How can HR help create a thriving organisational culture?

We’ve just wrapped up Series 37 of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast at Insight222. While the conversation with guests in each episode explored a myriad of different topics, the one common question for each episode was: How can HR play a pivotal role in creating a thriving organisational culture?

A summary of each episode together with associated links follows:

Sponsored by our friends at Culture Amp

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EP1: REBECCA THIELEN – Microsoft's Key to Strategic Workforce Planning Success

Innovation in HR doesn't come from doing things the way they've always been done. It comes from leveraging data to ask better questions and drive actionable insights

In the first episode of the series, my guest was Rebecca Thielen , General Manager, People Analytics at Microsoft. Becky has been instrumental in Microsoft's innovative approach to strategic workforce planning. This journey is founded upon a strong partnership with finance, an underpinning of data and analytics, and a clear focus on the problem statement.

In our conversation, Becky and I discuss:

1. The key ingredients for strategic workforce planning success at Microsoft.
2. How to build a resilient workforce planning framework.
3. Insights into the common challenges faced and how Microsoft has navigated these to establish a strong planning foundation.
4. An exploration of the tools and analytics Microsoft uses to drive workforce planning and decision-making.
5. The tangible benefits realised from strategic workforce planning.

The partnership with finance was just critical...we were united around the problem statement which is super-important to align on first; but we also truly understood each other's challenges...

Listen to my conversation with Becky on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding logo.

Connect with Becky on LinkedIn, and read the HBR article: Why Microsoft Measures Employee Thriving, Not Engagement.

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EP2: DORIE CLARK – How to Embrace Long-Term Thinking in HR Leadership

One of the ways to pivot successfully to long-term thinking is to apply some of the methodologies of the Agile world.

In the second episode of the series, my guest was Dorie Clark , a distinguished Columbia Business School professor, entrepreneur, and author. Dorie has been included three times on the prestigious Thinkers50 list, and is the author of the fantastic book: The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World.

In our conversation, Dorie and I discuss:

1. How to carve out time from your busy schedule to focus on long-term goals.
2. How to prioritise effectively and tips on how to say ‘no’
3. Guidance on how to set adaptable goals.
4. How embracing failure can drive innovation and creativity.
5. Understanding when to hold steady with your strategies and when to pivot.

Failure is actually irrelevant when it comes to something that you have declared an ‘experiment’, because the success is in the gathering of data, not the yes or no.

Listen to my conversation with Dorie on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

Connect with Dorie on LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter @dorieclark, and visit her website to find out more about Dorie’s work.

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EP3: DIDIER ELZINGA – How to Prove the ROI of a Positive Company Culture

Most leaders know that culture is the heart of their business, but the problem is they have no idea how to wrap their arms around it and they have no way to size it.

In the middle episode of the series, I was delighted to welcome Didier Elzinga , CEO at Culture Amp , a company at the forefront of understanding and enhancing workplace culture, and who recently announced that they had acquired people analytics platform Orgnostic . Moreover, Culture Amp recently collaborated with Forrester to identify that the ROI enterprises may realise by deploying Culture Amp is 311%..

In our conversation, Didier and I discuss:

1. The pivotal role of a thriving culture in driving business growth.
2. Effective approaches for HR leaders to demonstrate the financial impact of culture and engagement initiatives to the C-suite.
3. Guidance for HR professionals on measuring the ROI of their culture and engagement efforts.
4. The challenges businesses face in cultivating and maintaining a strong company culture, alongside practical strategies to address these challenges.
5. Key findings from CultureAmp’s research on the impact of organisational changes, such as layoffs, on employee engagement, and the lessons learned about engagement recovery times.

The scarcest resource that organisations have is not money, it's not time, it's the attention of their leaders and managers. ...Too often I see the conversation being 'I need you to tell your people that they have to do this thing because it's really important'. That is a losing battle.

Listen to my conversation with Didier on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

Connect with Didier on LinkedIn and Twitter @didierelzinga. ?You can also find out more about Culture Amp, and access the Forrester research referred to in the episode: The Total Economic Impact? Of Culture Amp.

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EP4: ROB BRINER - What is Evidence Based HR and Why is it Important?

The overarching benefit of evidence-based HR is increasing the ability of HR to be more effective in helping the business achieve its objectives. Therefore, the start point for EBHR is to identify and understand the business issues facing the organisation.

My guest for the penultimate episode of the series was Rob Briner , Professor of Organisational Psychology at Queen Mary University of London and Associate Director of Research at the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) . Rob is the father of evidence-based HR, having authored three papers on the topic for the Corporate Research Forum going all the way back to 2011.

In the episode, Rob underscores the simple yet profound impact of integrating data, scientific research, stakeholder insights, and professional expertise to improve HR effectiveness.

The conversation between Rob and I explores:

1. The principles of evidence-based practice and its relevance to HR
2. Case studies demonstrating the application of evidence-based HR (EBHR) and guidelines for its implementation
3. The differences between EBHR and people analytics, and how they complement each other
4. Recommendations for Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) and HR leaders on incorporating EBHR into their work

It is important to recognise that while people analytics can be an essential source of evidence, it is not the same as EBHR.

Listen to my conversation with Rob on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn and on Twitter @Rob_Briner.

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EP5: LOUISE MILLAR AND OLIVIA EDWARDS – How to deliver business value with people analytics in a SME

Having people analytics has really given us that driver to make significant change which, especially for Chetwood and the rate we are growing, has been so valuable.

In the final episode of the series, my guests were Louise Millar , Chief People Officer, and Olivia Edwards , Colleague Engagement lead at Chetwood Financial Limited , a fast-scaling digital bank. Louise and Olivia share how people analytics has been pivotal in reshaping company culture and securing buy-in from senior leadership, and offer tangible examples of its impact on HR strategies and organisational dynamics.?

