To Capitalize (p)eople (a)nalytics or Not?

I'm seeking your clarification. Do you capitalize (p)eople (a)nalytics or not?

People Analytics or people analytics?

I claim no hold on the grammatical rules of the English language. You can tell that if you read any of my posts - I'll be editing this post for weeks. Thank you for your comments. It is as if I am a stranger to this world and I picked up language listening in to the sidebars of factory workers in the Midwest United States, in a poor neighborhood North West of Chicago. Hmm, apple falls close to the tree. I find grammar to be tedious but I love writing and I love Mark Twain. I wish I was more like him.

I think of "People Analytics" as something like "Marketing","Finance" or "Human Resources". I think of it as a business function and a field.

We teach fields in business schools and while people analytics is not taught in most business schools currently, I think it will be someday. It is just new. Just like Marketing was once new. Actually, not really that long ago.

If you go visit Google's storied Mountain View California campus, they have a People Analytics team. That is a function. By reporting relationship it is a sub-function of Human Resources, which they call People Operations. We capitalize business functions. As far as I can tell, "People Analytics", as it was used at Google was the origin of the present use (using the widest present use). If this is true then it is at least a function and possibly a field.

To be fair, in 2013 there was a book published, "People Analytics", that refers to people analytics as a sort of "social sensing technology", but the word is not widely applied in this way and this is not the work that Google refers to as people analytics, which goes back to 2008 roughly. The traction of the social sensing use has not achieved anything near the traction of the term as applied to the analytical arm of Human Resource Management as popularized by the example at Google. Look into the progression of People Analytics on Google Trends and also click through to see what the present highest ranking sites are actually talking about.

To be clear. I'm not saying no-one else was doing the work of People Analytics prior to Google. I am saying no one was using that term to refer to the work. For example, I was a Quantitative Analyst at PetSmart on the OD Team in 2005 (frankly I don't know if by OD they meant Organization Design or Organization Development). In 2003, at Merck I had a dotted line to the HR Decision Support group and a dotted line to Compensation in the Merck Research Lab division. They didn't know what to do with me.

I know there were other variations of naming convention for groups doing similar work at other companies prior to Google. At one time Sears was doing great evidence based HR work. I don't know if when they did that work they had a formal team or if they just had individuals who were doing analysis in Human Resources or as consultants. I know there are studies about the behavior of people in organizations that go back a hundred years. However, the term people analytics did not emerge then, nor was there a formal function with people analysis as a sole responsibility as People Analytics is conceived today. While Google may not have had the first analytical team in HR, they didn't, I am fairly certain Google was the first to formally call the team "People Analytics". If it is a team then we capitalize it, no?

People Analytics is not a table of numbers as sometimes people may think of "statistics" and it is not even a specific statistical procedure as mathematicians think of Statistics. It's not a type of data or statistics specifically. The work is done using these elements, but no data or statistical methods are exclusive to the domain. That statement also should be scrutinized. If you know of any, speak up. I could very well be wrong about that. I suppose there are measurements exclusive to the domain and you could go from there.

Do we do people analytics? Nobody that I know says they are "doing human resources" or "doing finance". We are doing the work of "Finance"or "Human Resources" or we are on those teams as they are functions, These are fields, these are functions, these are proper nouns, right? Or wrong? D we do people analytics? I don't think so. I think we do analysis, which is the work of People Analytics. So I capitalize People Analytics.  Am I wrong? Speak up.

Trivial capitalization matters aside, over the next several weeks I will be conducting a global survey about People Analytics to be used in People Analytics for Dummies for Wiley, which myself and a crew of friends in the field are putting together right now. I have a unique perspective, but a limited picture. You (collectively) have the rest. All of us know more than each of us and in particular, me.

If you consider yourself a People Analytics professional it my hope you'll take the survey. Forgive me in advance, but who is going to read a book about data analysis with no data analysis? In appreciation for the 15 minute effort the first 100 participants can have a free cup of coffee with a friend on the back of myself and my friends. Should be interesting. If you get People Analytics For Dummies this fall, you might need the coffee.

Time gets away. If have a moment please take the People Analytics Survey now.

For the record there will be no questions on the survey about grammar or in the book. Phew!

What's in it for you?

1.) I will send you the overall results and an individual report with insights and suggestions. This report will kill.

2.) in appreciation for your prompt response I have purchased a $10 Starbucks card that you will get immediately at the end of the survey if you are in the first 100 responses. 

All the details

• Survey is confidential. Results will only be shared in aggregate, if you happen to give me a zinger quote, I'll ask you if I can use it. 
• This survey link is individualized - tied to a Starbucks card - so the link can only be used once. The Starbucks gift cards go to the first 100 responses, which at this time you should be.
• At the end of the survey and on the FAQ page you have opportunity to invite others.
• Your feedback will be used to create birds eye view of the state of the field and highlight diversity in approach that will go into the book People Analytics for Dummies (Wiley)
• You can skip anything that you don't want to fill in.
• Survey should take anywhere between 5-15 minutes, depending on what you want to say.
• We need all responses no later than midnight March 31st, 2018
• If you have any problems let me know.