, we were interested in what the success was specifically, how it was achieved (relationships, data, technical capability, etc.), and what lessons were learned along the way. Here are some highlights:
- Bryan Seaford from Chick-Fil-A (and a member-lead of the WPE) noted that in 2021 they stood up a cross-functional talent experience measurement team, with a focus on senior leader metrics, DEI metrics, and helping HR staff work productively. One lesson-learned was that free-text data is not as helpful as they had hoped it would be: it is hard to make good decisions based on it, no matter how good your natural language processing is. In 2021 they also have developed a People Analytics roadmap to guide how they will further mature in this area.
- Denice Hall from AESO (Alberta Electric System Operator, a not-for-profit entity responsible for the planning and operation of the Alberta Interconnected Electric System) said that a success in 2021 was transition their talent database over to Workday, with an eye on talent mobility in particular and reducing the degree to which managers hoard talent.
- Ann Jones from Syneos Health said they had identified DEI as a strategic priority, and this required knowing where they were currently and what their goals would be. Unfortunately with several separate systems, with varying job codes, etc., there were challenges. Over a 3-4 month period, they created a consolidated dashboard with data from three systems that HRBPs can use with business leaders in strategic discussions. They also formalized a small HR analytics team, separate from the reporting team, that is already providing value to the organization.
- Susana Marín from International Finance Corporation noted that they too have many different data systems, but in 2021 developed an in-house tool in PeopleSoft that connects workforce plans with people data. They are now working to update the tool further and manage the change for the organization.
- Mike Hughes from Target noted the development and launch of in-house developed software to manage talent at headquarters (corporate employees, as opposed to the much larger population of store employees). It is helping leaders better understand where they can and should invest, where to pull back, etc.
- Amanda Nyhaug from Dell described how they have focused on gathering a wide range of data inputs to strengthen their foundation for talent planning. In the past this was very strong at the executive level, but inconsistent at the non-exec level. They have been focusing on supporting non-leaders who they consider to be strong candidates for leadership, as building a strong leader pipeline is a priority. Work is also being done on identifying key future skills, especially in core areas of the business. They are taking a skills-focus, so much so that they have named a skills-practice lead.
- Anita Sisodia from Experian described a success of 2021 being how they have conducted stay interviews. HRBPs started with teams that had significant turnover, and this led to data and information that was actionable with L&D opportunities and more frequent manager check-ins to improve their retention rate.
We then pivoted to what is top of mind right now, what are members' biggest challenges and opportunities as we approach 2022? Here are some highlights:
- Bryan Seaford from Chick-Fil-A noted the issue of market dislocation--an imbalance between cost of labor, cost of goods, and revenue. There are lags between these, and there is a lot of uncertainty with inflation and other factors.
- Ann Jones from Syneos Health mentioned data privacy, especially when data lives in different data silos. The issue arises between trying to make data-driven decisions versus informing employees ahead of time how it will be used (when this isn't always known ahead of time).
- Kari Paulsey from Robert Half said they are moving forward with a skills-based foundation, especially to support their people leaders in an ongoing remote environment. They use Workday, and are making changes to promote more continuous conversations, providing check-in forms, including questions that go beyond performance review questions and include career focused topics, like those used in a stay interview. They are also working towards developing a skills database to support employees taking on internal gig work, etc.
- Mike LeBrun from Toyota North America mentioned that the "Great Resignation" and other labor-related issues are drivers of the organization looking at attraction and retention differently. Existing activities that have started over the past year, such as a more differentiated view of talent (e.g., varied career pathing, more job levels, etc.), will be continued.
We closed with a discussion of what topics could i4cp help the most with pulse surveys, research, etc. Ideas included practices for identifying future skills gaps, examples of upskilling / reskilling at scale, and new approaches to succession management.
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