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. Why people analytics is as important in a SME as it is in a large global organisation.
2. How Chetwood initiated and embraced their people analytics journey.
3. The role of people analytics in reshaping company culture and fostering employee engagement, development and retention.
4. The strategies employed by Louise and Olivia for gaining buy-in from senior leadership and trust from employees
5. How Chetwood’s partnership with Culture Amp has changed its outlook with people data and analytics..

It's not just the initial data to inform the decision, it's the data afterwards that says whether that decision has been right or wrong, or actually (if the data) has taking you in a different direction.

Listen to my conversation with Louise and Olivia on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

Connect with Louise and Olivia on LinkedIn, and find out more about Chetwood Financial.

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WATCH THE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF SERIES 37

You can also watch each episode on the?myHRfuture YouTube channel. ?A playlist collating these videos together can be viewed below:

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THANK YOU

Thanks to all our guests in Series 37 as well as well as as well as Jodie Evans , Ellisa Packer and the team at Culture Amp for sponsoring this series of the Digital HR Leaders podcast. Thanks too to Manpreet Randhawa , Stefan Kesi? , Jasmine Panayides , and the team at Insight222 and myHRfuture for bringing the podcast to life.

We’ll be back with Series 38, which kicks off on Tuesday April 9 with an episode on how IBM is infusing AI into its HR programs with Nickle LaMoreaux , Chief Human Resources Officer at IBM. Don’t miss that one!

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPONSOR A SERIES OF THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST?

If you’re interested in sponsoring a series of the podcast, please get in touch with Manpreet Randhawa at [email protected].

CATCH UP ON PREVIOUS EPISODES OF THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST

You can access all 200+ previous episodes of the Digital HR Leaders podcast going all the way back to our first episode with Sharon Doherty (she/her) in May 2019, by going to the Digital HR Leaders homepage. Below are a sample of episodes from the past 12 months:

• Unlocking Organisational Resilience Through a Skills-Based Approach (with Susan Cantrell and Michael Griffiths)
• How Standard Chartered is Unlocking the Power of Skills in the Workplace (with Tanuj Kapilashrami)
• Navigating the Talent Marketplace of the Future (with Jeff Schwartz and Jeroen Wels)
• How AI Can Unlock Human Potential and Make Work More Meaningful (with Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic)
• How Workday Created An Impactful People Analytics Function (with Phil Willburn)
• How To Turn People Data into Actionable Insights (with Caroline O'Reilly)
• How Johnson & Johnson are Scaling Their Skills-Based Approach to Talent (with Christina Norris-Watts and Doug Shagam)
• How Meta Developed a High-Performing People Analytics Team (with Alexis Fink)
• How Raytheon Technologies Productises People Analytics at Scale (with Aashish Sharma)
• People Analytics, Now and the Future: Insights from Wharton PAC (with Prasad Setty and Dawn Klinghoffer)
• Rethinking Leadership for the Future of Work (with Heather E. McGowan ??????????)
• Empowering HR and People Analytics Leaders in Managing Microstress (with Karen Dillon and Rob Cross)
• How can people analytics and network data support a successful return to the office? (with Philip Arkcoll)
• How To Scale People Analytics Through Experimentation and Productisation (with Ian OKeefe)
• How to Build a Thriving Workforce Ecosystem (with Elizabeth J. Altman and Robin Jones)
• How to Democratise Data for People Manager Effectiveness (with Lexy Martin)
• How Novartis Use People Data to Navigate Business Transformation (with Ashish Pant)
• How to Create Personalised Employee Experiences (with Piyush Mehta)
• How to Democratise Strategic Workforce Planning (with Alicia Roach and Chris Hare)
• Unmasking Common Myths around Remote Work (with Nick Bloom)
• Nestle’s 4B Methodology to Strategic Workforce Planning (with Alex Browne)
• How to buy HR Technology and use it effectively (with Madeline Laurano)
• Booking.com’s 360-degree view of Employee Experience (with Paulo Pisano)
• How will AI impact People Analytics and HR in 2024 and beyond? (with Thomas Hedegaard Rasmussen Dawn Klinghoffer and Jeremy Shapiro )
• How to Enhance your Career in People Analytics (with Serena H. Huang, Ph.D. )
• How to Overcome AI Adoption Challenges in HR (with Eric Siegel )
• How AI, Generative AI< and Analytics is Fuelling Data Driven HR (with Bernard Marr )

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UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR PEOPLE ANALYTICS FUNCTION THROUGH THE INSIGHT222 PEOPLE ANALYTICS PROGRAM

At Insight222, our mission is to make organisations better by putting people analytics at the centre of business and upskilling the HR profession The Insight222 People Analytics Program? is your gateway to a world of knowledge, networking, and growth. Developed exclusively for people analytics leaders and their teams, the program equips you with the frameworks, guidance, learnings, and connections you need to create greater impact.

As the landscape of people analytics becomes increasingly complex, with data, technology, and ethical considerations at the forefront, our program brings together over one hundred organisations to collectively address these shared challenges.

Insight222 Peer Meetings, like this event in London, are a core component of the Insight222 People Analytics Program?. They allow participants to learn, network and co-create solutions together with the purpose of ultimately growing the business value that people analytics can deliver to their organisations. If you would like to learn more, contact us today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Green ???? is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work.?As Managing Partner and Executive Director at Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations.?Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics.?David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast and is an instructor for Insight222's myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar, Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value was published in the summer of 2021.

SEE ME AT THESE EVENTS

I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2024:

• April 24-25 - People Analytics World (London)
• September 24-26 - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat (Colorado, US) - exclusively for member organisations of the Insight222 People Analytics Program
• October 16-17 - UNLEASH World (Paris)

More events will be added as they are confirmed.