Caitie Jacobson: Driving Culture and Leadership Through People Analytics

In a recent conversation with Caitie Jacobson Mikulis , Practice Lead for Listening Analytics & Workforce Research at Dell Technologies, her passion for leveraging people analytics to shape organizational culture and leadership strategies was evident. With a background in I-O psychology and a career dedicated to data-driven decision-making, Caitie’s insights provide a compelling look at how organizations can align culture with business outcomes to drive ROI.

The Journey to People Analytics

Caitie’s career began in industrial-organizational psychology, focusing on assessments and psychometrics. Early in her career, she worked as a consultant at APTMetrics and I/O Solutions, where she advised clients on job analysis, competency modeling, and assessment validation.

Four years ago, she transitioned to an internal role at Dell, initially focusing on assessments and the company’s employee survey program. When Dell centralized its People Analytics team, Caitie stepped into the role of their Listening Analytics & Research Lead, where she combines survey data, HR metrics, and external research to create meaningful stories that guide leadership decisions.

Addressing Turnover Through Data-Driven Insights

Understanding the financial impact of turnover is critical to making a business case for people analytics. Industry estimates suggest it can range from 50% to 300% of an employee's salary. By proactively identifying engagement risks through lifecycle surveys, companies can reduce costly attrition and improve long-term workforce planning.

One of Caitie’s primary responsibilities is analyzing employee sentiment to help HR leaders proactively address turnover. Through lifecycle surveys - covering key milestones such as onboarding, leadership transitions, and exits - her team identifies trends and potential risk areas. Some key takeaways Caitie has noticed over the years:

• Career Development Matters: multiple sources of data consistently show that career advancement opportunities, having meaningful work, and a sense of belonging are critical factors influencing employee retention.
• Proactive Listening: Caitie sees value in proactive surveys at key moments, like pivotal tenure periods and anniversaries, to identify disengagement before employees decide to leave.
• The Cost of Turnover: Caitie acknowledges that linking attrition to financial data can be an easy win for people analytics teams.

Aligning Culture With Business Strategy

Caitie believes that tracking culture alignment requires tying values to measurable behaviors. For example, if one of your company’s core values is innovation, you could measure culture through questions such as, Do you feel comfortable speaking up? Are you encouraged by leadership to experiment with new ideas?

By tracking agreement with these statements over time, you can assess whether your cultural principles are genuinely reflected in employees' experiences or if there’s a disconnect between leadership messaging and reality.

To ensure that culture is not just a slogan but an active part of the workplace, Caitie recommends organizations:

• Tie Culture to Business Outcomes: Demonstrating how culture impacts performance is key. Research shows that employees who rate their leaders highly tend to have higher sales outcomes, providing a direct link between leadership effectiveness and business success.
• Use Frequent Check-Ins: While annual surveys are common, Dell conducts semi-annual surveys to maintain a more consistent pulse on employee sentiment.
• Communicate Survey Impact: Employee surveys only work if employees see action. Caitie emphasizes the importance of sharing results and outlining next steps so employees understand that their feedback leads to real changes.

Sustainable Leadership Through Analytics

Leadership is a key factor in shaping workplace culture and engagement. Caitie’s work in people analytics provides leaders with actionable insights by:

• Measuring Leadership Effectiveness: By analyzing survey results and linking them to business outcomes, you can identify leadership behaviors that drive success.
• Supporting Leadership Development: Caitie’s team collaborates with theLearning & Development (L&D) team to tailor leadership programs based on survey data, ensuring that training initiatives address actual employee concerns.
• Fostering Trust and Strategy Alignment: Leaders who balance strategic vision with genuine care for employees tend to foster more engaged and high-performing teams. Caitie’s research shows that employees who feel their leader values them are more productive and have higher retention rates.

The Future of People Analytics and AI

Caitie is excited about the potential of AI in people analytics. She envisions a future where AI can help leaders interpret survey results and generate personalized action plans. She sees AI as a tool for making data more accessible, helping leaders make informed decisions based on both analytics and human insights.

Advice for Leaders and People Analytics Professionals

When asked for advice on using analytics to drive business performance, Caitie emphasizes:

• Start Small: Leaders don’t need massive datasets to make a difference. Even a few well-structured survey questions can provide valuable insights.
• Build Trust in Analytics: Proactively forming partnerships with leadership ensures that data-driven recommendations are received with credibility.
• Tailor Insights to Business Priorities: Aligning survey results with current strategic goals increases the likelihood that leadership will act on the data.
• Keep a Record for Long-Term Trends: Collecting and analyzing data over time allows organizations to track progress and make informed adjustments.

Conclusion: Turning People Analytics Into Action

Caitie Jacobson’s work at Dell demonstrates how people analytics can bridge the gap between employee experience and business outcomes, ultimately impacting the bottom line. By leveraging surveys, HR metrics, and storytelling, she helps leaders make data-informed decisions that enhance culture, engagement, and performance—factors that directly contribute to increased productivity, reduced turnover costs, and improved financial performance.

Her insights underscore the importance of aligning analytics with strategy, fostering transparency, and ensuring that survey results translate into real action. As organizations continue to evolve, Caitie’s approach serves as a blueprint for using data to drive meaningful workplace transformation.