The “go/no go” decision to build eqtble
eqtble (Acquired by Paradox)
The First People Analytics Platform Built By People Analysts.
In the last episode of the newsletter, I talked about how Gabe and I met for drinks and discussed the idea of starting eqtble. What I didn’t delve into was the challenging journey from ideation to creating an actual product.
After spending three years at WeWork, I left to join Snapchat, while Gabe continued to lead the People Analytics team at WeWork (more on that story later). At Snapchat, I realized that regardless of the company, the challenges in People Analytics are quite similar. The core idea of People Analytics is simple: use data to inform decisions about your employees. However, in speaking with so many #peopelanalytics practitioners, we saw that the inability to access data stops organizations from doing their best work
Our idea was straightforward. We needed to build a platform that excelled in three areas. First, it needed a flexible data model, allowing companies to have autonomy over the definition of their metrics. Second, not everyone is a data scientist, so the platform had to work for non-technical HR practitioners with a user-friendly front end to easily access the necessary metrics for decision-making. Third, we had to ensure that the value provided was aligned with the cost.
After I moved to Snapchat, Gabe and I continued discussing the idea sporadically. It was during the pandemic, a time when everyone was uncertain about the future. We took time to get our minds right. Once we felt ready to move forward, we committed to building the platform together. I have to tell you, Gabe and I had HOURS of Zoom calls, I mean, there is only so much you can see your friend before you are like, “YOU AGAIN?!” ??
Anyway, I relocated to LA for my job at Snapchat, but before leaving, I met Gabe in Central Park, New York. That conversation was pivotal. We decided we were going to build the company NO Matter what it took – a really wild decision to take in a time of uncertainty, but we, beyond a shadow of a doubt, knew that the eqtble product had to exist in the world. I moved to LA and stayed there for about a year. Then, around October 2019, Gabe suggested applying to Y-Combinator, even though we only had a pre-alpha version of our product and barely any revenue. I thought he was out of his mind, but he said, “What do we have to lose?” We applied, and a few months later, we were interviewed and, somehow, got accepted into Y-Combinator.
This marked the beginning of actually building the company, which naturally meant quitting our jobs. Stay tuned for what happens next…??
The theme of the week: Continuing on the theme of organizational empathy!
Years ago, at an organization where I worked, I was at my desk when a friend of mine approached me in tears. Surprised, I asked her what was wrong, and she showed me her compensation sheet. And wow...
Earlier that month, the organization decided to conduct an analysis and show everyone where they stood within their pay bands. The result was that everyone received a compensation sheet with their compensation ratios (learn more about CompA Ratios by Sam Feldman here). Long story short, CompA ratios tell you where your salary stands compared to the average pay in your band. For instance, if the average pay in your band is $100K and your salary is $60K, your CompA ratio would be 0.6, which isn't great if you feel you should be paid at the average. Everyone wants to be closer to a CompA ratio of 1 or above 1 (must be nice!).
Well, my friend had been at the organization for two years and was one of the top engineers at the company. Her CompA ratio was 0.65, and she explained that she had always been made to feel like she was asking for too much during compensation discussions. The fact that she had been giving her all to the job while feeling underappreciated was disheartening for her. She said she was done.
(Quick sidebar)
When an employee says they quit, they didn’t quit that day; their body might be in the office, but their mind was done with the work months prior! This is why continuous check-ins and genuinely listening to what your employees are saying are very important.
(Back to the story)
She said she was done. I looked at her and knew she would be leaving the company in a matter of months. And I was right. Two and a half months later, she got a job at a different company that paid her almost 100% more than she was making at our current company.
People Analytics is one of the most amazing things I have had the privilege to work on because I have seen how it can change people's lives. Discovering that a person is underpaid and being able to advocate and add $10,000 to their salary might seem like a small blip for an organization, but for someone else, that is half a year of childcare! I love what we do. Therefore, we should aim to discover and create solutions that enable our organizations to support employees so they can do their best work. Because an organization is nothing without its people!
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External News Review
If you are following tech news, you must have seen the preview of Apple Intelligence. Ben Colman, CEO and Co-founder of Reality Defender discussed the topic in a way I found enlightening. See a summary below:?
Reality Defender supports responsible advancements in generative AI and is enthusiastic about Apple's new foray into this field with Apple Intelligence. This expansion will introduce generative AI capabilities to over 2 billion users, featuring tools like Apple's Image Playground for on-device image creation and enhanced Siri for text generation. Apple has also implemented robust privacy protections for cloud-based models.
However, these safeguards are not infallible. There are concerns about users finding ways to bypass security measures, as seen with previous generative models. The integration of ChatGPT into Apple devices, despite requiring user permission for data sharing, poses risks of misuse. Apple's history of prioritizing user privacy is commendable, but the potential for generating harmful materials remains.
We can see that the jumps in AI are happening faster than we can imagine or anticipate, and it is going to become a part and parcel of the way we work in the coming years! Meaning the way we work, which has already seen significant change in the last year, will continue to change for the foreseeable future.
So what do these technological leaps mean for People Analytics and the Future of Work?
Well, here is what we can deduce so far:
While the integration of AI into People Analytics presents numerous opportunities for enhancing the way we work, it also comes with challenges that must be carefully managed.
Parting thoughts (Until Next Week)
Change is an ever-moving force that affects us regardless of how we feel about it. The key to success is ‘leverage.’ By riding the wave of change, we ensure that we emerge on the other side, experienced and transformed. If we don't adapt, we risk being engulfed by it.
With rapid advancements in technology, HR leaders and practitioners alike may wonder what these changes mean for their careers. It means an opportunity to grow and to influence not just organizations but people's lives for the better. Will the way we work and what is expected of us change? Absolutely! Are we capable of handling that change? Heck yes! We are resilient.
So the question isn't how change will affect our work, but rather how we can prepare and adapt – remember, a tree does not move unless there is wind!
Until next time!