What are the most effective ways to upskill and reskill your HR analytics talent?

In my experience, HR analytics always will remain an "upgraded" technical skill. I worked with manufacturing industries where the assessment came from the challenges that the business would face being: 1. Improving workplace safety 2. Enhancing people engagement

Contextualize the assessment 1. Matching Capability to Context: Don't push for a Ferrari on a pothole-filled road. Identify the real tools and skills needed within their environment, not some future ideal. 2. Honest Churn: If someone's potential outgrows their environment, be honest. In an agile workplace like HR analytics, this is bound to happen. Acknowledge their growth and support their next step, even if it's outside your team. 3. Growth Within Reach: Foster aspirations that flourish where they are. Sure, some may aim for the next "shiny thing," but many find purpose and progress within your team's framework. Celebrate that! Layering skills development against this backdrop will refine the development.

Hands-on practice and continuous learning is key! Start with training in data analytics, including tools like Excel, Power BI and Python along with statistical techniques relevant to HR metrics. Work on real-time HR data projects which helps in application of theoretical knowledge. Ensure continuous learning by attending industry events, certifications, and mentorship for ongoing development.

Training: - Data analytics training: SQL, data analysis tools, statistical software, advanced data visualization techniques. - Business skills development: Strategic planning, stakeholder management. - Soft skills training: Communication, collaboration, interpersonal skills. On-the-job training: - Shadowing: Junior employees shadow senior HR professionals. - Mentorship programs: Experienced professionals guide new hires. - Internal training programs: Workshops to refresh skills and introduce new concepts. Self-learning: - Read books/articles, and attend webinars/conferences. - Explore online resources/tools. - Build a network of HR analytics professionals.

When assessing your HR analytics team's current capabilities, it's important to evaluate not only technical skills but also the social capital within the team. Understanding the strength of internal networks, relationships, and collaboration patterns can reveal how effectively knowledge is shared and learning is fostered. This insight helps identify not just skill gaps but also opportunities to leverage peer learning and cross-functional mentoring to accelerate upskilling and reskilling efforts, making your team more agile and connected in meeting business challenges.

Continuous learning is needed in each and every profession and so for HR and TA. Once doing the self-analysis, assessment craft a learning roadmap that will help in current and succession roles. Tailor the learning objectives reflecting to the technical, analytical, business, team management, strategic aspects and skills to upskill and reskill. Include the learning methodologies like online courses, workshops, conferences, 1-1 mentoring, coaching, global projects, etc to enhance different perspectives, learning prospects and preferences.

Designing a learning roadmap is essential for effectively upskilling and reskilling in HR analytics. The vast and rapidly changing field of data analytics can be overwhelming. As a Lead HR Analytics, I emphasise on a structured learning approach. A well-defined roadmap provides clear direction and milestones, ensuring focused efforts and measurable progress. It helps individuals prioritise key skills and systematically integrate new knowledge. Without a plan, the journey can become chaotic, leading to burnout and inefficiency. A roadmap keeps you aligned with goals and adaptable to emerging trends and technologies in HR analytics."

An example is providing on-the-job training. With other training opportunities, on-the-job training will help the team apply their new skills and knowledge in real-world situations. Working on individual or combined projects develops and enhances the skill set of the individuals working together.

Next up, map out a plan for learning. Think about what your team needs to learn and how they can learn it best. Mix it up with online courses, workshops, and maybe some one-on-one coaching. Make sure it's tailored to each person's skills and interests, so everyone gets what they need to grow.

Developing existing talent or acquiring new skills is a challenging task. Therefore, a learning roadmap designed according to the 70:20:10 technique becomes crucial. - 70: represents learning through on-the-job application, - 20: represents learning from the experiences of others, - 10: represents learning through reading or attending training. A learning roadmap created with the help of all these components will accelerate the development of existing talent and the acquisition of new skills.

Feedback is crucial for any type of learning, upskilling methods to monitor, measure and understand the effectiveness. Analyse the data on learning outcomes like completion rating, satisfaction scores, knowledge gathering, skill implementation and application, stakeholder impact and influence on HR/ TA Analytics. One of the best ways is to understand the feedback from managers, business, team members as how the learning and upskilling has created a difference and improvise accordingly.

One good way to get feedback is to seek to use your newly learned (or upgraded) skillset. Look for opportunities at work to use what you've learned. It is one thing to memorize new information, but the real test of learning is to try to use it or teach it to others. You will quickly find out what you've mastered and what you need to put more work into.

Now, it's time to check how things are going. Keep an eye on how well the learning plan is working. Look at things like how many people finish the courses, how happy they are with what they learned, and if they're using their new skills on the job. Don't forget to ask for feedback from everyone involved so you can tweak things if needed and keep improving.

We all know that it is important to have a good learning resource person/team/organization to imbibe the analytics skillset. However, a regular market check should also be done to leverage the best in terms of suitability and cost. It should be taken care of that it's not always the best platform required for fancy infographics. Sometimes the organizational need is relatively smaller and simpler than the software solutions provided by consultants.

The main source of the reinforcement learning method is the presence of a feedback mechanism. When we want learning to progress quickly and regularly, receiving feedback will facilitate this process. Every learning activity is reinforced and nourished by feedback. To establish a learning culture, it is necessary to first establish a feedback culture.

