The 3 key questions that data should answer

How do you and your team use data and insights currently? When we meet with HR teams, they will often tell us how hard it is to get good data. They tell us that they waste countless hours trying to get anything useful out of their antiquated systems and often have to resort to pulling together manual reports that rarely seem to get acknowledged let alone have any significant impact.

So how do we decide what data is relevant and impactful for us to put time and effort into collecting it? In our view, the data and insights you capture should help you answer these three questions which should form a part of your people strategy:

Can we recruit and retain the talent we need?

Your people strategy should clearly outline your approach to acquiring, developing, and retaining your talent. Here are some examples of data sets that can support this goal:

• To help you uncover your employment brand, grab a few people from different departments to create a focus group. By understanding their experience, you’ll uncover the true essence of your brand, and how you can make it better. You’re asking questions like: ‘What do you love most about working here?’, ‘What do you love most about your role?’, ‘What’s the downside of working here?’, ’What’s unique/special about working here?’ etc.
• Research suggests that nearly 60% of job seekers have had a poor candidate experience and thanks to the increasing popularity of social media and review sites such as Glassdoor, 72% of those job seekers share their negative experience online or with another person. This means it is crucial for you to capture candidate feedback. For example, Virgin Media took a closer look at their candidate experience by conducting a “Rejected Candidate Survey” of all applicants who had been turned down. The results were illuminating: 18% of the rejected applicants were Virgin Media customers and 6% of the total applicants switched to a Virgin competitor as a direct result of their poor recruitment experience. This in turn resulted in almost ￡4.4 million in lost revenue. To attain a higher standard of interview programs for candidates, Virgin inspired their employees by introducing incentives to offer the best candidate experience. The program was embraced by all and soon it became one of the company’s priorities. The company has been able to grow its customer base at a cheaper rate by transforming bad candidate experiences.
• Many organisations are putting effort into collecting feedback from their people as a preventative measure to hold on to their talent. For example, Security Compass, a cybersecurity firm, uses “engagement interviews” to prevent the departure of its top performers. The company uses the conversation to measure engagement, which it uses as a metric to indicate whether its top employees intend to stick around. They have collected valuable insights from the interviews, including that some of their top employees do not necessarily want promotions. Instead, they want more opportunities to learn and develop.
• Career growth and development are top priorities for employees, yet only 33% of organisations have internal mobility programs. Start by analysing data on internal moves within your organisation over a specific period. If the numbers fall short of expectations, take proactive steps to boost internal mobility and retain your top talent.

Are we enabling people to do their best work?

When we look at our traditional HR processes, we are rarely trying to solve this challenge. To enable our people to do their best work, we need to identify how we are creating the conditions where our people will be:

• Trusted and treated as adults
• Given the opportunity to use their strengths
• Given the flexibility to work how, when and where they perform best
• Led by people they respect and can learn from
• Coached regularly and shown appreciation
• And encouraged to try new things and show curiosity

We’re not talking about introducing multiple, time-consuming projects to help you accomplish this. Here are a few examples of how you can use data and insights to help:

• We strive for innovation and creativity to help keep us ahead of the competition. But are we creating the conditions where our people can freely create? Take stock of how many hackathons have been held, how many prototypes were created as a result and how many resulted in a successful product ready for launch. Take it a step further and help boost psychological safety for your people like they do at Spotify. They have something they call ‘fail fikas’, a coffee break where people share their experiences in failure and what they learned from it, so they can celebrate their learnings. Their leaders act as role-models, sharing their failures as well – creating a culture where people dare to share.
• Research shows that employees who are regularly recognised are 4 times more likely to be engaged. In fact, a simple ‘thank-you’ or an experiential reward is far more impactful than a cash bonus. For example, Google found that its cash bonus awards had too many negative consequences. So instead, the company piloted giving out experiential awards, such as a voucher for a dinner for two, or sending entire teams to Hawaii, instead of cash awards. That worked much better. The Googlers within the pilot said the program was 30 per cent more fun, 30 per cent more memorable and 15 per cent more thoughtful. Can you run a pilot to understand how your people want to be recognised? By factoring in personal choice you are giving them the option to choose what type of reward works best for their interests and personality.
• Providing people with flexibility can be a huge driver for engagement. Even in roles that necessitate physical presence at the workplace, there are still ways to cultivate autonomy. Hilton for example offers flexibility in selecting shifts. “Hilton Flex” allows team members to choose how they are paid, when they work, and what department they work in. Are you able to get some insights on how flexibility is being offered across your business?

How do we want people to feel?

Most importantly, we need to answer this question to help us identify which interactions define the experience for your people and help bring your culture to life. So instead of asking ‘What should the new process be?’, we should try and answer the question ‘How do we want our people to feel?’.

And while this may seem like fluffy stuff that is hard to gauge or measure, you can continuously monitor this with pulse surveys targeted at different areas of concern:

General engagement: Do I feel like my work is meaningful and contributes to the company’s success?

Leadership: Do I feel comfortable approaching my manager with questions or concerns?

Work environment: Do I feel comfortable taking risks and innovating in my work?

Work-life balance: Do I feel comfortable taking time off when needed?

With the right focus, your data becomes a tool to not only inform decisions but also to create a workplace where people thrive, feel valued, and do their best work. The effort is worth it because impactful data doesn’t just measure your strategy – it powers it.

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