Establishing a culture of continuous learning and innovation is vital for HR professionals to excel, especially in data analytics and emerging tech like AI. Always encourage curiosity and foster open communication, allowing for experimentation and questioning of norms. Provide resources for innovation and emphasize learning from both successes and failures. Highlight success stories internally to inspire others and showcase the benefits of innovative approaches. Empowering HR professionals with these tools can enhance strategic decision-making and organizational performance.

In my experience, encouraging use of e-learning platforms are particularly helpful in fostering a culture of learning within your organization. These platforms allow your employees to access learning tools on their own time and at their own pace which empowers employees to take learning into their own hands.

Now, let's make learning a part of everyday life. Encourage your team to ask questions, try new things, and work together to solve problems. Give shout-outs to those who are rocking their learning goals, and give everyone a chance to show off what they've learned. Basically, let's make learning cool and something we all do together!

With the advancement of technology, methods have upgraded. Because it is unlimited, real-time access to learning information, the opportunities to share are limitless. Collaborative learning and gamification are still imbibing the learning culture, yet almost every individual seeks personalized recommendations, recognition, and reward regularly.

It can also help to encourage a HR analytics team to regularly share what they've learned with each other. Perhaps a Slack or Teams channel where newly learned skills, tips, and tricks can be openly shared with teammates. Suggest to everyone that there is value in sharing new information rather than keeping it to oneself.

The main reason for determining the course of the learning journey, accelerating the formation of a learning culture, and targeting the acquisition of new skills is actually the progress of external partners. External partners constitute the greatest inspiration and source of learning. At this point, through the right network established via LinkedIn, extraordinary support can be provided for the journey of acquiring new skills.

Time to team up with some outside pals! Look into universities, pro groups, or even some cool consultants who can help us learn faster and better. They've got all sorts of neat stuff like top-notch courses or helpful tools we can use. Let's also learn from other companies who've already rocked this skill-building thing. We're not alone in this journey!

I've found that LinkedIn learning is an outstanding source of self-paced learning on a variety of analytics topics. It has become my go-to source of online learning in this area.

I like to work with universities to understand how trends are categorized from a scientific point of view. Networking is also essential. Well-founded results from other colleagues help you to develop your work further. That's why I can only ever recommend investing in networking to get really open feedback on what works and what doesn't.

El quinto paso es aprovechar socios externos para mejorar y volver a capacitar a su talento de análisis de recursos humanos de manera más efectiva. Colaborar con universidades, asociaciones profesionales y consultores puede ofrecer acceso a contenido de alta calidad, herramientas avanzadas y plataformas innovadoras. Por ejemplo, nuestra empresa se asoció con una universidad local para ofrecer cursos personalizados en análisis de datos. Además, aprendimos mucho de las mejores prácticas y puntos de referencia compartidos por otras organizaciones a través de conferencias y redes profesionales. Estas colaboraciones no solo enriquecieron el conocimiento de nuestro equipo, sino que también aceleraron nuestro progreso en HR Analytics.

The professor at my Big Data Analytics Master once said "We won't teach you how to learn python, R or SQL. We will teach you how to learn an algorithm so you'll always adapt to new technologies/languages very quickly". Learning is a continuous life mission. Ability to adapt new technologies with learning passion will always keep you up-to-date, powerful and efficient. Thanks to new AI features, now it takes much less time to write a python code, conduct analysis or find the error. Hunger for information is precious and it's very valuable to feed your hunger with correct meals.

This is an important tip! It is easy to become so accustomed to your favorite application or methodology to solve analytics challenges. But times and technology change. Read up on the latest developments. Take online courses. Follow thought leaders. Do your best to stay one step ahead of change as it is happening so that you'll be properly future-proofed and the go-to source of the latest in your field.

Time to play the crystal ball game! Let's peek into the future and see what's coming up in HR analytics. Think about cool stuff like AI or data crunching tools. Keep an eye on what other companies are doing too, so we're not left behind. Then, we'll tweak our plans to stay ahead of the game. Always be one step ahead, right?

It is debatable that today's future is directly proportional to the skills acquired and vice versa. However, it is also necessary to know the need to stay relevant because it would vary with an individual's work environment and personal goals.

Additionally, consider the following factors: Customization (??): Tailor learning paths to individual needs and career aspirations. Industry Trends (??): Stay updated on emerging trends and technologies in HR analytics. External Resources (??): Encourage exploration of external resources such as online forums, blogs, and industry conferences. Cross-functional Collaboration (??): Foster collaboration with other departments to gain insights and perspectives. Practical Application (??): Provide opportunities for applying learned skills to real-world scenarios. Feedback Mechanisms (??): Establish channels for continuous feedback to improve learning programs.

When it comes to technical requirements, a hybrid approach can be highly beneficial. This strategy involves mastering the basics of the skill through internal MOOC and then bringing in external talent for targeted training to address advanced gaps. I always find exposure and experience the best method for functional needs, so I leverage cross-platform learning sessions and stretch assignments to fill the void.

Plan what skills are needed in-house and what you could purchase or leverage from external partners. You don't necessarily need to do all HR analytics activities within the company. Sometimes it's easier and faster to buy, for example the more advanced skills.